
The total COVID-19 cases in Africa has now crossed 7.5 million, yet less than 2% of the continent’s population has been vaccinated

Testing is crucial to combat the pandemic. But with all the funds and attention going towards vaccines, diagnostics is suffering, impeding key steps to curb the spread of the virus

According to official data, Nigeria has 6.3% of the COVID-19 cases on the African continent, while South Africa accounts for around 37%. However, Nigeria has conducted only 0.67 tests per 1,000 people, when the figure in South Africa stands at 27.48 tests every 1,000 people

With a population of over 200 million, Nigeria had only screened 846 people by March 26. In comparison, South Africa, which confirmed its first case a week after Nigeria, had tested a total of 20,471 people by the same time