HEALTH - The African Mirror

Aug

18

2020

Coronavirus banishes female inmates to far-flung jails in Malawi

COVID-19

CHARLES PENSULO MALAWI is transferring female prisoners to remote jails in a bid to slow the pandemic, but human rights groups say the move could instead spread the coronavirus and damage the women's welfare. They say the relocation ends all family visits, leaving the women isolated and short of basics, from food to sanitary pads. "These transfers are unprecedented, and devastating to many of the women, who are now far from their families and housed in unsanitary and congested cellblocks," Alexious Kamangila of Reprieve, a local human rights organisation, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The government said it had no…

Aug

18

2020

By The African Mirror

Pandemic starts to surge in conflict-hit Libya

COVID-19

AS coronavirus cases surge in Libya, medics and officials working with a health system wrecked by years of division and war are warning that the pandemic could be slipping out of their control. The conflict has also restricted movement within Libya, and confirmed cases remained low during the first months of the outbreak. Now, infections are jumping by up to several hundred per day to reach a total of nearly 8,200, including more than 150 deaths. Hotspots include the capital Tripoli and the large port city of Misrata in the west, and the city of Sabha in the south. Medics…

Aug

18

2020

By The African Mirror

Sudan’s political change gives hope for young women and girls. Here’s why

HEALTH

TAMSIN BRADLEY, Professor of International Development Studies, University of Portsmouth Sudan’s transitional government recently announced a nationwide ban on female genital mutilation. A 2014 survey backed by the United Nations estimated 87% of Sudanese women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 had been subjected to the practice. Most undergo an extreme form known as infibulation. Tamsin Bradley sets out the context in which the ban was announced and the prospects for change under the reformist government. How widespread is female genital mutilation in Sudan? Female genital mutilation, or cutting, is widespread in Sudan. The practice is also…

Aug

17

2020

By The African Mirror

Novavax begins mid-stage study of COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa

COVID-19

U.S. drug developer Novavax Inc said on Monday that it is starting a mid-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa, as the country experiences a surge in coronavirus cases. The Phase 2b trial study of NVX-CoV2373 will be conducted on about 2,665 healthy adults and will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity in about 240 medically stable, HIV-positive adults, the company said in a statement. "Because South Africa is experiencing a winter surge of COVID-19 disease, this important Phase 2b clinical trial has the potential to provide an early indication of efficacy, along with additional safety and immunogenicity…

Aug

30

2020

By The African Mirror

From Minecraft to robots: seven ways education is changing under lockdown

COVID-19

AMBER MILNE SCHOOL globally have been impacted by coronavirus lockdowns with some closing their doors indefinitely and others reopening under new guidelines. Students and teachers are finding innovative new ways to learn safely inside and outside the classroom. From gamified universities to TV lessons, distance learning has spurred new tech solutions to tackle the challenges that come with studying remotely. As the virus continues to spread and with vaccines anything from a few months to a few years away, these innovations could become part of the future of learning in a post-coronavirus world. Here are seven ways education is changing…

Aug

29

2020

By The African Mirror

Namibia opens airports and schools but extends overnight curfew

COVID-19

NAMIBIA will lift lockdown restrictions, allowing international travel, schools to reopen and onsite alcohol consumption from September, President Hage Geingob has announced, but he extended an overnight curfew as Covid-19 cases continue to rise. The southern African country of two million now has 6,906 confirmed COVID-19 cases and the disease is not yet contained -- of its 65 deaths, 55 were in August alone. But as with other southern African nations, leaders are weighing the impact of the virus against the huge economic and social damage done by lockdowns. "The virus is likely to remain in our midst for a…

Aug

28

2020

By The African Mirror

150 celebrities to take the plunge to support families left destitute by COVID-19

COVID-19

SOUTH AFRICAN celebrities and business leaders are going to brave icy waters to raise funds for food parcels for Special Olympic athletes and their families that have been left destitute by the coronavirus and lockdown in South Africa. Soccer legend legends Lucas Radebe and Mark Fish, as well as a host of television personalities, actors, actresses and models are among the 150 that will take part in the 2020 Polar Plunge. Special Olympics South Africa (SOSA) has announced that the 2020 Polar Plunge Challenge - the 4th edition - will be held on September 5 at the popular Altitude Beach…

Aug

28

2020

By The African Mirror

Doctors in Kenyan capital end strike over pay delays, lack of PPE

COVID-19

DOCTORS employed by Kenya's Nairobi County government have resumed work following a six-day strike over delayed salaries and a lack of protective equipment when handling patients who may have COVID-19, a union official said. Thuranira Kaugiria, Nairobi County secretary-general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, said in a WhatsApp message the doctors had returned to work after signing an agreement with county officials on Wednesday. In the agreement, the government promised to pay doctors on the fifth day of every month, failing to which the doctors were free to stop work without notice. The agreement, seen by…

Aug

28

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 reveals risky life on the buses for Ethiopia’s child conductors

COVID-19

EMELINE WUILBERCQ Every day, Tarekegn Medhin wakes up at dawn to search for a conductor job at one of Addis Ababa's frenetic minibus depots. Despite lousy working conditions and chronic shoulder pain - it takes heft to manoeuvre the bus doors at speed - the nine-year-old lines up in hope of any driver offering him a shift. All for 100 birr ($2.78) a day. But since April, when Ethiopia ordered operators to cut passenger numbers to curb the new coronavirus, it has become increasingly hard for the child conductors to make ends meet. "Life is not comfortable. I spend my…

Aug

28

2020

By The African Mirror

Libya’s Tripoli government imposes COVID-19 curfew after protests escalate

COVID-19

LIBYA’S Tripoli-based government has announced a 24-hour curfew to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus as it struggles to contain protests over deteriorating living conditions and corruption. The curfew, which took effect on Wednesday night, was imposed by the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) three days after protests in the capital and the nearby town of Zawiya began to escalate. The decision exempts people who need to go out for essential food or medicine at nearby shops, but it angered protest supporters who posted messages online saying it was designed to prevent further demonstrations. Some defied the…