The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is leading globally in many indicators for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. This ranges from taking adequate preventive measures to the free vaccination drive and viable public health strategy. As of 18 August 2021, the UAE has significantly reduced the number of cases and successfully administered 17,454,250 doses. Furthermore, efforts and plans are underway to provide the third dose to high-risk people three months after completing the second dose and six months later to others. The UAE is considered one of the leaders globally for vaccinating “medically eligible” residents against COVID-19, with over 70% of the population currently fully vaccinated in the drive towards achieving herd immunity. The UAE's vaccination program is on track, covering a significant part of the population. The massive efforts of the National Vaccination Program's roll-out made by the UAE government and the various health authorities and stakeholders were vital for the general public's active participation in its success.

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The first COVID-19 in Sudan was announced on March 13th, 2020. 1835 deaths were recorded as of February 7th, 2021. 800,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were allocated to Sudan through COVAX in March, 2021. However, multiple challenges exist in vaccinating the Sudanese population, ranging from an inadequate cold chain system to low acceptance rates of COVID-19 vaccination among the Sudanese population. Economic crises, high inflation rates and long-standing economic sanctions have also negatively impacted the healthcare system in Sudan as a result of deprivation of access to research and development funding.

COVID-19 is a global health emergency that exposed the gaps in health systems globally, especially in sub-Saharan Africa home to many fragile healthcare systems and a region beset with a large burden of disease. Various mitigation strategies have been put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 and management of patients in sub-Saharan Africa. However, much still need to be done. Digital health provides the promise for the continent to bridge the gap in decreasing the negative impact of COVID-19 and effectively mitigate the pandemic. This commentary argues how countries in sub-Saharan Africa need to embrace the use of digital health in public health interventions to vigorously mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and to contribute towards attaining universal health coverage (UHC).

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