New Study Explains Why Africa Defied Extremely Serious Predictions To Survive Deadly COVID-19
A new study by a combination of African medical doctors has given reasons why the COVID-19 pandemic appeared not to have had great damage effect on the health indices in most African countries, as earlier predicted. Factors, such as low population density in cities and communities, large young population, previous experience in epidemic control, and effects of medication used for related diseased in the past, were said to have produced the success rate some African countries have recorded so far. The findings were contained in a 2020 research journal published by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA). This is the first comprehensive research by African Medical scientific research team to offer scientific explanation why the continent seems to have largely escaped end of time predictions. Before the publication of the research findings, western countries have been baffled why Africa with its weak healthcare infrastructure was spared the devastation the COVID-19 wrought on the West.
Africa was a feared destination of the killer coronavirus scourge due to poor health infrastructure heightened by hard biting economic realities. Predictions by experts and credible organisations, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), sent warning signals of an impending death threatening to eclipse the continent should COVID-19 pandemic hit the countries in the region. The study showed, despite weaker health care facilities and systems, the growth of cases in Africa has defied most predictions. The research findings showed that experience, rather than resource availability, helped many African countries with previous experience of managing other epidemics, like Ebola, tuberculosis, and Lassa fever, to withstand the spread of COVID-19. The findings also showed that lower number of cases in Africa, as compared to other continents, was attributable to poor testing capacity. The report said, “This is another major potential reason for the relatively lower numbers of cases on the continent. The number of positive cases reported is driven by the number of rt-PCR tests performed.