Open AccessTowards universal health coverage: lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
Author(s) -
Foluke Esther Akinleye,
Gbemisola Rebecca Akinbolaji,
Joseph Oladimeji Olasupo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the pan african medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.287
H-Index - 30
ISSN - 1937-8688
DOI - 10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.2.24769
Subject(s) - medicine , pandemic , covid-19 , health services , health care , health policy , environmental health , developing country , healthcare system , economic growth , global health , quality (philosophy) , public health , population , virology , nursing , disease , pathology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty) , economics , philosophy , epistemology
With social distancing being a key preventative measure of COVID-19, proper provision of healthcare services becomes a challenge as healthcare professionals are concerned about the risk of potential infection. Telemedicine, a practice that uses telecommunication networks for the delivery of healthcare services and medical education, has been adopted by several countries and has shown to provide positive outcomes. This concept is poorly practiced in African Countries compared to other countries of the world. This paper reiterates the need for the expansion of telemedical systems in Africa for the dual goals of COVID-19 prevention and provision of quality healthcare services to people.