Importance of human demographic history knowledge in genetic studies involving multi-ethnic cohorts

COVID-19 risk factors: The curious case of Africa's governance and preparedness

COVID-19 is now established in Africa, and requires appropriate prioritization of resources and customized control measures. Although there have been lower than predicted number of COVID-19 cases (6,839,159 (3.4% of global cases)) and fatalities (172,413 (4.1% of cases in Africa)) compared to global estimates from other regions, as of 3rd August 2021. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that poor mitigation strategies could worsen the current situation in African countries. Several aspects have been attributed to the lower COVID-19 magnitude observed in Africa that include: warmer climate, a youthful population, and previous experience in managing infectious diseases. However, the level of COVID-19 risk of exposure and vulnerability to develop complications varies greatly across the continent. At present, most COVID-19 disease trajectories have been predicted using mathematical models focused solely on demographic factors. We compared the global health security and governance indices in forty-one African countries, with a population of more than 2.5 million, and matched these to the magnitude of COVID-19 burden, to establish whether there is correlation. These findings suggests that more accurate comparisons of responses to COVID-19 can only be made within clusters of African countries that share similar governance and preparedness standards. We conclude that proper implementation of the continental framework on disaster preparedness and management is required for management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kenya's response to the COVID-19 pandemic: a balance between minimising morbidity and adverse economic impact

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has ravaged the world's socioeconomic systems forcing many governments across the globe to implement unprecedented stringent mitigation measures to restrain its rapid spread and adverse effects. A disproportionate number of COVID-19 related morbidities and mortalities were predicted to occur in Africa. However, Africa still has a lower than predicted number of cases, 4% of the global pandemic burden. In this open letter, we highlight some of the early stringent countermeasures implemented in Kenya, a sub-Saharan African country, to avert the severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These mitigation measures strike a balance between minimising COVID-19 associated morbidity and fatalities and its adverse economic impact, and taken together have significantly dampened the pandemic's impact on Kenya's populace.

Kenya's response to the COVID-19 pandemic: a balance between minimising morbidity and adverse economic impact

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has ravaged the world's socioeconomic systems forcing many governments across the globe to implement unprecedented stringent mitigation measures to restrain its rapid spread and adverse effects. A disproportionate number of COVID-19 related morbidities and mortalities were predicted to occur in Africa. However, Africa still has a lower than predicted number of cases, 4% of the global pandemic burden. In this open letter, we highlight some of the early stringent countermeasures implemented in Kenya, a sub-Saharan African country, to avert the severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These mitigation measures strike a balance between minimising COVID-19 associated morbidity and fatalities and its adverse economic impact, and taken together have significantly dampened the pandemic's impact on Kenya's populace.