Africa May Face ‘Silent’ Virus Epidemic If Testing Is Not Prioritized – WHO

World Health Organisation (WHO) is worried Africa could face a “silent epidemic” if its leaders fail to prioritize testing for it.

AFRICA has so far been spared the worst impact of the coronavirus, but my first concern, is that a lack of testing is leading to a silent epidemic in the continent

“So, we must continue to push leaders to prioritise testing,” WHO Special Envoy Samba Sow, told a news conference in Geneva on Monday.

The WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Africa was the region with the fewest diagnosed coronavirus cases, accounting for less than 1.5 per cent of the global total and just 0.1per cent of deaths.

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The WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said some countries had taken measures to curb the disease at a high economic cost.

Those measures meant the pandemic was having a milder impact so far than some models had predicted, Moeti said.

Tedros credited the continent’s experience dealing with other epidemics as helping it scale up its response to the coronavirus and be spared the impact seen elsewhere so far.

All African countries had preparedness plans in place, he said, although there were still “gaps and vulnerabilities”.

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