Salma Abdalla

Salma Abdalla, a physician, is a research fellow at Boston University School of Public Health where she is currently pursuing a Doctor in Public Health degree. She is also the lead Project Director for the Rockefeller Foundation–Boston University 3-D Commission. Her research looks at the social, political, and commercial determinants of health. She is particularly interested in applying systems thinking modeling methods to guide decision-making beyond the healthcare sector to improve the health of populations.

A general view of shacks during a nationwide twenty-one day pandemic lockdown in an attempt to contain coronavirus infections in Umlazi township near Durban, South Africa, on March 31, 2020. The photo shows a hillside covered with tin shacks, some colorfully painted. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
Urbanization

Africa and Coronavirus—Will Lockdowns Work?

by Salma Abdalla, Sandro Galea

Here's why countries in Africa should chart their own paths in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic—and two ways they can