Top news Shocking symbol: Europe is set to receive millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses produced in South Africa. Up to 10 million Johnson & Johnson shots partially produced by South African manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare are to be exported to Europe in August and September, and millions more were exported in recent months. Meanwhile, South Africa is yet to receive the overwhelming majority of the 31 million J&J doses it ordered from the company, a key reason why only 7% of...
Toni Sittoni is a ONE Champion from Kenya. During last month’s Global Education Summit in London, 11 African presidents made far-reaching promises on financing education through the “Kenyatta Declaration.” Co-hosted by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the summit aimed to marshal the resources for national governments and the international community to address a learning crisis and help millions of children access quality education. African leaders made some key promises to ensure equitable and high-quality education....
Top news Overwhelmed: Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Africa have ticked over 7 million, as the virus continues to rip through the continent’s largely unvaccinated population. In Zimbabwe, record numbers of deaths from the virus have led to widespread delays in burials. Undertakers are struggling to cope with the added pressure, and bereaved family members are waiting days for a burial slot. In Senegal, hospitals are quickly becoming overwhelmed: 90% of calls to the country’s emergency paramedic service are currently...
In May, the Driftwood Club, a popular beach hotel in Malindi, closed its doors to the public, becoming one of the many hotels in the Kenyan seaside to shut down permanently. Earlier this year, Old Man and the Sea, one of the oldest and most iconic fish restaurants in this coastal town, also closed. Tourism is the economic backbone of Kenya’s coastal region. Foreign, mainly Italian, tourists usually start trickling into Malindi in July, at the start of the summer...
COVID-19 cases in Africa hit a record high in July. South Africa had the highest officially recorded COVID-19 infections and deaths, with more than 2.5 million confirmed cases over the course of the pandemic, and over 75,000 deaths. In fact, South Africa accounts for almost 40% of all coronavirus-related deaths on the continent. The blue line refers to South Africa’s total. Visit our Africa Tracker for more data. The blue line refers to South Africa’s total. Visit our Africa Tracker for...
Last month, we celebrated Malala Day and Mandela Day: two incredible changemakers who have dedicated their lives to fighting injustice. As part of the celebrations, we composed a list of 10 well-known activists who lead, educate, and inspire us to change the world and asked ONE supporters to vote for their favourite. Over 1,500 supporters across Africa cast their votes. Here are the top three activists they chose: In first place with 32% of the votes is South African anti-apartheid revolutionary...
Top news Surging: Deaths from COVID-19 in Africa are surging, with the average daily number of confirmed deaths ticking past 1,000 for the first time since the pandemic began. Confirmed deaths from the virus have increased by 80% in the past four weeks, driven by the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant. In Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city, six people are dying per day and the positivity rate of those being tested has increased eightfold in the last month....
Megan Gieske is a storyteller and photographer based in Cape Town, South Africa. With a country-wide unemployment rate of 32.6% and over 2.4 million confirmed cases as of August 2021, COVID-19 has been wreaking havoc on South Africa. And Johannesburg remains the epicenter of the virus’ spread. In western Johannesburg, however, Queen of Hearts Circle, founded by Mariam Behr, has been stepping up to support community needs during the pandemic, raising awareness and educating the community on COVID-19 safety. How Queen of Hearts...
Dr. Charles Murigande is a former Rwandan minister of education and until his retirement in June 2020, he was the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of institutional development at the University of Rwanda. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a lesson for Africa’s education sector: The continent must assume greater responsibility to address an unprecedented learning crisis. Africa must better address a crisis that threatens the vision of a knowledge-based society able to survive in a global and competitive environment.  Exacerbating learning poverty  Since the...
COVID-19 has exposed fault lines in both rich and poor countries. From failing public healthcare systems to racial inequality, the pandemic has laid bare unjust and inequitable structures that are failing the most vulnerable and marginalised groups. Poverty levels are rising globally. Between 88 million and 115 million more people were pushed into poverty in 2020 because of the pandemic, according to the World Bank. In South Africa, the pandemic exacerbated inequality levels. This was evident during the protests and...