Southern Africa

The South African government has outlined its amended coronavirus immunisation plans. They were put on hold when a trial suggested that the AstraZeneca vaccines which were due to be distributed were less effective against a local variant of the virus. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said a Johnson and Johnson vaccine …

Mozambican authorities have warned of an upcoming cyclone that will affect the central provinces of Zambézia and Sofala and the southern province of Inhambane. The National Meteorological Institute (Inam) predicts the cyclone will land on February 13. This will be Mozambique’s third cyclone in the current rainy season after Cyclones …

On Monday, the Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced a new cabinet calling on seven former rebel leaders as ministers, following a peace deal in October aimed at ending decades of war. Veteran rebel leader and economist Gibril Ibrahim, of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which played a major …

Mozambique’s newly appointed head of the military, Eugénio Ussene Mussa, died on Monday after contracting Covid-19. He died while undergoing treatment at Mozambique’s biggest health facility, the Maputo Central Hospital. It is less than a month after he took office, as he was sworn in as chief of the general …

About 930 children living in opposition strongholds are not sitting for examinations because of insecurity in these areas. On Monday, 64,138 pupils in 10 states and three administrative areas started a national primary school-leaving certificate examination, which will end on Friday. But exams have been suspended in seven counties, including …

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against jumping to conclusions about the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines. This decision comes after a South African study suggested that the AstraZeneca vaccine was less effective against a local variant of the virus. But experts are hopeful that the vaccine will still be …

In order to make it easier for patients to reach doctors online, a group of young professionals in Botswana have come up with an innovative way. This is after coronavirus made one-on-one consultations difficult. Doctors E-Consult is an online doctor-patient consultation room on a mobile or electronic device. Loatile Nkala …

The Zondo commission,a South African commission investigating corruption during the presidency of Jacob Zuma has faulted his decision not to obey summons to appear before it later this month. According to the Zondo commission, Mr Zuma’s decision is “completely unacceptable”. Mr Zuma is scheduled to appear before the commission from …

The United Kingdom has sent an emergency medical team to Eswatini to help the southern African country deal with a surge in coronavirus cases. The kingdom, formerly known as Swaziland, has a population of a million and seen around 500 people die from the virus. “Earlier last year the local …

In January, Mozambique recorded 210 deaths from Covid-19. According to the health ministry, it is its worst month since the pandemic started. The number is more than half of the 367 deaths recorded from the disease. The southern Africa country also confirmed 20,012 new cases in January, about a half …