In the news

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 …

According to a government statement, the head of Liberia’s anti-corruption body, Ndubusi Nwabudike, has resigned. There were concerns on how he acquired his citizenship. Mr Nwabudike is in fact of Nigerian origin. Mr Nwabudike insists he is a Liberian and has denied any wrongdoing, but failed last year to prove …

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 …

Guinea should investigate how four opposition members died in pre-trial detention, Amnesty International says. They were arrested in connection with protests last year against a referendum on a new constitution that allowed President Alpha Condé to stand again in elections, which he went on to won. Those who died in …

Dorothy Gwajima, the Tanzanian Health Minister has said that the country has no plans to import Covid-19 vaccines at a time when there are fears that infections are rising. Her comment comes a week after President John Magufuli warned health officials against acquiring coronavirus vaccin saying that they could harm …

Nigeria is set to receive 57 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines over the next few months, the authorities say. They have asked for a four-fold increase on their previous request for 10 million doses from the African Union. “We have applied for 41 million doses of a combination of Pfizer, …

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine was 91.6% effective in preventing people from developing COVID-19, according to peer-reviewed results from its late-stage clinical trial published in The Lancent international medical journal on Tuesday. “The development of the Sputnik V vaccine has been criticised for unseemly haste, corner cutting, and an absence of …

The security forces in Angola have shot dead at least 10 separatist protesters in the north-east of the country, Amnesty International says. The killings began on Saturday in the diamond mining town of Cafunfo which is about 520km east of the capital Luanda, the rights group said. There are unconfirmed …

The US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised against all travel to Tanzania. The health agency has updated Tanzania’s alert to level four, meaning transmission of coronavirus is “high or rising rapidly”. Forty-one African countries have been listed in level four, the highest category of alert. “Travellers …