Category: AFRICA

Ghana To Host ICASA 2025

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter The Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) is delighted to announce that Ghana has been selected as the host country for the 23rd edition of the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), which will take place in from 3rd to 8th December 2025 at the Accra International Conference Centre. This prestigious event will convene global leaders, community, researchers, advocates, and healthcare professionals to further the continent’s fight against HIV/AIDS, STIs, Hepatitis, Malaria, TB, emerging viral infections and strengthening Africa’s Health systems. Since its inception…

Read More

CPHIA 2024 Edition Postponed Due to Mpox

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has announced the postponement of the 2024 Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA), which was originally set to take place in Morocco from 26 to 29 November 2024. In a statement, Dr. Jean Kaseya, the Africa CDC Director General said the decision had to be made to protect people from infection. This difficult but necessary decision was made following consultations between H.E. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, and Professor Khalid Aït Taleb, Morocco’s…

Read More

United States Donation of 50,000 Mpox Vaccine Doses Arrives in DRC

Michael Gwarisa

The United States, through USAID, completed the delivery of 50,000 doses of the JYNNEOS mpox vaccine to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to support its efforts to respond to the ongoing outbreak of clade I mpox. Speaking on the development,United States Agency for International Development Spokesperson, Benjamin Suarato said the vaccines would go a long way in minimising he impact of Mpox on the continent. This important milestone is the result of months of U.S.-led efforts with partners on multiple continents which have not only…

Read More

African CDC and WHO launch joint continental plan to scale up mpox outbreak response

Michael Gwarisa

KINSHASA – In a significant step to strengthen and accelerate the response to the ongoing the mpox outbreak, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a joint continental response plan for Africa to support countries’ efforts to curb the spread of the virus, save and protect lives. The launch of the Mpox Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan follows the declarations of a public health emergency of continental security (PHECS) on 13 August 2024 by Africa CDC, and a public health emergency…

Read More

DRC Receives First Shipment of Mpox Vaccines

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are pleased to announce the arrival of the first shipment of 99,100 doses of JYNNEOS mpox vaccine to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The shipment is expected to launch a critical vaccination campaign aimed at curbing the rising epidemic in the Democtratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The vaccine doses were officially received by the Minister of Health of the Democtratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Samuel Roger Kamba, alongside H.E. Dr.…

Read More

Why Africans and Europeans React To Medicines Differently: Zimbabwean Scientist Tests Effectiveness of Pharmacogenetics in African Populations

Michael Gwarisa

While some patients experience adverse drug reactions (ADRs) when taking medicines, others do not, and in some cases, others do not receive therapeutic benefits from treatment regardless of dosage. One reason for this inter-individual variation in response is differences in genes that code for proteins important in drug response. This has given rise to the field of Pharmacogenomics (PGx), which seeks to identify biomarkers that predict drug response and apply them in the provision of PGx-guided precision medicine. Following years of repeated Pharmacogenomics (PGx) research, which sought to identify biomarkers…

Read More

UNICEF Issues Emergency Tender To Secure Mpox Vaccines For Crisis-hit African Countries

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter UNICEF has announced that it has issued an emergency tender for the procurement of mpox vaccines. Vaccines can play a critical role in containing the mpox outbreak which was declared a public health emergency by both the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The UNICEF tender is issued to help secure mpox vaccines for the hardest hit countries in collaboration with Africa CDC, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO, the Pan American Health Organization and other partners. This collaboration…

Read More

Africa CDC Develops Mpox Surveillance Reporting Protocol for African Union Member States

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa In a bid to enhance existing mpox surveillance in Africa, identify at risk populations as well as understand the epidemiology, natural history and risk factors associated with mpox, the Africa Centre for Diseases Control (Africa CDC) has developed an Mpox surveillance protocol for member states. The new protocol recommends enhancing surveillance within communities and health facilities and, at the point of entries, linking these efforts to national and regional laboratories for confirmation. Countries are encouraged to share the case-based data with the African CDC and the WHO…

Read More

The reality behind the ‘Chinese debt trap’ myth in Africa

Healthtimes

By Hannah Ryde For years, there have been sweeping concerns of African countries falling “victim” to a Chinese “debt trap” – whereby Chinese lenders provide unsustainable loans to African countries. Such narratives are problematic, as African countries are portrayed as inferior or incompetent in their engagement with Chinese creditors, while their Chinese counterparts are presented as predatory in their engagement with Africa. Indeed, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed these narratives emerging once again, despite vast amounts of data debunking this theory. This narrative is also extremely harmful, as it…

Read More

Monkeypox: A Global Health Threat – who sounds the Alarm?

Healthtimes

By Dr. Amit Singh Monkeypox is a viral disease of animal origin. It occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions.  Common symptoms of mpox include a rash which may last for 2–4 weeks. This may start with, or be followed by, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen glands (lymph nodes). The rash looks like blisters or sores, and can affect the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, groin, genital and/or anal regions.…

Read More