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COVID vaccine imports slows down causing a third wave sweeps across Africa

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4 years ago

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WHO says continent urgently needs more jabs as eight countries report rise of 30% in cases in a week

African countries face a last-ditch battle against a third wave of Covid infections, as the supply of vaccines to the continent “grinds to a halt”, top health officials have warned.

“The threat of a third wave in Africa is real and rising. Our priority is clear – it’s crucial that we swiftly get vaccines into the arms of Africans at high risk of falling seriously ill and dying of Covid-19,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa.

The WHO said the pandemic was now trending upwards in 14 countries and in the past week alone, eight countries had witnessed an abrupt rise of over 30% in cases. However, vaccine shipments to African nations have ground to a near halt.

“While many countries outside Africa have now vaccinated their high-priority groups and are able to even consider vaccinating their children, African countries are unable to even follow up with second doses for high-risk groups,” Moeti said.

Only 50m doses have been received in Africa, of which 31 million doses had been administered in 50 countries with a combined population of more than a billion.

There are widespread fears among senior health officials that the continent could suffer similar or worse devastation to that seen in India, which has a more robust health system than many African countries.

Africa has officially registered almost 5m Covid-19 cases and more than 130,000 deaths, a figure representing 2.9% of global cases and 3.7% of deaths, but many experts believe the total is a very significant underestimate, and that the death toll is likely to be many times higher.

The UN-backed Covax vaccine-sharing facility that many African countries hoped would ensure equitable access worldwide has failed to provide more than a tiny fraction of the shots needed, as rich nations buy up all available supplies and Indian producers of the favoured AstraZeneca vaccine service only local demand.

Burkina Faso, which has a population of 20 million, this week received just 115,000 doses from the Covax Facility, while Rwanda and Togo each received about 100,000 Pfizer vaccine doses. In Zimbabwe, hundreds of people are being turned away from vaccination centres as the country’s supplies of China’s Sinovac vaccine appear to have run out.

Infections are also surging in Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 32 members of parliament and several aides to the president, Félix Tshisekedi, are among those who have died.

Prof Jean-Marie Kayembe, a member of DRC’s anti-coronavirus taskforce, told the UN’s Radio Okapi that rising numbers of cases and “saturation” of healthcare centres made it clear that the country was “in the third [wave] at the moment”.

In South Africa, where a faltering vaccine campaign has been further delayed by problems at plants in the US making the Johnson and Johnson shot, authorities are reporting a sustained increase in cases and deaths. Less than one in 40 of the population of sub-Saharan Africa’s most developed nation have received a jab and excess mortality statistics suggest the actual toll may be two or even three times higher.

Uganda, which has received only a third of 3m vaccines expected from Covax, recorded a 131% week-on-week rise last week, with infection clusters in schools, rising cases among health workers and isolation centres and intensive care units filling up.

The country’s president, Yoweri Museveni, further toughened virus curbs on Sunday night, ordering the closure of schools for six weeks and banning most gatherings.

Uganda has counted 52,935 cases of coronavirus, of which 383 have been fatal, figures believed to be undercounted as a result of low testing.

“In this wave, the intensity of severe and critically ill Covid-19 patients, and deaths is higher than what we experienced in the first wave of the pandemic,” Museveni said in a televised address.

“We are concerned that this will exhaust available bed space and oxygen supply in hospitals, unless we constitute urgent public health measures,” said Museveni.

Such shortages are almost universal. In a survey last month, the WHO found health facilities and personnel crucial for critically ill Covid patients are grossly inadequate in many African countries.

Of 23 countries surveyed, it found that most had less than one intensive care unit (ICU) bed per 100,000 population and only one-third had mechanical ventilators.

By comparison, rich countries such as Germany and the United States have more than 25 ICU beds per 100,000 people.

“Treatment is the last line of defence against this virus and we cannot let it be breached,” Moeti told reporters, calling for better equipment for hospital and medical staff.

A recent study followed 3,000 coronavirus patients admitted to intensive care units across 10 African countries between May and December last year. Almost half of them died within 30 days of admission.

Tanzania, Burundi, Chad and Eritrea are yet to start any vaccination campaign. There has been a resurgence of infection in Seychelles despite it being the most vaccinated country in Africa, possibly due to new variants and the relatively low efficacy of China’s Sinopharm vaccine.

Studies have shown that millions of people in Africa will be pushed into poverty and many more forced to surrender hard-won gains in income and quality of life as the effects of the pandemic continue to surge across the continent. Although analysts predict a steady economic recovery on the continent during 2021, the outbreak has undone years of growth.

Analysis by the US Pew Research Center found that the recession caused by Covid has pushed 131 million people into poverty across the world. Sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia accounted for most of the increase, reversing years of progress.

About 494 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, out of a total population of 1.14 billion, were expected to be living in poverty before the pandemic in 2020. That total has risen by 40 million, the Pew analysis estimated.

Culled from the Guardian

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Africa

NBA pick Khaman Maluach Hoping to ‘Change the Narrative’ About Africa

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2 weeks ago

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June 27, 2025

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Immediately after getting drafted, Maluach was asked: “So many people, when they think about Africa, think about strife, think about war, think about not so great things about the continent, let alone South Sudan. How much of a responsibility do you think you have in changing perceptions of what people think Africa is in terms of thinking more about the resources, thinking about the people of Africa and South Sudan, specifically?”

