The World Bank has praised Tanzania’s COVID-19 response and warned other African countries against ‘western’ policies, according to an online news article shared on Facebook and screenshots shared on WhatsApp.
“World Bank Applauds Tanzania on Anti Corona Policy Response, warns African Countries Copying Western Anti-Covid 19 Policies,” reads the headline of an article shared on Facebook., The article, published on Uganda’s Red Pepper news site on 13 April 2020, claims its source is the World Bank “Africa’s Purse” report titled “assessing the economic impact of COVID-19 and Policy Responses in Sub-Saharan Africa”., “Tanzania unlike other African countries has not locked down businesses and its citizens,” the article says., “The country has not also closed its borders but initiated strict testings and 14 days quarantine to all arrivals. The WB report warns catastrophic consequences to sub-Saharan countries that have copied and pasted anti COVID-19 policies.”, A similar write-up with the same headline has been circulating on WhatsApp in Kenya and Tanzania., Other countries in the East Africa region – Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda – have banned mass gatherings in churches, mosques and other places of worship. But Tanzanian president John Magufuli continues to go to church and has vowed not to close the country’s places of worship. He also refuses to restrict movement or implement measures to contain the coronavirus that would harm Tanzania’s economy., Tanzania now has 170 confirmed cases of Covid-19, having increased from 46 on the day the Red Pepper article was published, and 32 on 10 April., Tanzania’s health ministry does issue guidelines on how to combat Covid-19, emphasising social distancing and hand-washing, and urging the public to listen to expert advice. The ministry also warns people not to believe false information about the coronavirus., But has a World Bank report praised Tanzania’s response to the coronavirus pandemic?, The World Bank’s Africa Pulse report, “Assessing the Economic Impact of Covid-19 and Policy Responses in sub-Saharan Africa”, was released on 9 April 2020., The highlights of the report reveal the World Bank’s alarm at the possible effects of Covid-19 on African economies, specifically with regard to food security, vulnerable people and economic growth. But there’s neither praise nor criticism for any country., We also checked the World Bank’s country page for Tanzania, but there was no report “applauding” the country’s Covid-19 response., Africa Check asked World Bank communications officer Vera Rosaeur about the article. She sent us a link to a press statement dated 14 April., “Our attention has been drawn to news articles currently circulating in Tanzania and on various other websites regarding the World Bank’s recent economic update for sub-Saharan Africa,” the statement says., The Africa Pulse report, it says, focused on “significant impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on the region’s economy and on the welfare of citizens, and offered recommendations on the appropriate actions that governments may need to consider”., “In the report, the World Bank does not make specific mention or assessment of Tanzania’s Covid-19 response,” the statement concludes. – Alphonce Shiundu, , "A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”. What should you do? First, dont delete!", Click on our guide for the steps you should follow., Publishers guide, Africa Check is a partner in Facebook’s third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media., The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it., You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how., Africa Check is working with the CoronaVirusFacts/DatosCoronaVirus Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 fact-checkers fighting misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic., Learn more about the alliance here., , © Copyright Africa Check 2020. Read our republishing guidelines.\xa0You may reproduce this piece or content from it for the purpose of reporting and/or discussing news and current events. This is subject to: Crediting Africa Check in the byline, keeping all hyperlinks to the sources used and adding this sentence at the end of your publication: “This report was written by Africa Check, a non-partisan fact-checking organisation. View the original piece on their website", with a link back to this page., We depend on voluntary donations to run this site. Please help us to keep public figures accountable by supporting the project., Find out more, For democracy to function, public figures need to be held to account for what they say. The claims they make need to be checked, openly and impartially. Africa Check is an independent, non-partisan organisation which assesses claims made in the public arena using journalistic skills and evidence drawn from the latest online tools, readers, public sources and experts, sorting fact from fiction and publishing the results., , Get a weekly dose of facts, straight to your inbox.
No, World Bank hasn’t praised Tanzania’s Covid-19 response or warned other African countries against ‘western’ policies | Africa Check