Question

Policy responses of African States to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Target ( 2 Pages )

Answer 1

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)(SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is unprecedented in modern times, bringing enormous human, social, and economic disruption. China, the origin of the epidemic, represents over 80,000 of these cases, later an alarming number of COVID-19 diagnoses have been confirmed in 170 countries around the world, with the most affected countries being Italy, Iran, Spain, Germany, South Korea, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

A recent analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of infectious disease epidemics, disasters and other potential public health emergencies in the WHO Africa Region highlighted that 41 African countries (87% of the continent) had at least one epidemic, and 21 countries (45%) had at least one epidemic annually. Experts have worried about COVID-19 spreading to Africa, because many of the healthcare systems on the continent are inadequate, having problems such as lack of equipment, lack of funding, insufficient training of healthcare workers, and inefficient data transmission.

But Africa is better prepared .Substantial progress has been made since the 2014–16 Ebola outbreak ,with lessons learned from previous and ongoing outbreaks, followed by significant investments into surveillance and preparedness . For Africa, where most countries have relatively weak health systems, the slow arrival of COVID-19 bought precious time to prepare. There has been rapid response to the COVID-19 epidemic from Africa’s public health systems, well before any cases of COVID-19 had been reported from Africa.The long anticipated and inevitable and detection of the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into Africa was announced on 14 February 2020, by the Minister of Health and Population of Egypt, Dr Hala Zayed, who confirmed the first case of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 in Egypt. The patient was a 33 year old male of foreign origin whose 17 contacts tested negative but were under home quarantine for 14 days. This has ignited a reflection on the readiness of the continent to take on the challenge and showcase its new potential.

In addition, most African countries have adopted other WHO recommended mitigation strategies including quarantine, social distancing, self-isolation, and improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices. Others include mass coronavirus testing and contact-tracing at the community level.  In collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Africa Centers for Disease Control (CDC), national governments have been mobilizing precautionary measures, most notably flight restrictions, enhanced screening at international airports, isolation, and contact tracing, as well as training of health personnel in anticipation of a potential epidemic.The establishment of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC, 2020) and creation and funding of consortia such as the ONE-HUMAN-ANIMAL-HEALTH Africa-Europe research, training and capacity development network (PANDORA-ID-NET)(Pandora-ID-NET, 2020) for tackling emerging and re-emerging infections with epidemic potential. Nearly $370 million has been approved or already released by the World Bank in 10 African countries to fight COVID-19, with more to come in the next weeks and months. This complements ongoing support to strengthen countries’ health systems and regional programs to combat epidemics in Central and West African countries like REDISSE and the new Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regional project aimed at strengthening disease surveillance, prevention, and emergency-response systems across the African continent