International pharmaceutical company partners with key players to help gather Chinese and foreign experts to fight COVID-19 outbreak in Africa.
Fosun Pharma has been playing an active role in the battle against the COVID-19 outbreak. It has since partnered with many organizations to aid this cause.
To support African medical institutions in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fosun Pharma, partnering with Shanghai Fosun Foundation, Fosun Medical and Tridem Pharma, People’s Daily Health platform and the Health Times, held an “eCME on COVID-19 Case Management” workshop in late April 2020.
This workshop was Fosun’s third in a series of international webinars which began with the 6 April 2020, the webinar included Chinese, European and American experts.
Mr. Wu Yifang, President and CEO of Fosun Pharma, said, “Fosun Pharma has been operating in Africa for over decade and has nearly 1,000 employees there. We are doing what we can to provide support in all forms to African countries and are very pleased to be a co-organizer of this meeting. Only through solidarity and cooperation can we win this fight!”
“As of 27 April 2020, there were 299 COVID-19 confirmed cases in Tanzania. We are striving to control the spread of the epidemic by strengthening various case management measures.” Dr Leonard M. Subi, Directorate. of Preventive Services of Tanzanian Ministry of Health shared about the COVID-19 situation in Tanzania and the prevention strategy in Tanzania and highlighted that more knowledge of prevention and protection is needed in practice.
Professor Lu Hongzhou, CPC Committee Secretary of Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre, is a member of the China Medical Treatment Expert Group for COVID-19 and a support team member of China’s overseas anti-epidemic medical expert group. He joined a China medical aid team to West Africa in 2014 to engage in the local fight against the Ebola epidemic.
Professor Lu has been active in the fight against COVID-19, he shared an overview of COVID-19 disease updates as well as the experience in Shanghai.
“Shanghai’s high cure rate of COVID-19 could not have been possible without great experience of its expert group members, advanced equipment, and most importantly, a strong medical team composed of experts from many domestic general hospitals,” said Professor Lu.
Prof. Marcus Schultz, a consultant critical care physician at the Department of Intensive Care of Academic Medical Centre Amsterdam, is currently in the front line of the battle against COVID-19 in Europe. Prof. Schultz shared Europe’s experiences in the management of severe COVID-19 patients and offered treatment advice for low- and middle-income countries.
Many of the workshop speakers also emphasized the importance of establishing a good defense against hospital-acquired infections to protect frontline medical staff from infection. Strict compliance with management standards and ensuring adequate protection is vital.
Professor Arjen Dondorp, Deputy Director of the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Thailand and a world recognized malaria scientist, commented, “It is very important for countries around the world to unite in the fight against COVID-19. Exchange of experiences is crucial. Countries where the pandemic has just started to hit, like in Africa, can learn from countries that have already experienced the wave of COVID-19 patients overwhelming their health systems.”
“Moreover, in Sub-Saharan African countries it is important that other important diseases such as malaria, can still be managed properly when the COVID-19 pandemic arrives. Sufficient testing capacity for both diseases will be important to ensure.” [APBN]