COVID-19 in Africa: half a year later
The Lancet "With the number of COVID-19 cases decreasing across the continent, it is time to reflect on the first months of the pandemic in Africa. Munyaradzi Makoni reports.
In February 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was recorded in Africa. Borders were closed, confirmed cases quarantined, and curfews imposed early, which helped countries to slow down the spread of the virus. A slow rise in cases compared with other parts of the world resulted, highlighting Africa's weak health systems, fragile infrastructure, inadequate availability of trained personnel, and poor access to medical supplies and equipment." (Photo by 2Photo Pots on Unsplash)
Increased domestic financing and efficiency of health expenditure necessary amid COVID-19 in Africa
www.aidspan.org "In a virtual meeting convened by the African Union on 8 and 9 October 2020, health and finance ministers from east and southern Africa discussed how to sustain Africa’s earlier health gains in the face of COVID-19. They agreed on the dual importance of raising domestic resources for health and improving the management of available resources. The stance is summarized as “more money for health and more health for money.” Strong leadership and social protection for the most vulnerable are the two other additional levers to “build back” after the COVID-19 crisis. Peter Sands, the Executive Director of the Global Fund and Donald Kaberuka, the Chairman of the Global Fund Board, as well as representatives of multilateral organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance), and the World Bank addressed the participants and emphasized different aspects of those four levers." (Photo: Pictures of Money/flickr/CC BY 2.0)
SEXUELLE GESUNDHEIT Schweiz Im vorliegenden Bericht belegt SEXUELLE GESUNDHEIT SCHWEIZ, dass in der Schweiz der Zugang zu Verhütungsmitteln nicht gewährleistet ist. Betroffen sind insbesondere armutsbetroffene Familien. Dank einem Fonds der Glückskette konnte SEXUELLE GESUNDHEIT SCHWEIZ vorübergehend Verhütungsmittel für Menschen finanzieren, die sich diese aufgrund der Covid-19-Auswirkungen nicht mehr leisten konnten. Die Resultate zum «Fonds Covid-19» können in dem Bericht nachgelesen werden.
MMS Gemessen an der Einwohnerzahl, zählte Südafrika schon vor der Corona-Pandemie weltweit die meisten Opfer von sexueller und häuslicher Gewalt. Die strengen Lockdown-Massnahmen der letzten Monate haben die Ausbreitung des Virus zwar eindämmen können, jedoch die Zahl der Fälle von geschlechtsspezifischer Gewalt in die Höhe schnellen lassen. Ausgerechnet in einer Zeit, in der die ohnehin hohe Zahl der Gewaltopfer nochmals ansteigt, ist die Arbeit der HelferInnen massiv beeinträchtigt. Am Beispiel der Arbeit von Lifeline, südafrikanische Partnerorganisation von terre des hommes schweiz, zeigt sich, wie gross der psychische Druck und die konkreten Hindernisse für die Hilfesuchenden als auch Helfenden sind. Ein Bericht von Hafid Derbal und Tayson Mudarikiri, terre des hommes schweiz. (Foto: Wichtige und öffentlichkeitswirksame Proteste wie hier 2018 sind heute nicht mehr möglich / © terre des hommes schweiz)
The Economist "THE GLASS and metal headquarters of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN’s health agency, contrast starkly with their bucolic surroundings in the hills around Geneva. The only dabs of colour are the flags of its 194 member-states. For now the American flag still flutters beside the rest. But if President Donald Trump has his way, by July 2021 it will be gone. America is the WHO’s biggest donor. A tenth of its staff are American. Its influence runs through the agency, right down to the peanut-butter cups in the staff vending machine. It is an odd time to cut ties with the world’s foremost public-health body. There is a pandemic going on." (Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash)
Geneva Global Health Hub (G2H2)
This meeting was organized and co-hosted by GENDRO and Women in Global Health together with the WHO Secretariat. It was announced as follows: “Through a dynamic, solutions-oriented dialogue session, this will be an opportunity to highlight three specific aspects of gender transformation: leadership, including in the response to COVID at local, national, regional and international levels; data, particularly strategies to ensure the collection and use of gender disaggregated data in times of COVID; and health care, with a focus on women on the frontlines. The session seeks to focus on solutions and strategies for progress, including what civil society asks of WHO and also what civil society itself can do.” (Photo: MONUSCO Photos/flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)
UNAIDS "A new report from UNAIDS shows how countries grappling with COVID-19 are using the experience and infrastructure from the AIDS response to ensure a more robust response to both pandemics. COVID-19 and HIV: 1 moment, 2 epidemics, 3 opportunities—how to seize the moment to learn, leverage and build a new way forward for everyone’s health and rights shows that by identifying the dynamic changes needed, systems can be found that are effective, inclusive, equitable and sufficiently resourced. “Given the epic dimensions of the emergency, the world needs unity and solidarity,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. “Our decades-long fight against HIV offers essential lessons. By heeding those lessons and working together, we can ensure that national health responses deliver on the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the health and well-being of all.” (Photo by SJ Objio on Unsplash)
Health Policy Watch "Dire predictions of Africa being overwhelmed by a tsunami of COVID-19 infections and deaths have not materialized – yet – and this is confounding many researchers. So whether the reason is the continent’s youthful population, a certain level of “herd immunity” gained from prior exposure to other coronaviruses, or simply a lack of adequate disease surveillance, experts are trying to understand the reasons why." (Photo by Morning Brew on Unsplash)
World Health Organisation (WHO) "The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly disrupted freight movement, particularly by air, of essential health supplies, while nationally lockdowns disrupted pharmaceutical production. These and other unexpected supply chain disruptions all significantly complicated the delivery of vital health products just when health services needed them the most. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) through the‘ Strategic Fund for Essential Medicines and Public Health Supplies’ responded quickly to minimize the impact by working with three key stake holdergroups regional and national health authorities, technical experts, and suppliers." (Photo: OEA - OAS/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
British Medical Journal (bmj) "How does one fight an invisible, insidious, and all but intractable foe worth 30 kb in size? In Kenya, the hundred and fiftieth day of COVID-19 passed on 9th August 2020, nine months after the virus manifested itself in the Chinese province of Wuhan. The pandemic has brought forth some key learnings in the process. Even though modern science has risen at breath-taking speed, the most effective tools are still the public health measures, from the 19th century – quarantine and social distancing. The crisis has given us an opportunity to witness the speed and volume of innovation from local innovators and universities to give doctors a broader range of weapons." (Photo: AMISOM Public Information/flickr, CC0 1.0)
Times LIVE "The effect of lockdown on gender-based violence (GBV) has been laid bare by a researcher who collected data from every support call centre. The government GBV and femicide command centre alone recorded more than 120,000 victims in the first three weeks of lockdown, said Rose Gawaya, a gender adviser at the Social Policy Network." (Photo by Mélodie Descoubes on Unsplash)