Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact worldwide with
regions experiencing varying degrees of severity. African
countries have mounted different response strategies eliciting
varied outcomes. Here, we compare these response strategies
in Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe and discuss lessons
that could be shared. In particular, Rwanda has a robust and
coordinated national health system that has effectively contained
the epidemic. South Africa has considerable testing capacity,
which has been used productively in a national response largely
funded by local resources but affected negatively by corruption.
Zimbabwe has an effective point-of-entry approach that utilizes an
innovative strategic information system. All three countries would
benefi t having routine meetings to share experiences and lessons
learned during the COVD-19 pandemic.
