Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country has introduced the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into its routine immunization system, aiming to reach 7.7 million girls – in the continent’s largest-ever vaccination drive against the virus that causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer. Girls aged 9–14 years will receive a single dose of the vaccine, which is […] Continue reading ->
The WHO has officially recommended a second malaria vaccine for children, the R21/Matrix-M, co-developed by researchers at Oxford University and the Serum Institute of India. Global rollout could greatly improve access to immnization against a disease that kills over 600,000 people a year, 96% in Africa. But experts stress that vaccines can complement — but […] Continue reading ->
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, explicitly excluded the world’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gasses – China, the United States, Russia, India and Japan – from his Climate Ambition Summit, held Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The United Kingdom, another major polluter, was notably absent from the summit, amid reports […] Continue reading ->
Health systems in Africa are under considerable strain: rapid demographic change, rising non-communicable diseases, and emerging and re-emerging threats such as COVID-19 and Ebola are increasing demands on limited health services. Africa, however, faces a challenging period in health financing to meet these increasing needs. Health spending in most countries remains far short of what is […] Continue reading ->
Amidst the vibrant rhythms of Africa, a less audible rhythm beats – an alarming rise in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Between 50% and 88% of deaths in at least seven African countries are due to NCDs, according to the 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) Noncommunicable Disease Progress Monitor. Yet, the realm of […] Continue reading ->
Controversy continues to surround Dr Jean Kaseya, the new Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), although the organisation described the allegations as “unverified and baseless” over the weekend. Last Friday, online platform Devex reported on a letter from a group of Africa CDC staff to the head of the […] Continue reading ->
The number of people facing hunger in Sudan has doubled over the past year, with nearly over 42% of the country’s 46 million people facing high levels of food insecurity, a senior Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in the country said Friday. “The food situation in the country is deeply alarming,” Adam Yao, FAO […] Continue reading ->
The World Bank’s decision to suspend new public loans to Uganda after the country passed its Anti-Homosexuality Act in March should serve as a warning to other countries contemplating passing similar discriminatory laws, according to human rights activists. “Other countries considering similarly discriminatory laws should take notice of the World Bank’s decision and the negative […] Continue reading ->
Africa has one of the highest cancer death rates in the world, yet this could be markedly improved by better access to treatments already widely available in high-income countries for the continent’s biggest killers – breast, cervical, lung and prostate cancers and Kaposi sarcoma. This is according to a recent study by the Botswana-Rutgers Partnership […] Continue reading ->
With the fate and nature of the pandemic accord currently being negotiated by World Health Organization (WHO) member states still uncertain, global health experts are calling for “realistic” backup plans to protect the world against the next pandemic. “We need an ambitious but implementable pandemic accord – that is the Holy Grail,” Javier Guzman, Director […] Continue reading ->