After an emergency meeting in Mali, the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) has revealed how much the West African region needs to fight the deadly coronavirus.
Prof. Stanley Okolo, the Director-General of WAHO revealed that the region needs $50 million to prepare for the Coronavirus, officially known as Covid-19.
Speaking on Monday, in Abuja, he said that this money will be used to provide its ECOWAS countries with the capacity to diagnose or contain the virus. The money will also be used to purchase reagents (substance or mixture used for chemical analysis or other reactions), among other things.
For now, only six countries of 15 countries in the West African region can diagnose and contain the virus. These countries are Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Côte d’ivoire, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. So far, most of them have dealt with at least one suspected case which tested negative.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting organized by the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) charged member-countries to implement robust measures that assure availability of critical medical supplies, including laboratory materials and personal protective equipment in the region.
So far, most of them have dealt with at least one suspected case which tested negative.
The World Health Organisation advises people of all ages to take steps to protect themselves from the virus; for example, by following good hands and respiratory hygiene.
This meeting comes after Africa’s first confirmed case of the virus was been recorded in Egypt.
As of today, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 1,875 people. There are currently 73,438 confirmed cases in 30 countries and territories.
Like Ebola, which took the sub-region by storm, the rapid spread of the virus is something that is confounding even the most advanced health systems in the world – with the World Health Organisation declaring the new coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, due to spread of the illness to other countries.
