According to a warning issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 190,000 people in Africa could lose their lives to Coronavirus within the first year of the pandemic if measures to contain the disease are not successful.
A new study conducted by the WHO’s regional office in Brazzaville revealed that the projected number of fatalities ranges from 83,000 to 190,000, with an estimated 29 to 44 million individuals being infected during this period. This research, based on prediction modeling, encompasses 47 countries with a collective population of one billion.
While the virus has spread at a relatively sluggish pace across the continent and has not resulted in the dramatic surge of infections or deaths witnessed in Europe, the United States, and other regions, experts have consistently emphasized Africa’s heightened vulnerability to an outbreak due to its fragile healthcare infrastructure, high poverty rates, numerous ongoing conflicts, and a historical susceptibility to previous epidemics, as reported by AFP.
In a statement released on Thursday, the UN agency explained,
“The model predicts the observed slower rate of transmission, lower age of people with severe disease and lower mortality rates compared to what is seen in the most affected countries in the rest of the world.
“The lower rate of transmission, however, suggests a more prolonged outbreak over a few years.”
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Africa Director, added,
“While COVID-19 likely won’t spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the world, it likely will smoulder in transmission hotspots”.
“COVID-19 could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region. We need to test, trace, isolate and treat.”
As of now, Africa has reported 53,334 cases and 2,065 fatalities, out of a global death toll of nearly 267,000.