Africans lack basic means to prevent transmission of Covid-19 – Study

Millions of Africans are at risk of contracting Covid-19 due to a lack of the most basic public health tools to protect themselves, including most soap and water.

These measures, known as non-pharmacological public health interventions (NPIs), and including physical distancing or home isolation to prevent transmission, are among the simplest and cheapest methods of slowing the spread. spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid19.

Yet a large number of an estimated 1.4 billion Africans do not have access to these tools, the researchers say.

“Hundreds of millions of people across Africa simply cannot afford to implement NPRIs to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” said Dr Timothy Brewer, Professor of Epidemiology and professor of medicine at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and member of the Division of Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

“These populations must be given priority for vaccination in order to prevent disease and contain the global pandemic. “

The findings, published this month in the peer-reviewed journal Epidemiology & Infection, under the title “Housing, sanitation and living conditions affecting SARS-CoV-2 prevention interventions in 54 African countries” – come from an international team, led by Brewer and colleagues at the University of Bristol, and comprising researchers in China, Ethiopia, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA

Currently, COVID-19, caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has resulted in some 7.3 million cases and 185,505 deaths across the continent.

Globally, nearly 210 million cases and 4.4 million deaths have been reported in more than 200 countries, although the total mortality from COVID-19 can reach 7 million deaths.

The global COVID-19 case fatality rate is approaching that of the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic.

“SARS-CoV-2 is spread primarily through respiratory droplets generated by coughing, sneezing or speaking,” Brewer said.

“Until effective vaccines are universally available, NPRIs are the primary means by which governments prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in their populations. “

In addition to isolating infected people and contact tracing and quarantine for those exposed, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends physical distancing, masking in public places and hand washing. as important INPs that countries should use for the prevention and control of COVID-19.

Laboratory and observational studies suggest that physical distancing and wearing face masks can reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by at least 80%.

“These findings illustrate the substantial barriers many African households face in protecting themselves from SARS-CoV-2 infection due to living conditions that prevent them from quarantining, isolating or maintaining a distance physical and due to significant barriers to handwashing, ”said Dr. Jody Heymann. , a distinguished professor of public health, public policy and medicine at UCLA who is director of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) at Fielding School.

Above all, the results underscore the urgency of rapidly providing vaccines to all African countries, which are far behind, and of tackling the underlying conditions of poverty that put populations at increased risk of epidemics and respiratory virus pandemics. “

Across the 54 countries, around 718 million people live in households with more than six people at home. About 283 million people live in households where more than three people sleep in one room. An estimated 890 million Africans lack water locally, while 700 million do not have home washing / soap facilities.

“The pandemic has exposed structural inequalities in almost everything from health to the economy, from security to social protection,” said study co-author Yehualashet Mekonen, program director of the African Child Observatory at the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF).

“Girls on the continent have particularly felt its impact with far-reaching consequences on their life trajectories, including higher risks of early marriage, dropping out of school and reduced access to reproductive health services.

The researchers also pointed out that despite the structural and resource challenges facing African governments, some countries’ responses to COVID have been among the best in the world.

“Unfortunately, the impoverished living conditions mean that it is almost impossible for many people in African countries to follow public health advice and protect themselves from the virus,” said co-author Dr David Gordon, from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

“European and North American countries must stop accumulating millions of doses of vaccines that they will never be able to use and make them available to Africans. “