Children paying the cost of worsening Covid-19 situation in Africa

Geneva, Jun 25 (EFE).- The coronavirus pandemic is worsening in Sub Saharan Africa, with children having to pay the costs as a result of the secondary impacts of Covid-19, UNICEF spokesperson said Friday.

“Sub-Saharan Africa is in the throes of a deadly uptake in Covid-19. At the present rate of infections, the current surge will exceed the previous one within weeks. As more contagious variants spread, vaccines continue to be perilously slow in reaching Africa, and hospitals are pushed beyond capacity.

“Amid it all, the impacts on children continue to be devastating,” James Elder told a press briefing in Geneva.

Uganda has seen an increase of 2,800% in coronavirus cases between March and June 2021 and the availability of oxygen has become a “life or death situation,” Elder warned.

In Namibia, hospitals are full and there are not enough oxygen tanks resulting in the highest death rate in Africa with some 30 deaths each day.

An aggressive third wave in South Africa is also underway due to slow vaccination schemes. Only 2.5 million people out of a population of 57 million have received their first dose.

“What does all this look like for a child in Sub Saharan Africa?

“It looks like the loss of parents, and grandparents who care for so many children.

“It looks like less education and more abuse. Covid-19 has meant a devastating blow to education,” Elder said.

UNICEF estimates 9 million children in Eastern and Southern Africa never went back to school even once they reopened.