UN: Madagascar Droughts Push 400,000 Toward Starvation
The U.N. World Food Program says southern Madagascar is in the throes of back-to-back droughts that are pushing 400,000 people toward starvation and have already caused deaths from severe hunger.Lola Castro, WFP’s regional director in southern Africa, …
Somalia Executes Militants Amid Deadly Attack
Security officials in Somalia say dozens of people were killed after militants attacked a small town in the central state of Galmudug early on Sunday. At least 30 people were killed, among them civilian residents caught in the crossfire between mil…
WHO Says Africa Experiencing Third Wave of COVID-19 Infections
“Africa is facing a fast-surging third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, with cases spreading more rapidly and projected to soon overtake the peak of the second wave the continent witnessed at the start of 2021,” according to the World Health Organization’s r…
Vaccine Rollout?in Ivory Coast?Picks?Up?Steam After?Rough Start
The first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Ivory Coast in late February. By March 1, the country started vaccinating people, making it the first in the world to do so through the COVAX initiative, a program co-led by the World Health Organi…
COVID-19 Devastates Children in Sub-Saharan Africa
The U.N. children’s fund (UNICEF) says COVID-19 is having devastating consequences on millions of children in sub-Saharan Africa, as many become orphaned, making them vulnerable to many social ills.The region is in the throes of a full-blown third wave…
Ugandan Traders Strive to Stay Afloat Amid New COVID Lockdown
Uganda’s reinstatement of a coronavirus lockdown through the end of July is squeezing the ability of many people to earn a living. Street market traders are forced to bicycle, walk long distances or just sleep in the market. With coronavirus infections…
WHO: Africa Facing Rapidly Spreading Third COVID Wave
The World Health Organization said Africa is facing a third wave of COVID-19.WHO said cases have risen for five consecutive weeks, with 474,000 new cases since June 20. The increase indicates a more rapid spread than the continent’s second wave, which …
Health Officials: Blast Kills Dozens in Tigray Market
A bomb blast killed dozens of people Tuesday at a market in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, as new fighting flared up in areas outside the regional capital, Mekelle. The bomb went off in the town of Togoga west of Mekelle at about 1 p.m. local time. There w…
After Cameroon Government Ban from Western Regions, MSF Says Thousands Lack Healthcare
Medical aid group Doctors Without Borders says tens of thousands of people in Cameroon’s western regions have been deprived of lifesaving healthcare since December, when authorities stopped their services. Cameroon accused the aid group of being too cl…
Cameroon Widows Accuse Women of Enforcing Harmful Traditional Rituals
Several hundred Cameroonian widows gathered in the capital, Yaounde, to observe International Widows Day by protesting traditional practices that wives are expected to undergo when they lose their husbands.Cameroon’s minister of women’s empowerment and…