On
30th December 2019, the attention of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was
called to the outbreak of a coronavirus
epidemic in Wuhan City, China, which was spreading through human- human
interaction. This novel coronavirus (COVID-19), a threat to world health,
prompted WHO- China Joint Mission to warn China and the international community
to put in place urgent and necessary
measures to combat the outbreak.
On
March 11, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Until that time, West
Africa was not hit by COVID-19. However,
the ‘honeymoon’ period has ended. On March 17, 2020, the Ministry of Health confirmed the country’s
first case of COVID-19. Up to March 29, 2020, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was
4, all imported, with one death. According to the Minister of Health, in a Press Briefing held
on 1 st April 2020, 2 of the COVID-19 patients have recovered and would soon be discharged. Thus,
currently The Gambia has 1 positive COVID-19
patient undergoing treatment.
While
the infection rate in the Gambia is under control, we cannot go to sleep. There
must be concerted efforts, coordinated
approach and adequate, robust preparedness and response strategy in place. The challenge in the fight
against COVID-19 is compounded by the rapid spread of myths and misleading information through
social media and other unofficial sources. The
Gambia’s cultural, traditional and religious practices allow for a
closer interaction at the household
level, ceremonies, “bantaba” chatting (gathering place), religious and
community gatherings, “osusu” (women
microfinance platform) or street camps, just to name a few. These gatherings provide a fertile ground for the
spread of COVID-19 and an exponential increase in our infection rate.
The
resort to seeking the help of herbalists, spiritualists and other traditional
healers, in our quest to prevent
ourselves from contracting COVID-19, can be a serious stumbling block to the
fight, as witnessed during the Ebola
crisis. The attitude of ‘mashallah’ (for the sake of help), lodging family members and visitors affected and not
adhering to physical distancing, frequent hand washing or sanitizing procedures as advised by health
experts can increase the widespread of the disease and hamper its containment in the Gambia.
Also, some people did not take the matter with
seriousness; rather they pin their hopes on prayers and with the belief
that black people have strong immune
system that can fight COVID 19. Prayers are must but implementing expert guidelines as measures from WHO can
drastically eliminate the ‘invisible assassin’ and enemy of progress. Cultural and traditional myths are
stuck in people’s core belief systems and views in all communities and the world over. However,
myths and beliefs provide a false sense of hope or paralyse actions of the response strategy.
To
avert an environment where misinformation and myths about COVID-19 are peddled,
the Ministry of Health, as
countermeasure, should intensify its efforts on community-based programming and awareness creation;
vigorously engage traditional and spiritual healers on etiquettes and awareness on WHO implementing
guidelines; and use every available medium
and platform to encourage the people to listen only to health experts
and also religiously follow all the
Ministry’s guidelines for prevention. Certainly ‘prevention is better than
cure’.
• We should be on very highlight
because of our geographical proximity to Senegal which has, as of 2nd
April 2020 and from WHO updates 190, confirmed positive cases with no death.
This is a hreat to The Gambia and makes
us highly vulnerable to the COVID-19.
The
cross border traffic of persons and
goods, coupled with the cultural and traditional practices we share and
celebrate together, have the potential
to increase the risk of the rapid spread of the virus. Furthermore, the porosity of the border with Senegal can
exacerbate the situation if stringent measures are not taken to significantly restrict and
curtail cross border movement of people or back door entrance would rapidly smuggle the virus to
the country.
While
I commend the Ministry of Health of the Gambia, in collaboration with its
partners, for the great efforts they are
doing in the fight against COVID-19, I urge it to learn from best
practices that were employed during the
Ebola crisis. Thus, activating the Ebola plan to the current situation is a good move that would
strengthen engagement with religious leaders who could be a great entry point for public attention and
education on the COVID-19. We believe in and trust our religious leaders and their active
engagement, coupled with their enormous influence, can greatly aid the fight against Covid-19. Local
community leaders, village heads, district Chiefs and respected elders in the community will be of
great importance to combating the spread of this virus. There should be all-inclusive
approach, especially in how the most vulnerable and marginalised in homes and communities are
targeted with information from press briefings. The Government taking the lead in the awareness
and response strategy, and though the
implementation of one health approach, opens windows of opportunities
for collaboration in building the
resilience of the society to risk management rather than crisis management.
Collaborative
efforts, continuous community policing to fight together by acting with
knowledge
and
adhering to the WHO guidelines, will enable us win this costly fight against
Covid-19.
I
give a standing ovation to all the frontline workers, Government and its
collaborators and individuals for their
unflinching support and cooperation. We will win over Covid-19. Yes, We Can.