scholarly journals Somaliland: a self-declared country’s fight against COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 81-87
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care ◽  
Health System ◽  
Task Force ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Medical Facilities ◽  
National Task ◽  
Unfavorable Effect ◽  
Trade Partner ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Better Than

Somaliland despite having a weak health system, managed COVID-19 better than some well-resourced countries in the continent by establishing a National Task Force to direct efforts in early detection, surveillance, risk communication and infection control of the virus. The Ministry of Health has been able to garner personnel with medical skills to increase the response workforce and also supervise the activities of medical facilities across the country. However, these measures have shown unfavorable effect on the economy. Somaliland is in active trade with other African countries and neglecting the impact of the virus can greatly affect the trade partner countries. Appropriate relief funds should be offered by capable countries to lessen the economic impact of the pandemic in the country. In the meantime, it is time to reframe the health system of Somaliland and improve sectors that have been underfunded like emergency, intensive care units and the surgical departments.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF NATIONAL TASK FORCE IN RESPONDING TO ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 224-237
Author(s):  
THARISHINI KRISHNAN ◽  
SALMA YUSOF ◽  
HERLIN ANAK AMAN ◽  
KDR SUGENDERAN NAGALAN
Keyword(s):  
Security Policy ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Security Management ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Border Security ◽  
National Task ◽  
Illegal Activities ◽  
The Impact

Border security is an essential component of Malaysia’s defence and security policy. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Malaysia’s border security management was tested with the increase of illegal entry into the country. The central argument of this paper is that, whilst Movement Control Order (MCO), or lockdown as it is more commonly known, aims to restrict movement, this limited movement was exploited for illegal entries into the country, leading to the establishment of the National Task Force (NTF), which coordinated various enforcement agencies to safeguard Malaysian territory. On this ground, this paper aims to analyse the role of the NTF in responding to increasing illegal activities amidst the pandemic. The discussion is divided into: (a) identifying illegal entries during the pandemic; (b) the impact of illegal entries to border management in Malaysia; (c) examining the roles of the NTF in responding to the illegal activities; and (d) the impact of the NTF in border security management in Malaysia. As a preliminary study, this paper only uses secondary data collection in addressing the problem statement. Keywords: National task force; COVID-19 pandemic; Illegal activities; Illegal immigrants; Border security managemen

scholarly journals How high and long will the COVID-19 wave be? A data-driven approach to model and predict the COVID-19 epidemic and the required capacity for the German health system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Klabunde ◽  
Clemens Giegerich
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Health System ◽  
Intensive Care Units ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Hospital Capacity ◽  
German Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Hospital Beds ◽  
The Impact

AbstractBackground and objectiveIn March 2020 the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has been declared as global pandemic. Most countries have implemented numerous “social distancing” measures in order to limit its transmission and control the outbreak. This study aims to describe the impact of these control measures on the spread of the disease for Italy and Germany, forecast the epidemic trend of COVID-19 in both countries and estimate the medical capacity requirements in terms of hospital beds and intensive care units (ICUs) for optimal clinical treatment of severe and critical COVID-19 patients, for the Germany health system.MethodsWe used an exponential decline function to model the trajectory of the daily growth rate of infections in Italy and Germany. A linear regression of the logarithmic growth rate functions of different stages allowed to describe the impact of the “social distancing” measures leading to a faster decline of the growth rate in both countries. We used the linear model to predict the number of diagnosed and fatal COVID-19 cases from April 10th until May 31st. For Germany we estimated the required daily number of hospital beds and intensive care units (ICU) using clinical observations on the average lengths of a hospital stay for the severe and critical COVID-19 patients.ResultsAnalyzing the data from Germany and Italy allowed us to identify changes in the trajectory of the growth rate of infection most likely resulted from the various “social distancing” measures implemented. In Italy a stronger decline in the growth rate was observed around the week of March 17th, whereas for Germany the stronger decline occurred approximately a week later (the week of March 23rd). Under the assumption that the impact of the measures will last, the total size of the outbreak can be estimated to 155,000 cases in Germany (range 140,000-180,000) and to 185,000 cases in Italy (range 175,000-200,000). For Germany the total number of deaths until May 31st is calculated to 3,850 (range 3,500-4,450). Based on the projected number of new COVID-19 cases we expect that the hospital capacity requirements for severe and critical cases in Germany will decline from the 2nd week of April onwards from 13,500 to ∼2500 hospital beds (range 1500-4300) and from 2500 to ∼500 ICU beds in early May (range 300-800).ConclusionsThe modeling effort presented here provides a valuable framework to capture the impact of the “social distancing” measures on the COVID-19 epidemic in European countries and to forecast the future trend of daily COVID-19 cases. It provides a tool for medical authorities in Germany and other countries to help inform the required hospital capacity of the health care system. Germany appears to be in the middle of the (first) COVID-19 outbreak wave and the German health system is well prepared to handle it with the available capacities.

scholarly journals The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Africa's Healthcare System and Psychosocial Life

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Amanze Nkemjika Ikwu ◽  
David Chinasa Igwe ◽  
Sixtus Ezenwa Nwawudu ◽  
Adeyemi Samuel Adebayo
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Office Workers ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Current Health ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

The ravaging Corona virus caused many countries of the world to impose partial or total lockdown, African nations inclusive. Most African countries are low-income countries, with most of the population being non-office workers. With the continued spread and rise of COVID-19 in many African nations, the people had no choice but to keep working for their daily survival. Moreover, the current health system in most African countries is weak and unable to tackle the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. The extra burden of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed these gaps and weaknesses. In addition to the effect of the pandemic on Africa's healthcare system, there is an equal and parallel debilitating effect of the virus on the psychosocial lives of Africans. Regardless of the several challenges that African nations face; Is there any way forward? African leaders may be able to unite and reduce their dependency on the international community for aids during health crises. They may also collectively take proactive decisions on strengthening their health systems as they work on educating their people.

Exploring the World Trade Organisation's Trade and Environment/Public Health Jurisprudence as a Model for Incorporating a Trade–Labour Linkage into the Organisation's Multilateral Trade Regime: Should African Countries Accept a Policy Shift?

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-65
Author(s):  
Tapiwa V. Warikandwa ◽  
Patrick C. Osode
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Trade Regime ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
The Impact

The incorporation of a trade-labour (standards) linkage into the multilateral trade regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been persistently opposed by developing countries, including those in Africa, on the grounds that it has the potential to weaken their competitive advantage. For that reason, low levels of compliance with core labour standards have been viewed as acceptable by African countries. However, with the impact of WTO agreements growing increasingly broader and deeper for the weaker and vulnerable economies of developing countries, the jurisprudence developed by the WTO Panels and Appellate Body regarding a trade-environment/public health linkage has the potential to address the concerns of developing countries regarding the potential negative effects of a trade-labour linkage. This article argues that the pertinent WTO Panel and Appellate Body decisions could advance the prospects of establishing a linkage of global trade participation to labour standards without any harm befalling developing countries.

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