‘Policy clusters’ are a portrayal of the leadership demeanour while taking advantage of the demographic and social characteristics of the population. Rapid deployment within the first two weeks of index case notification results in rapid identification of the infected, their contacts and a combination of quarantine and isolation will result in slowing down the epidemic. These actions require political commitment and resolute use of experts in epidemic management.
In our African story, we see a few countries that took the policy cluster approach. On the face of it, these countries would appear like they have the biggest burden, but they are more likely to manage the epidemic better. They cut transmission significantly and avoid infections among the vulnerable populations especially if they sustain the strategy; aggressive identification of the infected, isolation, contact tracing, quarantine, and testing. Through this aggression, their graphs will rise suddenly, with a potential to slow down later or flatten earlier. Countries in this category include Mauritius, Mali, Madagascar, South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, Burkina-Faso and Ghana. Within the first ten days after index case notification, the number of cases in this cluster ranged from 27 in Ghana to 94 in Mauritius and by the 15th day (two weeks, their numbers ranged from 48 in Uganda to 161 in Mauritius. By the 15th day, Ghana, Burkina Faso and South Africa had reported 141 cases, 114 cases, 150 cases and 161 cases respectively.