poor countries - The African Mirror

Sep

2021

COVID-19 disruption causing many deaths from TB, AIDS in poorest countries, fund says

EMMA FARGE HUNDREDS of thousands of people will die of tuberculosis left untreated because of disruption to healthcare systems in poor countries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global aid fund said. In a few of the world's poorest countries, excess deaths from AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) could even exceed those from the coronavirus itself, said the head of the Geneva-based aid body, known as the Global Fund. The Fund's annual report for 2020, released on Wednesday, showed that the number of people treated for drug-resistant tuberculosis in countries where it operates fell by 19%. A decline of 11% was…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Just give us the vaccines, WHO pleads, as poor countries go wanting

COVID-19

MICHAEL SHIELDS and STEPHANIE NEBEHAY RICH countries are opening up societies and vaccinating young people who are not at great risk from COVID-19, while the poorest countries cruelly lack doses, the World Health Organization said yesterday, condemning a global failure. The situation in Africa, where new infections and deaths jumped by nearly 40% last week compared to the previous week, is "so dangerous" as the Delta variant spreads globally, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "Our world is failing, as the global community we are failing," he told a news conference. Tedros, who is Ethiopian, chastised unnamed countries for reluctance…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Cut the debt of poor countries, Pope tells IMF, World Bank

RELIGION

POPE Francis has told world financial chiefs that poor countries hit by the economic impact of the coronavirus need to have their debt burden reduced and be given a greater say in global decision making. In a letter to the participants of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's annual spring meeting, the pope said the pandemic had forced the world to come to terms with interrelated socio-economic, ecological, and political crises. "The notion of recovery cannot be content to a return to an unequal and unsustainable model of economic and social life, where a tiny minority of the world's…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

WHO emergency COVID-19 vaccine listing aims to lift access in poor countries

COVID-19

JOHN MILLER THE World Health Organization on Thursday listed Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, in a move seeking to speed access in the developing world. The United Nations health agency said it will work with regional partners to tell national health authorities about the two-dose shot and its anticipated benefits. The WHO established its emergency use listing (EUL) process to help poorer countries without their own regulatory resources quickly approve medicines new diseases like COVID-19, which otherwise could lead to delays. The WHO's review found Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine met the "must-have" criteria for safety and efficacy benefits outweigh…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Poor countries seen missing out as rich nations hoard COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19

THIN LEI WIN NINE out of 10 people in dozens of poor nations could miss out on getting vaccinated against COVID-19 next year because rich countries have hoarded far more doses than they need, campaigners have said. Rich nations home to 14% of the global population had bought 53% of the total stock of the most-promising vaccines as of last month, said the People's Vaccine Alliance, a coalition including Oxfam, Amnesty International and Global Justice Now. They said pharmaceutical companies working on COVID-19 vaccines should openly share their technology and intellectual property through the World Health Organisation (WHO) so more…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Can vaccines reach the world’s poorest?

COVID-19

THIN LEI WIN PFIZER Inc has said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed more than a million people and infected 50 million. Drugmakers around the globe have been racing to develop vaccines against COVID-19, but organisations such as the vaccine alliance GAVI have expressed fears that poor nations would lose out in the global race. Wealthier countries have forged multibillion-dollar supply deals with drugmakers and purchased 3.8 billion doses of potential coronavirus vaccines, leaving few doses available for poor nations, according to a recent analysis…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

In the face of COVID-19, rich countries are in danger of abandoning the poor

COVID-19

YOUBA SOKONA COVID-19 has upended life as we know it, devastating livelihoods and economies around the world. It has delivered a devastating indictment on how little we have done to address existing problems around human rights and injustice. The loss of human life is already clear. As of mid-August, there were more than 21 million cases and 750,000 deaths. Borders that had opened for now closing again. Lockdowns advertised for a few weeks are now running into months. While the United States, China, Brazil and Europe are dominating global media coverage, the impacts are felt acutely in the world's 47…