News Releases

Eighty-three thousand to 190 000 people in Africa could die of COVID-19 and 29 million to 44 million could get infected in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa finds. The research, which is based on prediction modelling, looks at 47 countries in the WHO African Region with a total population of one billion.

When COVID-19 emerged as a global health threat, African countries were quick to enact public health measures to slow the spread of the virus. Now as some countries begin to ease lockdowns, it is important to maintain strong surveillance, case finding and testing among other control measures to halt the pandemic.

Niger has reported a new polio outbreak that has affected two children in Niamey and Tillaberi region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

This year’s Africa Vaccination Week starts today as the COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant disruption to vaccination efforts and to the surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases on the continent. 

Public health systems in Africa are coming under severe strain as the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic persists. But as countries battle to bring the outbreak under control, efforts must also be maintained on other health emergencies and progress made against diseases such as malaria or polio preserved, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged today.

National regulatory authorities and national ethics committees from across Africa have agreed to combine their expertise to expedite clinical trial review and approvals for new multinational preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, joint reviews are based on voluntary cooperation between the national regulatory authorities and ethics committees. Each country is solely responsible for granting regulatory approval.

Just over two months since COVID-19 was first detected in Africa, the disease has now spread to nearly every country, resulting in nearly 17 000 confirmed cases and around 900 deaths across the continent.

As the number of COVID-19 cases in Africa continues to grow, more countries in the continent are seeing the virus spread to regions beyond the capital cities.

A new case of Ebola virus disease was confirmed today in the city of Beni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has risen to more than 10 000 and caused more than 500 deaths. While the virus was slow to reach the continent compared to other parts of the world, infection has grown exponentially in recent weeks and continues to spread.