In July, Kenyans were dismayed to learn that a cash transfer programme intended to help low-income people deal with COVID-19’s economic impact did not actually benefit those recepients, due to corruption and other irregularities. A study by Human Rights Watch found that officials in charge of disbursing the funds frequently ignored eligibility criteria for beneficiaries, and in some cases, directed the funds to relatives or friends.
Moreover, not all those who were enrolled in the programme received the cash. Many...
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COVID-19 has shown the fault lines in healthcare systems around the world, particularly in fragile states where access to public health services has been disrupted or is extremely limited. In Somalia – which has experienced decades of conflict and political instability since the collapse of the state in 1991 – the lack of a robust health system has impacted the country’s ability to deal with the pandemic.
Amnesty International found that only one hospital in the entire country – the...
Désiré Assogbavi is the ONE’s Francophone Africa Director. This blog is a summary of a paper he presented at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa during a conference on “Good governance, participatory democracy, and social justice: Civil society as an agent of change and innovation in Africa.”
An integrated, peaceful, and economically developed Africa needs the full involvement of all segments of our society. It cannot be left in the hands of the only politicians holding office.
That’s why both institutionally...
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Nuclear threat: As leaders and diplomats gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, French fury over a cancelled order for submarines risked undermining global cooperation on a real crisis: COVID-19, which has killed 60,000 people in the past week. Thankfully, sense (mostly) prevailed as President Joe Biden garnered support for a first-of-its kind goal to end the pandemic everywhere: vaccinate 70% of the world’s population in every country by September 2022, alongside important targets on...
We all know that the fastest way out of the COVID-19 pandemic is to ensure that everyone, everywhere has fair access to vaccines. But two major barriers to achieving widespread vaccinations are hesitancy and misinformation
In Africa, social media has contributed to the spread of misinformation on the continent. That’s why sharing the correct information about vaccines is crucial to achieving widespread vaccination and ending the pandemic once and for all. ONE in Africa’s #MythOrVax campaign has worked to do...
The global response to COVID-19 is not working. So far this year, despite the development and roll out of effective vaccines, more than twice the number of people have died from COVID-19 than in all 2020. More than 8,000 people died each day in the past week.
A new target to vaccinate 70% of the population in all country income categories by September 2022 could provide the impetus needed to bring the pandemic under control. But as ONE’s latest analysis...
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 Tanzania’s take two, Biden’s efforts to convene a global vaccine summit, and a South African genomics lab that can help close the knowledge gap on Africa-originating variants.
Powder keg: Global food prices were up 33% in August from the year earlier, hitting emerging markets the hardest, and reaching the highest prices...
Sparrow Society’s warehouse opens onto a street, south of the rush of downtown Cape Town, overlooking Muizenberg Mountain. It’s just blocks away from the sea.
The chattering of sewing machines accompanies the buzz of women working behind the shop, which sells 100% responsibly made, female-farmed coffee and African-inspired home goods and apparel. The afternoon light shines through the front windows, lighting the hands of women cutting, sewing, stitching, and packing.
“Just like the sparrow bird of our namesake, women are often...
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Stop Biden time: Intent on building an “arsenal of vaccines for the world,” US President Joe Biden is calling for a global summit to boost vaccine supply. This comes on the back of a $3 billion commitment to vaccine manufacturing and a call for an “Apollo style” fund for pandemic preparedness, both of which are diplomatic leverage to push other leaders on their pledges on dollars and doses. Welcome news after G20 health ministers shared more rhetoric than...
While rich countries are buying and hoarding COVID-19 vaccines, African countries are facing an uphill battle to obtain vaccines. Many African leaders hoped to secure vaccines from COVAX, the vaccine distribution facility for low-income countries that aims to narrow the global vaccine inequity gap. But some of the countries that contributed vaccines to COVAX are now raiding the very facility that they pledged to support. Rich countries like the UK, Canada, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia have been buying...