The voices of 150 African women resonated loudly at the second Women’s Climate Assembly 2023 (WCA) where participants from 17 countries across Central and West Africa converged in Lagos, Nigeria to learn and share more about their linked struggles. Held over 24 – 28 September 2023, the gathering brought together women under the banner, African Women Unite for climate justice, reparations,…
Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Laos have received Oral Antiviral Treatments for High-Risk Patients through COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium
The COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium announced today that the governments of Zambia, Laos, Malawi, and Rwanda have received shipments of PAXLOVID™ (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir), Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral treatment. Partners involved in the Quick Start Consortium are supporting test-and-treat programs to improve access to antiviral treatments in low- and middle-income countries. As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its…
Empowering African women through digital inclusion in seed saving for food sovereignty
By Venter Mwongera As we celebrate International Women’s Day today under the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” we cannot overlook the remarkable prowess of African women in indigenous seed saving and their contribution to food sovereignty. For generations, African women have played a crucial role in safeguarding biodiversity through the conservation…
RCMRD Hosts 55th Governing Council, Shares Resolutions
The 55th Session of the Governing Council of the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) was held between November 15 and 19, 2021. RCMRD’s Governing Council Chairperson Elizabeth Bonolo Khumotaka, who is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services (MLMWSS) in Botswana presided over the opening…
Weak research funding hampers Africa Covid-19 clinical trials
By Joseph Checky Abuje Africa’s weak funding for research, poor research governance structures and weak health systems continue to hamper its place in vaccine development. Dr Borna Nyaoke-Anoke, a Senior Clinical Project Manager at the Drug for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) during a webinar seminar with African science journalists that while the researchers in…
COVID-19: Pan-Africanism at an all-time high for continent’s youth, a new survey finds
While Africa Day (May 25th), the official day of the African Union (AU) marking intercontinental unity, takes place solemnly in 2020 on the backdrop of the continued outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus), a recent study of Africa’s youth has showcased continent-wide resiliency, institutional trust, cohesion and collective ‘Afro-Optimism’ in facing the challenges ahead. The results of…
Kenya begins to nationally vaccinate girls with Cervical Cancer Vaccine
Kenya has Friday launched the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into the country’s routine immunisation programme. Around 800,000 girls across Kenya will be protected against cervical cancer annually, Sicily Karuiki Cabinet Secretary for Health announced. The vaccines, provided through support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will aim to reach all girls aged 10 in two doses administered six…
Africa bans live elephants exports
The Parties at the 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP 18) of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) voted last Sunday 17 August to end the trade in the live African elephant’s exports, a common practice in Zimbabwe and Botswana. For Foundation Franz Weber (FFW), an organization that…