On 17-18 February, African and European leaders came together in Brussels for the AU-EU Summit. As they walked into the room, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. Since the pandemic started, global inequalities have been growing, with millions of people falling into extreme poverty, and COVID-19 disrupting essential health services in Africa, reversing years of progress in fighting diseases like malaria and HIV. Given the pandemic and the inequalities it has exacerbated between Africa and Europe, this summit was a crucial...
Top news Two viruses collide: Scientists are increasingly concerned about a possible link between HIV/AIDS and new COVID-19 variants. A team of experts at the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa recently documented the case of an HIV-positive woman whose COVID-19 infection lasted nine months and resulted in more than 20 viral mutations. The team is planning additional research to study whether this is a widespread phenomena. Meanwhile, experts are concerned that vaccine inequality combined with higher rates of immunocompromised people increases the...
Empowering the girls of today can create a better future for everyone, and that’s exactly what Techno Girl is trying to do. Working in collaboration with UNICEF South Africa, Techno Girl is a South African program that supports girls who are interested in pursuing careers in math, science, and technology. The program selects high school girls from disadvantaged communities to take part in mentorships, skills development workshops, and job shadowing in the STEM field. “Being part of Techno Girl and...
Last year, Njeri, a hawker in Nairobi, was paying 90 shillings (roughly $0.8) for a packet of maizemeal. Today the same packet goes for 120 shillings, a 30% increase. She is also paying more for non-food items, such as rent and electricity. Njeri’s rent for a single room in Kangemi, an informal settlement, increased by more than 10%, from 4,500 Kenya shillings to 5,000 Kenya shillings (roughly $44) a month, which is nearly a third of her income. As a...
Many African countries reacted positively to the recent news that the German biotechnology company BioNTech will be building COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing plants in Rwanda and Senegal. Across the continent, insufficient and unpredictable vaccine supplies, poor distribution networks, and infrastructure challenges have hampered mass vaccination efforts. Proponents of vaccine technology transfer to African countries view this development as a positive step to improve vaccination rollouts across the continent. The pandemic has been a wake-up call for African countries that rely solely on...
TOP NEWS A coup for COVID: The coup in Burkina Faso threatens to hamper the country’s COVID response and exacerbate the existing humanitarian crisis. Coup leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba rationalized his move by arguing that President Kaboré failed to defend against jihadist attacks. With the army distracted by efforts to consolidate power, jihadists may be the winners. Only 3.6% of the country’s population is fully vaccinated and over half the population has insufficient food. Increased political instability could worsen the...
If your social media feed or city streets were flooded with calls to #EndThePandemic once and for all, then you’re familiar with our Global Week of Action. From 15-22 January, ONE, our dedicated Global Activists, and our partners called on leaders of rich countries to finally make 2022 the year they end the pandemic and vaccinate the world. Here’s what happened. Taking over billboards and social media All week long ONE and it’s partners took over billboards in France, London and Berlin, plastered...
Top news Money, money, money: The world’s 10 richest men made trillions during the pandemic. They doubled their fortunes, at a rate of $15,000 every second. Some have chosen to do good – the Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust pledged $300 million to CEPI (CEPI is seeking a total of $3.5 billion to tackle the minor issues of pandemic response and preparedness). But even if each of the 10 richest men gave away 99.9% of their current wealth, they would still be richer than 99% of...
Top news Lost generation: Uganda’s schools reopened after nearly two years of COVID-19 closures – the longest in the world. More than 50% of students stopped learning as a result. One-third of students are expected to stay out of school, instead working to support their families. And many teachers have been lost to other professions. The situation is similarly dire in South Africa, where at least 775,000 students have dropped out and teen pregnancies have increased by 60%. The changing nature of the virus means it...
As children across Africa return to school this week, they might find a very different landscape to the one they left behind before the pandemic. Classroom sizes in some schools will be smaller due to high dropout rates, especially among adolescent girls. COVID-19 has shut an entire generation in Africa out of the education system. Millions of children in low- and middle-income African countries will not return to schools as they reopen due to a variety of reasons. That includes...