The world is experiencing the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic - from lockdown restrictions to economic uncertainty. Though troubling, the COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity to galvanize support to strengthen urban planning's capacity in Africa. This paper draws on the global response to the pandemic to proffer three lessons that can bolster planning action to respond to health, spatial and socio-economic challenges confronting African cities: (i) recognition of urban planning as an urgent public health activity; (ii) emphasizing urban planning's innate capacity to address health crises; and (iii) citizen engagement to accept planning measures. These lessons are likely to improve urban planning action.