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A leading US Intelligence advisor has taken a firm stance on the origins of COVID-19, insisting that the virus came from a biological weapons lab in Wuhan.
A November 26 letter from the presidency asked the head of Uganda's national drug authority to 'work out a mechanism' to clear the importation of the vaccines.
China has about five COVID-19 vaccine candidates at different levels of trials. It was not clear what vaccine was being imported into Uganda.
One of the frontrunners is the Sinopharm vaccine developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates said the vaccine has 86% efficacy, citing an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials.
China has used the drug to vaccinate up to a million people under its emergency use program.
On Tuesday, Morocco said it was ordering up to 10 million doses of the vaccine.
Record cases
Uganda on Monday registered 701 new COVID-19 cases, the highest-ever daily increase, bringing its national count to 23,200.
The new cases were out of the 5,578 samples tested for the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the country's health ministry said in a statement.
Tuesday's tally was 606, the second-highest ever number of new infections, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the east African country to 23,860.
Health authorities have blamed ongoing election campaigns which have drawn huge crowds for the rise in infections.
Over 20 media practitioners from both the private and public media in the Littoral region have been trained on \"Risk Communication\" with focus on the Covid-19 pandemic.
With this in mind, the organizers of the workshop made participants to understand that risk communication is an important tool for disseminating information and understanding about risk management decision.
The main resource person, who is also the Risk Communication and Community Engagement agent at the World Health Organisation- WHO, Nguelle Carlene Romance, reminded journalists that their reports have a great influence both on the population and on decision makers.
Nguelle Carlene Romance emphasised that risk communication permits the exchange of real-time information, advice and opinions between experts and people facing threats to their health, economic or social well-being.
It is a health war, journalists and media professionals must be on the frontline of this health fight through effective and efficient communication.
Zimbabweans have urged African leaders to up their game in terms of improving political and economic problems which have hallmarked their rule since the continent was freed from colonial oppression.
\"Right now, we have very few African countries that are doing well because political parties which fought the liberation struggle are the ones which are still ruling in most countries and there is nowhere we are going.
\"African youths should play a central role in reforming the continent.
Other citizens chose to look at the silver lining on the continent, zeroing in on the coronavirus menace which seems to have been more lenient on the continent as opposed to the first world.
\"We have heard and read in newspapers that so many people have died in other continents but as of Africa, we pray our ancestors protect us.\"
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (CMC) - Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Dr Carissa Etienne Wednesday warned that countries should continue public health measures such as social distancing, hand-washing and wearing masks in public, as it may take time before people recive a vaccine to treat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Health workers responding to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo have gone on strike over unpaid salaries.
Stay informed and up to date with the latest news in South Africa by reviewing all major headlines on Tuesday 15 September.
South Africa, along with all southern hemisphere nations, is reporting almost no influenza cases so far this winter.
As government looks mainly to the public purse to foot the bill for the COVID-19 vaccine, the SACP has said there must be no room for corruption in the sourcing of treatment
DfID has, in the years of its existence, been key to offering development assistance to countries with high numbers of people living in poverty in the areas of primary education; access to reproductive health care; and the tackling of infant, child, and maternal deaths, and this role substantially aided many developing countries towards the achievement of the erstwhile Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
This announcement, which came barely a month after President Trump threatened to end the United States' relationship with the World Health Organisation (WHO), signals a de-prioritisation of foreign aid by the governments of the U.K. and the U.S., and with current global economic realities, this could appear to be the beginning of a trend.
Since World War II, the U.S has been a major source of foreign aid across the world, especially to sub-Saharan Africa, with aid from the U.S. and other high-income countries to Africa averaging $49 billion annually and Africa alone accounting for 20 per cent of U.S. aid.
Across Africa, deaths from HIV have reduced by about 50 per cent, however, if African governments do not start to think strategically about how to domestically raise finances in a climate with fast-dwindling foreign aid, much of the gains of the last decade could be wiped out.
The efficient running of these 30,000 primary healthcare clinics, many of which are decrepit and abandoned, cannot be borne by government alone, and this highlights the urgent need for well-structured public-private partnerships with keen regulatory oversight, to ensure the delivery of quality, accessible and affordable health services, including HIV care and treatment, to the majority of the population.
South Africa will ease the Covid-19 lockdown from level four to level three beginning from June 1, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Sunday amid a surge in confirmed cases.
Level three will allow the opening of the economy and the removal of a number of restrictions on the movement of people, while significantly expanding and intensifying the public health interventions, said Ramaphosa.
President Ramaphosa said the decision was based on wide consultations with various stakeholders across the country and guided by advice from the World Health Organisation and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Even as the country moves to alert level three, it is important that South Africans should be aware that there are a few parts of the country where the disease is concentrated and infections continue to rise, the president said.
By Sunday, South Africa has recorded 22,583 confirmed Covid-19 cases, up by 1,240 from Saturday, the highest daily surge since March 5 when the country reported its first case.
Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, gave the update on Sunday on his Twitter handle.
However, on Sunday, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health said three of them have tested positive for COVID-19.
