The World Health Organisation (WHO) is working with South Africa to establish the continent’s first COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday hailed the move as a landmark initiative. The President believes that this will see huge advancement in the international effort to build vaccine development and manufacturing capacity that will […]
Tag: Health and Medicine
MUTARE is operating with one fire tender and a single ambulance covering a population of approximately 260 000, according to the 2012 census. This was revealed during a recent service delivery meeting by city deputy mayor Farai Bhiza. City authorities recently came under fire from ratepayers for secretly purchasing top of the range vehicles for […]
A Covid-19 outbreak has affected six schools and 20 villages in the Leribe district, the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) has said. All in all, 114 infections have been recorded this week, NACOSEC CEO ‘Malitaba Litaba said in an interview with the Lesotho Times this week. Dr Litaba said the hardest hit is Khethisa High School […]
The Namibia Medicines Regulatory Council (NMRC) registrar of medicines, Johannes Gaeseb, has reiterated the council’s stance that it has not received an application for the use of Ivermectin-related medicines supported by sufficient scientific evidence to advocate its use in preventing or treating Covid-19. He also cautioned healthcare providers that the prescription of substances remains within […]
Sydney and Kuala Lumpur — COVID-19 has become a “developing country pandemic”, retreating from the North’s mass vaccination. With developing countries heavily handicapped, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns of a “dangerous [new] divergence”. Renewed North-South divide The Economist believes death rates in developing countries are much higher than officially reported – 12 times more […]
Zimbabweans are finding it increasingly difficult to access Covid-19 vaccines as the country records a spike in new infections amid fears of a third wave. The southern African country started a mass vaccination programme in February with a target to inoculate 60 per cent of its nearly 16 million people by year’s end. President Emmerson […]
Critics pointed to hesitancy and misinformation after Malawi discarded 20,000 expired COVID-19 shots. The reality is far more complicated My home country, Malawi, has made international headlines for discarding COVID-19 vaccines. Many fingers have pointed to hesitancy and misinformation, but the reality is far more complicated, and increasingly concerning. In fact, the unused doses are […]
Rwanda has tightened Covid-19 restrictions to curb rising infections and mitigate the risk of a severe third wave that is already being experienced in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. In a Cabinet meeting on Monday, President Paul Kagame re-imposed tight restrictions including the suspension of all social gatherings. He also adjusted curfew time […]
The trade body also considers Senegal and Rwanda. World Trade Organisation (WTO) said Africa is working with the European Union and other partners to help create regional vaccine manufacturing hubs with Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal and Rwanda. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General WTO, said on Monday during a virtual meeting that “we have now seen that over-centralization […]
Geneva/Johannesburg/Paris: Geneva/Johannesburg/Paris — The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX partners are working with a South African consortium comprising Biovac, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of universities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish its first COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub. The move follows WHO’s global call […]
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will on Wednesday hold an extraordinary summit of heads of state and government meet in Mozambique’s capital Maputo. The meeting will discuss issues regarding regional integration, cooperation and development. Before the summit, a meeting of the SADC standing committee of senior officials will be held on Monday and on […]
At least eight football players in South Sudan’s national tested positive for Covid-19 at the weekend, ahead of their FIFA Arab Cup Tournament, the country’s football association said. In a tweet shared by South Sudan Football Association on Sunday, the governing body said the Bright Stars players were confirmed positive for Covid-19 in Qatar’s capital […]
Gauteng Health MEC, Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi, has assured the public that healthcare workers and the department remain committed to tackling the third wave of COVID-19 infections. In addition, the MEC said they will be appointing additional staff to the 5 521 COVID-19 posts filled as of 1 June 2021. “Despite the health system in Gauteng […]
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the provinces are at various stages of readiness for the return of all primary school learners to school on a daily basis. This follows a Government Gazette issued on 28 May 2021, where the department announced that primary school learners would return to school on the first day of […]
The Department of Basic Education is calling on all teachers and staff to be at school in order to prepare for the COVID-19 vaccination programme set to start on Wednesday. In a statement on Monday, the department said the vaccination programme is an opportunity to normalise schooling and intensify the process of mitigating the impact […]
The Covid-19 vaccination of teachers and support staff will start this Wednesday until a day before the schools close to mark the end of the second term on 8 July 2021. Basic Education (DBE) Minister Angie Motshekga made the announcement during a recent media briefing on the basic education sector’s response to the impact of […]
FIVE nurses in Windhoek Central Hospital’s Covid-19 intensive care unit (ICU) last week ended a 12-hour shift in tears as they lost yet another patient – a 27-year-old pregnant woman. For the nurses working in the hospital’s Covid-care unit, most days end like this. Nurses Penehupifo Gideon (25), Victoria Amupolo (23), Deithilde Honecker (27), Renatus […]
Dozens, including six police officers, have been arrested for flouting Covid-19 containment measures in 13 counties in Western and Nyanza. On Saturday, Kakamega reported 79 new Covid-19 cases while Kisii recorded 78. Migori had 76, Kisumu 72, Busia 69 and Siaya 60. A spot check in the regions indicated that residents were still going about […]