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More than 200,000 people have died from Covid-19 in Africa since the start of the pandemic, according to an AFP tally established from official records at 17:00 GMT.
The 54 countries in the region may not have suffered as much as other parts of the world, at least according to official figures. They seem to have avoided the catastrophic scenarios that some feared at the start of the pandemic.
But Africa, home to more than 1.3 billion people, has still recorded a total of 200,254 deaths since the virus first appeared in China in December 2019.
The world total stands at over 4.57 million.
After several deadly months, including some 27,000 deaths in July and 26,000 in August, the pandemic appears to be easing on the continent, with current daily figures of 617 against up to 990 at the end of July, a record for the region.
The figures are based on tolls communicated daily by the health authorities in each country or by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and include countries in North Africa.
The WHO has said that if excessive deaths directly or indirectly linked to the coronavirus are taken into account, the actual toll could be two or three times higher.
The total number of infections is also likely to be underestimated, given the insufficient testing capacity in Africa.
“It’s probably much higher than that,” said researcher Glenda Davidson from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa. “Testing resources are very low on the continent.”
Death registration processes were often delayed and inaccurate, she added.
Fall of cases, death
The continent’s current drop in tally is the result of falling numbers in the hardest-hit countries.
South Africa has recorded 83,899 deaths to date. But last week’s daily average of 7,400 new cases and 234 deaths is significantly lower than at the end of July, when the daily average reached 20,000 new cases and 420 deaths.
The decline was even more striking in Tunisia, which recorded a daily average of 1,680 cases and 64 deaths: decreases of 41% and 39% respectively compared to the previous week.
Covid-19: 200,000 dead in Africa. By (AFP) The figures are well below those of July, described as “catastrophic” by the government, with as many as 7,900 cases and 207 deaths per day.
The Tunisian summer was also marked by a sharp acceleration of its vaccination campaign, with nearly 37% of the population having received at least one dose, against only 11% on July 1.
Africa has experienced the lowest vaccination rate of any continent to date, with just eight vaccines administered per 100 population, according to an AFP tally, compared to 102 in Europe and 116 in the United States and Canada. .
According to the WHO, about three percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa are fully immunized. In comparison, 52 percent of people are fully vaccinated in the United States of America and 57 percent in the European Union.
“Worrisome” vaccine inequality
“The inequity is deeply disturbing. Only two percent of the more than five billion doses administered worldwide have been administered in Africa,” WHO Africa Chief Dr Matshidiso Moeti said last week. .
Last week, the WHO said 42 of the continent’s 54 countries would miss their immunization targets.
“The hoarding of vaccines has held back Africa and we urgently need more vaccines,” Moeti said.
However, inoculation in South Africa resumed after a difficult start.
“The vaccine has been our weapon,” said Shakira Choonara, South African public health practitioner.
“It is contributing to some changes in trends that we are starting to see.”
Zimbabwe, meanwhile, on Tuesday announced a hard line to increase vaccination rates. Civil servants and teachers will have to resign if they refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
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