The World Health Organization warns that vaccine-preventable diseases are widespread throughout the African Continent. This is because the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with regular immunity to killer disease.
Tens of millions of people are missing out on regular immune services. It not only puts their lives at risk of potentially deadly illnesses, but also creates an environment in which the deadly illnesses can thrive and spread.
Benido Impouma, head of infectious and non-communicable diseases at the World Health Organization’s Africa Regional Office, said the pandemic is putting a heavy burden on the health system. It compromised regular immune services in many African countries and forced the suspension of vaccination drives.
Over the past year, he said, the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases has increased across the continent.
“For example, between January and March of this year, about 17,000 measles were recorded, an increase of 400% compared to the same period last year,” said Impouma. .. “Twenty-four countries in our region confirmed four times as many polio variants last year in 2020.”
He said the outbreak of illnesses that can be prevented by other vaccines, such as yellow fever, is also on the rise.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF recently issued a report warning of the increased risk of vaccine-preventable illnesses. They attribute it primarily to the growing inequality in access to vaccines due to pandemic-related turmoil.
They expressed particular concern about the global surge in measles cases, which increased by 79% in the first two months of this year. They said most cases were reported in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Impouma said WHO is working to improve the scope and protection of children’s immunization, adding that WHO and its partners are helping African countries carry out routine immunization campaigns for catch-up. ..
“More than 30 African countries conducted at least one regular catch-up immune campaign in the second half of last year,” he said. “And this year, countries have resumed measles and yellow fever campaigns and are making progress. Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan have resumed measles campaigns. Is good news. ”
But the news of COVID-19 is not very promising. According to WHO, the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths on the continent increased for the first time this week after the number of cases decreased by more than two months and the number of deaths decreased by more than one month.
The latest recorded figures show the number of cases of 11.6 million, including nearly 253,000 deaths.
