African Union - The African Mirror

Nov

03

2022

Parties to war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region agree to stop fighting

NEWS

ALEXANDER WINNING and TIM COCKS THE Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray agreed to cease hostilities, a dramatic diplomatic breakthrough two years into a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands facing famine. Just over a week after formal peace talks mediated by the African Union (AU) began in the South African capital Pretoria, delegates from both sides signed an agreement described by an AU official as a "permanent cessation of hostilities". "The two parties in the Ethiopian conflict have formally agreed to the cessation of hostilities as well as to systematic, orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament,"…

Apr

03

2022

By The African Mirror

Sudan threatens to expel UN rep

NEWS

SUDAN'S military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has threatened to expel the United Nations' special representative, accusing him of overstepping his mandate. "We heard his slander the other day, lying, blatantly lying," Burhan said in a speech at a military graduation on Friday. "If you overstep your mandate, we will put you out of Sudan." The comments come days after U.N. representative Volker Perthes gave an update to the Security Council on efforts in Sudan, where he commented on the country's economic turmoil, violence against protesters and priorities for a transition to elections. Perthes' mission has involved holding a series…

Mar

01

2022

By The African Mirror

AU condemns ill treatment of Africans in Ukraine

WORLD

THE African Union (AU) said that it was disturbed by reports that African citizens in Ukraine are being refused the right to cross borders to safety as they try to flee the conflict in Ukraine. Thousands of African and other foreign nationals, particularly students, have been scrambling to leave Ukraine following Russia's invasion. But as hundreds of thousands throng to Ukraine's borders, overwhelming authorities in neighbouring countries, reports have emerged that Africans are being treated differently and sometimes prevented from leaving. Senegal's President Macky Sall speaks at a news conference on the second day of a European Union (EU) African…

Apr

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria aims to get 70 million vaccines

COVID-19

ALEIXIS AKWAGYIRAM NIGERIA hopes to receive up to 70 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this year through the African Union (AU), its primary healthcare chief told Reuters, amid concerns about delayed deliveries of AstraZeneca shots. Rolling out vaccines in developing nations such as Nigeria, whose 200 million-strong population is Africa's biggest, is seen as key to stemming the global spread of the new coronavirus. Nigeria, which has recorded 2,049 deaths from COVID-19 and began vaccinations this month, plans to inoculate 40% of its people this year and another 30% in 2022. Last week, India - the…

Jan

16

2021

By The African Mirror

How African vaccines will be allocated

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING MILLIONS of coronavirus vaccine doses secured by the African Union (AU) will be allocated according to countries' population size, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced. Ramaphosa, who is the current AU chairman, said on Wednesday that vaccines from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca would be available this year, but he did not specify how much each African country would get. No African countries have begun large-scale coronavirus vaccination campaigns and the AU's 270 million shots, if administered two per person, would still only cover around 10% of the continent's 1.3 billion people. "The Africa CDC has…

Jan

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Vaccines due in weeks or months not yet Africa’s way out of pandemic, officials say

COVID-19

VACCINES are not yet Africa's way out of the pandemic as it may be weeks or even months before first doses start to arrive, health officials said, after the African Union (AU) secured 270 million doses for the continent where about 30,000 a day are becoming infected. Africa has not started vaccinations and there is concern that more prosperous regions are getting an unfair head start in the global fight against COVID-19. Africa's second coronavirus wave is infecting twice as many people per day as the height of the first wave last year, and has not peaked, John Nkengasong, director…

Jan

14

2021

By The African Mirror

AFRICA SECURES 270 MILLION COVID-19 VACCINE DOSES

COVID-19

THE African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team has secured a provisional 270 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for African countries, South African President and African Union (AU) chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed. Ramaphosa said the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), which he established after the outbreak of COVID-19, has reported that 50-million of the 270-million doses would be made available for the crucial period of April to June 2021. The vaccines would be supplied by Pfizer, AstraZeneca (through an independent licensee, Serum Institute of India) and Johnson & Johnson. Ramaphosa said that the AU efforts complemented the COVAX facility, a World…

Jan

19

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria requests 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses

COVID-19

FELIX ONUAH NIGERIA has written to the African Union to request 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to supplement the COVAX programme and has allocated $26 million for licensed vaccine production, the health minister said yesterday. Nigeria, like other countries across Africa, is grappling with a second wave of the novel coronavirus. As of Monday, Nigeria, the continent's most populous country of 200 million inhabitants, had 110,387 confirmed cases and 1,435 deaths. The African Union has secured a provisional 270 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from manufacturers for member states, its chair South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said last week. "Nigeria has…

Apr

14

2022

By The African Mirror

Why African nations’ support for UN action on Russia/Ukraine is so mixed

NEWS

TIM COCKS WESTERN powers seeking to isolate Russia over Ukraine are disappointed at what they see as lukewarm support from African nations at the U.N. general assembly - where their 54 votes form a bloc large enough to swing resolutions. The Ukraine war comes at a time of heightened rivalry between the West, China and Russia over Africa's natural resources, trade and security ties. Below are some reasons for the continent's divided stance: HEARTS AND MINDS On the day of the invasion, February 24, the African Union unequivocally called on Russia to respect "the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of…

Apr

11

2022

By The African Mirror

Somali leaders at odds over expulsion of AU envoy

NEWS

SOMALIA'S prime minister expelled the African Union representative because of "acts incompatible with his status" but the president rejected the order, signalling a new rift between the leaders of the Horn of Africa nation. The power struggle between Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is widely seen as distracting the government from fighting an Islamist insurgency and last year fed fears of clashes within the military. African Union peacekeeping troops help the government fight the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militant group. Roble's office said the African Union representative, Francisco Madeira, must leave within 48 hours. "The…