Scientists mystified, wary, as Africa avoids Covid disaster

“We went into this project thinking we would see a higher rate of negative outcomes in people with a history of malaria infections because that’s what was seen in patients co-infected with malaria and Ebola,” said Jane Achan, a senior research advisor at the Malaria Consortium and a co-author of the study. “We were actually quite surprised to see the opposite — that malaria may have a protective effect.”

‘Achan said this may suggest that past infection with malaria could “blunt” the tendency of people’s immune systems to go into overdrive when they are infected with COVID-19. The research was presented Friday at a meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.’

Read here (Associated Press, Nov 20, 2021)

Countries urge drug companies to share vaccine know-how

‘Across Africa and Southeast Asia, governments and aid groups, as well as the World Health Organization, are calling on pharmaceutical companies to share their patent information more broadly to meet a yawning global shortfall in a pandemic that already has claimed over 2.5 million lives. Pharmaceutical companies that took taxpayer money from the U.S. or Europe to develop inoculations at unprecedented speed say they are negotiating contracts and exclusive licensing deals with producers on a case-by-case basis because they need to protect their intellectual property and ensure safety.’

Read here (AP, Mar 2, 2021)

Medical oxygen scarce in Africa, Latin America amid virus

‘A crisis over the supply of medical oxygen for coronavirus patients has struck nations in Africa and Latin America, where warnings went unheeded at the start of the pandemic and doctors say the shortage has led to unnecessary deaths.

‘It takes about 12 weeks to install a hospital oxygen plant and even less time to convert industrial oxygen manufacturing systems into a medical-grade network. But in Brazil and Nigeria, as well as in less-populous nations, decisions to fully address inadequate supplies only started being made last month, after hospitals were overwhelmed and patients started to die.’

Read here (AP, Feb 23, 2021)

Afriforum may take battle over Ivermectin to court

‘Afriforum insists that investigations regarding studies that have already been conducted globally on the use of Ivermectin be carried out as soon as possible to confirm if this drug can be used effectively in the prevention and treatment of the coronavirus. “A large range of studies in various countries show that Ivermectin can possibly be effective in the treatment of the virus,” Barend Uys, Afriforum’s head of research said.

‘According to him, it was irrational to approve the use of a vaccine that had been developed within months while at the same time banning the use of a drug that had been proven safe and been in use for four decades. “Farmers have been using Ivermectin as a livestock product for many years and it is immediately available in their medicine cabinets,” said Uys.’

Read here (IOL, Jan 16, 2021)

Why are Africa's coronavirus successes being overlooked?

‘Take the two African countries I have called home – Senegal and Ghana... Senegal is in a good position because its Covid-19 response planning began in earnest in January, as soon as the first international alert on the virus went out... As a result, this nation of 16 million people has had only 30 deaths... Ghana, with a population of 30 million, has a similar death toll to Senegal, partly because of an extensive system of contact tracing, utilising a large number of community health workers and volunteers, and other innovative techniques such as “pool testing”, in which multiple blood samples are tested and then followed up as individual tests only if a positive result is found. The advantages in this approach are now being studied by the World Health Organization.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 21, 2020)

Access to lifesaving medical resources for African countries: COVID-19 testing and response, ethics, and politics

‘Having navigated Ebola, HIV, and tuberculosis epidemics, and a range of annual, sporadic, and concurrent outbreaks, several African countries have unparalleled disease response capacity. African governments are offering rare examples of effective international cooperation on COVID-19. The African Union started early to strengthen response with readiness assessments, an emergency ministerial meeting, and a continental strategy. However, with a highly transmissible and fast spreading virus these strengths can quickly be overwhelmed.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 7, 2020)

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister calls on developed countries to help Africa through Covid-19

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed calls on developed countries to help Africa through the coronavirus pandemic. The continent has low levels of healthcare spending and will struggle to implement social distancing measures. Ahmed calls for debt relief measures and additional financial aid packages from the IMF.

Read here (Project Syndicate, May 1, 2020)

Health service disruptions due to drug shortage could lead to 769,000 malaria deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa

‘A new modelling analysis by WHO and partners considers nine scenarios for potential disruptions in access to core malaria control tools during the pandemic in 41 countries, and the resulting increases that may be seen in cases and deaths.

‘Under the worst-case scenario, in which all insecticide-treated net campaigns are suspended and there is a 75% reduction in access to effective antimalarial medicines, the estimated tally of malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 would reach 769 000, twice the number of deaths reported in the region in 2018. This would represent a return to malaria mortality levels last seen in the year 2000.’

Read here (WHO, April 23, 2020)

First UN solidarity flight departs Addis Ababa carrying vital COVID-19 medical supplies to all African nations

‘The first United Nations “Solidarity Flight” is scheduled to leave Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today [April 14] - from there, the aircraft will transport the vital medical cargo to all countries in Africa, where supplies are desperately needed to contain the spread of COVID-19. WHO cargo is being  transported by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and includes face shields, gloves, goggles, gowns, masks, medical aprons and thermometers, as well as ventilators.’

Read here (WHO, April 14, 2020)

African nations demand answers from China over mistreatment of their citizens in Guangzhou

Chairman of African Union Commission calls for ‘immediate remedial measures’ after Africans are racially targeted following investigation into Covid-19 infections in city’s Yuexiu district. ‘I regret and highly condemn this act of ill treatment and racial discrimination,’ Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey says.

Read here (South China Morning Post, April 12, 2020)

Leaders in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America need to look carefully at alternative policies

‘Some possibilities include:

• A universal mask-wearing requirement when workers leave their homes (as masks and homemade face coverings are comparatively cheap, and such a policy is likely feasible for almost all countries to implement); 
• Targeted social isolation of the elderly and other at-risk groups, while permitting productive individuals with lower-risk profiles to continue working; 
• Improving access to clean water, hand-washing, and sanitation, and other policies to decrease the viral load; and 
• Widespread social influence and information campaigns to encourage behaviours that slow the spread of disease but do not undermine economic livelihoods. This could include restrictions on the size of religious and social gatherings or programs to encourage community and religious leaders to endorse safer behaviours and communicate them clearly.’

Read here (Foreign Policy, April 10, 2020)