Cameroon urges awareness of breast cancer’s early stages
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Humanitarian groups in Cameroon are visiting homes and villages in remote areas this week to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, advising women to go to hospitals for free screening and treatment. About 60% of the more than…
Sudan: Refugee numbers swell as war continues to drive displacement
South Sudan now ranks as the second largest recipient of people fleeing Sudan, with more than 810,000 new arrivals since April 2023, including returning South Sudanese refugees who were sheltering in Sudan and refugee and asylum seekers from other countries….
Prayer camps in Nigeria attract ‘miracle seekers’
The power of simple prayer to heal illness is not clear, according to scientists, and is difficult to study. Whatever your faith, when you’re sick, you should seek treatment from a doctor. But in Nigeria, some people choose spiritual healers…
Cholera cases, deaths surge more than 200% in Nigeria
Abuja, Nigeria — Cholera is surging in Nigeria, health officials said this week, with the number of cases and deaths increasing by more than 200% this year. The Nigerian Center for Disease Control said in this week’s epidemiological report that…
‘Alarming’ situation in Great Lakes Region of DR Congo
“It is the civilian population who will continue to bear the heavy toll of war daily: loss of life, sexual violence, health problems and malnutrition in displacement camps,” said Huang Xia. The violence is driven by both the M23 armed group…
WHO calls for action to halt rise in hearing loss in Africa
Hearing loss already costs the continent $27 million annually, exacting profound impact on lives and economies, according to the report, which was launched at the African Summit on Hearing Impairment in Nairobi, Kenya. Widespread hearing loss disproportionately affects poor and…
Sudan: ‘Children should be safe everywhere’, says UNICEF, as fears grow for El Fasher
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reminded journalists in New York at the regular noon briefing that famine conditions have already been confirmed in the Zamzam camp for the displaced, just outside the city, “and we think that other camps in the…
Rwanda begins Marburg vaccinations to curb deadly outbreak
KIGALI — Rwanda said Sunday it had begun administering vaccine doses against the Marburg virus to try to combat an outbreak of the Ebola-like disease in the east African country, where it has so far killed 12 people. “The vaccination…
Congo starts mpox vaccinations in effort to slow outbreaks
GOMA, Congo — Congolese authorities on Saturday began vaccinations against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization. The 265,000…
Sex workers find themselves at center of Congo’s mpox outbreak
KAMITUGA, Congo — It’s been four months since Sifa Kunguja recovered from mpox, but as a sex worker, she said, she’s still struggling to regain clients, with fear and stigma driving away people who’ve heard she had the virus. “It’s…