Devex CheckUp: Africa CDC inches closer to autonomy

We’re back, dear readers. We know 2022 didn’t end up as many would have liked — we’re still in a COVID-19 emergency, cases are surging in China, and there isn’t a lot of optimism that the world will do any better if a new deadly disease emerges soon. But not all is gloomy in the new year. For one, 2023 is expected to be the year the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention achieves greater autonomy from the African Union, in ways that would make it more authoritative and nimble, as well as allow it to more rapidly respond to health emergencies across the continent. African heads of states agreed to give Africa CDC wings last year — allowing it to transition into a public health agency as opposed to a specialized institution that was weighed down by bureaucracy. Acting Director Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma tells our colleague Sara Jerving that since then, it has worked to make this a reality by setting up new systems for administration, human resources, finance, and procurement that are independent of the AU Commission. Now, the next steps are political. African heads of states must approve new frameworks in areas such as governance, coordination, and operations so the agency can speed ahead in fully exercising its autonomy. Those approvals are expected to take place next month during the meeting of the AU executive council. Beyond approving the frameworks, there’s still other work to be done. The AU is currently recruiting a leader to serve as Africa CDC’s first director general, and, importantly, the health agency is also setting up and raising money for a new Africa Epidemics Fund. When it comes to Africa CDC’s core funding for its operations, Ouma hopes member states will contribute a significant portion of the institution’s financing needs. Access to financing will also determine how quickly it can fully implement its plans. Read: Africa CDC’s final steps to operational autonomy (Pro) + Not yet a Devex Pro member? Read the piece by starting your 15-day free trial today. Dodgy data “We believe that the current numbers being published from China underrepresent the true impact of the [COVID-19] disease in terms of hospital admissions, in terms of ICU admissions, and particularly in terms of death.” --— Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme Ryan’s comments came amid a reported surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country. The true toll, however, isn’t known: China isn’t publishing COVID-19 data and has limited its definition of COVID-19 deaths to those caused by pneumonia or respiratory failure. Long COVID’s long arm The world still doesn't know exactly just how many people died from and due to COVID-19, but now it faces another challenge: determining how many people are suffering from post-COVID-19 conditions, more commonly referred to as long COVID, and how to diagnose and treat them. Currently, what many international and national agencies know comes from estimates or surveys. But that’s not fully capturing the extent of the burden of the conditions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where it’s “understudied,” WHO tells Jenny. In India, where more than one-third of the population had COVID-19, much of the information on long COVID patients is anecdotal. Given the gaps in knowledge on long COVID — even among doctors — it’s not hard to figure out why many people end up without a diagnosis. Padma Priya, a journalist living in Hyderabad, India, tells Jenny that she only got a proper diagnosis for the range of symptoms she’s been experiencing, such as an abnormal increase in heart rate, a year after contracting COVID-19 in April 2020. So what’s needed? Prevalence studies to create global awareness, clinical trials, and cheap and easy diagnostics, according to experts. How far along is the world in accomplishing those? That’s something we’ll be covering in depth in 2023. But we’d also love to know your experience: Are you experiencing long COVID? Which aspects of it do you think remain underreported? Send us an email at checkup@devex.com. Read more: The mind-boggling challenge of long COVID HBP? No, it’s not high blood pressure, but health benefits packages, which health ministries or national health insurance agencies develop to define what services can be provided to their populations, such as HIV treatment or cataract surgery, and at what cost. Experts from the Center for Global Development and the Radboud University Medical Center write that this could be a way for health ministers to save lives and to make progress on providing universal health coverage, even with limited resources. “It should be the beating heart of all universal health coverage policy, guiding everything from service delivery, to procurement, to clinical guidelines, to user fees and provider payment mechanisms,” they write in an opinion piece for Devex. Opinion: Health benefits packages — a vital tool for a 2023 UHC crisis What we’re reading Chinese media downplays COVID-19 severity. [Reuters] Malawi suspends school openings amid a deadly cholera outbreak that has killed more than 500 people. [BBC] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now allows certified retail pharmacies to dispense an abortion pill, but not those in states with abortion bans. [Politico]