Survey Shows People in Africa Still Experiencing Substantial Economic Harms, Without Vaccine to Combat Increasing Global Threat
12 May, 2021 8 AM EDT // 2 PM CAT Register here
New York, USA – 11 May, 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- As the world battles new COVID-19 variants and supply of vaccines remains critically low in Africa, African Union Member States must find the balance between minimizing threats from COVID-19 and the indirect burdens of public health measures, including income loss, food insecurity, and disrupted access to essential medical services.
New findings from a Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (PERC) report show that these problems remain substantial across the African continent: 81% of respondents reported challenges accessing food, 77% reported experiencing income loss and 42% reported missing medical visits. The report calls for targeted public health measures for high-risk populations, increased surveillance in light of new variants and scaled-up vaccine supply from the global community to control the pandemic in Africa.
The findings are based on a new survey of over 24,000 adults in 19 African Union Member States, conducted by the Partnership for Evidence-Based COVID-19 Response (PERC). In its new regional report—the third in a series on “Using Data to Find a Balance”—PERC analyzes public opinion survey responses along with social, economic, and epidemiological data, and offers recommendations for governments as they navigate the ongoing pandemic.
Join high-level panelists from PERC members Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO),Vital Strategies’ Resolve to Save Lives initiative and the World Economic Forum, to discuss key findings and how organizations can identify potential threats, coordinate responses and effectively communicate as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves. A Q&A will follow the discussion.
Date: Wednesday 12 May, 2021
Time: 08:00 – 08:45 EDT // 14:00-14:45 CAT
Languages: English, with simultaneous French translation
To attend the webinar, please register here.
Speakers:
• Dr. Ahmed E. Ogwell Ouma, Deputy Director, Africa CDC
• Dr. Richard Mihigo, Program Area Manager, Immunization and Vaccine Development, WHO
• Dr. Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies
• Moderated by Amanda Russo, Head of Media Content, World Economic Forum
To read the full report, please visit:
https://preventepidemics.org/covid19/perc/
Distributed by African Media Agency on behalf of PERC
About the Partnership for Evidence-Based COVID-19 Response (PERC)
The Partnership for Evidence-based Response to COVID-19, a consortium of global public health organizations and private sector firms. PERC member organizations are Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team and the World Economic Forum. Ipsos and Novetta Mission Analytics bring market research expertise and years of data analytic support to the partnership PERC was created in March 2020 with the objective of providing AU Member States with real-time information and guidance to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the continent. PERC’s first regional report, Responding to COVID-19 in Africa: Using Data to Find the Balance, was published in May of 2020.
About Resolve to Save Lives
Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of the global health organization Vital Strategies, focuses on preventing deaths from cardiovascular disease and by preventing epidemics. It is led by Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To find out more, please visit: https://www.resolvetosavelives.org or Twitter @ResolveTSL and @DrTomFrieden.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. We work with governments and civil society in 73 countries to design and implement evidence-based strategies that tackle their most pressing public health problems. Our goal is to see governments adopt promising interventions at scale as rapidly as possible.
To find out more, please visit www.vitalstrategies.org or Twitter @VitalStrat.
About Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Africa CDC is a specialized technical institution of the African Union that strengthens the capacity and capability of Africa’s public health institutions as well as partnerships to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats and outbreaks, based on data-driven interventions and programmes. Learn more at: http://www.africacdc.orgAbout the World Health OrganizationThe World Health Organization contributes to a better future for people everywhere. Good health lays the foundation for vibrant and productive communities, stronger economies, safer nations and a better world. As the lead health authority within the United Nations system, our work touches people’s lives around the world every day. In Africa, WHO serves Member States and works with development partners to improve the health and well-being of all people living here. The WHO Regional Office for Africa is located in Brazzaville, Congo. Learn more at www.afro.who.int and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. In response to the COVID-19 emergency, the World Economic Forum, acting as partner to the World Health Organization (WHO), launched the COVID Action Platform. The platform is intended to catalyse private-sector support for the global public health response to COVID-19, and to do so at the scale and speed required to protect lives and livelihoods, aiming to find ways to help end the global emergency as soon as possible.
For more information, visit: https://www.weforum.org/
Media Contacts:
- James Ayodele, Principal Communication Officer, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Email: Ayodelej@africa-union.org; Tel: +251 11 551 7700
- Collins Boakye-Agyemang, Communications Officer, WHO Regional Office for Africa. Email: boakyeagyemangc@who.int; Tel: +4724139420 or +242065206565
- Erin Sykes, Director of Communications, Resolve to Save Lives: esykes@resolvetosavelives.org; +1.646.612.0001
- Christina Honeysett, Director of PR, Vital Strategies. Email: CHoneysett@vitalstrategies.org; Tel: +1 914 424 3356
- Amanda Russo, Head of Media Content, World Economic Forum. Email: Amanda.Russo@weforum.org; Tel: +1 415 734 0589
