Africa can be"left behind"after other advanced continents recover from the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic as reflected by the global pandemic of HIV/MDS.In this paper,we summarize potentially ada...Africa can be"left behind"after other advanced continents recover from the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic as reflected by the global pandemic of HIV/MDS.In this paper,we summarize potentially adaptable,effective and innovative strategies from China,Italy,and the U.S.The purpose is to help African countries with weaker healthcare systems better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.China,being the first to report COVID-19 infection swiftly swung into anti-epidemic actions by the use of innovative risk communication and epidemic containment strategies.Italy and U.S.,the next rapidly hit countries after China,however,experienced sustained infections and deaths due to delayed and ineffective response.Many African countries responded poorly to the COVID-19 pandemic as evidenced by the limited capacity for public health surveillance,poor leadership,low education and socioeconomic status,among others.Experience from China,Italy and U.S.suggests that a better response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mrica needs a strong public health leadership,proactive strategies,innovative risk communication about the pandemic,massive tests and isolation,and scaling-up community engagement.Lastly,African countries must collaborate with other countries to facilitate real-time information and experience exchange with other countries to avoid being left behind.展开更多
Two years into the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic the shining light of hope has been the speed at which vaccines have been developed based on a new platform technology allowing breakthroughs with other novel, neglected and emerg...Two years into the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic the shining light of hope has been the speed at which vaccines have been developed based on a new platform technology allowing breakthroughs with other novel, neglected and emerging infectious diseases. Lurking in the shadows has been the various health care systems related to surveillance, data collection, access to basic health, fear, nationalism, government distrust, vaccine skepticism, global supply chain shortages, health worker shortages and misinformation. In this paper, I have tried to highlight the areas where lessons learned can make a difference for our response to the next pandemic at the local, state, national, regional, and global level.展开更多
文摘Africa can be"left behind"after other advanced continents recover from the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic as reflected by the global pandemic of HIV/MDS.In this paper,we summarize potentially adaptable,effective and innovative strategies from China,Italy,and the U.S.The purpose is to help African countries with weaker healthcare systems better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.China,being the first to report COVID-19 infection swiftly swung into anti-epidemic actions by the use of innovative risk communication and epidemic containment strategies.Italy and U.S.,the next rapidly hit countries after China,however,experienced sustained infections and deaths due to delayed and ineffective response.Many African countries responded poorly to the COVID-19 pandemic as evidenced by the limited capacity for public health surveillance,poor leadership,low education and socioeconomic status,among others.Experience from China,Italy and U.S.suggests that a better response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mrica needs a strong public health leadership,proactive strategies,innovative risk communication about the pandemic,massive tests and isolation,and scaling-up community engagement.Lastly,African countries must collaborate with other countries to facilitate real-time information and experience exchange with other countries to avoid being left behind.
文摘Two years into the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic the shining light of hope has been the speed at which vaccines have been developed based on a new platform technology allowing breakthroughs with other novel, neglected and emerging infectious diseases. Lurking in the shadows has been the various health care systems related to surveillance, data collection, access to basic health, fear, nationalism, government distrust, vaccine skepticism, global supply chain shortages, health worker shortages and misinformation. In this paper, I have tried to highlight the areas where lessons learned can make a difference for our response to the next pandemic at the local, state, national, regional, and global level.
