WHO ramps up COVID-19 support to hotspot countries in Africa
Brazzaville, 6 August 2020 - The first members of a surge team of health experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) have arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa to bolster the country’s response to COVID-19. As the continent nears one million cases, WHO is expanding support to countries experiencing a significant uptick in cases.
South Africa is among the five countries in the world most affected by COVID-19. After their arrival, the WHO surge team went into quarantine in line with the national regulations. A second group of experts will deploy next week. Altogether more than 40 public health experts are expected to provide surge support, working with national and provincial counterparts on key areas of the response.
“As the impact of the virus intensifies in a number of hotspots in Africa, so too are WHO’s efforts,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “At the request of the South African government, our experts will be embedded with the national response teams, working closely with local public health officials to address some of the urgent challenges the country is currently facing.”
Nigeria, one of the African countries with a high number of COVID-19 cases, is strengthening disease surveillance to help stem the spread of the virus. In Lagos, which accounts for almost half of Nigeria’s infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting the health authorities by mobilizing surveillance teams to help investigate and trace patients presenting COVID-19 symptoms at healthcare facilities. They dig through hospital rerecords every day looking for patients who may be showing COVID-19 and who may have been missed by hospital staff. Deployed in the 37 localities of Lagos state, they act as fresh eyes in medical centres and alert the state COVID-19 investigations teams once a case is identified. In Lagos 1408 health facilities are covered by the surveillance officers.
Dr Wesley Salifu, 27, a surveillance assistant in Lagos, takes a canoe to a riverine community in Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos. He is one of the 16 WHO consultants helping to find COVID-19 cases in health facilities in the state. Hundreds of health facilities are located far away from the Lagos metropolis. Dr Salifu visits at least six hospitals daily. To get to some far-flung communities, Dr Salifu is forced to take a rickety canoe or use a motorbike. The likelihood of hospitals in rural, wetlands like Ibeju Lekki missing possible COVID-19 cases is especially high, Dr Salifu says. “Because these areas are prone to malaria and common cold which have similar symptoms to COVID-19, it’s easy to mistake one for another.”
