The program was set up to monitor deaths related to HIV/AIDS a decade ago. COUNTING THE DEADBilal’s project began tracking burials at all graveyards in Addis Ababa a decade ago. Bilal scaled back his surveillance to 10 cemeteries and began working for free, paying sources with a tiny grant from Addis Ababa University – until May. City officials called him for a meeting, desperate to know whether COVID-19 was cutting swathes through their city, he said. Bilal’s team has begun asking families at burials whether the dead had any possible COVID-19 symptoms, such as a cough or a fever.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 13, 2020 09:33 UTC