Barriers to mass testing for COVID-19 in Africa

“The need for quick and low-cost tests is immediate and immense. With a population of over one billion, Africa may need fifteen million test kits over the next three months, says Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director John Nkengasong. But, despite efforts by the Africa CDC, which has now trained personnel and provided diagnostic equipment to labs in forty-three African countries, laboratories are still too slow and often understaffed.”