Africa's contribution to the science of the COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

### Summary box 'Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world’, said Louis Pasteur. Over 200 years after this statement, scientists of various disciplines worldwide are today racing against time to understand a new infecting virus, SARS-CoV-2, in order to develop safe and effective interventions to control a raging pandemic. Scientists typically work quietly at a planned pace, but the COVID-19 pandemic altered the priority, methodology and speed by which science is conducted, communicated and translated.1 Haste to find answers could yield unusable or untrustworthy results, which is an early lesson of this paradigm shift.2 Paradoxically, the scientific and technological advancements of the 21st century offer assurance for a fast end to the pandemic, but on the other hand, the globalised communication infrastructure fosters anxiety in the population. Global transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was initially facilitated by fast transport movements, while high-speed internet enabling 24 hours live streaming of news and ubiquitous social media transmitted fear …