Health
WHO, Africa CDC to Deliver 900m Doses of COVID-19 Vaccines in 2020-Official
The World Health Organisation (WHO) through COVAX facility and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) are expected to deliver close to 900 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa by 2021.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, disclosed this at WHO first online press briefing for 2021 on Thursday from its regional office for Africa, based in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
The director said WHO Regional Office for Africa through COVAX facility would deliver 600 million doses, while Africa CDC would secure 270 million doses of the vaccines.
COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO.
The regional director said: “the COVAX facility, which is coordinated by GAVI, WHO and CEPI, aims to provide around 600 million doses for Africa in 2021.
“We expect the first doses to arrive by the end of March with large roll out by June.
“However, COVAX facility can only cover 20 per cent of Africa population so it is really wonderful to see the Africa Union efforts to secure provisional 270 million doses by the end of 2021 are achieving success.
“Togethe we will deliver 900 million doses this year and we know still more is needed,” Moeti said.
He said top priority for the Africa was to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccine, saying “it is unfortunate that so far, vaccine distribution has been inequitable but this a massive undertaking that will take time.”
According to her, as COVID-19 cumulative cases in Africa top three million and daily case numbers exceed the first wave peak, the continent is now confronted with emerging variants of the virus.
She said revamped public health measures were ever more critical to avert a runaway surge in infections that could stretch health facilities to the breaking point.
“An average of 25, 223 cases were reported each day between 28 December 2020 and 10 January 2021 in Africa, which is nearly 39 per cent higher than the July 2020 two-week peak of 18, 104 daily average cases.
“Yet numbers may rise further in the coming days in the wake of travelling, gathering and festivities over Christmas and New Year holidays.
“Overall cases in the region have risen steadily since mid-September 2020, with a steeper rise from late November.”
In addition, the regional director said a new variant of the virus called `501Y.V2’ was circulating widely in South Africa, accounting for most of the new infections during the second wave.
According to her, mutations of the virus are unsurprising as the more the pandemic spreads the higher the likelihood of changes.
“However, preliminary analysis finds the 501Y.V2 variation to be more transmissible. Genomic sequencing has found the variant present in Botswana, the Gambia and Zambia.
“Deeper investigations are underway to fully understand the epidemiological implications, but at present there are no indications the new variant increases the severity of the disease.
“Even if the new variant is not more virulent, a virus that can spread more easily will put further strain on hospitals and health workers, who are in many cases already overstretched,” continued Moeti.
She, however, said the development was a stark reminder that the virus was relentless, that it still presented a manifest threat, and that the war was far from won.
In addition, she said Nigeria was also carrying out more investigations on a variant identified in samples collected between August and October.
She added: “while for now there are no reports of the COVID-19 variant circulating in the United Kingdom cropping up in the African region, further investigation is needed.
“With WHO support, African countries are reinforcing genome sequencing efforts, which are key to finding and understanding new variants as they emerge and to help blunt their impact.
“WHO and the Africa network of genome sequencing laboratories in Africa is supporting governments with training and data analysis on genome sequencing, bioinformatics and technical expertise.”
The regional director said WHO had also developed guidance on containing new variants and was assisting countries to manage and safely transport samples for sequencing and analysis.
Moeti said while much progress was being made in building genome sequencing capacity, the more than 5,000 sequences which had been conducted so far in the region accounted for just two per cent of global sequencing data.
“We call on all countries to increase testing and sequencing of the virus to swiftly spot, track and tackle new COVID-19 variants as soon as they appear.
“To defeat an agile, adaptive and relentless enemy, we must know and understand its every move, and double down on what we know works best against all variants of the virus.
“We must not become complacent.
We must persist with the proven public health measures that helped stop the spread of the virus during the first wave – that’s physical distancing, constant handwashing and wearing masks in public spaces,” she said. (NAN)
Health
Psychiatrists Demand Decriminalization of Attempted Suicide
By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja
Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) President, Prof. Taiwo James Obindo, has asked for the decriminalization of attempted suicide in the country.
He made the call at a stakeholders meeting organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Specialty Healthcare on the need to prioritize and implement the Mental Health Act.
Obindo said the establishment of the National Counselling Centers all over the country in an attempt to address mental health was like putting the cart before the horse, because suicide attempt was still a criminal offense in both the Criminal Act and the Penal Code.
“Hence the first step would be a move to decriminalize attempted suicide.
Criminalizing attempted Suicide has proven to be a major barrier for suicide prevention intervention service uptake.“The archaic law, inherited from our Colonial masters, in an attempt to stop the act of suicide did not address the thoughts and social determinants of Suicide. Significant evidence showed that 90% of those who take their lives through suicide had a background history of Mental Health Conditions; out of which 80% are attributable to Depression due to various bio-psycho-social aetiologies.
