Havana, Cuba | AFP | Yadira types out a message to her WhatsApp group, with the name of a Havana store where a supply of chicken has just arrived. Cuba already suffered from food shortages, but the coronavirus crisis has made finding food for the dinner table a veritable scavenger hunt, …
Read More »Disruption of immunization services could trigger disease resurgence -WHO
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organisation (WHO) is urging countries to ensure that routine immunization programmes continues even as the organization had previously called for a postponement of immunization campaigns in countries that have recently had outbreaks of immunisable diseases like measles. When immunization services are …
Read More »WHO warns malaria deaths could double during virus pandemic
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The new coronavirus pandemic could severely disrupt access to anti-malaria nets and drugs in sub-Saharan Africa, the World Health Organization said Thursday, warning that malaria deaths risked doubling if efforts are not urgently scaled up. The UN health agency called on countries in sub-Saharan Africa — …
Read More »China to give WHO $30 million more after US freezes funds
Beijing, China | AFP | China announced Thursday it will give another $30 million to the World Health Organization to help in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, days after Washington said it would freeze funding. The US, which is the WHO’s biggest contributor, accused the organisation last week of …
Read More »Complacency can increase COVID-19 pandemic cases – WHO
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | One of the greatest dangers that the world faces during the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic is complacency, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The UN agency says while countries were quick to put in place strict preventive measures to forestall the spread of the …
Read More »Virus will be with us for a long time: WHO
Genève, Switzerland | AFP | COVID-19 will stalk the planet for a long time to come, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, warning that most countries were still in the early stages of tackling the pandemic. WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said some countries that thought they had the new coronavirus …
Read More »Pandemic puts Africa’s traditional and Western medicine on collision course
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | So you’ve tested positive for coronavirus and are desperate for a cure. No problem: just drink your own urine. This quack remedy from Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the myriad therapies being touted today in Africa as poor people hunt for a virus …
Read More »WHO insists it hid nothing, sounded virus alarm from start
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization insisted Monday that it sounded the alarm on the novel coronavirus right from the very start and had hidden nothing from Washington about the deadly pandemic. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there were no secrets at the UN agency after being …
Read More »Mistrust and black market flourish in Nigeria as virus spreads
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A black market in coronavirus test kits is flourishing in Nigeria, spurred in part by negligible faith in the country’s health system to defeat an emerging threat. Testing is a crucial weapon in combatting COVID-19. It not only identifies where the stealthy virus has invaded — …
Read More »WHO calls for more COVID-19 testing in Africa
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organisation-WHO is calling for more testing for COVID-19 to be carried out in African countries to know the exact number of infected people. The call was made during a virtual press briefing on Friday. While many countries on the continent have put …
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