Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general has commended Nigeria’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Speaking during a virtual news briefing beamed from the United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday, April 3, 2020, Guterres singled out Nigeria as one of the developing countries that have “shown a remarkable capacity to respond’’.
“I have to say this; some of these developing countries have shown a remarkable capacity to respond,” the United Nations chief said.
“I was quite impressed to see, for instance, Nigeria putting in place and immediately establishing a hospital.
“And I saw difficulties in countries that are much more developed to do quickly the same,’’ Guterres said in response to a question.
United Nations Health Organisation Expresses Concerned As COVID-19 Cases Escalate In Africa
With more than 6000 COVID-19 cases reported in Africa, the virus is threatening fragile health systems on the continent. Infections are increasingly spreading not only between African countries but within different localities in the hardest-hit countries.
For instance, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where COVID-19 cases were at first confined to Kinshasa, now a handful of cases have been reported in the easternmost regions of the country that were until recently in the grip of an Ebola outbreak. In South Africa, all provinces have now reported cases. The outbreaks in Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Senegal are also widespread.
“Case numbers are increasing exponentially in the African region,” said Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa “It took 16 days from the first confirmed case in the Region to reach 100 cases. It took a further 10 days to reach the first thousand. Three days after this, there were 2000 cases, and two days later we were at 3000.”
To contain COVID-19, many countries in Africa are implementing measures, which restrict gatherings and the movement of people. Nationwide lockdowns are in effect in Kenya, Uganda, the Republic of the Congo and elsewhere. However, governments must use these measures in a considered, evidence-based manner, and make sure that people can continue to access basic necessities.
