Remarks by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
Good morning and good afternoon, bonjour, bom dia and welcome to all the journalists joining this end-of-year briefing for 2021.
I’m really pleased and excited to be joined today by Professor Flavia Senkubuge, the Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Pretoria, also President of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, and Chair of the African Advisory Council on Research and Development. She will share her perspectives on emerging pandemic trends in Africa, and the outlook for 2022. A very warm welcome Prof. Flavia.
There have now been nearly 9 million cases of COVID-19, and nearly 225 000 reported lives lost in Africa due to the pandemic.
Africa is now officially in the fourth wave of the pandemic, which is partly due to the Omicron variant. There has been an 83% surge in new cases on the continent this week, compared to the previous week. This is the fastest surge recorded since May last year.
We are cautiously optimistic though as we are seeing fewer deaths during the early weeks of this current wave, when compared to previous surges. Just over 3000 deaths have been reported during the first three weeks of the fourth wave – and that’s about half the number reported in the same period during the third wave.
Additionally, evidence from South Africa is that while hospitalizations have increased by almost 70% in the past seven days, Intensive Care Unit bed occupancy rates remain low, at 7.5%. Just 14% of hospitalized patients are reported to have needed supplemental oxygen, and deaths have remained low - with only 11 reported yesterday for the previous 24 hours. So, we are seeing mild illness mainly linked to the Omicron variant.
However, with the number of new cases hitting record highs as rates double every five days, we can’t afford to drop our guard. We are entering the year-end holiday season of traditional gatherings and travel, with vaccine coverage still disappointingly low in Africa.
As things stand, predictions are that if things continue like this, Africa may not reach the 70% vaccination coverage target until August 2024. Just six countries have hit the year-end target of fully vaccinating 40% of their citizens, with only 20 managing to achieve 10% coverage.
I cannot stress strongly enough that vaccination is our best defence against the COVID-19 pandemic. We are at a pivotal moment, and complacency is our enemy. Africa is seeing more consistent delivery of vaccine doses, and we can still save many lives if we urgently accelerate the pace of vaccination.
In real terms, if African countries get the doses and support necessary to vaccinate 70% of their populations - as is the case for many wealthy countries - we could avert tens of thousands of deaths from COVID-19 in 2022.
I want to stress that these are not just numbers. They reflect the loss of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, colleagues and neighbours, whose deaths cause untold suffering for those they leave behind.
Importantly, Africa’s vaccine challenges are being compounded by Omicron-related travel bans. There is no strong scientific evidence to support the introduction of such restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. Yet they have devastating economic repercussions for the affected countries struggling to reboot after two years of pandemic-induced negative impacts.
Travel bans can lead to less money for food, medicine, education and a host of services that keep people healthy, consequently jeopardizing the welfare of millions of Africans. They can also affect supplies of critical items for health and other development areas.
Globally, there are now more than 2700 cases of Omicron reported in 59 countries, including 11 countries in Africa which account for about one-third of the cases. However, Africa’s share is steadily dropping, and South Africa no longer leads the world in Omicron cases.
As such, I would like to appeal to countries to urgently reconsider the recently introduced travel bans. This is a time to instead show solidarity with your neighbours, and to act in the interests of the global good.
Going forward into 2022, WHO’s COVID-19 strategy continues to focus on boosting vaccine coverage. It will also concentrate on increasing surveillance to up case detection and to track new variants of concern. Of course, the public health measures of prevention - wearing masks, physical distancing and hygiene - are also vitally important.
There is a lot more hard work ahead before we can bring this pandemic under control in Africa, and the world. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of WHO colleagues, our global and regional partners, African leaders and governments, Ministries of Health, our health work force and local communities. I would also like to thank members of media who have worked alongside us in 2021, helping to disseminate accurate information to your audiences around the world.
So, welcome again to this press conference, and I look forward very much to today’s discussions.