Africa has so far been spared the worst
impact of the coronavirus, but the World Health Organization is
worried the continent could face a "silent epidemic" if its
leaders do not prioritise testing for it, a WHO envoy said on
Monday.
"My first point for Africa, my first concern, is that a lack
of testing is leading to a silent epidemic in Africa. So we must
continue to push leaders to prioritise testing," special envoy
Samba Sow told a news conference.
The WHO's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said
Africa was the region with the fewest diagnosed coronavirus
cases, accounting for less than 1.5% of the global total and
just 0.1% of deaths.
The WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said
some countries had taken measures to curb the disease at a high
economic cost. Those measures meant the pandemic was having a
milder impact so far than some models had predicted, Moeti said.
Tedros credited the continent's experience dealing with
other epidemics as helping it scale up its response to the
coronavirus and be spared the impact seen elsewhere so far.
All African countries had preparedness plans in place, he
said, although there were still "gaps and vulnerabilities".