COVID-19 cases and deaths are rapidly rising across Africa. In mid-July 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that Africa recorded a “43% week-on-week rise in COVID-19 deaths,” with COVID-19 cases rising for eight weeks in a row, and, at the fastest rate the continent has experienced since the start of the pandemic. Rising hospital admissions, the spread of the Delta variant, alongside the low vaccination rates across Africa are further bringing major concerns to the spread of COVID-19. As of August 1, 2021, under 2% of the total population are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Since the start of the outbreak in 2020, International Medical Corps has been working to prevent the spread of the contagious and deadly virus. We are also prioritizing ensuring a continuity of healthcare, while building local capacity to treat this and future outbreaks. We are working in Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Zimbabwe, focusing on among the most underserved and hard-to-reach populations, including refugees and internally displaced persons.
Our priorities include: training to protect frontline health staff; deploying personal protective equipment (PPE), cold-chain and medicines; setting up screening and triage for COVID-19; case management; community outreach and engagement to build awareness for prevention and seeking healthcare; and supporting the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations. With the rising cases in resource-scare areas, assistance is critical.
Your gift today will ensure that International Medical Corps’ first responders are able to combat the spread of COVID-19 and growing health needs in Africa.
*Note for recurring donations: Once we have determined that the community can continue to respond to the after-effects of this emergency without us, we will scale back our response efforts. At that time, we will redirect your future donations to where it is needed most to help us respond to future outbreaks of conflict, disease or disaster.