In addition to the new positive cases recorded in Lagos, three more COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded in the state.
This brings the total deaths from COVID-19 to 36 in Lagos State.
The commissioner urged Lagos residents and particularly those who recently returned to the country to cooperate with the COVID-19 response team as may be desirable at all times and in all circumstances.
The number of cumulative COVID-19 cases in South Africa now stands at 168 061, along with 2 844 deaths and 81 999 recoveries.
Many young men and women remain dependent and at home with parents due to problems related to academic difficulties while still others remain because of inadequate skills in dealing with life in general.
It has issued an impassioned appeal to malaria-endemic countries not to compromise on the delivery of malaria control activities and healthcare services as they battle COVID-19.
African governments - with the support of the relevant stakeholders - must therefore take a leading role in ensuring that there are minimal disruptions to the delivery of appropriately tailored essential malaria control activities and services.
South Africa has adopted an innovative strategy to ensure the continuation of its malaria test and treat campaign.
And African governments and international organisations like the WHO must lobby hard to ensure that there's no downscaling in the production of tests and treatments for non-COVID-19 infections like malaria.
In the interim, countries should consider stockpiling supplies of malaria rapid diagnostic tests, malaria treatment and essential malaria control commodities.
Virus resurging in Europe as restrictions ease - WHO
Copenhagen – Europe has seen a surge of Covid-19 cases since countries began easing restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the potentially fatal virus, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.
Rome – A cluster of new coronavirus cases has emerged at a warehouse in the Italian city of Bologna used by express courier Bartolini, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.
BUCHAREST – Romania reported its highest number of daily infections with the new coronavirus in two months on Thursday, as it prepares to assess a new phase of relaxation next week.
JAKARTA – Indonesia reported 1 178 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking its total number of cases to 50 187.
US jobless claims top 47.2m with 1.48m new filings
Washington – Another 1.48 million Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, a worse-than-expected figure that showed the continuing potency of the coronavirus pandemic.
[Premium Times] Findings from the analysis of COVID Organics shows that it largely contains anti-malaria components, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said on Thursday.
The African Union (AU) will test the controversial herbal remedy for Covid-19 from Madagascar.
“I am excited to update you that the Republic of Madagascar, through its Ministry of Health, has agreed to collaborate with the African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) to explore further the remedy they have discovered for the treatment of Covid-19 to benefit the continent at large,” Mr Kwesi said on Twitter.
Last week, South Africa’s health minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed that they had received a scientific research request from Madagascar on the remedy.
Last week, the AU received data on the remedy for review based on global technical and ethical norms.
“Once furnished with the details, the Union, through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, will review the scientific data gathered so far on the safety and efficacy of the Covid-19 Organics.
Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo and Kumi Municipality MP Monica Amoding last week during a press conference said they had been informed by their friends that money was being dished out but that they had failed to access the venues where the distribution was taking place.
The two were joined by Ntungamo Municipality MP Gerald Karuhanga and Kalungu West MP Joseph Ssewungu who attacked NRM MPs for wasting taxpayers' money.
Addressing a press conference yesterday at Parliament, the ruling party MPs accused the above mentioned MPs of hiding under immunity of Parliament to blackmail their colleagues.
\"Any person who said that I was giving out money to NRM MPs was under the influence of drugs.
\"I have never received or distributed any money to any MP.
[Vanguard] With the approval of the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, and Mordena Inc., mass vaccinations have since commenced in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
[Premium Times] UN Chief says the world must unite to make coronavirus vaccines available to everyone, everywhere.
In its investigation, TNH obtained information drawn from leaked WHO documents that suggests how some health workers and civil servants profited from response funds; and how, in the rush to scale up a response in an active conflict zone, the WHO paid millions of dollars in inflated per diems to Congolese security forces.
The authors of the draft review commissioned by the UN and NGOs - obtained exclusively by TNH - warn that \"practices implemented during the Ebola response will inevitably have a direct impact on the ability of aid organisations to control corruption within their programmes\".
The UN's emergency aid coordination body, OCHA, acknowledged there had been challenges in the Ebola response - Ituri and North Kivu provinces are relatively remote and located inside an active conflict zone.
In January, David Gressly, the UN's former emergency Ebola response coordinator, told TNH that the attack on the WHO doctor may have been motivated by a desire to divert resources to local health workers.
