New Report: Responding to COVID-19 in Africa

Sat, May 8, 2021
By editor
2 MIN READ

Health

AS the world battles new COVID-19 variants and supply of vaccines remains critically low in Africa, African Union Member States must find the balance between minimizing threats from COVID-19 and the indirect burdens of public health measures, including income loss, food insecurity, and disrupted access to essential medical services.

New findings from a Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (PERC) report show that these problems remain substantial across the African continent: 81% of respondents reported challenges accessing food, 77% reported experiencing income loss and 42% reported missing medical visits.

The report calls for targeted public health measures for high-risk populations, increased surveillance in light of new variants and scaled-up vaccine supply from the global community to control the pandemic in Africa.

The findings are based on a new survey of over 24,000 adults in 19 African Union Member States, conducted by the Partnership for Evidence-Based COVID-19 Response, PERC.

In its new regional report—the third in a series on “Using Data to Find a Balance”—PERC analyzes public opinion survey responses along with social, economic, and epidemiological data, and offers recommendations for governments as they navigate the ongoing pandemic.

Join high-level panelists from PERC members Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization, WHO,,Vital Strategies’ Resolve to Save Lives initiative and the World Economic Forum, to discuss key findings and how organizations can identify potential threats, coordinate responses and effectively communicate as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves. A Q&A will follow the discussion on Wednesday 12 May, 2021 at 08:15 – 09:00 EDT // 14:15-15:00 CAT

– May 08, 2021 @ 15:45 GM

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