Pandemic panic and anxiety in developing countries. Embracing One Health offers practical strategies in management of COVID-19 for Africa

Abstract

Pandemic panic and anxiety have characterized African governmental response to the COVID-19 outbreak on the continent. As of 3rd April 2020, most governments in Africa have heavily relied on the ministry of health, while failing to identify the essential staff in their national administrative ministries to collaborate with. Promotion of One Health which involves cross-disciplinary collaborations and interdisciplinary interventions involving veterinary, medical, ecological and public health authorities would offer a platform for the promotion of novel COVID-19 strategies in Africa. Collaborations between the human and veterinary medical teams would help deliver crucial services to the grassroots communities faster than is currently the case by reducing the strain on one ministry. Furthermore, the identification of social workers in either government or non-governmental organizations would help create a dynamic and robust team that would help Africa deal with COVID-19 through more practical strategies. This is important since COVID-19 disease control strategies that are being implemented in developed countries might fail without community support, thus increasing the COVID-19 pandemic grip on the continent. In the face of these mounting challenges in this COVID-19 pandemic, embracing One Health offers practical and cheaper disease control strategies for the African continent.