Highlights

• Two months after the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Nigeria on 27 February 2020, the West and Central Africa region is seeing a significant increase in cases and deaths.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) Africa region indicates that the region accounts for 54% of cases and 35% of deaths in Africa.

• Five countries have surpassed 1,000 confirmed cases, with cases in Guinea and Nigeria increasing most rapidly.

• Countries continue to face a risk of increased community transmission. Eight countries are reporting community transmissions to date.

• If this trend continues, the number of cases could double each week, according to WHO.

• UNFPA is partnering with governments, other UN agencies and organisations to address COVID-19. It is an active member of various regional coordination mechanisms (including COVID-19 Regional Response Platform, the UN Sustainable Development Group, Harmonization of Health in Africa, and the Inter-Agency Steering Committee and the.)

• The UN framework for the immediate socioeconomic response to COVID-19 was released this week.

• The key national challenges identified by the UN country teams and humanitarian coordination teams include: Weak national health systems and coordination for some countries; insufficient financial resources to fund national response plans; weak capacity and insufficient number of health personnel; insufficient personal protection equipment (PPE) for health personnel; insufficient ventilators for increasing severe cases; and low screening and testing capacity.

• Mass testing strategies need to be put in place to enable economic recovery, but lack of equipment and training remains an issue. The consequences are greater in humanitarian contexts.

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