Vital health operations disrupted in Africa due to Covid-19 pandemic, WHO warns

Vital health operations disrupted in Africa due to Covid-19 pandemic, WHO warns
© Belga

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is disrupting vital health operations in Africa, World Health Organisation Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns.

Many essential services have been partially or completely interrupted, the WHO director said at a virtual conference organised by the African Union’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

The interruption of services such as vaccination campaigns, and HIV and malaria treatment programmes risks wiping out decades of progress.

While Africa has been relatively less affected than other parts of the world, with more than 326,000 infections and over 8,600 deaths, the virus is spreading with increasing speed on the continent, Ghebreyesus stressed.

Although testing is still insufficient in many countries, since Tuesday they all have enough capacity to carry out their own tests, the WHO director said.

The Brussels Times


Copyright © 2024 The Brussels Times. All Rights Reserved.