Almost two years after Africa identified its first case of COVID-19 (14 February 2020), the continent can control the pandemic in 2022, the World Health Organization’s regional head for Africa has said.
‘Over the past two years, the African continent has gotten smarter, faster and better at responding to each new surge in cases of COVID-19,’ said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. ‘Against the odds, including huge inequities in access to vaccination, we’ve weathered the COVID-19 storm with resilience and determination, informed by Africa’s long history and experience with controlling outbreaks. But COVID-19 has cost us dearly, with more than 242 000 lives lost and tremendous damage to our economies.’
The WHO continued their findings: Since the start of the pandemic, the continent’s capacity to manage COVID-19 cases has gradually improved, with the increased availability of trained health workers, oxygen and other medical supplies. The number of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds has increased across the continent, from 8 per 1 million people in 2020 to 20 today. Despite these improvements, oxygen availability remains a concern, and a large majority of patients who require oxygen as part of their clinical treatment plan are unable to access it.
‘As we enter this new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must use the lessons learned over the past two years to strengthen our continent’s health systems so that we are better prepared to handle future waves of the disease,’ said Moeti. ‘Since new variants have fueled waves, it is critical that countries strengthen their capacity to detect them through improved genome sequencing. This will also ensure we spot other deadly viruses swiftly.
‘Although Africa still lags behind on vaccination, with only 11% of the adult population fully vaccinated, we now have a steady supply of doses flowing in,’ Moeti added. ‘While vaccination is critical, we must not forget testing and surveillance which we know are basic tools for returning our lives to some semblance of normalcy.’
Picture: Unsplash
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