Tag Archives: africa

‘Theft doesn’t even stop during a pandemic’ | THE INDEPENDENT | Doctors have gone on strike over a lack of protective equipment, and protesters have taken to the streets in anger at the abuse of medical funds, many wearing T-shirts emblazoned with #arrestCovidthieves. Public uproar in Kenya in recent weeks …

Why an Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia bloc could destabilise the larger region | INGO HENNEBERG AND SÖREN STAPEL | Relations in the Horn of Africa are complex and complicated. They are characterised by deeply ingrained rivalries between Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia in a conflict-ridden region. For decades, it has been …

The continent’s debt-service payments in 2020 amount to $44 billion which is a lot of money COMMENT | COBUS VAN STADEN | The COVID-19 crisis is pushing Africa to the financial brink. African governments are under pressure to continue servicing their external loans, leaving them with few resources to confront …

Nairobi, Kenya | XINHUA | The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that donors and industry should allocate sufficient resources to ensure that African countries have access to a safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccine. Richard Mihigo, Program Area Manager of Immunization and Vaccine Development of WHO, said the needs …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) has been accredited by the World Health Organization-WHO as one of the COVID-19 reference laboratories in Africa. The laboratory which is spearheading COVID-19 testing in the country is one of eight laboratories that were accredited as reference laboratories …

‘Elimination of polio virus is testimony that vaccines work’ Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Dr. Alfred Driwale, the programme manager of the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization in the Ministry of Health was probably one of the happiest people on Aug. 25 when the World Health Organization (WHO) …

Addis Ababa, US | XINHUA | The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday said that the number of positive COVID-19 cases across the African continent has reached 1,220,511 amid rapid spread of the virus in a few African countries. The Africa CDC, noting that five …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Africa has been declared free of wild poliovirus, four years since a case was last reported on the continent. This marks the eradication of the second virus from the face of the continent since smallpox 40 years ago. The last case of wild poliovirus …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | XINHUA | African businesses are shifting towards new technologies in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The report, which was jointly published by the UNECA and the International Economics Consulting Ltd., …

Can world’s biggest trade bloc wean Africa off expensive aid? Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | On Aug.17, Nana Akufo-Addo, the Ghanaian president, launched the Permanent Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) four months ahead of the day African countries are expected to start trading in goods …