Category: Medical Care

INTRODUCTION

The world is currently confronted by an acute public health emergency caused by the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. The outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019—about a century after the Spanish flu of 1919, has since rapidly spread across the world resulting in infections, morbidity and mortality at scale unknown in recent times. The impact of the pandemic is evident in its evolution and how it is redefining global health emergencies. The pandemic has been described as one of the greatest challenges the world has had to face since World War II; and with the speed of spread and the very minimal preparedness for a pandemic of this magnitude, COVID-19 is uncharted territory.1 As of 16 March 2021, over 120 million people had tested positive to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the outbreak; and deaths had exceeded 2.6 million globally.2 Africa, despite being the last continent to be affected by the virus, has not experienced as much devastation as other continents. For example, West Africa, with a population of 367 million people, had confirmed 412 178 cases of COVID-19 with 5363 deaths as of 14 March 2021; compared with the USA which had recorded almost 30 million cases and 530 000 deaths, despite having a slightly smaller population (328 million).

Beyond the direct medical consequences of the contagion, the magnitude of the collateral effects is unprecedented transcending sectoral, sociocultural and geographical boundaries. For example, several national governments across the world imposed border closures, movement restrictions and quarantine measures triggering fears of a looming economic recession. But despite the tendency for most countries to look primarily towards national interests in addressing the pandemic, there has been very significant global, bilateral and multilateral cooperation aimed at ending the pandemic.

Africa, took steps to mitigate the impact of the pandemic even before its first case was announced in Egypt on 14 February 2020. Many African countries, as well as regional institutions, acted promptly by mobilising resources to respond to the outbreak, drawing from experiences with managing previous epidemics. Institutions and mechanisms had been established as part of pan-African, subregional and country-specific epidemic preparedness strategies.3 For example, the Africa Centre for Disease Control activated its emergency operations centre for COVID-19 on 27 January 2020 to coordinate efforts at various levels, including regional structures such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as the agencies of the various national governments.3 This may partly explain why Africa has not experienced similar infection rates and fatalities compared with some other parts of the world. In this article, we describe how financial resources were mobilised and allocated to curtail the pandemic in West Africa at regional level. Data were collated as part of the operational activities in the West African Health Organization (WAHO), an agency of the ECOWAS, as sourced from the various countries in the region and partners, as well as the Devex repository (an online platform for the global development community).

 

 

Source: British Medical Journal

The Health Ministry said late Monday that 1,078 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak in the country began to 230,713.

In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 62 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 13,531

As many as 432 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 172,774 so far, the spokesman said.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The Health and Population Ministry said on Saturday 1/5/2021 that 1,032 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak in the country began to 228,584.

In a statement, Spokesperson for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 63 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 13,402

As many as 769 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 171,542 so far, the spokesperson said.

 

 

Source: State Information Service Egypt

CAIRO, Apr 29 (NNN-MENA) – Egyptian Health Minister, Hala Zayed, said yesterday, the current weekly COVID-19 infections in Egypt are five times higher than that of the same week last year.

The current weekly infections reached 5,845 cases, compared to 1,248 cases in 2020, said the minister at a cabinet meeting.

On Tuesday, the daily COVID-19 cases in Egypt exceeded 1,000 cases for the first time since Jan 14, pushing the tally of confirmed cases in the country to 224,517.

In Jan, Egypt began a nationwide campaign of COVID-19 vaccination, starting with the medical staff of government hospitals.

So far, the Egyptian Drug Authority has approved China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac, Russia’s Sputnik V, and Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use.– NNN-MENA

 

Source: NAM News Network

28 April 2021, Cairo, Egypt – Following the successful delivery of the first shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to 15 countries in the Region, the COVAX Facility is coordinating additional shipments to 13 countries in the Region. Jordan has already received an additional 146 400 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and more countries are expected to receive new shipments in the coming weeks and months.

All countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region have started vaccination against COVID-19, with 37 million doses administered so far. WHO’s role to facilitate these arrivals is complex and includes easing regulatory barriers, managing shipments, organizing arrivals, and securing clearances and receipt of the vaccines by countries.

Once the vaccine has arrived in country, it needs to reach the populations who need it. WHO facilitates a training plan for vaccinators, supervisors, and community mobilizers, and works closely works with health authorities on the reporting, management, and analysis of adverse events following immunization (AEFI). Finally, WHO ensures availability of a strong monitoring and evaluation system.

“COVID-19 vaccines are a safe and effective to end this pandemic. Under the regional vision of health for all by all, we want as many people as possible to have access to life-saving COVID-19 vaccines,” said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. “With commitment and solidarity, we can hope to end the acute phase of the pandemic by the end of 2021,” he stressed. “With so many people in the Region affected by other emergencies, we need to make sure that all persons eligible to the vaccine receive it, regardless of their geographical location or political affiliation.”

“We need to start with those most exposed, like health care workers. We need to continue with those most at risk of severe disease, like the elderly. Ultimately, no one will be safe until everyone is safe,” Dr Al-Mandhari said. “This is our goal during this critical time.”

As of 28 April 2021, the Eastern Mediterranean Region has reported over 9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and almost 180 906 deaths (case-fatality rate = 2.0%) since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of new cases and deaths increased steadily as variants continue to be detected and communities are not adhering to public health and social measures.

About COVAX Facility The COVAX Facility is a global coalition that works to ensure fair and equitable access of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. So far, 190 countries have joined the COVAX initiative, including all 22 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The COVAX Facility aims to have 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines available for distribution across the globe by the end of 2021, targeting those most at risk (e.g. frontline health workers) and most vulnerable severe diseases and death (e.g. elderly and people with co-morbidities).

 

Source: World Health Organization