West Africa

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 …

3,92 million is the total number of doses of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccines expected to be received in Nigeria on Tuesday. The vaccines made by Serum Institute of India are expected to arrive in the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday morning. The country is expecting a total of 16 million doses …

Nana Akufo-Addo, the president of Ghana has become the world’s first recipient of the coronavirus vaccine from Covax, a scheme to procure and distribute inoculations for poorer countries. A wider Covax program will begin in Ghana on Tuesday but health workers in Ivory Coast are being vaccinated on Monday. The …

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari remains adamant about his position on the creation of the ECO, a sensible currency to confer monetary sovereignty. According to him, there will not be a “françafrique” version of ECO. “President Macron is forcing himself, he wants at all costs to steal, to hack the ECO …

Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo has urged his people not to heed conspiracy theories casting doubt on vaccination programme as the country prepares to start its Covid vaccine rollout this week. Mr Akufo-Addo said some doubted the efficacy of jabs, and others believed that vaccines were created to wipe out the …

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian-American, starts work as the new head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Monday. Former finance and foreign minister of Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the first woman and first African to run the WTO. According to the new leader, tackling the health and economic consequences of …

A judge in Paris has ruled that the corruption trial of a leading French industrialist should go ahead, despite his guilty plea. The court decided that the case against Vincent Bolloré was so serious that it should not be settled, as agreed with prosecutors, with a $450,000 fine. Mr Bolloré …

Lawmakers in Senegal have voted to lift the immunity of leading opposition MP Ousmane Sonko, who has been accused of rape, allegations he denies. Mr Sonko finished third in the 2019 presidential elections, and is considered a strong future presidential contender in the West African state, the AFP news agency …