Work

A twin disaster: Addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and a cerebrospinal meningitis outbreak simultaneously in a low-resource country

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: Managing a deadly pandemic in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is challenging. The task becomes tougher when there is an outbreak of an equally deadly disease. This is the present situation of Ghana, a low-resource country, that is confronted with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) outbreak. Apart from the resource constraint at both governmental and individual levels, such a situation affects the overall wellbeing of ordinary citizens as well as healthcare professionals, particularly those in high-risk areas. Perhaps, more than ever, we have to ensure equitable distribution of scarce healthcare resources in our effort to manage this 'twin disaster' of COVID-19 and CSM. We evaluated Ghana's situation (outbreak response) and recommended measures to help us navigate this conundrum of a public health crisis.

Source: Global Health Action

DOI: 10.1080/16549716.2020.1795963

Authors: Samuel Adjorlolo, Daniel Lawer Egbenya

Institutions: University of Ghana, Research and Grant Institute of Ghana, University of Cape Coast

Language: English

Topic: Disaster Response and Management

Subfield: Emergency Medical Services

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Partnerships for the goals

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,509