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10 - 24 June 2021
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Inner City Gazette
Africa not ready for third Covid-19 wave
WHO director Dr Matshidiso Moeti
Johannesburg - With vaccine deliveries at a near-standstill and lacking key resources in frontline care, Africa is poorly prepared for the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UN has warned. World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti said many hospitals are still far from ready to cope with a huge rise in critically ill patients. “The threat of a third wave in Africa is real and rising,” she said. Africa has registered over 4.8 million Covid-19 cases and 130 000 deaths, according to the WHO, a figure representing 2.9% of global cases and 3.7% of deaths.
In a survey last month, the agency found that health facilities and personnel that are crucial for critically ill Covid-19 patients are grossly inadequate in many African countries. Of 23 countries surveyed, it found that most had less than one intensive care unit (ICU) bed per 100 000 population, and only one-third had mechanical ventilators. By comparison, rich countries such as Germany and the United States have more than 25 ICU beds per 100 000 people. “Treatment is the last line of defence against this virus, and we cannot let it be breached,” Moeti stressed. She called for better equipment for hospital and medical staff.
In recent weeks, the continent has seen a rise in infections. The WHO warned that the pandemic is trending upwards in 14 countries. “In the past week eight countries witnessed an abrupt rise of over 30% in cases,” it said. South Africa, officially the most affected country on the continent, has tightened health restrictions and by last week had more than 1.6 million cases and 56 439 deaths. In Uganda, cases jumped 131% in one week with outbreaks in schools and an increase among health workers. Angola and Namibia are also seeing resurgence. In its weekly bulletin last Thursday the WHO said it had detected an
exponential rise of cases in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Simultaneously, the continent is facing shortage of vaccines, with deliveries almost marking time, according to WHO. The WHO hopes for new deliveries in the coming months through the international Covax scheme, including a pledge of 80 million doses from the United States. Only two percent of Africans to date have received at least one vaccine jab, while 24% of the world’s population is now vaccinated. Of six countries that have not begun vaccinations, four are in Africa; Tanzania, Burundi, Chad and Eritrea.