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…
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…
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…
African countries are in line to receive the first batches of coronavirus vaccines in the first quarter of the year, a scientist at the World Health Organization said in a virtual briefing in Geneva. “In the second and third quarters of this year is when we are really going to start seeing volumes,” Soumya Swaminathan…
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday the government has secured 20 million more doses of coronavirus vaccines as he extended a ban on alcohol sales and curbed cross-border travel to slow the spread of COVID-19. Africa’s most industrialized nation will remain on virus alert level 3 with land border posts closed to most…
The total number of coronavirus cases has surpassed 2.5 million according to a Reuters tally, with the continent suffering a second wave of infections. A growing number of African countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ivory Coast have recorded a sharp increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases…
The Kingdom of Morocco will issue out COVID-19 vaccines for free to all citizens, following a decree by the country’s ruler King Mohammed VI. The North African country is among a few in the continent that have purchased or made plans to buy COVID-19 vaccines. Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani told reporters last month…
South Africa’s auditor general has announced recovery of nearly $228 million of irregularly paid COVID-19 jobless claims in an ongoing investigation into corruption linked to relief funds. Earlier in the year, a special jobless grant administered by the government’s Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) called TERS payments was introduced to provide between 38% and 60% of…
Just 24 hours after the United Kingdom became the first western country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for its citizenry, experts in a webinar titled “Access to COVID-19 Vaccines for Africa” warned of the impending challenges that Africa faces when it will carry out a similar move. Organized by ADS Group in partnership with Africa…
The U.K. has become the first western country to license a Covid-19 vaccine, opening up mass immunization campaigns starting next week ahead of similar decisions in the U.S. and European Union. The U.K. regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, said on Wednesday that the vaccine “met its strict standards of safety, quality and…
The UN says that the coronavirus pandemic is rapidly accelerating to record highs the number of people worldwide who need humanitarian assistance to survive. As a result there has been a sharp increase in extreme poverty in just one year, with 235 million people worldwide now living in extreme poverty. The largest concentrations are in…
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that deaths from malaria due to disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic to services designed to tackle the disease will far exceed those killed by COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is one of the top killer diseases in the world with more than 409,000 people globally – most of them…
As the world hurtles towards a COVID-19 vaccine, the Africa Development Solution (ADS) in partnership with Africa Health Business and Mansa Media will be hosting the ‘Access to COVID-19 Vaccines for Africa’ webinar on Thursday, 3rd December 2020. The first-ever virtual webinar will include discussions by field experts on the procurement and financing solutions for…
Total coronavirus cases in Africa have crossed the 2 million mark, however analysts believe that that the numbers are massively undercounted. Despite the slow addition of reported infections compared to other regions around the world, so far, the continent has recorded 2,040,000 cases, which represents under 4% of the world’s reported cases. Experts believe that…
Botswana has signed an agreement with the World Health Organization’s co-led global vaccine distribution scheme to buy coronavirus vaccines for at least 20% of its population. The southern African country does not qualify for subsidized vaccines under the COVAX scheme unlike most African countries because it is classified as an upper middle income country. Neighboring…
A section of Nigerian citizens have been looting state warehouses across the country stocked with COVID-19 relief supplies which they say should have gone to the poor and hungry. The National Governors Forum (NGF) has however denied accusations of food hoarding or plans to sell the supplies. The body that brings together the heads of…
Aspen Pharmacare, has announced that it has reached an agreement with American drugmaker Johnson & Johnson to commercially manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in South Africa. Aspen, South Africa’s largest pharmaceutical company, will also perform formulation, filling and secondary packaging of the vaccine for the U.S. firm, the company said. Currently, the vaccine candidate is…
Ethiopia has gazette a new law that could see people jailed for up to two years if they deliberately violate restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. The new decree from the attorney general’s office comes amid heightened concern that citizens are becoming lax after a state of emergency was lifted. Alongside the new…
Mastercard Foundation has issued a $20.4 million grant that will be distributed among 65,000 Nigerian farmers as part of a broader plan aimed at revitalizing the agriculture sector from the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Foundation has teamed up with Alluvial Agriculture in an arrangement that will enable farmers access a farming collective,…