Most African countries’ health systems are not prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to extremely stringent safety measures in many of them.

Ten African countries do not have the pulmonary ventilator acutely required to treat severe Covid-19 cases. In South Sudan, on the other hand, there are four fans and five vice-presidents per 11 million inhabitants, the media notes the absurdity. Slightly better is the situation in Liberia, with a population of five million, which has five life-saving appliances, one of which is located in the US Embassy complex.

Photo gallery that describes the difficult situation in African countries during the pandemic

In addition, the World Health Organization points out that the lack of lung ventilators is only a small part of the problem, as the lack of masks or even soap and water is often a much more pressing problem in society. Back in 2015, the UN reported that only 15% of sub-Saharan people have access to hand washing.

In addition, the range of equipment in health systems is not publicly known in all countries, so as not to cause public dissatisfaction. The situation is satisfactory only in some of the most economically developed countries, such as the Republic of South Africa, which has a strong health system.

The backwardness of health systems also means that data on the number of infected and Covid-19 patients in many countries are likely to be very far from the truth, as many tests are small-scale and there are concerns about the accuracy of the test kits provided.

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