COVID-19 preparedness within the surgical, obstetric, and anaesthetic ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

COVID-19 cases rapidly spread from East Asia through Europe and North America, and the pandemic is now a growing threat in Africa. Early modelling studies project enormous resource challenges for countries that are already stretched thin, and whose capacities are currently not capable of providing minimum surgical service needs for their populations. While widespread testing and containment are desirable for reducing transmission, they will be difficult to achieve. As this pandemic grows, hos­pitals must ensure the continued provision of emergency and essential surgical and obstetric care. At the same time, hospitals risk increasingly becoming sources of infection and transmission, both among patients and to healthcare workers; hospitals must take appropriate steps to minimize onward transmission. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the healthcare workforce is already insufficient, human and physical resources will be rapidly overwhelmed, and provid­ers will be at particular risk of infection. Furthermore, as is already happening in well-resourced contexts, consumables and disposables will also be critically inadequate.