The Covid-19 pandemic has affected global economies and business relations, yet the long-term implications on trade and investment flows as well as the consequences for global supply chains are not foreseeable. This uncertain outlook occurs in a moment of time where German policy makers and business associations have been fostering German companies to invest intensively in sub-Saharan Africa and cautious optimism started vis-à-vis the German activities on the continent. The volume of investment and trade between Germany and sub-Saharan Africa has increased over the past years and the question appears how these rather young business contacts – which are traditionally more fragile than long-established relations – are affected by the pandemic.

For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, an African, Achille Mbembe, is  at the centre of a public debate.Since the Federal Government Commissioner for Anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, publicly declared that the multi-award-winning Cameroonian historian Mbembe was not suitable to give the opening speech at this year's Ruhrtriennale because of antisemitic positions, a heated debate has since developed, which continued even after the Ruhrtriennale was cancelled at the end of April due to the Corona pandemic.Mbembe's defenders responded to the antisemitism accusations against him by arguing that the main aim of these accusations was to oust left-wing and marginalised groups from the public eye. While the debate initially focused on Mbembe's relationship to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) initiative, it has since shifted to a number of more far-reaching issues; such as the uniqueness of the Holocaust, academic freedom, Germany's handling of its colonial past, the ideological roots of post-colonialism and its view of Jewish history and Israel, among others.Our special press review provides an overview of the most important articles available online, an audio discussion, commentaries, personal statements and interviews. This is being conducted with the intention of providing readers an initial overview of the discussion, which is now also being conducted internationally. 

At the end of April, Federal Minister Dr. Müller presented the new Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development's (BMZ in German) 2030 concept, which aims, among other things, to use "measures and funds even more effectively and efficiently".Approximately at the same time as the new strategy was presented, a broad discussion began on "what consequences the Corona pandemic should have for the future direction of development cooperation, especially with African states".We are honoured to present the ten theses by political scientist and Africa studies expert Rainer Tetzlaff in this issue of the  Afrikapost aktuell, which reflect both the new concept of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the consequences of Covid-19 for development cooperation.

For a period of several months Covid-19 has been keeping much of the world on the edge. Throughout the African continent, the number of infections is still relatively low. While the opinions of experts differ as to how the pandemic will develop in Africa, a number of political and economic effects of the crisis are already being felt. The measures taken by African governments to contain the pandemic have far-reaching consequences for economic productivity and the daily lives of many people. The African Union, the World Bank and others have developed scenarios that not only attempt to quantify the consequences for the economy, but also identify the specific African challenges in dealing with the pandemic and make recommendations for action.This issue of Afrikapost Aktuell intends to provide an insight on this chosen topic and not a comprehensive assessment of Covid-19’s impact on the continent. It presents data, facts and scenarios on the significance of the corona pandemic for the African continent and provides an overview of the support measures already initiated. Finally, the interview with Nicholas Opiyo, the German Africa Award winner 2017, focuses on the consequences of the pandemic from the very personal perspective of a Ugandan intellectual.