The entire world is scrambling for a solution to the deadly coronavirus which has infected over 1.9 million people and killed over 100,000 as at April 13, 2020.
In every country around the world, citizens have been scrutinizing how their leaders responded to the crisis and the resultant impact in protecting lives.
Some countries have been badly hit, while others have managed to ‘float above water’ with their responses.
It is now becoming evident that some countries have had better responses that have been deemed effective.
And some of these best performing countries have one thing in common – Women as their leaders.
We now profile seven of those female world leaders and take a look at what they have done to respond to the pandemic.
1. Angela Merkel, Germany
Germany is one of the countries with high number of infections. The country as at April 13, 2020 had at least 128,000 infections with 3,043 deaths. Over 64,000 people have recovered in Germany.
That is relatively low compared to leading European countries like UK, Spain and Italy.
Angela Merkel was among the first world leaders who took the pandemic seriously and imposed restrictions on public gatherings and enforced social distancing guidelines.
She is remembered famously telling her citizens that the infection is real and it could get worse.
Merkel revealed that the virus was “serious,” and that people should “take it seriously.”
Germany rolled out significant testing system and she got tested quickly when some of her staff tested positive for the virus.
She got isolated for days and tested negative for the virus. But Germany hasn’t been battered hugely like other European nations in terms of deaths.
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2. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand
New Zealand under Jacinda Arden has so far recorded 1,064 infections with 546 of those cases now recovered.
The country has also recorded 5 deaths from the pandemic. New Zealand is a country of five million people but the leadership there has been key.
New Zealand has implemented widespread testing just like Germany and Ardern has been clear with messaging and delivered with compassion.
She has been praised for her tone in sending messages across to citizens.
Arden said with “most significant restrictions on movement in modern history, tens of thousands of New Zealanders will die. There is no easy way to say that”, always ending her messages with “Be strong and be kind.”
3. Tsai Ing-Wen, Taiwan
Tsai Tsai Ing-Wen, a former law professor, became the first female president of Taiwan in 2016.
Her country is closer to China but Taiwan has been able to contain to a large extent the impact of the pandemic.
Taiwan has confirmed 388 cases of the coronavirus with 109 recoveries and 6 deaths as at April 13, 2020.
The country appears very prepared that it is helping with donation of masks to countries like US and eleven European countries.
At the very beginning of the pandemic Ing-Wen introduced some 124 measures to block the spread of the virus without a lockdown.
4. Mette Frederiksen, Denmark
Prime minister Mette Frederiksen has used Television to send messages across to her citizens had held a couple of days earlier.
Her country has so far recorded 6,318 cases of the virus with 2,235 of them recovering already and 285 dying from the infection.
She has been instrumental in allying fears of children over the pandemic. Her messages about pandemic have been clear and often come with empathy.
These methods are helping her country to float above water in battling the pandemic.
5. Erna Solberg, Norway
Norway’s Prime Minister, Erna Solberg has also come to her job with empathy and clarity. She adopted the innovative idea of using television to talk children on the pandemic.
She is original in her communication that she takes time to responded to kids’ questions from across the country, explaining all that needs to be known about the virus.
Norway has so far recorded 6,551 cases of coronavirus without any data of recoveries but with 134 deaths as at April 13, 2020.
6. Sanna Marin, Finland
34 year old Sanna Marin became the world’s youngest head of state when she was elected in December 2019.
As Prime minister of Finland she has used social media to send messages about the pandemic.
Under her leadership influencers of any age are being invited to spread fact-based information on managing the pandemic.
Finland has recorded 3,064 case of covid-19 with no data of recoveries yet but with 59 deaths.
7. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Iceland
Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir has announced free coronavirus testing for all citizens.
Iceland is hoping to get ahead of the pandemic by identifying those with the virus for proper isolation.
In many developed countries testing is limited and costly for citizens, so Iceland is doing something significant.
Apart from testing significant number of its population, it is also tracking citizens properly so there is no need to enforce a lockdown or shut schools just yet.
Iceland has confirmed 1,711 cases of coronavirus with 933 of these cases recovering with 9 deaths as at April 13, 2020.
It is obvious that these female leaders have led their countries better with compassion, love and many cases truthful about the severity of the pandemic.
Source: Africafeeds.com
