The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), says it has been estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic cost the World 11 trillion dollars.
The president, Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, said this on Thursday at the ongoing first virtual International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2021).
NAN reports that African Union (AU) and the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) organized CPHIA 2021, with over 10,000 participants from 140 countries around the world.
Oramah noted that the cost of combatting pandemics had always been very high, both in loss of lives and the economy.
He noted that it was time for the African continent to be strategic when dealing with pandemics as some countries struggled financially.
Prof Helen Rees, Executive Director of the Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (RHI) of the University Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, said the Omicron variant spread more easily than others.
He said that was why many countries had high numbers.
“It’s not just the virus. This is what’s killing people: It’s years of living with health conditions that haven’t been properly managed,” she explained.
Rees said the COVID-19 vaccine still worked and encouraged people to get vaccinated to protect themselves against the Omicron variant even though it was not as severe as other variants.
Rees added that the Ebola vaccine had been a success story because of community engagement and the continent should study that because it was incredible.
“We must communicate amongst each other. The continent must not repeat misinformation in the health sector.
“Give people the factual information and also address legitimate questions by people,” she urged.
