In Africa, Lack of Coronavirus Records Raises Fear of 'Silent Epidemic'
2020-07-12
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1When the novel coronavirus hit Tanzania in April, President John Magufuli called for three days of prayer to ask for God's protection.
2A month later, he declared victory over the virus and invited travelers to return to his nation.
3His decision to reopen concerned the World Health Organization (WHO) because there was almost no information on the spread of the virus in Tanzania.
4The country is home to 55 million people and has one of the weakest health care systems in East Africa.
5In many African nations there is a lack of good, trustworthy information about COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
6Some governments do not want to admit that the epidemic exists.
7Other nations cannot do testing because they are so affected by poverty and conflict.
8The Reuters news agency examined the latest information about the disease.
9It found that Africa, with a population of 1.3 billion people, had over 493,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 11,600 deaths.
10To understand these low numbers, Latin America has half the number of people, but 2.9 million cases and 129,900 deaths.
11The official numbers make it appear that COVID-19 has affected relatively few people in Africa, but the truth may be much worse.
12WHO special envoy Samba Sow warned on May 25 of a possible "silent epidemic" if testing was not given a high priority.
13By July 7, 4,200 tests per million people had been carried out across the continent.
14That information comes from a Reuters study of reports from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
15That compares with averages of 7,650 in Asia and 74,255 in Europe.
16Many health workers, diplomats and local officials told Reuters that tests were not available in most African countries.
17They also said that some governments will do just about anything to hide their infection rates, even if it means they will lose money from international health organizations.
18"We cannot help a country against its own will," Michel Yao told Reuters.
19He is head of emergency operations for the WHO in Africa.
20When Tanzania confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 16, the government reportedly set up a group to work with the WHO, foreign embassies and international aid agencies.
21The group never met again, said two people who were involved.
22"It's very clear the government does not want any information about the state of COVID in the country," said one aid official.
23Like many of those questioned by Reuters for this story, the official asked not to be identified for fear of having problems with political leaders.
24Both Tanzania's health minister and a government spokesman did not answer telephone calls or emailed questions about the crisis.
25The spokesman had earlier denied he was keeping information about the disease from the public.
26Tanzania has not published nationwide coronavirus numbers since May 8.
27At that time, it had recorded 509 cases and 21 deaths.
28Tanzania has received some $40 million from international organizations to fight coronavirus, two diplomats told Reuters.
29But it missed out on "tens of millions" more, another official said.
30By mid-May, the government decided to ease public health restrictions.
31Yet doctors and diplomats said the disease was far from contained.
32The United Nations agency cannot force countries to share information.
33In late April, WHO officials expressed concern about the spread of the virus in Burundi.
34The country quickly expelled four WHO experts.
35Burundi was one of the first African countries to close its borders in March.
36But the country saw a growth in suspected cases after large groups gathered in the days before the May 20 elections, a health care provider said.
37He also did not want his name used in this article.
38Others countries simply cannot share information because they do not have any.
39Their medical systems are too broken to gather reasonable numbers.
40"Even at the best of times, collecting quality data from countries is not easy, said John Nkengasong. He is director of the Africa CDC.
41For example, Islamist militants and ethnic militias operate across large parts of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.
42It is impossible for governments there to know how many have the virus.
43Many other nations have very little ability to perform tests beyond their capitals, said Franck Ale of the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres - Doctors Without Borders.
44I'm Susan Shand.
1When the novel coronavirus hit Tanzania in April, President John Magufuli called for three days of prayer to ask for God's protection. A month later, he declared victory over the virus and invited travelers to return to his nation. 2His decision to reopen concerned the World Health Organization (WHO) because there was almost no information on the spread of the virus in Tanzania. The country is home to 55 million people and has one of the weakest health care systems in East Africa. 3In many African nations there is a lack of good, trustworthy information about COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. Some governments do not want to admit that the epidemic exists. Other nations cannot do testing because they are so affected by poverty and conflict. 4The Reuters news agency examined the latest information about the disease. It found that Africa, with a population of 1.3 billion people, had over 493,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 11,600 deaths. To understand these low numbers, Latin America has half the number of people, but 2.9 million cases and 129,900 deaths. 5The official numbers make it appear that COVID-19 has affected relatively few people in Africa, but the truth may be much worse. 6WHO special envoy Samba Sow warned on May 25 of a possible "silent epidemic" if testing was not given a high priority. 7By July 7, 4,200 tests per million people had been carried out across the continent. That information comes from a Reuters study of reports from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. That compares with averages of 7,650 in Asia and 74,255 in Europe. 8Many health workers, diplomats and local officials told Reuters that tests were not available in most African countries. They also said that some governments will do just about anything to hide their infection rates, even if it means they will lose money from international health organizations. 9"We cannot help a country against its own will," Michel Yao told Reuters. He is head of emergency operations for the WHO in Africa. 10Trouble in Tanzania 11When Tanzania confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 16, the government reportedly set up a group to work with the WHO, foreign embassies and international aid agencies. The group never met again, said two people who were involved. 12"It's very clear the government does not want any information about the state of COVID in the country," said one aid official. Like many of those questioned by Reuters for this story, the official asked not to be identified for fear of having problems with political leaders. 13Both Tanzania's health minister and a government spokesman did not answer telephone calls or emailed questions about the crisis. The spokesman had earlier denied he was keeping information about the disease from the public. 14Tanzania has not published nationwide coronavirus numbers since May 8. At that time, it had recorded 509 cases and 21 deaths. 15Tanzania has received some $40 million from international organizations to fight coronavirus, two diplomats told Reuters. But it missed out on "tens of millions" more, another official said. 16By mid-May, the government decided to ease public health restrictions. Yet doctors and diplomats said the disease was far from contained. 17The United Nations agency cannot force countries to share information. In late April, WHO officials expressed concern about the spread of the virus in Burundi. The country quickly expelled four WHO experts. 18Burundi was one of the first African countries to close its borders in March. But the country saw a growth in suspected cases after large groups gathered in the days before the May 20 elections, a health care provider said. He also did not want his name used in this article. 19Others countries simply cannot share information because they do not have any. Their medical systems are too broken to gather reasonable numbers. 20"Even at the best of times, collecting quality data from countries is not easy, said John Nkengasong. He is director of the Africa CDC. 21For example, Islamist militants and ethnic militias operate across large parts of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. It is impossible for governments there to know how many have the virus. 22Many other nations have very little ability to perform tests beyond their capitals, said Franck Ale of the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres - Doctors Without Borders. 23I'm Susan Shand. 24The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 25________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27epidemic - n. a contagious disease that effects a lot of people 28tourists - n. those people who visit a place for pleasure 29data - n. information or numbers used by experts 30envoy - n. the representative of a country or organization 31priority - n. of high importance