Quarterly Newsletter of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, December 2020
Ramping up SARS-CoV-2 testing in Africa More than 140 disease outbreaks are detected annually in Africa, in addition to the threats of antimicrobial resistance and the high burden of endemic diseases such as tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria. In January 2020 when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern, surveillance […]
Statement on the Use of Ivermectin for COVID-19
Overview: Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug approved for the treatment of parasitic infections, including strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis in humans. There is a reported increase in the use of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 by the public in African Union Member States. Currently, there is: 1. No scientific evidence from pre-clinical studies on […]
Call to action: Safe Reopening of Borders to Save Lives, Economies and Livelihoods in Africa
A. Introduction During the second joint meeting of African ministers responsible for health, ICT and transport on the rollout of the Africa Against COVID-19: Saving Lives, Economies and Livelihoods campaign, a call was made to African countries to work together towards harmonizing travel entry and exit requirements, and to increase mutual recognition and cross-border information […]
Policy Paper: Research and Development Priorities for COVID-19 in Africa
1. Introduction On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak of a new type of Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, that causes COVID-19 respiratory disease, a global pandemic. The outbreak has devastated parts of Asia, Europe, and the United States of America with the world reporting more that one million deaths by 26 September […]
Outbreak Brief 57: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic
Outbreak Update: Since the last brief (9 February 2021), 2,933,430 new confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and 84,107 new deaths have been reported globally. To date, a total of 108,758,490 COVID-19 cases and 2,396,826 related deaths (case fatality rate (CFR): 2.2%) have been reported from 225 countries and territories. The distribution of cumulative cases […]
COVID-19 Scientific and Public Health Policy Update – (16 February 2021)
In addition to our Weekly Outbreak Brief on the spread of COVID-19 and the actions that Africa CDC is taking to help African Union Member States. Africa CDC shares a weekly brief detailing the latest developments in scientific knowledge and public health policy from around the world, as well as updates to the latest guidance […]
Monitoring and Evaluation of COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Diagnostic Test Rollout in Africa
Introduction Limited coverage of laboratory services and long turnaround times from real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) for the detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been insufficient to meet the demands in many African countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rapid antigen diagnostic tests (AgRDTs) are potentially useful as they […]
Statement on the Efficacy of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) against the SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Context: Many countries in Africa are managing the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been over 3.6 million cases and over 96,000 deaths reported on the continent since the first official case was reported on the continent on 14 February 2020. The continent’s case fatality rate of 2.6 percent is above the global […]
Outbreak Brief 56: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic
Outbreak Update: Since the last brief (2 February 2021), 3,221,234 new confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and 89,503 new deaths have been reported globally. To date, a total of 105,825,060 COVID-19 cases and 2,312,719 related deaths (case fatality rate (CFR): 2.2%) have been reported from 225 countries and territories. The distribution of cumulative cases […]
Communiqué: Orientations sur le Processus Accéléré d’autorisation Réglementaire d’utilisation d’urgence des Vaccins Contre la COVID-19 en Afrique
PRÉAMBULE CONSCIENTE du fait que la flambée de COVID-19 a été déclarée une urgence de santé publique de portée internationale (USPPI) par l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) le 30 janvier 2020, et déclarée une pandémie le 11 mars 2020, ayant infecté plus de 91 millions de personnes et causé la mort de plus de […]