Nigeria's first drive-through coronavirus testing site followed some of the same protocols that have been used successfully in Germany, but lessons offered by Germany could help the Nigerian facility improve its processes. In its first two days, the site run by the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research tested 78 people. Appointments were made for the free tests after a screening process to preserve the supply of tests for those most at risk from the virus. Outdoor testing affords a measure of safety to healthcare workers, while testing people in their cars offers some privacy to those getting tested.

The death toll and infection rate from the coronavirus pandemic have been extravagant in the U.S., especially compared to that of other countries. The difference is largely explained in how different governments handled the early days of the pandemic. In many African nations – such as Senegal, which has been touted as having one of the best COVID-19 responses – "leadership, disaster preparedness, conformity to scientific advice, and coherence in pandemic response strategies" have played a significant role in the outcomes.

Faced with limited resources and the pressure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Ghana implemented a variety of measures during the early stages of the pandemic. Those measures, which include pool testing and drone deliveries to rural areas, may prove to be successful after the country reported "a fatality rate of 0.7 percent per 1 million population." Can other African countries and beyond learn from Ghana's example?

Many countries in Africa have been able to contain the spread of COVID-19 due to lessons learned from fighting the Ebola epidemic. Although not all African countries have implemented successful strategies, those that have seen success credit strong government leadership, community compliance, and a physically healthy population.

Rwanda, a country with the same population of Ohio, has emerged as an example of how to slow the spread of coronavirus, with only 1,500 cases reported so far. Besides initiating a lockdown, implementing free testing, and recruiting community health care workers, police, and college students to be contact tracers, officials also used "the same structure, same people, same infrastructure and laboratory diagnostics" that had been working to contain the spread of HIV.

Having spent a number of years combatting Ebola and Marburg viruses, officials in Uganda were able to quickly set into a motion a series of proactive strategies such as restriction of movement, surveillance strategies, and widespread testing to help contain the coronavirus outbreak. Although the approach isn't without its limitations – many are stockpiling groceries out of fear – the rapid and aggressive measures have kept the country's caseload low compared to that of other African nations.

A failed response to the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has helped prepare the country's government and health officials to respond more successfully to the coronavirus pandemic and other public health crises. Several lessons that have proved especially important include the development of a research unit, focusing attention on supporting the community members rather than suppressing the virus, and improving public health communication.

The “one cow per poor family” initiative in Rwanda seeks to increase household income and fight malnutrition by giving families a cow to raise. Once the cow gives birth, the calf is given to another family to raise, keeping the process going. Since the program started in 2006, a total of 341,065 cows have been distributed and residents say it has improved their livelihoods.

The solar-powered freezer donated by Green Life Energy allows vaccines to be stored at the appropriate temperature, providing more access to necessary immunizations, specifically for those in rural communities. Nurses say the freezer box has the capacity to hold up to 500 doses of different vaccines, including polio, measles, tuberculosis, and the COVID-19 vaccine.