What works and what does not work in response to COVID-19 prevention and control in Africa

Rutayisire, Erigene; Nkundimana, Gerard; Mitonga, Honore K.; Boye, Alex; Nikwigize, Solange

Abstract Since the emergence of the pandemic in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, as of 10:00 CEST, June 6, 2020, there have been nearly 6,663,304 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including 392,802 deaths worldwide. In Africa, as of June 2, 2020, a total of 152,442 COVID-19 cases and 4334 deaths have been reported. The five countries with the highest commutative number of cases in Africa are South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, and Ghana. Africa, together with the rest of world have had to swiftly undertake measures necessary to protect the continent from irreversible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that is claiming lives and destroying livelihoods. The lower number of COVID-19 cases in most African countries is attributed to inadequate health systems, low-to-absent testing capacity, poor reporting system and insufficient number of medical staff. The COVID-19 pandemic poses a great threat to most African countries from cities to rural areas and has created a strong demand on already scarce resources and requires an intense mobilization of additional resources to implement established emergency contingency measures. Closure of borders and movements of people restrictions within the country as measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19; this has resulted in the sector being adversely affected by the loss of income. Cooperative prevention and control measures are one of the promising solutions to deplete the spread of COVID-19 on the continent.