UN authorizes a second malaria vaccine. Experts warn it's not enough to stop the disease spreading
The World Health Organization has authorized a second malaria vaccine in a decision that could offer countries a cheaper and a more readily available option than the worldโs first shot against the parasitic disease.
African nations consider swapping debt for climate funding
African countries saddled with debt and ravaged by losses and damages from weather events like cyclones, drought and extreme temperatures have agreed to consider swapping debt to invest in climate action in a meeting of finance ministers in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
A week on, brutal Cyclone Freddy still taxes southern Africa
Over a week on from Cyclone Freddyโs second and more devastating landfall in Malawi and Mozambique and nearly a month since it battered Madagascar, the effects are still being felt as locals, officials and aid workers continue to uncover the full extent of the cycloneโs destruction.
After Cyclone Freddy, flood risk lingers for southern Africa
After four days of destructive wind and rain, local communities and relief workers are now dealing with the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy which has killed more than 250 people and displaced tens of thousands of others across Malawi and Mozambique and may still cause further damage.
WHO moves to roll out first malaria vaccine in Africa
As the World Health Organization announces the next step in its rollout of the worldโs first authorized malaria vaccine in three African countries, concerns about its value have come from an unlikely source: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, arguably the vaccineโs biggest backer.
Africa seeks 'continental capacity' to produce vaccines
Malawi President, Lazarus Chakwera, gives a thumbs-up after receiving an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Zomba, Malawi, Thursday, March 11, 2021. The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that as Africa strives to vaccinate 60% of its 1.3 billion people as quickly as possible, the continent must develop its capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccines. African countries are getting vaccines from the international COVAX initiative and from donors like India, China and Russia, which are producing vaccines. At least five African countries appear to have the capacity to produce vaccines, Africa CDC director, Dr. John Nkengasong, said in a press briefing, citing South Africa, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt. A meeting is planned for April 12 between the African Union and outside partners to create a โroadmapโ for boosting African capacity to eventually produce COVID-19 vaccines, Nkengasong said.
Malawi setting up field hospitals to cope with virus surge
A health worker takes oxygen cylinders to COVID-19 wards at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. Malawi faces a resurgence of COVID-19 that is overwhelming the southern African country where a presidential residence and a national stadium have been turned into field hospitals in efforts to save lives. A 300-bed field hospital at Bingu National Stadium has begun admitting patients. Another 300-bed field hospital has been opened at a youth center in Blantyre, the country's largest city. โAlthough in my six months in office we set up 400 national treatment units, the current wave of infections has completely overwhelmed these facilities."