Remarks by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
My warm greetings to our journalist colleagues and to everyone watching this press conference online. Bonjour tout le monde.
Today we will look at the risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Africa, and also at the results of a recent worldwide WHO survey, showing that a year into this pandemic, essential health services are still being significantly disrupted in many countries.
I’m very pleased to welcome for this conversation, Dr Christian Owoo, Ghana National COVID-19 Case Management Coordinator for Severe and Critical Diseases, who is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical School, who will share with us his concerns for critical care services in the face of a possible resurgence. A warm welcome also to Dr Kaushik Ramaiya, the General secretary of the Tanzania Diabetes Association and NCD Alliance. Dr Ramaiya will discuss what needs to be done to ensure that essential services are maintained.
There have now been more than 4.5 million COVID-19 cases and 120,000 lives lost on the African continent. Overall, we are still seeing a plateau, with a slight uptick, but the epidemic is trending upwards in 13 countries.
We cannot be lulled into a false sense of security as the continent’s case count appears relatively stable. The devastating surge of cases and deaths in India, and increases in other regions of the world, are clear signs of the risk of resurgence in African countries. The toxic mix driving this upsurge is present here in Africa. Adherence to preventive measures has weakened, while mass gatherings and population movement have increased.
A WHO analysis of 46 African countries finds that almost half are facing a high risk of experiencing a surge in cases.
So, now is not the time to let our guard down. I urge African countries to maintain a heightened state of readiness, making sure that strong surveillance, clinical care, supply chain and communications capacities are in place.
We know that in times of crisis, it is often difficult for people to access essential services like safe deliveries, and prevention and care for infectious and chronic diseases.
To monitor these challenges and the mitigation strategies, WHO has conducted two surveys, first in July last year in the middle of lockdowns in most countries, and subsequently between January and March 2021 when many countries were easing restrictions. The results of our recent survey show that of 40 African countries responding, 95% are still reporting disruptions to essential services. These latest figures show that the disruptions are persisting even in countries which have opened up after lockdowns.
This is happening across all service areas, and most frequently those for mental health, immunization and chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Emergency, critical and surgical interventions have been affected in 31% of countries.
Health systems are suffering from workforce shortages, exacerbated by the repurposing of many staff to provide COVID-19 relief and the impact of COVID-19 infections among health-care workers. Mistrust, fear and financial difficulties are also resulting in fewer people accessing services.
Most countries have put in place WHO recommended policies to maintain essential health services and half have allocated funding to support this work. Disruptions due to insufficient personal protective equipment and other health products have also decreased substantially. But we need to do more.
Our health-care workers need support, given their central role and we must intensify community engagement to rebuild trust and confidence in health-care services.
Turning then to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout:
On Tuesday I met with Ministers of Health in the African Region to discuss key issues, particularly around expiring doses, supply shortages, vaccine safety and misinformation.
WHO is awaiting additional stability data from the Serum Institute of India to determine if the shelf life of AstraZeneca Covishield doses can be extended from six months to nine months.
For doses that have already expired, WHO is looking closely at the scientific, regulatory, logistical and programmatic challenges and will issue a statement next week.
We are encouraging countries to prioritize the first dose, to reach more people, rather than saving supplies for the second dose. It is imperative that the available doses are used as quickly as possible to protect people from severe disease and death due to COVID-19.
We also urge countries that have vaccinated their highest risk groups, and those that have pledged to share doses, to quickly make supplies available to African countries that are ready to deploy vaccines. This will save lives and help bring about the end of this pandemic, for everyone, everywhere.
Suppliers play a critical role – both by prioritizing COVAX over the highest bidders and ensuring countries can contractually share doses with COVAX.
We are seeing strong African solidarity in challenging circumstances. The Democratic Republic of the Congo for example, recognizing that it would not be able to deploy all of its 1.7 million COVAX-funded doses before their expiry in June, has made 1.3 million doses available to countries that have not yet received doses or that have shown efficiency in their vaccination campaigns. Agreements for redistribution are now being finalized with the Central African Republic, Ghana, Senegal and Togo with shipments planned in the coming weeks.
Finally, next Wednesday is Hand Hygiene Day. Frequent hand washing is among the top interventions to prevent COVID-19, diarrhoea and other diseases.
We have seen adherence to preventive measures slipping across the Region. So, I call on individuals, leaders and civil society groups to use this opportunity to reinvigorate and mobilize communities to keep-up good hand hygiene practices (this will have benefits far beyond COVID-19), along with wearing masks and practicing physical distancing to help in bringing an end to this pandemic.
I thank you very much for joining us and look forward to our discussion.