A healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment treats a patient in a tent dedicated to the treatment of possible coronavirus patients, while another cleans the ward at the Tshwane District Hospital in Pretoria on July 10, 2020. PHOTO | AFP
The World Health Organisation has warned that the coronavirus pandemic could overwhelm already strained public health systems in Africa. Despite considerable investments in the past five months, Africa’s healthcare infrastructure remains gravely inadequate. The average doctor to patient ratio of 1:5,000 is still far short of the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended proportion of 1:1,000.
Ironically it is South Africa, with one of the relatively better healthcare infrastructures on the continent, that has recorded the highest infections and death toll. Countries with high infections relative to the size of their populations include South Africa, Djibouti, Gabon, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe.
