Department of Integrated Epidemiology Surveillance and Public Health Emergencies, Ministry of Health, P.O Box 7272, Kampala, Uganda.
School of Public Health, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.
BMC Med. 2022 May 2;20(1):167. doi: 10.1186/s12916-022-02367-4.
In December 2019, a new coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and associated disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was identified in China. This virus spread quickly and in March, 2020, it was declared a pandemic. Scientists predicted the worst scenario to occur in Africa since it was the least developed of the continents in terms of human development index, lagged behind others in achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs), has inadequate resources for provision of social services, and has many fragile states. In addition, there were relatively few research reporting findings on COVID-19 in Africa. On the contrary, the more developed countries reported higher disease incidences and mortality rates. However, for Africa, the earlier predictions and modelling into COVID-19 incidence and mortality did not fit into the reality. Therefore, the main objective of this forum is to bring together infectious diseases and public health experts to give an overview of COVID-19 in Africa and share their thoughts and opinions on why Africa behaved the way it did. Furthermore, the experts highlight what needs to be done to support Africa to consolidate the status quo and overcome the negative effects of COVID-19 so as to accelerate attainment of the SDGs.
2019 年 12 月，一种新型冠状病毒——严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）和相关疾病，即 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）在中国被发现。该病毒迅速传播，2020 年 3 月被宣布为大流行。科学家预测最坏的情况将在非洲发生，因为非洲在人类发展指数方面是最不发达的大陆，在实现联合国可持续发展目标方面落后于其他大陆，提供社会服务的资源不足，而且有许多脆弱的国家。此外，关于 COVID-19 在非洲的研究报告发现相对较少。相比之下，较发达国家报告的发病率和死亡率更高。然而，对于非洲来说，早期对 COVID-19 发病率和死亡率的预测和建模并不符合现实。因此，本次论坛的主要目的是召集传染病和公共卫生专家，概述非洲的 COVID-19 情况，并分享他们对非洲表现方式的看法和意见，以及为什么会这样。此外，专家们强调了需要采取哪些措施来支持非洲巩固现状，克服 COVID-19 的负面影响，从而加速实现可持续发展目标。
