Remarks by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
Thank you everybody for joining us and good afternoon.
I am very pleased to welcome Monsieur le Ministre de la Santé Publique de la République du Niger, Dr Idi Illiassou Mainassara, soyez la bienvenue Monsieur le Ministre, and also the Honourable Minister of Health in Rwanda, Dr Daniel Ngamije, Welcome Minister.
Today we would like to take stock of the persistent and emerging challenges in the COVID-19 response as well as the solutions that we are seeing across the countries on the continent, and I would like to commend the Honourable Ministers for the strong and dedicated action in your countries. You have encountered some challenges. We had a surge of cases in Niger some time ago and you were able to work on it and reduce the number. I’m sure both Ministers will share more details with us on some of the innovations and approaches they have taken.
At a time when governments are easing lockdown measures, the realization is dawning strongly that we will have to live with this virus for some time.
There are now almost one million reported cases of COVID-19 in Africa, so we have not yet reached that milestone, and over 21,000 people have sadly lost their lives. South Africa remains the worst affected country on the continent and is now the fifth most affected country globally. In partnership with the Department of Health in South Africa, WHO is deploying more than 40 regional experts to provide support at the national and provincial levels in the country.
Overall, the cases on the African continent account for 5% of the global total and I’m often asked whether they reflect the true picture of the epidemic or not.
One of the constant and concerning challenges in many African countries, is the shortage of kits to test people for COVID-19. At the same time, some countries have increased their testing per capita while maintaining a low positivity rate, countries such as Mauritius, Rwanda, Cabo Verde and Botswana.
Through the UN Supply Portal, we are supporting countries to replenish test kits and other commodities. This area of access to new technologies, including also future vaccines and treatments, is one in which international solidarity remains absolutely vital.
Through the COVAX platform, we are working with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and other partners, with a strong emphasis on equity in access to these commodities. We are starting also to work with governments and national regulatory authorities to be ready to roll out when a vaccine becomes available. So, this readiness is extremely important.
Countries and communities are leading the way in advancing solutions to many of the challenges in this response and we will hear some of these examples. From Nigeria for example, the advocacy of community leaders encouraged more people to seek testing. In Mauritania, university students are helping to ramp-up surveillance. Kenya has trained over 79,000 community health workers and 15,000 youth champions, who have raised awareness among 17 million people through household visits and other activities.
From Benin to Zimbabwe, countries are integrating COVID-19 in polio geographic information systems to provide real-time information for decision-making.
So far WHO has helped to strengthen the skills of more than 70,000 health workers in collaboration with regional and national professional associations. Cote d’Ivoire, for example, has cascaded training to around 10,000 health workers in all of its 113 health districts. We are continuing to work with local authorities to expand public health capacities, including more than 30 countries that have decentralized laboratory testing capacities.
As I said, countries open-up borders and there are challenges in detecting and managing imported cases and sustaining the intensity of public health measures as economic activities resume. Through our individual actions and choices, we, as people, all play a key role in solving these challenges.
So, in closing, I ask that you continue to join me in practicing and promoting the live-saving preventive actions – wearing a mask (and wearing it correctly so it actually covers your nose as well as your chin and mouth), washing our hands frequently, and keeping a distance. I recognize that African households need support beyond the health sector to be able to play their part, especially low-income households, and so I appeal to governments and international partners to provide this support.
Thank you, I look forward very much to our conversation today.