The low number of deaths expected this year is a great achievement for Africa, which is already a victim of the emergence of new variants, according to Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Africa Director. However, the main problems remain unchanged on the continent: lack of sequencing capacity to trace variants and certainly lack of vaccines in sufficient numbers, even if on this second point the situation is improving significantly.

In Africa, deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic are expected to decrease by almost 94% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The low number of deaths expected this year is a great achievement for the Continent, which is already a victim of the emergence of new variants, according to Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Africa Director.

In 2021, covid-19 was the seventh leading cause of death in Africa – on average, 970 people would die per day – second only to malaria. The significant increase in the number of deaths in 2021 was due to the Delta variant, which is more infectious and causes a more severe form of the disease.

According to the Jeune Afrique media, although after the wave of contamination caused by the Omicron variant, the contamination figures fell to a fairly low level, the main problems remain unchanged on the continent: lack of sequencing capacity to trace the variants and of course lack of vaccines in sufficient numbers, even if on this second point the situation is improving significantly.

As new variants may still emerge, African countries must not stop supporting the most vulnerable with COVID-19 vaccines and effective treatments.