News, economies and societies across Africa
Health
Public health systems, disease outbreaks and the money that keeps clinics running: this section reports on health across the continent, together with medical research that concerns readers everywhere.
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Recent coverage includes the WHO data hub bringing 47 countries into a single regional view, the Economic Commission for Africa’s call for a new fiscal compact as health budgets tighten, and Ethiopia’s plan linking health investment with climate resilience and peacebuilding. Earlier reports followed COVID-19 control, Omicron in Botswana and a suspected Ebola case in Ouagadougou.
Wider research stories cover long COVID, the risk of very hot drinks for the oesophagus, counterfeit medicines and new approaches to depression and painful memories.
For an overview of how care is organised, start with the piece on challenges facing healthcare systems. These articles inform but do not replace medical advice.
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Kenya traces 128 of 130 Ebola contacts and screens 652,000 travellers
Three health workers and a relative of the first patient tested positive while in quarantine, and Africa CDC is urging tighter border surveillance.
C-Care adds Kampala women’s hospital to its Uganda network
Roswell Hospital, a 30-bed fertility and maternity centre in central Kampala, joins a Mauritian-owned group that now runs six hospitals across Uganda.
Kenya confirms a third Ebola case in a woman already under quarantine
A 65-year-old woman fell ill under quarantine and tested positive, while health officials say 127 of 130 contacts have now been traced and isolated.
African countries turn to national genome projects to close a DNA data gap
Tunisia, Egypt and Senegal run national genome initiatives, and Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa have government-led efforts that are less advanced.
Remedial Health lets Nigerian pharmacies stock medicine on credit
A pharmacist who coded as a teenager and built two student firms now runs a Nigerian supplier that gives eligible pharmacies stock with little or…
Germany plans more support for African drug and vaccine makers
Berlin will add backing to a fund investing in African pharmaceutical firms, while an Africa CDC official says imports cover roughly 70% of medicines used…
Kenya’s first Ebola patient went undetected for six weeks
Africa CDC’s reconstruction shows a Kenyan businessman sought care for weeks in DR Congo and passed two airport checks before his diagnosis in Nairobi.
Zambia and the US sign a five-year health agreement
Lusaka says the final text drops the specimen clause and narrows US access to programme data, after months of protest over patient records.
Plague is still a risk where wild rodents carry it
The infection never vanished from nature. How plague spreads from wild rodents and fleas to people, how to recognise its forms, and why early treatment…
Africa CDC opens a pilot clinical research certificate
A course for mid-career health professionals starts in Addis Ababa, followed by hands-on placements at research organisations in four African countries.
The plague never went away: where cases still occur
Plague still appears in Africa and the US each year. How the disease spreads, its three forms, and why antibiotics work if given early.
Kenya traces contacts and flight travellers after first imported Bundibugyo Ebola case
The patient travelled from the DRC through Uganda before reaching Nairobi. At least 28 contacts are under follow-up, while authorities seek 23 passengers and four…