Mbabane: World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that on Monday the world crossed 1 million reported COVID-19 cases and that shows that the numbers have doubled just in the past six weeks.
Speaking during the virtual session of the 70th Regional Committee for Africa, WHO Director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said with challenges faced in obtaining COVID-19 testing kits, it is likely that the numbers are significantly higher.
Dr. Tedros said the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to undo the gains made in the recent years towards health equity and this is far more than just a health crisis. He revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has gone up to as far as affecting the economy as the World Bank reported that the African region is now in its first recession for 25 years. In June the IMF News predicted that then sub-Saharan economy will contract by 3.2 percent this year.
Dr. Tendros added that since the outbreak of the pandemic, who has been working round the clock at all levels to support African member States and for that reasons Africa now have a preparedness and response plan in place. All countries on African continent now have lab testing capacity for COVID-19, compared with just 2 at the beginning of the pandemic.
WHO is reported to have shipped millions of COVID-19 test kits and tons of protective equipment to many countries in Africa and have trained thousands of health workers in the region.
