The ongoing Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo has been overshadowed by the COVID pandemic, the country’s security crisis in the east and other headlines, but the virus has now claimed four dozen lives and experts are worried of a spread into Kinshasa or across the border. “The most…
Uganda is moving toward presidential elections in early 2021, with candidate nominations expected in September – a contentious process as President Yoweri Museveni, now approaching his 76th birthday and in power since 1986, is expected to seek another term. Opposition leaders in Uganda have long been targets of the ruling…
Malaria hits hard on the African continent, home to 93 percent of the world’s 228 million cases in 2018 and 94 percent of its fatalities. What scientists at the universities of Leeds and Lincoln in the UK want to know is how Africans might be affected in the climate change…
Africans celebrated the end of wild poliovirus on the continent on Tuesday, making good on an international promise that dates to 1996 and the Nelson Mandela era. “This is a momentous milestone for Africa. Now future generations of African children can live free of wild polio,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti,…
The latest Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo isn’t going away because of other crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, and its numbers keep growing even as the scale in Équateur Province remains smaller so far than that seen previously in the nation’s east. Another six confirmed cases bring the…
A consortium of tobacco companies has taken the South African government to court in a bid to overturn the administration’s decision to ban the sale of alcohol and tobacco products during the Covid-19 pandemic. Japan Tobacco International (JPI) and British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA), together with The South Africa…
The World Health Organization has issued a clear warning about the acceleration of coronavirus cases on the African continent, noting that many countries are seeing a rise in positive COVID cases that exceeds the percentage that has commanded so much attention in South Africa. “It’s not accelerating any faster than…
South Africa has instituted a mandatory face mask policy, nighttime curfew and a return to a ban on liquor sales as the country faces an upsurge in coronavirus cases – the equivalent of 500 new cases each hour. “Like the massive cold fronts that sweep into our country from the…
Senegal’s capital Dakar is facing yet another water shortage, though this time concerns have been exacerbated by the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic and the greater need for personal hygiene. “How do you wash your hands during a coronavirus crisis when the heat is coming?” Papa Mbodj, the father of a 9-month-old…
Ghanaian authorities on Sunday were denying rumors that President Nana Akufo Addo has left the country for medical treatment, following news that he had been exposed to COVID-19 through a close contact. “Kindly disregard the false story published by the Herald newspaper,” said Eugene Arhin, the president’s communications director, in…
African leaders met Wednesday to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, in a virtual meeting hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, the current chair of the African Union. Also coordinating the Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 was President Macky Sall of Senegal, whose nation holds…
More than 200,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed on the African continent, and the sweep of the pandemic is accelerating, according to World Health Organization (WHO). Officials said Thursday the coronavirus count reached the benchmark of 100,000 cases in 98 days, but it then took only 19 days to…
The strain of Ebola virus that’s active in a new outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is not related to the previous two outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization. “Genetic sequencing from new Ebola cases in Équateur DRC shows that the outbreak is not linked to North Kivu or…
The Africa director for the World Health Organization says health professionals are rushing to Mbandaka, a border city in Democratic Republic of Congo where a fresh outbreak of the Ebola virus is reported. “This outbreak is close to transport routes and borders, so a speedy response like this is all…
The World Health Organization warns that the data on COVID-19 on the African continent may not “paint the full picture” of the pandemic’s public health impact While Africa has been spared the COVID-19 crises seen in nations like the United States, China, Russia and Brazil, it is likely that cases…