Remarks by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
Greetings and welcome to all the journalists and colleagues who are joining this press conference. Bonjour et bienvenue à tous les collègues journalistes.
I am pleased to be joined today by Her Excellency Dr Hala Zaid, the Minister of Health and Population of Egypt, which was the first country in Africa to detect a case of COVID-19 and Her Excellency Dr Zaid will share reflections on Egypt’s response to this virus over the past year. A warm welcome to you, Your Excellency. Thank you for having joined us.
And I am also very pleased to be joined by Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a veteran of the fight against viruses, who will share those experiences and speak about his experience as a COVID-19 survivor and about how Africa’s experience of this pandemic compares to other regions. Peter happens to have been my boss in the past as well. A warm welcome to you, Professor Piot.
February 14 marks one year since the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Africa, so today we are going to look back on a year of achievements, challenges and learning as Africa responded to the pandemic.
In the first year of this pandemic in Africa, more than 3.7 million cases have been reported and in the coming week the continent is projected to pass a devastating marker of 100,000 lives sadly lost to this virus.
The African continent accounts for only 3.5% of global cases and 4% of global deaths. African countries have risen to the challenge of COVID-19 but at huge cost to national economies, to the livelihoods of families, and to development of the continent. In sub-Saharan Africa last year, the GDP fell by 2.6% and the IMF predicts that Africa will be the slowest-growing large region in 2021. The socio-economic impacts of this pandemic will have ongoing repercussions for several years in African countries.
During the past year, Africa has experienced two waves of COVID-19. The first was contained relatively effectively with rapidly scaled-up public health capacities, social measures, like border closures and stay-at-home orders at huge costs, we’ve already said, but also innovative partnerships, including with the private sector, and the fortitude and perseverance of African communities.
To overcome shortages of essential supplies, WHO and partners created (as an example of some of the response activities), the UN Supply Portal which has shipped more than 3400 oxygen concentrators, 70 million items of personal protective equipment and 12 million laboratory tests to African countries.
Now, the second wave, which appears to have peaked in January, has been far more lethal than the first. Deaths from COVID-19 have increased by 40% in the last 28 days, compared to the previous 28 days.
The increasing deaths from COVID-19 are a tragic warning that health workers and health systems in many countries are dangerously over-stretched.
The one-year milestone comes as the continent faces the spread of new strains of the virus. Variant B.1.351, first detected in South Africa, has been detected now in eight African countries, while variant B.1.1.7 identified in the United Kingdom, has been detected in six countries on the continent.
This week South Africa announced initially that they will pause the roll-out of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine because of a study indicating that the vaccine is less effective in preventing mild and moderate infection with the new variant that is dominant in the country. The Government also announced that it will now use this vaccine but very much under trial conditions among older health-care workers so that it can have better data on the impact of this vaccine on more severe forms of the disease.
Yesterday the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, also known as the SAGE, recommended that countries use the AstraZeneca vaccine for priority groups, even if variants are present in a country, while further research is conducted.
These preliminary findings highlight the urgent need for a coordinated approach for surveillance and evaluation of variants and their potential impact on vaccine effectiveness. WHO will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as new data become available. We will also be briefing countries and supporting their analysis of the situation for decisions about vaccine use.
While a vaccine that protects against all forms of COVID-19 illness is our biggest hope, preventing severe cases and hospitalizations which overwhelm hospitals and health systems is crucial. If cases remain mostly mild and moderate and don’t require critical care, then we can save many lives.
So, my message to people is, go out and get vaccinated when a vaccine becomes available in your country.
Ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and sustaining the public health measures are the critical priorities to overcome this crisis.
In closing, I would also like to mention that the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Butembo in the North Kivu province. So far, two people have been confirmed with the disease and both have unfortunately died, and 200 contacts are being traced. We, of course will work with the Government to overcome this outbreak as we have done in the past together with our partners.
So, I’d like to thank you once again for joining us and I look forward very much to our discussion.
Thank you.