WHO & IATA: Treći talas COVID-a širi se brže, a Afriku će više pogoditi

IATA introduced its IATA Travel Pass and feels the wide implementation of this pass would tremendously help to relaunch the crippled aviation industry in Africa.

The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East (AME), Kamil Al-Awadhi, took up his position today at the WHO press conference saying, 60 large international airlines, are in the final phase to implement the IATA travel pass. He thought this pass would tremendously help to relaunch aviation also in Africa. When eTurboNews asked about details and a timeline, he did not respond. Air France today announced it was testing the pass.

A third wave of COVID-19 in a continent that only has 215 million people or less than 10% of the population vaccinated is more than worrying some according to Dr.Moeti WHO, Dr. Mary Stephen, I Dr. Nicksy Gumede-Moeletsi.

700 million doses of the vaccine are urgently needed in Africa .

Alain St. Ange, president of the Afrička turistička zajednica (ATB) added:
“Africa was unprepared for such a pandemic that crippled its tourism industry. Many of the 54 States that make up the continent were cash strapped and could not fight for their fair share of the needed vaccines. Africa was lucky to be resilient and many of its leaders and professionals rallied to offer hope to the continent through the Project Hope of its African Tourism Board. The key is to bring African Tourism together to face the crisis as one.”

The World Tourism Network chairman Juergen Steinmetz applauds IATA’s approach of introducing the IATA pass as an internationally recognized tool to streamline aviation in times of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. “The IATA pass will eliminate confusion, complex and different rules, and make the travel experience more clear in the eyes of the traveling public, the global aviation industry, as well as the public sector.

The World Health Organization and IATA conducted a press conference this morning to address the African situation for COVID and Aviation.

Speaking at the event was Dr. Matshidiso Rebecca Natalie Moeti a physician, public health specialist, and medical administrator from Botswana who has been serving as Regional Director of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, headquartered in Brazzaville, the Republic of the Congo, since 2015.

Also presenting at the press conference was Dr. Mary Stephen, a public health expert at the World Health Organization, and Dr. Gumede Moeletsi.

Afrika se suočava s brzim porastom trećeg vala pandemije COVID-19, sa slučajevima koji se šire brže i predviđa se da će uskoro pregaziti vrhunac drugog vala kojem je kontinent svjedočio početkom 2021. godine.
 

Slučajevi COVID-19 porasli su pet uzastopnih sedmica od početka trećeg vala 3. maja 2021. Od 20. juna - 48. dana novog vala - Afrika je zabilježila oko 474 000 novih slučajeva - rast od 21% u odnosu na prvih 48 dana drugog vala. Uz trenutnu stopu zaraza, trenutni nalet će premašiti prethodni do početka jula.

The pandemic is resurging in 12 African countries. A combination of factors including weak observance of public health measures increased social interaction, and movement as well as the spread of variants are powering the new surge. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda that are experiencing COVID-19 resurgence, the Delta variant has been detected in most samples sequenced in the past month. Across Africa, the variant—first identified in India—has been reported in 14 countries. 

„Treći val ubrzava, širi se brže, udara jače. S brzim porastom broja slučajeva i sve većim brojem izvještaja o ozbiljnim bolestima, najnoviji val prijeti da bude najgori u Africi do sada “, rekao je dr. Matshidiso Moeti, regionalni direktor Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije (WHO) za Afriku. „Afrika još uvijek može prigušiti utjecaj ovih brzo rastućih infekcija, ali prozor mogućnosti se zatvara. Svatko svugdje može učiniti svoje čineći mjere predostrožnosti da spriječi prijenos. "

SZO raspoređuje više stručnjaka u neke od najteže pogođenih zemalja, uključujući Ugandu i Zambiju, kao i podršku regionalnim laboratorijama sa sjedištem u Južnoj Africi u praćenju različitih zabrinutosti. SZO takođe pojačava inovativnu tehnološku podršku drugim laboratorijama u regionu bez sekvenciranja kapaciteta za bolje praćenje evolucije virusa. U narednih šest mjeseci SZO teži osam do deset puta povećanju uzoraka sekvenciranih svakog mjeseca u zemljama Južne Afrike.

Porast COVID-19 dolazi kad i dalje postoji problem sa opskrbom cjepivima. Osamnaest afričkih zemalja potrošilo je preko 80% zaliha vakcina protiv COVAX-a, a osam je iscrpilo ​​zalihe. Dvadeset i devet zemalja upravljalo je sa preko 50% svojih zaliha. Uprkos napretku, nešto više od 1% stanovništva Afrike u potpunosti je cijepljeno. Globalno, primijenjeno je oko 2.7 milijardi doza, od čega je nešto manje od 1.5% primijenjeno na kontinentu.

Kako mnoge zemlje sa visokim prihodima cijepe značajan dio svoje populacije, dokaz o cijepljenju dovodi do manjeg ograničenja kretanja. Globalno, 16 zemalja se odriče karantene za one koji imaju potvrdu o vakcinaciji. Mjere za sprečavanje prenosa COVID-19 su ključne, ali s obzirom na to da mnoge afričke zemlje imaju ograničen pristup vakcinama, važno je da vakcine budu samo jedan od uslova koje države koriste za otvaranje granica i povećanje slobode kretanja.

„Sa visokom stopom vakcinacije oblikuje se leto slobode, porodice i zabave za milione ljudi u bogatijim zemljama. To je razumljivo i svi čeznemo za istim radostima ”, rekao je dr. Moeti. „Nestašica cjepiva već produžava bol od COVID-19 u Africi. Ne dodajmo povredu nepravdi. Afrikanci se ne smiju suočiti s dodatnim ograničenjima jer nisu u mogućnosti pristupiti cjepivima koja su dostupna samo drugdje. Zahtijevam od svih regionalnih i nacionalnih regulatornih agencija da priznaju sva cjepiva za hitne slučajeve koje je navela SZO. "

U Evropskoj uniji sistem pasoša COVID-19 za vakcinaciju, testiranje i oporavak na snagu stupa od 1. jula. Međutim, samo su četiri od osam cjepiva koje je SZO nabrojala za hitnu upotrebu priznate od strane Evropske agencije za lijekove za sistem pasoša.

WHO and the European Medicines Agency use the same standards in assessing vaccines. Manufacturers may choose not to apply to the European Medicines Agency if they do not intend to market their products in countries in the European Union or European Economic Area. But the safety and efficacy of all WHO emergency use listed vaccines have been proven globally in preventing severe COVID-19 illness and death.

In Africa, a WHO survey of 45 countries shows that their borders are open for air travel and only Mauritius will require proof of vaccination for international travelers from 15 July 2021. Most countries do not give quarantine exemptions for travelers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and require a negative COVID-19 test.