The COVID crisis in India is a wake-up call for Africa: AU health chief Coronavirus pandemic News

India’s COVID-19 blast is a wake-up call to Africa that the African Union (AU) disease control agency has warned of what governments and citizens should not take care of.

African nations generally do not have enough health workers, hospital beds or oxygen supplies and 1.3 billion continents would be even more affected than India if the cases occurred in the same way, said John Nkengason, head of the African Centers for Disease Control. Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

“We are seeing it completely unbelievable … what is happening in India cannot leave our continent behind,” he told reporters on Thursday.

With a population of 1.35 billion, India is about the size of a population similar to the African continent, but Africa has a weaker health system, and unlike India, it does not manufacture large numbers of drugs or vaccines, he said.

Nkengason asked the Africans to wear masks and avoid large gatherings, warning: “We can’t and shouldn’t find them. [India’s] because the nature of our health systems is very fragile. “

He said all meetings and political and religious parties should be banned for now, “because they allow the virus to spread.”

The AU will convene a meeting with all African health ministers on May 8, Nkengason said, “to keep everyone alert.”

Delays in the spread of vaccines

Nkengangong said that following the guidelines on public health in Africa is very important because the continent is spreading COVID-19 vaccines because the crisis in India has prevented it.

According to the CDC in Africa, about 17 million doses of vaccine have been administered on the African continent. The countries that have given the most jabs are Morocco, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya.

Most of the vaccines so far supplied to Africa through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) have been AstraZeneca plans manufactured by the Indian Serum Institute. India suspended its exports in March to deal with rising domestic demand.

Nkengason said on Thursday it was unclear when exports would begin, and warned that the situation in India could affect the forecast for the spread of African vaccines “in the coming weeks and perhaps months.”

Only 43 million tests have been conducted on the African continent since the pandemic began on the African continent, said the head of the CDC in Africa, with a 26 per cent drop in new tests last week.

Matshidiso Moeti, Africa’s top official at the World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that African countries need to strengthen key public health measures to prevent the Indian scenario from happening there.

He said the rate of coronavirus testing has dropped “in relatively few countries,” citing data from an African nation where the proportion of people without face masks has risen to nearly 80 percent.

“We are very concerned about the delays in the availability of vaccines,” Moeti added.

WHO colleague Phionah Atuhebwe said the delays in expanding vaccines are “quite devastating for all” and said most African countries that have received first doses of vaccine through COVAX will get a “gap” in supply while waiting for second doses in May or June.

Atuhebwe also said Africa could benefit from additional supplies if the two Chinese vaccines secure WHO approval next week.

“If we have more vaccines approved for WHO pre-qualification, we know that more of these candidates can enter our continent without any problems,” Atuhebwe said in a weekly online appearance.

The number of coronavirus cases in Africa has exceeded 4.5 million – including 3.1% of all infections worldwide, including 4 million recoveries and 121,000 deaths.

According to CDC Africa data, the continent recorded nearly 76,000 new COVID-19 infections from April 19 to 25, 8% less than the previous week.

India reported more than 379,000 new COVID-19 cases and 3,645 new deaths on Thursday alone. It was the highest number of deaths recorded in a single day in the world’s second most populous country since the start of the pandemic.