HEALTH - The African Mirror

Oct

01

2020

South Africa opens borders to Africans but bars tourists from high-risk countries

COVID-19

TIM COCKS and ALEXANDER WINNING SOUTH Africa will not allow tourists from countries with higher coronavirus infection and death rates, including Britain, the United States and France, to enter when its borders open up from today, ministers have announced. But business travellers with scarce and critical skills including diplomats and investors from countries considered "high-risk", which also include the Netherlands, Russia and India, can enter, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said. "We will review the data every two weeks," Pandor told a news conference, saying the government would be guided by epidemiological data when deciding which countries were deemed high-risk. President…

Oct

01

2020

By The African Mirror

U.N. chief: time for national plans to help fund global COVID-19 vaccine effort

COVID-19

MICHELLE NICHOLS and STEPHANIE NEBEHAY UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says it is time for countries to start using money from their national COVID-19 recovery and response plans to help fund the World Health Organization's global vaccine plan. The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator programme and its COVAX facility has so far received $3 billion but needs another $35 billion. It aims to deliver two billion doses of coronavirus vaccines by the end of next year, 245 million treatments and 500 million tests. "The ACT-Accelerator provides the only safe and certain way to re-open the global economy as quickly…

Oct

01

2020

By The African Mirror

Russia to supply Egypt with COVID-19 vaccine in expansion push

COVID-19

RUSSIA has clinched a deal with Egypt to supply it with 25 million doses of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, as Moscow seeks to take a leading global role in fighting the pandemic. Russia's sovereign wealth fund, RDIF, said on Wednesday it had agreed to supply the vaccine doses to Egypt via Pharco, which it described as one of the country's leading pharmaceutical groups. "The agreement between RDIF and Pharco will help Egypt obtain an efficient and safe vaccine, Sputnik V, for almost 25% of its population," RDIF chief executive Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement. The deal follows earlier…

Oct

01

2020

By The African Mirror

‘God chose me’: Congo Ebola survivor finds new purpose

HEALTH

DJAFFAR AL KATANTY FOR Esperance Nyabintu, catching Ebola was a curse and a gift from God. A year ago the virus killed her husband. Most of her neighbours, friends and family abandoned her, such is the social stigma of surviving the disease. Undaunted by the challenge of bringing up 10 children alone, she has become a social worker, supporting other ostracised survivors like herself in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo. The epidemic, the second-largest Ebola outbreak since the virus was identified in 1976, has given her an enduring sense of purpose. "It makes me useful. I tell myself…

Oct

02

2020

By The African Mirror

Insights into how the US abortion gag rule affects health services in Kenya

HEALTH

BONIFACE USHIE, Associate Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center SARA E CASEY, Assistant Professor, Columbia University Medical Center TERRY MCGOVERN, Professor, Columbia University Medical Center THE Mexico City Policy – often referred to as the “Global Gag Rule” – is a US government policy that requires non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are not based in the US and that receive US global health assistance to certify that they will not provide, refer for, counsel on, or advocate for abortion as a method of family planning. The rule also applies to any non-US funding that the organisation may receive. The…

Oct

02

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa ends foreign travel ban, but airports deserted amid selective curbs

COVID-19

PROMIT MUKHERJEE and TUMELO MODIBA TRAFFIC through South Africa's main airport was minimal despite international flights resuming after a six-month ban, with last-minute government curbs leaving many would-be tourists unable to enter the country. The government announced on Wednesday it would not allow visitors from countries with currently higher coronavirus infection and death rates than South Africa. That announcement, coming 12 days after President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country would re-open its borders, effectively cut out most of the tourist traffic that underpins its struggling economy. The government also said it would revise the list of banned countries every two…

Oct

03

2020

By The African Mirror

Tunisia reports daily coronavirus record of 1308 cases

COVID-19

TUNISIA recorded 1,308 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the health ministry has said, a record since the start of the pandemic, prompting the government to impose a night curfew in two governorates. The total number of cases has jumped to around 20,000 compared with roughly 1,000 cases before the country's borders were opened on June 27. The total number of deaths has reached 271, the Health Ministry said. Hichem Mechichi, Tunisia's Prime Minister-designate. The authorities on Thursday imposed a night curfew in Sousse and Monastir, two coastal governorates, to curb the increase in infections, amid fears that hospitals will…

Oct

03

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria to reopen federal government schools from October 12

COVID-19

NIGERIA will allow federal government schools to reopen from October 12, while schools run by states and private owners may open on their own timetables, the education minister has announced. New COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, have steadily fallen in recent weeks, according to official data. The education minister, Adamu Adamu, said the drop spurred the decision to reopen schools. "Since the beginning of September 2020, we have witnessed a considerable decline in the rate of infections," Adamu said in a statement. The Oct 12 date affects 104 federal institutes known as Unity colleges. The reopening of…

Oct

03

2020

By The African Mirror

How three prior pandemics triggered massive societal shifts

HEALTH

ANDREW LATHAM, Professor of Political Science, Macalester College BEFORE March of this year, few probably thought disease could be a significant driver of human history. Not so anymore. People are beginning to understand that the little changes COVID-19 has already ushered in or accelerated – telemedicine, remote work, social distancing, the death of the handshake, online shopping, the virtual disappearance of cash and so on – have begun to change their way of life. They may not be sure whether these changes will outlive the pandemic. And they may be uncertain whether these changes are for good or ill. Three…

Oct

07

2020

By The African Mirror

How smartphones could help improve child health in Malawi

HEALTH

GRIPHIN BAXTER CHIRAMBOADAMSON S. MUULABO ANDERSSONCIARA HEAVINJOHN O'DONOGHUEMATTHEW THOMPSONYVONNE O'CONNOR MANY low- and middle-income countries, such as Malawi, continue to experience high child mortality rates. Most of these deaths are caused by preventable and treatable diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia. But managing these conditions is a challenge in Malawi, where around 83% of the population lives in rural areas where access to appropriate health facilities is difficult. To identify sick children and ensure they get treatment close to home the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF introduced a community case management protocol in 2008. It’s mostly managed by…