About 20 African countries are currently in the middle of an “extremely brutal” and “devastating” third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and several are reporting that their health systems are overwhelmed, according to Dr. John Nkengasong, director at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Countries such as Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda have reported that their hospitals are at capacity, and Zambia also has an oxygen shortage, Nkengasong said at a press briefing Thursday.
Why it matters: “The third wave is picking up speed, spreading faster, hitting harder. With rapidly rising case numbers and increasing reports of serious illness, the latest surge threatens to be Africa’s worst yet,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, regional director for Africa at the World Health Organization, said at a press briefing.
Data from WHO shows that COVID-19 cases have risen for five consecutive weeks since the onset of the third wave on May 3, with a 21% increase in new cases compared with the first 48 days of the second wave.
Supply challenges may put Africa’s COVID-19 vaccine success at risk
Health experts in African countries that managed to roll out vaccines effectively fear that the success and the goodwill garnered from the public are now at risk due to supply challenges.
The solution: Nkgengasong said the continent needs to desperately scale up vaccination, adding that currently only about 1.1% of the population has been fully immunized.
Moeti said Africa needs an additional 215 million doses to fully vaccinate 10% of the population on the continent, and around 700 million doses to reach 30% of the population by the end of the year.
“The solution is in our hands, we have enough vaccines in the world to vaccinate at speed and at scale,” Nkengasong said. “We have had pledges across the world but we all know that unless and until we see those pledges transform into vaccines arriving in hospitals and vaccines that are put into peoples arms that doesn't solve the problem for the continent.”
Update, June 24, 2021: This article has been updated to clarify that Africa needs an additional 215 million doses to fully vaccinate 10% of the continent’s population.
About the author
Rumbi Chakamba
Rumbi Chakamba is a Senior Editor at Devex based in Botswana, who has worked with regional and international publications including News Deeply, The Zambezian, Outriders Network, and Global Sisters Report. She holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of South Africa.
