The World Health Organisation (WHO) says there has been a 47 per cent increase in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the African Region in the past week. The WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, gave the update on its official twitter account @WHOAFRO on Thursday. The agency said the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak continued to evolve in the WHO African Region since the first case was reported on February...
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday rejected claims by Tanzanian President John Magufuli that coronavirus tests in his country had been faulty. WHO Africa director Matshidiso Moeti rejected the claim at a media briefing. “We are convinced that the tests … are not contaminated with the virus. “We are not in agreement with (Magufuli’s) point of view,” Moeti said. This is coming after Magufuli said on Sunday that Tanzania’s COVID-19 test kits had been...
Mr. Stephen Karingi, Director, Regional Trade and Integration, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), says African economy will lose 65 billion dollars if there is a full lockdown of the continent due to COVID-19. Karingi said this during the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) virtual joint press briefing on Thursday. The director said that the African economy would contrast as much as three percent in 2020. According to him,...
The World Health Organisation (WHO), Regional Office for Africa, has confirmed seven new cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The UN’s health agency confirmed the development on its official twitter account @WHOAFRO on Wednesday. “Seven Ebola cases have been reported in Beni, DRC since the resurgence of this outbreak in April. “WHO continues to support the Ministry of Health in the country to detect, isolate, test and treat suspected...
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that no fewer than 40 million people across West Africa face “desperate food shortages in coming months”. Its spokesperson, Ms Elisabeth Byrs, gave the warning during a virtual news briefing. Byrs said restrictions imposed by countries to curb the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were adding to people’s vulnerability to hunger. She stated that populations displaced by armed conflict, and those that had endured climate change emergencies...
The African Union (AU) said it had entered a discussion with the Republic of Madagascar over the effectiveness of an herbal remedy that was recently announced by the government. The Organization made this known in a statement that was issued on May 4 and was tweeted yesterday on its verified Tweeter. The statement which was written in French and published on AU Website was translated to English by The West African Pilot News using Google...
The World Health Organisation (WHO), says the number of reported COVID-19 cases in the WHO African Region has increased to over 46,500 as at May 4. The WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, gave the update on its official twitter account @WHOAFRO on Tuesday. “There are over 46,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent – with more than 1,800 associated deaths,” it said. The figures on the dashboard showed that South Africa,...
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the number of reported COVID-19 cases in the WHO African Region has increased to over 44,000. The WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, gave the update on its official twitter account @WHOAFRO on Monday. “There are over 44,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent – with more than 1,700 associated deaths,” it said. The figures on the dashboard showed that South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria had...
Six people, including two pilots, were killed when a plane carrying medical supplies crashed in south-western Somalia on Monday, authorities said. “The cause of the accident is not yet known,” government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar Omar told dpa. The plane, which was carrying medical supplies needed in the fight against the coronavirus, took off from Baidoa airport in the Bay region. It crashed shortly after, near the town of Bardaale where it was meant to land,...
Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe was inaugurated on Sunday at a ceremony that was minimised to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Some 200 guests – all wearing face masks and practicing social distancing – attended the ceremony. With borders closed, it was only attended by diplomats already in the country. The televised ceremony was shortened to just over 80 minutes, without the usual pomp and ceremony. Gnassingbe, 53, won by a landslide in February,...
