Since 2011, 188 countries have experienced over 1200 disease outbreaks including Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), cholera, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and most recently, the corona virus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). These outbreaks resulted in large-scale health emergencies, suffering, and death among disproportionately poor and vulnerable populations. They also caused significant social, economic, and political disruption. While most of the health emergencies that have occurred in the twenty-first century have wreaked havoc, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the worst to date.
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic tested the resilience, preparedness, and response capabilities of nations worldwide including those in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). As countries grappled with rapidly escalating cases, diverse strategies to manage the pandemic were developed and utilized, some more successfully than others.
With their robust health infrastructure and substantial financial resources, developed countries were projected to have low disease incidence and to be able to manage the pandemic more effectively than developing countries. However, contrary to popular predictions, COVID-19 cases and mortality rates were lower in SSA than in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Various reasons proffered to explain lower cases and mortality rates include the fact that SSA countries have a relatively younger population (70% under the age of 30), contributing to lower disease incidence, have smaller populations, and the fact that the numbers of COVID-19 reported cases and mortalities may not have been accurate, due to weak surveillance systems in the region.
Regardless of the reasons, it should be noted COVID-19 claimed many lives in SSA. In addition to COVID-19, the several outbreaks of EVD in certain parts of SSA also caused health emergencies that in some instances, were even more deadly than COVID-19. While EVD was later contained and COVID-19 cases were lower in SSA compared to certain parts of the world, it does not mean that countries in this region are ready to handle future health emergencies. Risk factors including the environment, climate change, social determinants, poor health system infrastructure and governance, as well as limited health financing, increase vulnerability and exposure of populations in SSA to health emergency threats.
To better handle future health emergencies, countries in SSA need to be prepared, learn from previous emergencies they have experienced, and put in place strategies to respond rapidly and effectively to risks, in order to preserve life and their economies. This paper discusses two health emergencies that have occurred in SSA, their risk factors, strategies employed to address them, challenges experienced, lessons learned, and strategies to handle future health emergencies in the region.
A Guest Editorial