Young, Fit Population Will Enable Africa To Avoid High Death Toll From Coronavirus – WHO Report

A report has said that African young population will enable it to avoid a high death  toll from Coronavirus.

The World Health Organisation’s  report  predicts that about 264 million Africans will contract the virus within a year. 

According to the Daily Mail, the report claims that the death toll from COVID-19 in Africa will likely reach 190,000, which is  far smaller  than the forecast loss of life in America, and roughly on a par with Europe. 

The WHO’s mathematical model studied 47 nations and expects over a fifth (22 per cent) of Africans to contract COVID-19, which is about 264 million.

 The report says that up to 44million Africans will express symptoms of COVID-19 and up to 5.5million will likely be admitted to hospital.

It also goes ahead to predict that approximately 140,000 people will express severe COVID-19 symptoms, with 89,000 becoming critically ill. 

The report concludes that some 150,000 lives would be lost as a result, but the figure could be as high as 190,000.  

Scientists also warn the virus will be hard to eradicate completely in Africa and may linger in communities for several years. 

Egypt is the African country with the highest death toll so far, with 571 COVID-19-related fatalities. South Africa has the most infections, with almost 13,000 confirmed cases. 

Data analyst, Humphrey Karamagi.told The Guardian that Africa had a young population compared to other parts of the world and this will help keep the transmission rate down and reduce deaths.  

Africa also has low levels of obesity which doubles the risk of dying from COVID-19, according to a recent British study. 

‘The biggest factor that plays out in our numbers is age,’ explained Karamagi. ‘We also have very few people who are obese, although the numbers are rising. But not at the levels in the US.’ 

The piece of research, powered by the UN’s dedicated health branch, did not include data from Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia.

Researchers say their analysis takes into account variation in cultures, societies and healthcare systems.  

The WHO study, which has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in BMJ Global Health, claims the spread of COVID-19 throughout Africa will be considerably slower than Europe and the US. 

Despite a lesser impact than other parts of the world, the knock-on effect on public health will be significant, the analysis claims.