The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concerns about the trend of COVID-19 deaths in Africa. Addressing the 150th Executive Board Meeting of the WHO, the organization’s Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that while the number of deaths from the pandemic is rising, it is particularly increasing in Africa where the least proportion of citizens have been vaccinated.
“So far, the explosion in cases has not been matched by a surge in deaths, although deaths are increasing in all regions, especially in Africa, the region with the least access to vaccines,” Dr Tedros said.
At the meeting which is being monitored by HealthNewsNG, Dr Tedros said the world will be living with COVID for the foreseeable future and will need to learn to manage it through a sustained and integrated system for acute respiratory diseases, which will provide a platform for preparedness for future pandemics.
While there are different scenarios for how the pandemic could play out, and how the acute phase could end, Tedros said it is dangerous to assume that Omicron will be the last variant, or that the world is in the endgame.
Tedros said: “On the contrary, globally the conditions are ideal for more variants to emerge. To change the course of the pandemic, we must change the conditions that are driving it. We recognize that everyone is tired of this pandemic; That people are tired of restrictions on their movement, travel and other freedoms; That economies and businesses are hurting; And that many governments are walking a tightrope, attempting to balance what is effective with what is acceptable to their people.”
The DG said each country is in a unique situation, and must chart its way out of the acute phase of the pandemic with a careful, stepwise approach.
“If countries use all of these strategies and tools in a comprehensive way, we can end the acute phase of the pandemic this year – we can end COVID-19 as a global health emergency, and we can do it this year.”