Former President John Dramani Mahama has stated that Africa cannot discount the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the continent.
The former president says while the statistics remain favourable towards Africa, particularly regarding the deaths, we cannot discount the impact the pandemic has had on our continent.
He said as of mid-October, this year, the number of confirmed or reported COVID-19 cases by African countries was eight million, five hundred and nine thousand (8,509,000), representing about 3.53% of total global infections.
”This figure (of about 8.5 million) is deceptive. We know our testing capacity is far from optimum. The fact, as reported by the WHO, that 6 out of 7 infections go undetected in Africa is a very worrying one,” he asserted.
”The World Health Organisation (WHO) as of the 10th of October 2021 estimated that the cumulative number of infections on the African continent will be in the region of 59 million. By the same date, coronavirus cases globally were over 241 million, and had led to over 4.9 million deaths. The overall deaths due to coronavirus in Africa surpasses 216,000. Approximately 219 million people recovered from the disease.”
Mr. Mahama indicated that ”admittedly, COVID-19 is one of many challenges that has aggravated Africa’s vulnerabilities and exacerbated existing development challenges. COVID is impacting and impeding the previously steady progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose target date is only eight years away”.
He was speaking at the opening of the African Economic Congress 2021
on the theme ”Accelerate Africa: Building Back Better Congress”.
Update available shows that only five African countries, less than 10% of Africa’s 54 nations, are projected to hit the year-end target of fully vaccinating 40% of their Report available shows people unless efforts to accelerate the pace take off.
The region is also facing challenges in meeting the demand for essential vaccination commodities, such as syringes.
Three African countries, Seychelles, Mauritius and Morocco, have already met the goal that was set in May by the World Health Assembly, the world’s highest health policy-setting body. At the current pace just two more countries, Tunisia and Cabo Verde, will also hit the target.
In October to date, around 50 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have arrived in Africa, which is almost double what was shipped in September. COVAX, the global platform to ensure equitable access to vaccines, has delivered almost 90% per cent of the vaccines deployed this month and has accelerated its shipments since July.
However, at the current pace, Africa still faces a 275 million shortfall of COVID-19 vaccines against the year-end target of fully vaccinating 40% of its people.
Africa has fully vaccinated 77 million people, just 6% of its population. In comparison, over 70% of high-income countries have already vaccinated more than 40% of their people.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana