West Africa

In Abuja, the Capital of Nigeria, a mass vacination campaign against the coronavirus pandemic is launched. The country will use Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines acquired through Covax, a UN-backed initiative to ensure poorer nations acquire the doses. According to the head of the country’s Healthcare Development Agency, health workers will be the …

John Mahama, the Ghanaian opposition leader expressed his disagreement with the Supreme Court over the rejection of his challenge to the December 7 presidential elections. The politician accused the electoral commission of inflating the vote tally in favour of the 76-year-old incumbent. The 62-year-old politician demanded a re-run after official …

After dismissing allegations of irregularities, Ghana’s Supreme Court has upheld Nana Akufo-Addo’s victory in the December presidential election. Opposition candidate, and former President John Mahama, had filed a petition asking the court to annul the results of the elections and order a rerun because of alleged irregularities. But the court …

Ghana, the first country to receive COVAX vaccines last month, began its mass vaccination drive on Tuesday. 600,000 doses of Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccines are being given to frontline health workers, security personnel, people aged over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions. To ensure that Ghanaians are convinced to get jabbed, President …

Chaotic scenes were observed on Wednesday in north-western Nigeria as parents were reunited with their kidnapped daughters in the town of Jangebe. According to eyewitnesses, at least three people were shot by the security forces. The shooting reportedly happened after parents, frustrated by the length of the handover ceremony, started …

Prominent Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko has been arrested. The announcement was made by his lawyers. He is accused of disturbing public order in the capital, Dakar, as he travelled to court for a hearing in a rape case. His motorcade was followed by hundreds of chanting supporters, who were …

At least five people, including a pregnant woman, were killed in Burkina Faso when the ambulance they were traveling in was destroyed by a mine, BBC News reports. The ambulance was carrying the woman, her husband, a girl and two other women. Officials say the incident happened in Gaskindé, close …

According to researchers Frank Nyonator and Ken Sagoe, this West African country lost 50% of its nursing workforce between 1995 and 2005 despite certain advantages (free housing and bonuses) to curb this brain drain. In 2016, there were only 3,365 doctors, or 1 per 8,500 inhabitants. Ghana is not alone …

Health autorities in Nigeria receive this day, the first batch of about four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The stocks were procured through Covax, a UN-backed programme that is trying to ensure Covid-19 vaccines are shared fairly among all countries. Nigeria is expecting a total of 16 million doses …

Hama Amadou, Niger’s opposition figure was imprisoned on Monday for his alleged role in the unrest that followed the result of the presidential election following three days in detention. The authorities have also brought charges of “regionalist propaganda” and “speech inclined to set people against one another” against the opposition …