THE World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed a 43 percent  surge in coronavirus linked deaths in Africa in the last one week, attributing the situation to a lack of intensive-care beds and oxygen.

Fatalities went up  to 6,273 in the week of July 5-11, compared with 4,384 in the previous week.

The agency’s regional director, Matshidiso Moeti, told a virtual press conference that the rise was “a clear warning sign that hospitals in the most affected countries are reaching breaking point.”

It was crucial for countries to beef up oxygen production to help patients suffering from the disease’s worst symptoms, she said, speaking from the Congo capital of Brazzaville.

The WHO said the rise in deaths paralleled a chronic shortage of vaccines, a spread in the more contagious Delta variant, which was now being detected in 21 African countries, along with public fatigue over prevention measures.

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Africa has officially recorded over six million cases of COVID-19, a figure far lower than casualties recorded on other continents but one that experts say is likely to be a big underestimate.

Separately, after talks with the World Bank on Thursday, African leaders appealed for “at least $100 billion” in commitments of financial support by year’s end to help their countries “recover better” from the pandemic.

“There’s still a lot to be done to overcome this crisis,” said Ivory Coast President, Alassane Ouattara, who opened the meeting in Abidjan.

“Less than three percent of Africa’s total population has received a first dose of vaccine, compared to around 54 percent in the United States and European Union.”