This discussion paper has been prepared by the Land and Water division (NSL) of FAO with the aim to motivate a discussion on the rapidly evolving situation of COVID-19 pandemic to define the most vulnerable hotspots in the African continent, and to identify the possibilities of relief measures to slow down the spread of the disease. Uncertainties related to the impacts of COVID-19 on daily life are increasingly growing and the negative effects have already been observed beyond the well-defined health risks. Countries already facing varying dimensions of risk will need to construct their exit strategies in order to overcome the devastating outcomes. Nothing is enough when it comes to protecting the vulnerable. The leading principle of such strategy is “Only the paranoid survives”, which is more than a mere poetic pretense. The spatial and temporal effects of the virus transmission are still unknown. Therefore, countries must carefully review every possible risk factor associated to the virus and create their short and long-term strategies based on well-established assessments.