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Less than 2% of world’s COVID-19 vaccines administered in Africa
Less than 2% of the 690 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered globally to date have been in Africa, with most of the African countries having only received their first shipments in the last 5 weeks. The pace of the vaccine rollout in Africa has also not been uniform, with 93% of the doses given in 10 countries.
Africa can’t rely on goodwill, targets 60% of local vaccine manufacture by 2040
African leaders, healthcare experts, biotech companies and pharmaceutical multinationals met in a virtual conference to discuss ramping up the local manufacturing of vaccines. Attendees discussed strategies to implement a continental plan to produce up to 60% of Africa’s vaccine needs locally by 2040
Africa Cup of Nations qualifier postponed until June following COVID-19 row
The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match between Sierra Leone and Benin has been postponed following five of Benin’s players testing positive for COVID-19 while travelling to Sierra Leone. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed the match would now be played in June.
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Western Africa
Over 700,000 receive first doses of COVID-19 vaccines (Ghana)
Over 703,000 people received the first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Ghana was the first country globally to receive 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the COVAX facility, in addition to donations from the Indian government and MTN, the telecommunications company.
Doctors on indefinite strike (Nigeria)
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) began an indefinite strike to protest poor working conditions and pay. The protest comes at a critical time as the country is struggling with rising case numbers and a shortage of manpower to carry out its national vaccination campaign using jabs acquired through the COVAX facility.
100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines received from India (Nigeria)
Nigeria received 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from India. The "Covishield" is the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. Priority will be given to medical personnel, strategic leadership, and those above the age of 50 years. The country has recorded over 163,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases with over 2,000 deaths, and 153,000 recoveries.
Over 32,000 vaccinated against COVID-19 (Sierra Leone)
Over 32,000 people in Sierra Leone received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, the country's health ministry has announced. Sierra Leone started its mass vaccination campaign on March 15 after receiving 200,000 vaccines from China and 96,000 AstraZeneca vaccines through the COVAX facility.
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Eastern Africa
200,000 doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines received (Somalia)
Somalia received 200,000 doses of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine from China. The delivery of the vaccine comes following a deal between the Somali government and Sinopharm, the Chinese company that produces the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine last week. This comes barely a month after the UN delivered 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the international COVAX vaccine initiative.
Government relaxes COVID-19 restrictions (The Democratic Republic of Congo)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo partially lifted the national curfew in provinces with low numbers of active COVID-19 cases. Curfew in the capital Kinshasa, which is also experiencing a downward trend in cases, was pushed to 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. local time. The curfew has been imposed since December 2020.
New president changes policy on COVID-19 (Tanzania)
Tanzania’s new president announced that she will form a technical committee to advise her about the scope of COVID-19 infections in the country and how to respond to the health crisis. This is a drastic shift from her predecessor’s policy who was a COVID-19 denier.
PM upholds night curfew to contain COVID-19 spread (Uganda)
Ugandan Prime Minister announced that the country will maintain its night curfew following pressures from the parliament to reverse the curfew. The curfew between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. has been imposed since March 2020. The decision to maintain the curfew comes amidst increasing COVID-19 cases in the country.
Government stops the private importation of COVID-19 vaccines (Kenya)
Kenya ordered the immediate suspension of importation of COVID-19 vaccines by the private sector, citing fears of counterfeit inoculations spreading in the country. Private health facilities have been charging over $80 per jab for Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, vis-a-vis freely distributed AstraZeneca jabs by the government.
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Southern Africa
Mass vaccination drive announced after delay (South Africa)
South Africa announced the launch of its mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19 with a goal of inoculating more than 40 million people by February 2022. South Africa finalized the purchases of 51 million doses: 31 million of Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine and 20 million of Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine.
COVID-19 loan deadline extended by three months (South Africa)
South Africa has extended the deadline of a COVID-19 loan for an additional three months. The loan is central to the nations efforts to counter the economic impact of COVID-19. The South African President announced the bank loan initiative for businesses, worth up to $13.7 billion in total and partly guaranteed by the government, in April 2020.
BRICS bank grants second $1 billion COVID-19 loan (South Africa)
The New Development Bank of the BRICS group of nations approved a second $1 billion loan to South Africa’s government to fight COVID-19. South Africa’s public finances were in bad shape before COVID-19 struck and have deteriorated since, as it has recorded the most COVID-19 cases on the continent.
Minister dismisses reports of new variant of COVID-19 (Angola)
Angola’s minister of health dismissed reports that there is a new ‘Angolan variant’ of COVID-19, saying it was rather a strain that had been diagnosed in the country as a result of biosecurity checks taken during the disembarkation of passengers on international flights.
Government to review COVID-19 response strategy (Zambia)
Zambia will review its response to the pandemic in order to analyze its strengths and weaknesses. The review of the multisectoral response was critical in preparing for the probable third wave anticipated to occur during the cold months of June and July. Meanwhile, the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Zambia as the southern African nation began the rollout of the vaccination program as one of the pillars to the response.
