COVID-19 and its impacts: The situation in Niger republic

Abstract

COVID-19 being a public health emergency of international concern has emerged in most African countries including Niger. Niger, a landlocked country, is tasked with controlling the pandemic. However, of the big challenges the country faced is the fragility of healthcare system which posed limitations to the fight against the virus. The virus overwhelmed the fragile healthcare system which led to inaccessibility of quality healthcare to the citizens coupled with issues of flooding and economic recession that happened during the pandemic. The healthcare sectored has further been crippled by exposure and infection of the already insufficient healthcare workers. In addition to this, there was the burden of NTDs and other communicable and non-communicable diseases that subverted the country in the depths of difficulties. As per the predictions of World Bank, the poverty curve is likely to escalate due to the outrageous impacts of COVID-19. Adding on to this, the occurrence of natural disasters such as flooding has further stretched the country. It's no coincidence that the country would confront plethora of challenges amidst the second wave. Therefore, timely decision and necessary interventions are needed to strengthen the country's fight against the pandemic. However, this is only feasible when Nigerien government, international allies and other wealthy nations work closely to ensure that the challenges faced by the healthcare system are tackled.

Meningitis in Niger Republic amidst COVID-19: current issues and novel recommendations

“…Meningitis outbreaks brought on by N. meningitidis serogroups A (NmA) and X (NmX), respectively, were also documented in 2009 and 2006. S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae are two other prominent pathogens that considerably increase the incidence of bacterial meningitis in Niger 7 .…”

“…The Niger Republic is one of the largest inland countries in West Africa but is also among the least developed countries 6 . Treatment and management of COVID-19 cases in Niger were difficult due to the poor healthcare system, lack of healthcare workers, and inadequate training of healthcare workers 7 . Amidst COVID-19, there has been a misplaced priority for meningitis in the Niger Republic, thus refocusing resources and attention away from the continuing meningitis campaign in the Niger Republic.…”

Road to achieving COVID‐19 herd immunity in Niger Republic: Challenges and recommendations

“…Niger Republic faces an unprecedented response to COVID‐19 pandemic in a period with an underdeveloped and underfunded healthcare system [ 22 ]. The country must set daily COVID‐19 vaccination targets as well as develop and implement refined approaches to achieving these targets.…”

COVID-19 Detection Using Deep Learning Algorithm on Chest X-ray Images

“…COVID-19 is still a deadly disease due to the absence of early diagnostic techniques around the world, as well as having medical preconditions such as cancer, chronic liver, lung, and kidney diseases, and diabetes. Though RT-PCR diagnosis techniques are available in most parts of the world, under-developed countries still cannot afford to test all their people promptly [ 14 ]. In 2020–2021, this disease claimed the lives of millions of people across the earth.…”

“…The WHO recommends using RT-PCR as the main diagnostic method for COVID-19 detection. Chest X-rays or chest CT scans are also widely used, but should only be preferred when the RT-PCR test is not available in a timely manner [ 14 ]. In most cases, it is seen that the nasal swap test results vary if done at different times of the day.…”