Zimbabwe starts providing free treatment for women with obstetric fistula
Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s government has given in to pressure from rights groups and is now providing free treatment to women with obstetric fistula, a condition that makes it hard for mothers who went through difficult labor to control their…
Nigeria: UN agencies assist families affected by floods
Heavy rains have ravaged 30 of the country’s 36 states, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday. The Government has reported 269 deaths so far, while over a million people have been affected and more than 640,000 are now…
Authorities install air quality Monitors around Nairobi
Authorities in Nairobi are trying to tackle the Kenyan capital’s chronic and worsening air pollution. With help from the U.S. Agency for International Development, authorities are placing sensors that can monitor air quality around the densely populated city. Victoria Amunga…
Health teams brave war conditions in Sudan to save newborn babies
Under shelling and gunfire, Esraa cradled her newborn son. As the war in Sudan broke out in April 2023, she was trying to reach a health clinic for treatment for her baby, who had been struggling with infections and breathing…
Traveling ‘health train’ has become essential source of free care in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG — Thethiwe Mahlangu woke early on a chilly morning and walked through her busy South African township, where minibuses hooted to pick up commuters and smoke from sidewalk breakfast stalls hung in the air. Her eyes had been troubling…
WHO clears Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine for mpox, sets up access plan
The World Health Organization and partners on Friday set up a plan to help bring mpox vaccines, tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world’s poorest countries, similar to efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, after earlier approving…
Nigeria: Hundreds of thousands in need of aid as flooding wipes out homes – WFP
Alau Dam, located just over 10 miles to the south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, collapsed in the middle of the night on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes. Emmanuel Bigenimana, the head of WFP’s office…
WHO approves first mpox vaccine to boost access in Africa
The MVA-BN vaccine from the Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic was prequalified by the WHO on Friday and has already been approved in Europe and the United States, for use by adults. WHO approval will accelerate access for millions, to…
World News in Brief: UNICEF mpox response in DR Congo, ‘unprecedented’ threat to Sudan’s heritage, call to suspend Cambodia journalism charter
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 21,000 suspected cases of the viral disease, including over 5,000 confirmed cases and 700 deaths. Over the past week, UNICEF received its first vaccine shipments totalling 215,000 doses,…
Botswana, US firm partner to conduct border pathogen monitoring
Gaborone, Botswana — Botswana and an American biotech firm, Ginkgo Bioworks, have partnered to conduct pathogen surveillance at the country’s entry points. Health officials say the proactive move is meant to safeguard public health as the world faces emerging disease…