Government set to buy one million COVID-19 vaccines each month (Zimbabwe)
Zimbabwe plans to buy one million COVID-19 vaccines a month in the second quarter of 2021. The southern African nation bought 1.2 million Sinovac vaccines in March for $12 million, and plans to spend $100 million to inoculate at least two-thirds of its adult population.
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Central Africa
Delayed COVID-19 vaccination begins rollout (The Democratic Republic of Congo)
The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to commence COVID-19 vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine after a month's delay. The country will begin to administer the 1.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine it has received from COVAX.
Over 400,000 kits acquired to boost COVID-19 screening (Cameroon)
Cameroon received 400,000 new test kits donated by the Clinton Health Access Initiative on behalf of the AU, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Africa CDC. The country also received a gift of 200,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19.
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Northern Africa
Government approves Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine (Tunisia)
Tunisia approved Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine as it is set to receive 1.5 million doses of the vaccine under an AU plan. The North African country also intends to buy further doses directly from the company to speed up its vaccination campaign.
Night curfew imposed during Ramadan amid COVID-19 (Morocco)
A nationwide nighttime curfew will be in effect during the month of Ramadan to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Morocco. The curfew will be in place from 8 pm. to 6 am. The statement said the night curfew is in line with recommendations from the Scientific and Technical Committee.
COVID-19 vaccination drive launched after delay (Libya)
Libya’s new unity government launched a long-delayed COVID-19 vaccination program after receiving over 160,000 doses, with the prime minister receiving his jab on live television. At least 100,000 of the doses that arrived this week were Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and were donated by Turkey.
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COVID-19 Q&A Powered by Meedan
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What do we know so far about the variant of COVID-19 first identified in South Africa?
There are many thousands of COVID-19 virus variants that exist, most of which are not concerning. However, experts are concerned about a variant that is dominant in South Africa, also known as 501.V2 or B.1.351.
This variant was first identified in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, in samples that date back to the start of October 2020. It has since become the dominant virus variant in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa and spread outside of South Africa to at least 20 countries, including the U.S., Norway, Japan, the U.K., and Austria.
Most variants are not significant and in some cases can even weaken the virus. The South African variant is one that appears to be more contagious and more evasive of current vaccines.
Its contagiousness is due to a mutation in the virus's spike protein that makes it easier to spread. The UK variant also has this protein, making the variants similar. There is no evidence so far to suggest that the South African variant causes more severe or more deadly cases of COVID-19.
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COVID-19 leads to drop of maternal healthcare in Africa, raising fears of increased mortality
While almost every country has experienced disruption to its health services since the start of COVID-19, several countries in Africa have been severely impacted, leading to the suspension of maternal, neonatal, and child healthcare. While more data is needed to fully document the extent of the COVID-19’s impact on women and children across Africa, some preliminary numbers have shown a drop in utilization of essential reproductive, maternal and neonatal health services. The number of women who attended the recommended medical visits during pregnancy dropped by 18% in Liberia, and the initiation of women seeking medical care during pregnancy fell by 16% in Nigeria, according to findings by the Global Financing Facility. Additionally, a recent modelling study across 118 of the world’s countries estimated that between 8.3% and 38.6% more pregnant women could die each month. In countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria, this would add an additional 1,280 and 6,700 maternal deaths to the already staggering 16,000 and 67,000 respective maternal deaths each year.
The impact of COVID-19 on HIV, TB and Malaria services and systems for health
A new report by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria shows COVID-19 has massively disrupted health systems and health service delivery for HIV, TB and malaria in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia in 2020. The report highlights the urgent need to scale up the adaptive measures that health facilities adopted to continue the fight against HIV, TB, malaria, to ramp up delivery of critical supplies for the COVID-19 response, and prevent health care systems and community responses from collapse. The data collected shows that for April to September 2020, compared to the same sixth-month period in 2019: HIV testing fell 41%; TB referrals – where patients suspected of having TB are referred to the next step of diagnosis and treatment – declined by 59%; Malaria diagnosis fell by 31%; antenatal care visits fell by 43%. The spot-checks also highlighted a critical lack of tests, treatments and PPE needed to fight COVID-19, particularly in Africa.
African SMEs through COVID-19: Challenges, policy responses and recommendations
COVID-19 has had a disparate impact on SME-dominant sectors, specifically in tourism, trade, and services. The health crisis is also likely to increase the previously estimated $421 billion financing gap for SMEs in Africa given the intensified demand for liquidity support due to limited cash reserves of SMEs. African countries have taken immediate fiscal and monetary policy measures to mitigate the adverse effect of COVID-19 on SMEs, such as availing direct funding, encouraging moratorium on their debt payments, providing temporary tax reliefs and credit guarantees. In addition to the immediate policy measures being undertaken in response to COVID-19, governments should also consider mid-to-long-term structural policies for African SMEs that would enhance their resilience after the crisis. Recommendations include strengthening awareness of opportunities for SMEs, investing in skills and capacities, speeding up the adoption of digital technologies, and strengthening credit reporting institutions.
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