Africa's COVID-19 caseload at 'worst' amid 'extremely brutal' third wave: WHO

Amid the ongoing third wave, the number of COVID-19 cases in Africa has increased at an unprecedented pace, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said. In a statement on June 24, Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said that the continent is grappling with a resurgence fuelled by the easing of containment measures, cold weather and the presence of new variants. She also warned that this time the number of COVID-19 cases will surpass that of earlier waves as the continent’s countries struggle to vaccinate even a small percentage of the population. 

“With rapidly rising case numbers and increasing reports of serious illness, the latest surge threatens to be Africa''s worst yet,” Moeti said. “Africa can still blunt the impact of these fast-rising infections, but the window of opportunity is closing. Everyone everywhere can do their bit by taking precautions to prevent transmission”. 

WHO Africa has said that new cases have been rising since the beginning of May and the resurgence will surpass previous waves by early July. The UN agency added that decreased observance of public health measures, increased social interactions without masks and new variants have contributed to more cases. Moeti further encouraged governments to do more to provide populations with easier access to masks and hygiene facilities.

According to AP, the delta variant, which was first detected in India, has been detected in at least 14 African countries including Congo, Mozambique, Namibia and Uganda. In a separate statement, the director of Africa CDC said that the delta variant “may have played a very significant role,” in the “very devastating” third wave of COVID-19 in at least 20 countries across Africa.

John Nkengasong said, “The third wave is extremely brutal”. He added that more and more health centres are saying they are overwhelmed. African countries urgently need vaccines to help battle the disease, he said. “We are completely lagging behind, we just don't have vaccines,” Nkengasong said.

Vaccine situation in Africa 

According to the Africa CDC, the continent has more than 5.2 million confirmed virus cases including more than 139,000 deaths. Critically, only one per cent of the continent's 1.3 billion people have been vaccinated, according to WHO and the CDC. Globally, around 2.7 billion vaccine doses have been administered, of which less than 1.5 per cent have been given in the continent, according to WHO Africa.

The UN-backed COVAX, an initiative to provide vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, has not met its goals of equal access. Officials informed that more than 80 per cent of COVAX vaccine supplies have been used by just 18 African countries, with eight running out of stocks. Moeti said that work in COVAX has been hugely challenged by the vaccine availabilities, adding that WHO is willing to consider all available vaccines and will do everything possible to ensure that the vaccines become available at the global level.

“Our objective is really to get the vaccines out there and reduce the inequity that is the situation at present,” she said.

(With inputs from AP)