The Africa Center for Disease Control (Africa CDC) has secured 400 million more doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, as the body aims to immunize 60% of the continent’s population over three years. The continent is in a disadvantaged position in the race to obtain vaccine shots for its 1.3 billion population as wealthier nations…
Kenya slipped into an economic recession for the first time since the third quarter of 2020 as the restrictions introduced by the government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on key sectors of the economy. The East African country’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell 1.1% compared with a year earlier, after…
South Africa’s wine industry has asked a court of law to allow the main wine-growing region to exempt itself from an alcohol sales ban that was reinstated last month by the government to ease pressure on hospitals battling a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. VinPro, the representative of wine producers and cellars, said it…
You can hear the charming of birds and the hissing of crickets deep in this forest in Gabu. But one sound trembles above all others, and it’s belatedly become more common this year. It’s no surprise to hear the sounds of machines ploughing down trees in Guinea Bissau’s forested lands. The Portuguese-speaking country has a…
Botswana has nominated Elias Magosi to take over from Tanzania’s Dr Stergomena Tax as SADC’s top boss when the latter’s term expires in August this year. Magosi currently serves as the Permanent Secretary to the President and Head of the Botswana Public Service as well as Secretary to the Cabinet. That makes him the country’s…
Kenya’s government has taken the fight against COVID-19 to a new high with the installation of new tech, the first of its kind on the continent, at its international airport, JKIA. The sophisticated system consists of automated cameras with inbuilt thermometers that measure the temperatures of dozens of people in the socially distanced queue, displaying…
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the released of $16.94 million to set up oxygen production plants in 38 sites to help treat COVID-19 patients as government authorities struggle to contain a second wave of the pandemic. Africa’s most populous country recorded low coronavirus cases through much of last year, though experts point out that…
Over 2.5 million people have died, and the confirmed cases are soaring past the 100 million mark. But that hasn’t stopped the wealthiest people on the planet from increasing their wealth during the coronavirus pandemic, a report from Oxfam International indicates. While that in itself is shocking, more grappling to deal with is the fact…
Sudan is set to receive a $330 million bridge loan from Britain to help clear its more than $400 million in arrears to the African Development Bank. According to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Britain was supportive of the effort and had signed a memorandum of understanding to disburse $40 million to Sudan’s family support…
Zambia’s Ministry of Finance has confirmed it will hold discussions with the International Monetary Fund from February 11 to March 3, to negotiate an extended credit facility. “The programme discussions will centre of the government’s objectives to attain fiscal and debt sustainability,” the ministry said in a statement signed by Secretary to the Treasury Fredson…
South Africa’s Mr. Price posted a 5.8% rise in third-quarter retail sales, supported by COVID-19 relief packages and demand for household items as people worked from home during the health crisis. The clothing and homeware firm said in its results release that total retail sales jumped to $500.5 million for the three months ended December…
Namibia’s government has thrown its weight behind growing calls to boycott Shoprite Holdings so that the company resolves a four-week strike over pay. The Namibian Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFU) has been pleading with consumers not to buy from Shoprite and its subsidiaries until the labor dispute is resolved. More than 2,000 Shoprite workers…
Africa’s COVID-19 case fatality rate has now surpassed the global level, the head of Africa’s Center for Disease Control announced on Thursday. Since the pandemic began, the continent’s case fatality rate has remained below the global average, Africa CDC head John Nkengasong told reporters. “The case fatality rate is beginning to be very worrying and…
In the precolonial era, music was a strong symbol of unity between men, women and children. African customs are littered with plenty of diverse, indigenous entertainment which expanded past their communal boundaries as most of the continent bar Ethiopia and Liberia came under imperial rule. They provided relief, united, and motivated freedom fighters alike from…
Ivory Coast’s government is warning that a large backlog of unsold cocoa could result in a 10% slump in guaranteed price for the 2020/21 mid-crop and further hurt the country’s economy that is battling the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a tense post-election period. The world’s largest cocoa producer would normally have sold…
Heineken’s South African subsidiary will cut 70 jobs and put new investments on hold due to the country’s third ban on alcohol sales and COVID-19 trading restrictions, the firm announced on Wednesday. Africa’s most developed nation imposed a third ban on alcohol sales in early January, a move the government said was necessary to free…
Zambia’s state mining agency has agreed to purchase Glencore’s majority stake in Mopani Copper Mines for $1.5 billion, belying the government’s perilous financial situation that has seen the Southern African nation become the first pandemic-era sovereign debt default in the continent last year. In announcing the deal, the government said the move was a result…
Africa’s largest economy has written a formal request to the African Union (AU) calling for the body to grant it 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to supplement the COVAX programme and has allocated $26 million for licensed vaccine production, the country’s health minister announced on Monday. Nigeria is grappling with a second wave of novel…
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has announced that kidnappings by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea hit a record high in 2020, with well-armed and violent gangs defying regional navies and venturing further out to sea. Pirates in the West African region kidnapped 130 seafarers in 22 separate incidents accounting for all but five of…
Angola has become the latest African country to receive funds from the International Monetary Fund, after the Washington-based lender approved disbursement of $488 million to the southern African country. In allocating the funds, IMF reiterated confidence that Africa’s second-biggest oil producer will rein in public debt to sustainable levels. The disbursement approved by the executive…