Africans advised to concentrate on following SOPs as they fight the Covid-19 pandemic

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged Africans to stick to strict observance of Covid-19 prevention Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as their best weapon to fight the pandemic.

Dr. Tedros made the remarks via zoom at the World Health Summit that kicked off today 27th June in Kampala Uganda.The summit which is being organized by Makerer University in partnership with the Ugandan government is expected to discuss central issues including those that are in line with the African journey towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals and achieving universal health coverage.

Topics include the Health of the African Youth, Advancing Technology for Health in Africa, Infectious Diseases and Global Health Security, Stemming the Tide of Non-Communicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, and Inter-Sectoral Action for Health.

He said that Africa managed to go through the first wave of the pandemic with fewer fatalities because people observed public health measures of washing hands, sanitizing, wearing masks and social distancing.

However there has been laxity in the observance of these measures which has resulted into the surge of cases as the continent battles the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

There has also been slow rate of vaccination with less than 3 percent of Africans who have received the Covid-19 Vaccine as of today. Therefore it is logical for Africans to focus on the preventive measures as they await vaccination.