Educational Transition Amid COVID-19 Outbreak in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Medical Education

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in numerous alterations in today’s world. These include the temporary closure of educational institutions as part of recommended measures by the World Health Organization (WHO) to mitigate its spread, thus causing over one million students to stay at home globally. Generally, education has witnessed a transition from traditional face-to-face learning to virtual and online learning. This unexpected shift has presented a series of challenges especially within the African region where before now the educational sector is known to be deficient in funding and infrastructure. The cardinal position of medical education in providing healthcare workers can be enhanced and advanced by subduing these challenges and maximizing the available opportunities for its immediate and future needs. The aim of this paper is to highlight the steps Africa needs to take to improve medical education and invent methods for quality teaching and learning in medical education.