The outbreak that erupted in North Kivu and Ituri was the first in an active conflict zone, and response operations had to be shut down on numerous occasions because of attacks against clinics and health workers, leading to fresh spikes in Ebola cases and deaths.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU GOVERNMENT has committed itself to operationalise many information centres to enable citizens, especially in rural areas, to have access to correct information on the COVID-19 pandemic. Information Technology, Postal and Courier Services minister Jenfan Muswere said COVID-19 had exposed how misinformation posed the “greatest security threats of our time”, while also militating against efforts in the fight against pandemic. “Indeed, as government, we have an obligation to ensure that citizens are protected from this barrage of misinformation by providing the public with facilities where they can access reliable, evidence-based information,” Muswere said yesterday at the opening of a community information centre (CIC) in Maphisa, Matabeleland South province. The Maphisa CIC was equipped with computers and internet service. “By visiting CICs, the public can access reliable information on COVID-19 published by the World Health Organisation and the Health and Child Care ministry,” Muswere said. “My ministry will, therefore, spare no efforts in operationalising as many CICs as we can, during this pandemic to ensure that more Zimbabweans are kept informed of the pandemic and have access to other ICTs services.” Communities in rural areas lack access to ICT services owing to poor network connectivity. The need for government to bridge the digital divide has been more pronounced now in the face of COVID-19, particularly for learners who risk losing out on online lessons as schools remain closed. Speaking on behalf of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director-general Gift Machengete, the deputy director Alfred Marisa said the statutory body was seized with ensuring that marginalised areas have access to ICTs to bridge the digital divide. “By way of background, in support of the government policy to provide access ICT and postal services to all the people of Zimbabwe, Potraz came up with the concept of CICs, which are housed at post offices throughout the country,” he said in his address. “In places where there are no post offices, or where the post offices were too small to accommodate a CIC, the authority deployed containerised village information centres (CVICs).” To date, Potraz has operationalised 114 CICs and 24 CVICs. “Twelve CICs and one CVIC have been established in Matabeleland South province alone. Eight CICs in the province are already operational including Maphisa,” Marisa added.
[Cameroon Tribune] The population has been called to be vigilant as daily social interaction increases amidst new cases of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This articles lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. Please discuss this issue on the articles talk page. (March 2010)
The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; French: Organisation de lunité africaine (OUA)) was established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, with 32 signatory governments.[1] It was disbanded on 9 July 2002 by its last chairperson, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and replaced by the African Union (AU).
The OAU had the following primary aims:
To co-ordinate and intensify the co-operation of African states in order to achieve a better life for the people of Africa.[1]
To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of African states.
The OAU was also dedicated to the eradication of all forms of colonialism and white minority rule as, when it was established, there were several states that had not yet won their independence or were white minority-ruled. South Africa and Angola were two such countries. The OAU proposed two ways of ridding the continent of colonialism and white minority rule. Firstly, it would defend the interests of independent countries and help to pursue the independence those of still-colonised ones. Secondly, it would remain neutral in terms of world affairs, preventing its members from being controlled once more by outside powers.
A Liberation Committee was established to aid independence movements and look after the interests of already-independent states. The OAU also aimed to stay neutral in terms of global politics, which would prevent them from being controlled once more by outside forces – an especial danger with the Cold War.
The OAU had other aims, too:
Ensure that all Africans enjoyed human rights.
Raise the living standards of all Africans.
Settle arguments and disputes between members – not through fighting but rather peaceful and diplomatic negotiation.
Soon after achieving independence, a number of
In Zimbabwe, the health sector has been the worst affected of all sectors by economic woes.
Most of the elite have been seen travelling overseas to seek medical treatment because the public health sector is in shambles.
However, with the emerging of the coronavirus, we are seeing the government of Zimbabwe sprucing all corners of the health sector to ensure the sector is breathing again.
WHO, the Jack Ma Foundation, Econet Wireless, Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe and Sakunda Holdings, to mention but a few, have come to the rescue of the health sector.
Several if not all health facilities in Zimbabwe have been in horrible state, thus seeing the elite seeking medical treatment abroad.
Nairobi — Kenya could adopt home-based care protocols for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients as early as next week, the health ministry said on Thursday.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the move will pave way for the release of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients held at isolation facilities across the country.
He noted that more than 80 percent of patients in hospitals are asymptomatic and will have to be managed at home in order to minimize congestion at health facilities.
\"If this is implemented, it will free our health facilities at congestions, because in Nairobi alone, Mbagathi Hospital and Kenyatta University (KU) hospitals are already getting to full capacity, we have already completed the process of actualizing home and community based care protocols,\" he said.
The Health CS appealed to Kenyans against stigmatizing the patients who will be released for management under home-based care protocols and further urged patients to uphold utmost discipline while undergoing home-based care.
A new study published in the Lancet Journal has revealed that Covid-19 may be linked to young children developing symptoms that are similar to a rare inflammatory condition known as Kawasaki Disease.
The researchers, based in Italy’s Bergamo Province, stated that they discovered an increase in cases of young children with symptoms similar to the Kawasaki disease in the affected region.
They describe a series of 10 cases of young children with symptoms similar to the rare Kawasaki disease, appearing since the Covid-19 pandemic arose in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy.
“We noticed an increase in the number of children being referred to our hospital with an inflammatory condition similar to Kawasaki disease around the time the outbreak was taking hold in our region, “ said Dr Lucio Verdoni, an author of the study from the Hospital Papa Giovanni XXIII in Bergamo, Italy.
Dr Annalisa Gervasoni, another author of the study and a paediatric specialist at the hospital said: “In our experience, only a very small proportion of children with Covid-19 develop symptoms of Kawasaki Disease.
A strawberry-flavoured tablet for children living with HIV will be rolled out in African countries in 2021.
