Saharan dust blasts across North Africa and into Europe

Saharan dust blasts across North Africa and into Europe

With an eerie orange glow, the normally pristine snows of some ski resorts in Spain have taken on an apocalyptic tone as an enormous cloud of Saharan dust from North Africa blows across Europe. The dust storm is driven by winds from Storm Celia, which is affecting the Spanish-held Canary…

WHO says Africa is on track in the fight against COVID-19

WHO says Africa is on track in the fight against COVID-19

Exactly two years after the first COVID-19 was confirmed on the African continent, the outlook for 2022 remains positive in terms of getting the pandemic under control, according to the World Health Organization. “The African continent has gotten smarter, faster and better at responding to each new surge in cases…

Ethiopia files complaint over Tedros remarks on Tigray crisis

Ethiopia files complaint over Tedros remarks on Tigray crisis

The Ethiopian government has filed a formal complaint with the World Health Organization, calling for an investigation of WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus because “he has not lived up to the integrity and professional expectations required from his office.” A formal letter has been sent detailing the complaints against…

South Africa to donate COVID vaccines to other African nations

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa will donate more than 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines to its African neighbors, in a show of unity worth more than US$18 million. “This donation embodies South Africa’s solidarity with our brothers and sisters on the continent…

Africa sees surge in COVID cases

Health officials on the African continent are seeing a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, with an 83% surge seen during the past week. The surge is driven by both the Delta and the Omicron variants, according to World Health Organization (WHO) experts who provided an update Tuesday. They warn that…

Nigeria added to UK travel ‘red list’ as COVID spreads

Nigeria has been added to the UK “travel ban” list because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19 and a rise in cases linked to the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The decision prompted a new wave of frustration among Africans, with the Nigerian high commissioner in London, Sarafa Tunji…

African nations see uneven progress on HIV/AIDS

Kenya has shown great improvement in managing HIV/AIDS, largely due to an 83% increase since 2013 in the number of affected citizens who can access antiretroviral drugs, said President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday. New infections dropped nearly 70% between 2013 and 2021, but infections continue to impact people between the…

China pledges 1B COVID vaccine doses for Africa

President Xi Jinping of China has pledged to deliver another 1 billion COVID vaccine doses to the African continent, an announcement he made during his speech to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Dakar. Xi said 600 million doses of China’s vaccines will be donated while the other…

Botswana: Omicron found in foreign diplomats, but visiting from where?

Authorities in Botswana held a Sunday night press conference to discuss the latest information about the B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant first identified there. In the meantime, southern Africans are asking: Where did this variant actually come from? That’s because Botswana’s government said Friday that the four B.1.1.529 cases reported last week…

First African vaccine facility to be built in Rwanda

BioNTech is moving forward with plans to build vaccine manufacturing facilities on the African continent, with an announcement Tuesday that Rwanda has been chosen for the first site. Dr. Daniel Ngamije, the health minister for Rwanda, said the first facility will be built at the Kigali Special Economic Zone (KSEZ),…

New Ebola case reported in DR Congo

A young child has died after contracting the Ebola virus in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the first such case since the last outbreak of the virus in the country was declared over in May. The Congolese Ministry of Health says the child died on Wednesday. Ebola was then confirmed…

Sexual abuse in DR Congo ‘a dark day for WHO’

World Health Organization leaders responded with shock and sorrow after an independent panel released an investigative report that found widespread sexual abuse committed by workers during the 2020 Ebola outbreak in the country’s east. Malick Coulibaly, a panel member, said the commission interviewed dozens of women who were offered work…