23 Apr 2020

A Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional response to COVID-19 pandemic report released on April 22 indicates that COVID-19 testing capacity on the African continent, including the SADC region, remains limited and this has a bearing on the number of cases that countries are reporting.

The report states that COVID-19 pandemic continues to create acute shortage of essential supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPE), diagnostics and medical equipment. 

It also shows that an estimated 14 per cent of patients with COVID-19 will require hospitalisation out of which five per cent will require Intensive Care Unit (ICU) treatment and oxygen therapy. 

The situation, the report says, would require that all care centres be equipped with ventilator or life support machine, pulse oximetres, functioning oxygen systems and disposable, single-use, oxygen-delivering interfaces. 

All this, it says will exert pressure on the health service delivery, already under heavy strain in many African countries, let alone SADC Member States.

In its recommendations, the report says governments need to strengthen implementation of all necessary public health measures including contact tracing, isolation and treatment of COVID-19 and enforcement of hygiene practices including hand washing and cough etiquette. 

The report also highlights the need to expand testing capacity in terms of numbers and geographical coverage by working in partnership with specialised agencies like the World Health Organisation (WHO), Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and biotechnology companies as well as assessing of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed capacity in order to prepare for an eventual overload of severe cases of COVID-19 that will require ICU care. 

Member states, it says also need to train adequate numbers of surveillance personnel and provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to field staff. 

The report also calls for particular attention to be considered towards sectors which have been adversely affected, and highlights key recommendations for SADC member states and other stakeholders to be implemented in accordance with national COVID-19 response plans. Ends