The restrictions imposed by governments in the context of the fight against the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) which led to a drop in traffic, caused losses of 7.7 billion USD in the aviation sector in 2020 in Africa, d ‘after the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
According to the organization’s regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Alawadi, 7 million employees have suffered as a result. In the process, 8 airlines went bankrupt in Africa, he said during a virtual press conference on Covid-19 and civil aviation organized by the Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Africa, Thursday, June 24. He stressed that we would have to wait until 2023 or 2024 for the situation in the aviation sector to improve, and return to the figures for 2019.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, insisted that in Africa, the number of infections is on the rise and the third wave is picking up speed, spreading faster, and hitting harder. “Just over 1% of the African population has been fully immunized,” she said. But it would take 700 million additional doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to fully immunize 30% of Africa’s population by the end of 2021, she added.
Around the world, 16 countries are currently waiving the quarantine for those who have a vaccination certificate. The WHO also suggests a Covid-19 passport system for vaccination and testing.
