Leadership, collaboration and using data science to fight COVID-19 in the WHO African region

Abstract

with initial cases introduced by travellers from Europe into Egypt and Algeria [1]. By the end of 2020, there were 1 842 444 cases and 40 958 deaths reported across the 47 Member States within the WHO African region. These represented 2.3% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2.3% of COVID-19 related deaths globally [2]. This figure, although small, is significant in a region which records more than 100 significant public health emergencies annually [3], many of which result in high morbidity, mortality, disability and socioeconomic disruptions, threatening national, regional and global health security. As a result, the region developed robust infectious disease control regimens well before the current COVID-19 pandemic [4,5,6].However, the COVID-19 pandemic represented, for the first time, an infectious disease threat that has affected the entire region almost simultaneously, resulting in both public health consequences and major social and economic disruption, with largescale implications for regional and global health security. The sheer scale of the pandemic has required leadership at the very highest levels, both regionally and nationally. This is predicated on the known and established links between politics, science, security and economy that have been evident in the responses to infectious disease outbreaks and other emergencies across the WHO African region, such as Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016, pandemic influenza (H1N1) in 2009, Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2017 and 2020 and a multitude of other infectious disease outbreaks during this time, perhaps unparalleled in any other region.

Attributes of national governance for an effective response to public health emergencies: Lessons from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Transparency in sharing relevant information among countries is essential [ 82 ]. The pandemic responses have highlighted the critical importance of data systems and digital capacity in coordinating the response [ 83 ]. Renewed global (health) governance mechanisms through political and legal solutions are urgently needed to truly encourage international collaboration [ 46 ].…”