TY - JOUR T1 - The Conundrum of Low COVID-19 Mortality Burden in sub-Saharan Africa: Myth or Reality? JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT SP - 433 LP - 443 DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00172 VL - 9 IS - 3 AU - Janica Adams AU - Mary J. MacKenzie AU - Adeladza Kofi Amegah AU - Alex Ezeh AU - Muktar A. Gadanya AU - Akinyinka Omigbodun AU - Ahmed M. Sarki AU - Paul Thistle AU - Abdhalah K. Ziraba AU - Saverio Stranges AU - Michael Silverman Y1 - 2021/09/30 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/9/3/433.abstract N2 - Key MessagesEvidence suggests the demographic age structure of sub-Saharan Africa is the leading factor of the low morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 compared to other regions of the world.Widespread social mitigation strategies, such as lockdowns, have resulted in severe economic and societal consequences in terms of food security, adolescent pregnancy, gender-based violence, and disruptions in treating other diseases.It is imperative to weigh the risks and benefits of social mitigation strategies for future waves.COVID-19 has impacted the world immensely since its discovery in the city of Wuhan, China, in December 2019.1,2 As of June 27, 2021, approximately 181.9 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed with more than 3.9 million deaths.3 COVID-19 has dramatically impacted the Americas, Europe, and Asia. As of June 27, 2021, in the Americas, 73.1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases with 1.9 million deaths have been reported, 47.8 million confirmed cases with more than 1 million deaths in Europe, and 55.4 million confirmed cases with 784,965 deaths in Asia.4The impact of COVID-19 in Africa has been substantially lower compared to countries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region reported more than 3.9 million confirmed cases and 94,217 deaths, as of June 27, 2021.5 Moreover, the mortality rate of COVID-19 per million in Africa is considerably lower than in all other WHO regions other than the Western Pacific (Table 1).5–11 Public health preparedness is a significant aspect in the success of reducing COVID-19 transmission. Lessons learned from countries across Eastern Asia imply the need for community-oriented strategies and rapid response from public health officials to successfully contain the COVID-19 pandemic.12 Strategies such as early case identification, widespread laboratory testing and screening, outbreak mitigation (up to and including lockdowns), contact tracing, … ER -