COVID19 Africa: Limited tests/possibilities. Support the most impoverished!

COVID 19 in Africa

In the middle of the COVID19 pandemic, many countries manage the disease within their own boundaries. Less-affluent countries are struggling to compete for test kits; these are now readily available in most developed nations. Case detection is closely linked to the intensity of screening. Currently centralized screening and diagnostic testing, particularly in low-income countries, has not garnered sufficient attention and resources. The WHO Africa Regional Office has initiated support for existing  surveillance, however, training and material support in most settings is still critical; the fragile health systems in resource-limited settings might be quickly overstrained. 

 

We are currently leading a network of infectious disease surveillance sites in several African cities. These are located in Ibadan/Nigeria, Ouagadougou/Burkina Faso, Kumasi/Ghana, Kisantu/Dem. Rep. of Congo, Antananarivo/Madagascar where febrile patients are routinely screened for bacteria. Additional institutions we work with on surveillance are in Maputo/Mozambique (Inst. Nacional de Saude), Addis Ababa/Ethiopia (Ethiopian Public Health Institute), and Blantyre/Malawi. 

 

We have been approached by governments to support with necessary COVID19 kits and personal protection equipment (PPE) for doctors/nurses. We have already  raised funds to equip each site with a real-time PCR machine; paramount for the COVID19 detection.

 

Africa is not resourced in a way that Europe/USA/Asia is and if we fail to manage COVID19 in Africa now, we might not only witness many fatalities but also see a prolonged time to control the outbreak globally. 

 

 

We are closely aligned with experts at the Universities of Cambridge and Stanford as well as Korean organizations to leverage knowledge/experiences and translate them to Africa. 

 

 
We are hoping to collect 1,000,000EUR (125k/country).

One diagnostic kit: 15EUR

One PPE: 10EUR

Contact tracing incl. kit: 25EUR

 

 

Additional key questions will be answered:
 

Case numbers will be transparently shared with international stakeholders as well as the donors here who are funding this activity. 

 

 

We need to be vigilant to not forget African countries where the most impoverished reside and provide support now. This will not only help save countless lives but also help us  put the right measures in place. Please help us to procure the items shortly. Thank you!