insert_link Health / Medical Cholera can kill you within hours if left untreated: how to recognise the symptoms and protect yourself By Samuel Kariuki, Kenya Medical Research Institute Cholera is a deadly disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, associated with poor sanitation and limited access to clean water. But it has also been found in seemingly clean places, including affluent neighbourhoods, hotels and restaurants with poor hygiene practices such as handling food with dirty hands and using contaminated water to wash utensils and prepare food. […] todayJune 10, 2024 15
insert_link Environment Agriculture Minister addresses World Water Forum The Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform, Calle Schlettwein, is attending the 10th World Water Forum under the theme “Water for Shared Prosperity” in Indonesia, Bali. The Minister addressed the Forum where he underscored Africa's commitment to water supply and sanitation, but on par with commitments to continental and global agreements. According to Schlettwein, Namibia is grappling with the worst drought it has faced in 100 years, threatening the country’s water security, […] todayMay 21, 2024 42
insert_link World Development finance: how it works, where it goes, why it’s needed By Abdul Latif Alhassan, University of Cape Town and Bomikazi Zeka, University of Canberra Development finance is the invisible glue that connects public and private financing for projects that have social, economic and environmental outcomes. These include improved infrastructure, better waste management and sanitation, financial inclusion, clean energy and sustainable agriculture. The goal of development finance is to create positive social, economic or environmental outcomes through […] todayApril 17, 2024 26
insert_link Africa Hospital infection cost Africa nearly $ 8.4 billion Treating infections acquired in hospitals and clinics is costing sub-Saharan Africa as much as $8.4 billion a year and hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths. According to research by WaterAid and the World Bank, at least half of these could be averted by improved handwashing facilities, clean water, and decent toilets. Bloomberg reports that the highest rates of contamination were found in intensive care units, neonatal wards, and pediatric departments. todayApril 9, 2024 14
insert_link Africa What’s behind the worldwide shortage of cholera vaccines? For starters, they’re only made by one company By Edina Amponsah-Dacosta, University of Cape Town In February 2024 the World Health Organization announced southern Africa was suffering the deadliest regional outbreak of cholera in at least a decade. At the epicentre of the disaster were Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, where cholera cases surged more than four-fold between 2022 and 2023. Over 1,600 deaths were reported in the three countries. Already 2024 is threatening to be […] todayMarch 12, 2024 22
insert_link Namibia Urbanisation challenges Khomas Regional Council: Moonde The Khomas Regional Council is facing challenges in delivering access to clean water and sanitation due to urbanisation, council Chairperson Shaalukeni Moonde has stressed. Moonde, while speaking at the official opening of the council here on Friday, emphasised that urbanisation has become a big issue for the region, hampering the development plans and service delivery, such as the provision of clean water and sanitation. He said the council has […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 11
insert_link Africa Antibiotic resistance causes more deaths than malaria and HIV/Aids combined. What Africa is doing to fight this silent epidemic By Tom Nyirenda, Stellenbosch University Each year antimicrobial resistance – the ability of microbes to survive agents designed to kill them – claims more lives than malaria and HIV/Aids combined. Africa bears the brunt of this development, which thrives on inequality and poverty. Nadine Dreyer asked Tom Nyirenda, a research scientist with over 27 years’ experience in infectious diseases, what health organisations on the continent are doing to fight this […] todayNovember 21, 2023 4
insert_link Africa There are too few toilets in Africa and it’s a public health hazard – how to fix the problem Omololu Fagunwa, Queen's University Belfast and Helen Onyeaka, University of Birmingham Imagine you are miles from the nearest restroom, and nature’s call is urgent – a situation that might raise a mild panic during a hike or at a music festival. Now, picture that same scenario, not as a one-off inconvenience, but as a daily reality. This is the case for about half a billion people globally. In African countries, […] todayNovember 17, 2023 17
Paying it forward: Kenyan coastal doctor Bashrahil Mohammed Mafudh has made it his life’s work to care for the most vulnerable in his community, at no cost.