Maluach’s native country, South Sudan, is undergoing a humanitarian crisis. His family fled the country to a suburb of Kampala, Uganda, in search of safety and opportunity during the South Sudan crisis. He now hopes to change the narrative about the region by highlighting its good parts on the world stage.

“I think about showing them the good parts of Africa,” Maluach said at the press conference after he was drafted. “I’m thinking about showing them the great places in Africa, like Kigali, whether it’s Senegal, whether it’s the safaris in Africa, and showing them the cultures we have and the people we have, which is different from the stuff they see on TV. I just want to change the narrative, the narrative of our people and how they see my continent.”

Maluach was born in Rumbek, once an important city in South Sudan that was ravaged by the country’s civil war. The 7’2″ center’s road to success was far from easy. The nearest basketball court to his house was nearly an hour’s walk away and usually packed. Moreover, he played his first game in Crocs, not basketball shoes. But his dedication was enough to catch the eye of local coaches Wal Deng and Aketch Garang.

Through the effort that he put in, Maluach made it to the NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal, then to the Duke Blue Devils, and now the Suns. He hopes the moment inspires kids on the continent.

“Living in Africa, I had the whole continent on my back. Giving hope to young kids,” he said after the Suns selected him No. 10 overall.

Maluach considers basketball a gift God gave him, and hopes to finish off his NBA career as a Hall of Famer.

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Nigeria’s first female fighter pilot Kafayat Sanni excels in Ghana

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2 weeks ago

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June 27, 2025

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After making history as Nigeria’s first female fighter pilot, Flt. Lt. Kafayat Sanni has emerged as the Best Allied Student and won the Best Assistant Commandant Paper award at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Accra, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

In a statement released on Saturday and cited by NAN, the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the awards were presented on Friday during the College graduation ceremony which had in attendance top military personnel and dignitaries from across Africa.

Ejodame recalled how Sanni first made the news in 2019 after being decorated as the Nigerian Air Force’s first female fighter pilot following her pilot training in the U.S.

“Since then, she has flown the Alpha Jet as well as undertaken training sorties on the Super Mushshak as a prolific instructor pilot, producing and mentoring younger pilots for the NAF,” Ejodame said.

“Her outstanding performance at GAFCSC not only symbolises personal excellence and resilience but also underscores Nigeria’s growing leadership in regional defence and commitment to gender inclusion in the armed forces.

“This remarkable achievement further reflects the Nigerian Air Force’s strategic investment in human capital development under the visionary leadership of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar,” he said.

In 2017, Sanni emerged as the overall best pilot at the Nigerian Air Force’s 401 training school before she moved to the United States to train at the U.S. Aviation Leadership program.

Upon completion, Sanni returned to Nigeria, where she, alongside 12 new fighter pilots, was decorated.

As Sanni became the first female fighter pilot in the 55-year history of the Nigerian Air Force, her colleague, Tolulope Arotile, also became the Force’s first female combat helicopter pilot.

“It is a privilege for me to be winged as the first female fighter pilot in the Nigerian Air Force,” Sanni said after being decorated.

Sanni said at the time she had always wanted to be a fighter pilot, and “I was just lucky to be chosen.”

“It was also my choice. It was what I wanted to do. And I felt that everyone is not supposed to fold their arms and watch what is happening in our country.

“Everyone could always play their part. So, I did not think there was any reason for me to think that it is not possible for me to actually fly the jet because there was no female that ever flew the jet. I believe I could achieve it and I did,” she said.

She then went on to advise younger girls to “never say no to opportunities.”

“They should always strive to be the best and put in their efforts. They should never look at anything that seems to want to overpower or overshadow them. For me, you can always attempt things and if they do not work out well; fine. But at every point in time, you just need to put in your best.”

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Hotel groups Hilton and Marriot announce African expansion plans

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2 weeks ago

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June 21, 2025

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U.S. hotel chains Hilton and Marriott have announced African expansion drives to tap into the continent’s rapid tourism growth.

Rising business and leisure travel on the continent has made it increasingly attractive for multinational companies and Hilton said on Wednesday that it plans to more than triple its African portfolio to more than 160 hotels.

The company plans to enter Angola, Ghana and Benin for the first time while returning to Madagascar and Tanzania, its statement said without providing a specific time horizon for the expansion plans.

Marriott expects to add 50 properties by 2027, it said on Wednesday. Those will include entry into five new countries: Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Mauritania.

The group’s existing African portfolio encompasses nearly 150 properties and 26,000 rooms across 20 countries and 22 brands.

Airlines have also increased their African capacity.

Emirates now offers 161 weekly flights across Africa, recently adding daily services to Entebbe and Addis Ababa. United Airlines launched a direct Washington-Dakar route in May and Delta will begin a seasonal daily flight to Accra in December.

International arrivals to the continent rose 9% year on year in the first quarter of 2025, the United Nations World Tourism Organization says, 16% above the same period of pre-pandemic 2019.

That momentum is translating into economic impact. Tourism accounts for between 3% and 7% of gross domestic product in countries such as Kenya, Morocco and South Africa, and up to 15% in tourism-heavy economies such as Namibia, World Bank and national statistics show.

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