AFRICA

Juba, South Sudan | XINHUA | South Sudan and the UN migration agency, International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday joined forces to fight human trafficking in the east African country. IOM said it helped the South Sudanese government set up a body to help the conflict-torn country track and …

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | XINHUA | Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa was buried on Wednesday in his native village of Lupaso in Masasi district in the country’s southern region of Mtwara. Mkapa died on Friday at the age of 81 in the country’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam. The …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | XINHUA | The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Tuesday warned African countries to brace for possible “acute shortage” of COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the near future. The Africa CDC made the urgent call for preparedness to avert a possible …

Nairobi, Kenya | XINHUA | Kenya is likely to become free from desert locusts in the near future thanks to roll-out of robust containment measures, a senior official from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said on Tuesday. Cyril Ferrand, FAO’s resilience team leader for East …

Harare, Zimbabwe | XINHUA | With the costs for formal health care skyrocketing at the backdrop of an economic crisis that has seen inflation skyrocketing to more than 700 percent, many Zimbabweans are resorting to traditional medication. Amos Kafera, a Zimbabwean traditional healer from Chitungwiza, a dormitory town south of …

Nairobi, Kenya | XINHUA | The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could boost the continent’s income by 450 billion U.S. dollars if fully implemented, says a World Bank report released on Monday evening. According to the report, the pan African trade pact would significantly boost continental trade, particularly intraregional …

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | XINHUA | Thousands of Tanzanians gathered on Tuesday to say a final goodbye to the country’s third president Benjamin Mkapa at a state funeral in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam. In a national address for the funeral, Tanzanian President John Magufuli said Mkapa’s death …

Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA |  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday warned of a “long and difficult” path to recovery amid widespread protests in Cape Town against economic hardship. “As several parts of our country experience a surge in coronavirus infections, we are also confronted with the economic damage …

Uganda’s scientists, researchers join race  Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | Uganda is among countries where researchers are working to develop a safe and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Prof. Pontiano Kaleebu, the director of Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), says they are looking at two …

Nairobi, Kenya | XINHUA | Over 50 percent of Kenyans who have died from COVID-19 have non-communicable diseases (NCD), an official said on Saturday. Rashid Aman, Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Health said that a study revealed that people with pre-existing conditions have high chances of contracting the …