Wpływ pandemii COVID-19 na przemiany społeczno-kulturowe w Afryce Subsaharyjskiej

The aim of this article is to show the post-pandemic cultural landscape of sub-Saharan Africa, a region that, surprisingly, has managed to avoid the catastrophe of COVID-19. The first section interprets the local low morbidity and mortality due to the coronavirus. Next, the actions of the authorities in selected countries are discussed and the extent to which they will become a permanent practice in the local political culture is assessed. The progress of the vaccination campaign and its entanglement in the local politics is characterised. The paper highlights innovative solutions implemented in Africa on the front line of the battle against the coronavirus, including the increased popularity of mobile applications, largely unknown in the global North, which debunk the myth of the ‘primitive savage’. In addition, the text discusses the evolution in the perception of Western medicine, the change in cultural customs and the search for a scapegoat – those responsible for the plague – in multi-ethnic communities. Finally, the transformation of economic culture, ways of thinking by individuals and communities’ actions related to economy are presented. These changes, largely driven by the pandemic, may give rise to new democratic movements and thus accelerate the modernisation of sub-Saharan societies.