Top news COVID isn’t sexist, but the Aftershocks are… Disproportionate: COVID-19 has killed more men than women, but the pandemic has hit women and girls harder. For a start, they are losing their livelihoods faster because they are more likely to work in hard-hit economic sectors such as hospitality, with the UN estimating that women’s employment is 19% more at risk compared to men. Shadow pandemic: Nearly one in three women worldwide have been subjected to physical or sexual violence. Experts warn...
Top news Tidal wave: COVID-19 cases are surging across Africa. The WHO said that confirmed cases rose by more than 20% since last week, calling for “urgent action” to curb the wave of infections. Uganda has seen an astonishing 2,800% rise in cases since last month, with reports of patients dying while waiting for a hospital bed. Rwanda, Namibia, and South Africa have also reintroduced restrictions in an effort to tackle the crisis. The African CDC Director John Nkenhasong warned...
Top news Turning point: This week’s G7 summit needs to be a “turning point” in the race to vaccinate the world against COVID-19. Joe Biden played the first card as he boarded Air Force 1 on Wednesday, promising to announce a major plan to vaccinate the world (more on that later). At ONE we’re joining 200 world leaders in calling for the G7 to do whatever it takes to beat the virus everywhere, starting with immediately sharing at least 1...
Top news Fundamental threat: Low-income economies face a “fundamental threat” of being left behind. The OECD this week predicted low-income countries could take as long as five years to return to pre-pandemic growth levels — compared to 18 months for the US. This echoes IMF analysis and World Bank warnings that decades of progress in the fight against poverty are set to be reversed. G7 finance ministers meet this week, and we know some of their advisers read this email:...
A roundup of the latest news, stats, and analysis of COVID-19’s impact in Africa. View our data tracker and sign up for our weekly newsletter, and read on for the latest on how under-resourced health systems are contributing to high COVID-19 death rates in Africa, the prospects of a global pandemic treaty, and the ONE Community’s Africa Day celebrations.  Top news Disturbing discrepancy: If you become severely ill with COVID-19 in Africa, you have about a 50-50 chance of surviving. New...
Top news Astoundingly unequal: Vaccine equity will dominate debates at this week’s Global Health Summit in Rome. Convened by G20 Chair Mario Draghi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU is expected to make a major announcement on supporting African manufacturing of vaccines. ONE’s analysis of the issue has been featured on BBC, CNN, CNBC, and many other outlets. We’ve consolidated it all in our new deep dive: The astoundingly unequal vaccine rollout. Think bigger: Leaders gathering in...
A roundup of the latest news, stats, and analysis of COVID-19’s impact in Africa. View our data tracker and sign up for our weekly newsletter, and read on for the latest on the vaccine cold war, how women are leading the recovery, and the “news deserts” created by the pandemic.  Top news We didn’t have to do this: The pandemic could have been prevented. So said the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, chaired by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson...
Top news Indian variations: India’s heartbreaking crisis is spilling over to Africa. The ban on export of vaccines from India’s Serum Institute slowed the continent’s vaccine roll out considerably last week. But Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa have strong economic and social ties with India. Last week, two cases of the Indian variant (B.1.617) were found in Uganda. On an average day, eight flights leave Entebbe airport for Nairobi, six for Kigali, and four for Addis Ababa. On Wednesday, Trust...
A roundup of the latest news, stats, and analysis of COVID-19’s impact in Africa. View our data tracker and sign up for our weekly newsletter, and read on for how COVID-19 has accelerated learning poverty, where African stimulus money is going, and what’s happening to military spending. Top news Through the cracks: Half the world’s 10-year-olds can’t read and understand a simple sentence. ONE, Save the Children, and the Global Partnership for Education launched a new tool this week called the Lost...
A roundup of the latest news, stats, and analysis of COVID-19’s impact in Africa. View our data tracker and sign up for our weekly newsletter here, and read on rising cases, variants, and vaccines — plus why vaccine policy is climate policy. Top news “Aid for climate change should be given separately and not be part of official development assistance.” — Cyril Ramaphosa at the Leaders Climate Summit Africa’s youngest president: Idriss Déby was reportedly wounded and killed in the line of fire...