Health officials in Kenya say they’re seeing a spike in COVID-19 infections that is placing a strain on resources, even as the country continues to roll out its vaccination plans. “The Ministry of Health Kenya is extremely concerned with the number of rising cases of those contracting the coronavirus disease…
Somalia received its first shipment of the Oxford Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses on Monday, just as other nations – particularly across Europe – put their vaccination efforts on pause because of concerns over the safety of the product. The first batch of 300,000 doses to arrive in Mogadishu is…
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a sobering impact on global nature conservation, with Africa and Asia the most severely affected, according to new research papers published in PARKS, the journal of the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas. More than half of protected areas in Africa reported that they were…
With the COVID-19 pandemic has come a global spike in the demand for oxygen, and 25 countries – most of them on the African continent – are reporting a surge in demand they cannot meet. To that end, global health officials announced Thursday the creation of a new COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency…
Ghana on Wednesday became the first nation to receive coronavirus vaccines through the global COVAX initiative, a partnership supported by UNICEF in West Africa. “The shipments also represent the beginning of what should be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history,” said UNICEF in a statement. “The COVAX…
Liberians waited anxiously for the results of an Ebola test after a woman with serious symptoms was treated at a Monrovia clinic, reportedly having traveled to Nzerekore, the city at the center of neighboring Guinea’s expanding Ebola outbreak. Health minister Dr. Wilhemina Jallah confirmed the suspected case during press comments…
South Africa must prioritize both the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s economic recovery, especially with an eye toward climate change and the energy sector, the president said during the annual State of the Nation address. President Cyril Ramaphosa compared his nation to the fynbos, a South African…
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI became the first in his country to receive a COVID vaccination, setting the tone for a national campaign that aims to protect 80 percent of the population. The king rolled up his sleeve and got his shot at the Royal Palace in Fez on Thursday, according…
President John Magufuli of Tanzania – no stranger to controversy where the COVID pandemic has been concerned – has made new and alarming statements about the coronavirus during a public appearance. Magufuli questioned the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, according to local media accounts of his remarks, and put…
The United States said Monday that it is adding South Africa to the list of countries subject to travel restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic and the emergence of a new strain of COVID in the African nation. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary for the new Biden administration,…
South Africa is the latest nation to bid farewell to one of its high-level ministers because of COVID, as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Thursday the death of longtime African National Congress member Jackson Mthembu. The 62-year-old Mthembu, above, an ANC national executive committee member with a legacy of anti-apartheid and…
As President-elect Joseph Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are sworn into office in the United States Wednesday, there are a number of immediate policy changes that affect the global community and Africans in particular. Biden vowed to reverse the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), a decision…
South Africans have been encouraged to receive COVID-19 vaccinations from one of the most prominent figures in the nation: Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. Tutu, through his foundation, issued a statement Monday that’s meant to reduce vaccine hesitancy while reassuring citizens that the coronavirus vaccines are as effective as they are…
The Oxfam NGO is warning that the world’s poorest nations – two thirds of them on the African continent – don’t have equal access to the COVID vaccines, even as wealthier nations are snapping up doses for their own people. “Nearly 70 poor countries will only be able to vaccinate…
Roughly half of the world’s malaria deaths occurred in just six African nations in 2019, while the progress achieved in reducing malaria cases in the last two decades has slowed. That’s according to the annual World Malaria Report released Monday by the World Health Organization. The six nations – Nigeria,…