ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Building on the experience of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, African countries are strengthening health systems to prepare for the next health crisis, the World Organization’s Africa director said Thursday. Of the health.
At the start of the pandemic in early 2020, some of the 54 countries on the continent of 1.3 billion people lacked the facilities or trained health workers to adequately respond to the health crisis, and some were struggling to provide hospital isolation rooms and emergency units. intensive care. Matshidiso Moeti, regional director for Africa at the World Health Organization, in an online briefing on Thursday.
However, over the course of three years, African countries have increased investments in health infrastructure in the race against the pandemic with the support of global donors, he said.
“The future, as difficult as the last few years have been, will find us in a much better situation in terms of our strategies, our investments and our capabilities to deal with threats to public health,” Moeti said.
“Now we know what we need to do to be able to make sure our systems are resilient to the impact of a shock like an outbreak,” he said.
Across the continent, he said, the WHO is working with countries to bolster their capacities by training first responders, while also working to strengthen public health institutions and emergency operations.
One of the “most exciting results of the fight” Africa has faced to obtain COVID-19 vaccines is that some countries on the continent are now building their capacities to produce these key tools locally, Moeti added.
“Whatever happens in the future, the next pandemic will find the world and Africa much more prepared” in his response, he said, optimistic about “important partnerships” and African institutions being established “to take the lead in working on the preparation area and also in primary health care.”
In The Gambia, as in many countries in Africa, the pandemic was “very difficult” for many health systems, but it was “an eye opener for all of us to know where the gaps were,” said Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, the Gambian minister. Health.
Samateh called for a global support system that offers more assistance and resources to countries facing challenges.
“National governments have roles to play, but international communities also have important roles to play,” he said. “We have seen in the COVID-19 pandemic that a problem in one part of the world is a problem for the whole world.”
And even with Africa still facing gaps in COVID-19 vaccines, Moeti, director of the WHO’s Africa regional office, warned that more must be done to sustain the gains of the pandemic response.
“As we move into 2023, it is time to bring COVID-19 out of emergency response mode and integrate it into routine healthcare,” Moeti said.
