Covid-19 in West Africa

Regional resource mobilisation and allocation in the first year of the pandemic

Bibliographic Data

ID21881047
AuthorsCésaire Damien Ahanhanzo (West African Health Organisation, corresponding author), Césaire Ahanhanzo (World Bank-funded Projects Management Unit, West African Health Organisation, Bobo-Dioulasso, Hauts-Bassins, Burkina Faso), Ermel Johnson (West African Health Organisation), Ermel Ameswue Kpogbe Johnson (0000-0003-3663-5174, Public Health and Research, West African Health Organisation, Bobo-Dioulasso, Hauts-Bassins, Burkina Faso), Ejemai Amaize Eboreime (0000-0001-8277-2570, University of Alberta), Issiaka Sombie (0000-0001-9435-7198, West African Health Organisation), Sombié Issiaka (Public Health and Research, West African Health Organisation, Bobo-Dioulasso, Hauts-Bassins, Burkina Faso), Ben Idrissa Traoré (West African Health Organisation), Clétus Come Yélian Adohinzin (West African Health Organisation), Tosin Adesina (West African Health Organisation), Ely Noel Diallo (West African Health Organisation), Nanlop Obgureke (West African Health Organisation), Stanley Okolo (West African Health Organisation)
Year2021
Volume6
Issue5
Pagese004762
Publication date2021-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBMJ Global Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2059-7908 • E-ISSN: 2059-7908
PublisherBMJ (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004762
PMID33947707
OpenAlexW3157608499
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited12

The world continues to battle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas many countries are currently experiencing the second wave of the outbreak; Africa, despite being the last continent to be affected by the virus, has not experienced as much devastation as other continents. For example, West Africa, with a population of 367 million people, had confirmed 412 178 cases of COVID-19 with 5363 deaths as of 14 March 2021; compared with the USA which had recorded almost 30 million cases and 530 000 deaths, despite having a slightly smaller population (328 million). Several postulations have been made in an attempt to explain this phenomenon. One hypothesis is that African countries have leveraged on experiences from past epidemics to build resilience and response strategies which may be contributing to protecting the continent’s health systems from being overwhelmed. This practice paper from the West African Health Organization presents experience and data from the field on how countries in the region mobilised support to address the pandemic in the first year, leveraging on systems, infrastructure, capacities developed and experiences from the 2014 Ebola virus disease outbreak

Battle · Development economics · Disease · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Outbreak · Pandemic · Political science · Population · Psychological resilience · Public health · Socioeconomics · Sociology · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Medicine · SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research · Virology

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