Feature Stories

Clara Magalasi, who lives in a rural village near Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, woke up to a grey morning with a dull sky that was threatening rain. For Clara, the weather did not stop her from walking 4 kilometers to Chileka Health Centre. Her daughter Grace Butawo, who just turned 22 months, was due for her fourth and final dose of the RTS,S malaria vaccine. According to Clara, she was conscious about the dates to take her child for the final dose of the malaria vaccine as she understands its benefits.

Over the past two decades, the world has made great progress in reducing malaria cases and deaths, but the pace has stalled in many high malaria burden African countries. Global malaria cases dropped by 29% between 2000 and 2019, but only by 2% between 2015 and 2019 when deaths fell by 15% compared with 60% between 2000 and 2019. Professor Francis Omaswa, Executive Director, African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation, explains what needs to be done to get malaria control and prevention back on track

Cabo Verde has gone for three consecutive years – as of January 2021 – without local malaria transmission, becoming eligible to apply for the World Health Organization (WHO) certification of malaria elimination.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, just concluded a week-long visit to Ethiopia to acknowledge the country’s efforts to sustain essential health services alongside the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, learn about the progress and challenges in the health response to the humanitarian situation in northern Ethiopia, and reaffirm WHO’s commitment to support these efforts. 

Imam El hadj Moussa Soumahoro wears a serious face. He has just ended a morning sermon that concluded with Ebola preventive messages and the importance of vaccination against the virus that recently re-emerged in Guinea for the first time since the 2014–2016 outbreak. Soumahoro has joined the fight against the disease.

A few days after he referred a patient from his clinic to the regional hospital, Emmanuel Goepogui, a private practitioner in N’Zerekore prefecture in south-eastern Guinea, received a visit by a community disease surveillance team. “They came to inform me that my patient had tested positive for Ebola and that I was a direct contact,” he says.

Studies show that the Ebola virus can persist in bodily fluids – such as semen and breast milk – of survivors for months. The recent resurgence of Ebola in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been linked to bodily fluids of survivors.

Up to 55 000 premature deaths can be saved in Accra, one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities, through sustainable modes of transport, a new report by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Urban Health Initiative has found.

In the fulfilness of time, Madam Amie Jobe received her heart’s desire- a lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine, at Kanifing Hospital on 19 March 2021. She commands a section of women in politics and she is a businesswoman in Bakau area, Western Region.

Accra, 18 March 2021 – COVID-19 vaccination in Africa is gathering pace, with more than 7 million doses so far administered. But the continent received vaccines later than other regions of the world and in limited quantity. A few weeks after launching vaccinations, some countries are nearly exhausting their initial supplies. Professor William Ampofo, chairperson of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative, discusses vaccine manufacturing in Africa.

What is the current vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa?