Remarks by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
So good afternoon and thank you everyone connecting with us today. I’m very pleased and honored to be joined by the honorable minster for health for South Africa, who I believe will initially be represented by the honorable Deputy Minister, and Professor Koram From Ghana. My fellow panelists are really at the forefront of this battle against the pandemic and I look forward to hearing more about the best practices they are leading and the insights in responding to COVID-19 at the national level.
Today marks three months since WHO declared the novel coronavirus a global health emergency and it is just over two months since the first case was confirmed in the WHO African region. There are now more than 34 thousand cases in Africa and sadly 1 500 lives have been lost. To slow the spread of this virus by stopping gatherings of people and enabling physical distancing in public, many countries including Ghana and south Africa have implemented border closures and so called lockdowns. In some countries, including in Mauritius, Botswana, Mauritania, Niger, and in South Africa itself, and Ghana, after three weeks of lockdown we are seeing a decline in the number of cases.
Here I have to say that I’m sure the honorable minister will explain, at the same time as the lockdown the South African government instituted a very wide sweeping community testing campaign which then would have seen an uptick in the cases as compared to before, even if some of these now are asymptomatic. This is an area that needs more analysis clearly, particularly to understand how well public health measures have been implemented during the lockdowns and to weigh the lockdown type measures against the heavy cost, especially in the context of African countries where we have[ economies that are fragile, with many people also working in the informal sector.
In balancing lives and livelihoods, countries are now looking at easing restrictions and in doing so, we are encouraging countries to adjust measures slowly and in line with the evidence. And here I really would like to highlight the political and technical decisions the authorities in these countries had to make, knowing very well the fragility in some cases of their economies and understanding the impacts would be severe, but I think counting on gaining some ground against the pandemic in undertaking them. We are recommending that each country assess their situation while protecting all citizens, especially the most vulnerable, therefore mitigating against the impacts of the measures that are being put in place
But first and foremost, transmission should be controlled, and public health capacities should be in place at all levels, and this includes widespread testing capacities and mechanisms for decentralizing capacities for the response. We recommend that all health facilities have dual track capacities for continuing the provision of essential services and so that all staff are taking proper precautions and know what to do if a person presents with COVID-19-like symptoms. We do not want health facilities to be the places where the virus is being transmitted to the public.
Risk should be minimized in other essential settings like markets, schools and workplaces, including by facilitating physical distancing, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. A system should be in place to manage risk of exporting or reimporting cases, including reentry and exit screening at air and sea ports at any hot spots. So these are all the conditions that are important as countries are contemplating and putting in place measures to relax and to reduce the lockdowns as they are called.
Most importantly, communities must be informed and empowered to adhere to the preventative measures. As we’ve said, like hand hygiene, cleaning services in the house, and also to be able then to support community based surveillance by recognizing in themselves and in their families and communities those who might be ill or might have been in contact with someone who is ill and giving the alarm so this is picked up by the health system
With these steps we can create a new normal, which we do need to create, and restart responsibly going forward, transitioning from some of these measures. As we move forward it’s imperative that we anticipate and manage the health and social-economic risk. There is a great deal that countries can learn from one another, and so I again thank our panelists from Ghana and South Africa for joining to share their own experience today.
Finally, as tomorrow is World Labor Day, I’d like to appreciate all health care workers and other essential workers who are keeping our societies going during this very challenging period. I am my team are advocating for safe and healthy workplaces for you, and for everyone everywhere.