Covid-19 update from King's Global Health Partnerships

Somaliland

We are sad to see that Somaliland is seeing a second wave of Covid-19 infections. According to the Ministry of Health Development, there have been 4629 confirmed cases and 314 deaths, though national figures are thought to severely underestimate the extent of community transmission, due to low community uptake of health services and limited testing capacity. Somaliland received its first batch of vaccines in March and health workers have been amongst groups prioritised for roll out. King’s recently secured a small grant from the THET Covid Response Fund which we will be using to support Hargeisa Group Hospital to develop an Infection Prevention Control (IPC) plan. If you have expertise in IPC we would love to hear from you. Please visit our volunteering page to find out how to apply.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the DRC since the start of the pandemic is 34,695 with 831 deaths. True figures however, are likely to be much higher and the impact on the health system as a whole has been significant. The vaccination programme started in April with 29,262 people now vaccinated but vaccine supply is entirely inadequate for the population of close to 90 million people. We have recently secured funding from the THET Covid Response Fund to support 6 COVID-19 treatments in the Kongo Central province with health worker training focusing on management of COVID-19 patients, management of chronic conditions, a diabetes patient education programme and infection prevention and control. Please visit our volunteering page to find out how to volunteer on our Covid-19 response work.

Sierra Leone

We have an seen an increase in cases over the last 10 days. Currently 30-40 cases are being identified per day and an increasing positivity rate on all samples being tested. We wait to see if this is the start of a third wave in Sierra Leone. Total number of cases recorded since the start of the outbreak is 4289 with 82 deaths. A national vaccination programme has been rolled out, however there has been low uptake. Screening, testing and quarantine until a negative PCR result is obtained, is in place for all arrivals into Sierra Leone, with increased monitoring and quarantine of individuals arriving from certain countries, due to concerns around the new variants of Covid-19.

The Global Fund has pledged $18.5 million to help combat Covid-19 in Sierra Leone and has proposed a framework of activities to tackle acute, future and long-standing health needs in Sierra Leone. We have been able to comment on that framework and are waiting to hear how and when we can apply for funding.