“Why do we, as a Nation, then punish individuals who are ill and need medical attention rather than prosecution? It will shock you to know that Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is lagging behind as quite a number of our neighbouring nations have abrogated that law.
“Establishing a Counselling center, without abrogating this archaic law would put, even the counselors at risk because the law also prescribes penalties for those who are aware of the plan but did not report,” he said.
The psychiatrists Association President called for the implementation of the Mental Health Act, which he said was a product of legislation that went through rigorous processes by the legislature, assented to by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2022, and has been gazetted as a law in the Country.
This, he said, would address the “many years of neglect of this important aspect of our nationhood.”
Obindo said a requirement for the effective implementation of the Act was the establishment of a Mental Health Services Department in the Federal Ministry of Health.
“It will shock you to hear that, more than a year later, the department is yet to be established. Most of, if not all, the items in your plan are meant to be supervised by this department in obedience to the rule of law! Hence, the establishment of the department is germane to the success of all your plans,” he said.
He said the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria was an umbrella body of all Psychiatrists in the Country and other allied Practitioners.
He said they have been at the forefront of campaigns and advocacy for global best practices.
He lauded the Committee for the initiative, saying when well-implemented, would positively impact the hitherto neglected Mental Health, persons affected by Mental Health Conditions, and Mental Health Practitioners.
Chairman of the Committee on Special Healthcare, Dr Alex Egbona, said all stakeholders must partner to address mental health challenges and other related health cases.
The lawmaker said the committee was created to provide the requisite legislative frameworks for improved healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
He said the session was a collaborative initiative of the committee to share its mandate and planned activities with identified relevant institutions and organisations.
“I, therefore, solicit the support and partnership of all stakeholders, our development partners, international NGOs, and CSOs, you are all urged to take interest in building the capacity of the committee members and staff to enhance the efficacy of the committee.
“Consider our five thematic areas of Mental Health, Trauma and Obstetrics Fistula, Oral Health and ENT, Blood Transfusion, Blood and Management, Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine and engage the committee for maximum impact,” he said.
Health
WHO Expresses Concern over Monkey Pox Outbreak in DRC
25,318 suspected cases of monkey pox, including 1,204 deaths, have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since the declaration of monkey pox outbreak in December 2022.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.
According to the latest report, the outbreak, which was declared by the DRC Health Ministry on Dec.
16, 2022, was prompted by a notable surge in cases and fatalities associated with monkey pox as well as a fast spread to non-endemic provinces.Since the beginning of 2024, a total of 5,133 suspected cases, including 321 deaths, have been reported, according to the WHO report. It warns that the current situation of the outbreak in the DRC is of “grave concern” due to the sustained increase in suspected cases compared to previous years.
It added that with a significant burden in younger populations, particularly children under 15 years of age, who constitute the majority of both suspected cases and deaths.
In April 2024, a high-level emergency regional meeting on monkey pox in Africa was convened in DRC capital Kinshasa, gathering 12 health ministers of regional countries, aiming to develop common strategies to prevent and intervene effectively in the face of monkey pox in Africa.
“We must prevent the DRC from becoming the source of cross-border transmission, and our partnership must prioritise the health of those affected,’’ said Jean Kaseya, the director general of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) at the meeting.
“Over the years, monkey pox has become a real public health problem for our communities in the DRC, a regional threat and ultimately a global problem.
“We must now mobilise to resolve this crisis,” said Roger Kamba, DRC minister of public health, hygiene and prevention, said at the meeting.
Monkey pox, first detected in laboratory monkeys in 1958, is assumed to be transmitted from wild animals such as rodents to people or from human to human (Xinhua/NAN)
Health
WHO Warns of ‘Bloodbath’ as Rafah Offensive Looms
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of dire consequences if Israel goes ahead with an impending military operation in Rafah.
The planned push into the southern border city of Rafah would lead to “a bloodbath,” the organization wrote on X, formerly twitter on Saturday
The WHO said that more than 1.
2 million people were currently sheltering in the area, many unable to move anywhere else.“A new wave of displacement would exacerbate overcrowding, further limiting access to food, water, health and sanitation services, leading to increased disease outbreaks, worsening levels of hunger, and additional loss of lives.
”According to the WHO, only 33 per cent of Gaza’s 36 hospitals and 30 per cent of primary health care Centre’s were functional in some capacity amid repeated attacks and shortages of vital medical supplies, fuel, and staff.
WHO calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire and the removal of the obstacles to the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance into and across Gaza, at the scale that is required.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to launch an offensive in Rafah to eliminate the remaining strongholds of Hamas.
The organisation said that although Israel’s allies have repeatedly urged caution, as a large majority of the approximately 2.2 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have fled to the south during the war. (dpa/NAN)