What’s behind the worldwide shortage of cholera vaccines? For starters, they’re only made by one company

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 […]

March 12, 2024 25

Africa

Cholera vaccine push underway in southern Africa

The World Health Organization has warned that cholera cases are increasing globally, and there’s been an unprecedented spike in Africa. Dr. Fiona Braka from WHO’s regional office in Brazzaville, Congo, said that eastern and southern Africa have been badly affected. In just the first four weeks of the year, 10 African countries reported more than 26,000 cases and 700 deaths.

February 7, 2024 44

World

Cancer cases to rise by 77% by 2050, according to WHO

Global cancer cases are predicted to rise by more than 75% by 2050, according to new estimates from the World Health Organization. The W-H-O's International Agency for Research on Cancer says tobacco, alcohol, obesity and air pollution are behind the predicted rise. Sally Patterson has more.

February 2, 2024 3

Health / Medical

Measles is on the rise around the world – we can’t let vaccination rates falter

fotohay/Shutterstock Jaya Dantas, Curtin University In recent weeks a series of measles alerts have been issued around Australia, including in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, after the identification of a small number of cases in travellers returning from overseas. Meanwhile, places such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been contending with larger measles outbreaks. In fact, the World Health Organization reported a 45-fold increase in measles […]

January 31, 2024 17

World

Yemeni children face severe malnutrition crisis, warns WHO

The World Health Organization representative Dr. Arturo Pesigan warned Tuesday that roughly half of all Yemeni children under the age of five are malnourished — a total of 2.4 million, while 17.8 million people in the country require health support.

January 24, 2024 36

Health / Medical

Tobacco use declines despite tobacco industry efforts to jeopardize progress

Globally there are 1.25 billion adult tobacco users, according to the latest estimates in the World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco trends report out today. Trends in 2022 show a continued decline in tobacco use rates globally. With about 1 in 5 adults worldwide consuming tobacco compared to 1 in 3 in 2000. The report shows that 150 countries are successfully reducing tobacco use. Brazil and the Netherlands are seeing success after they […]

January 18, 2024 11

Africa

Cabo Verde’s malaria victory is a blueprint for Africa

By Bonface Orucho, via bird story agency Cabo Verde has achieved a significant milestone in the battle against malaria, securing malaria-free certification from the World Health Organization (WHO). In news released on Friday, January 12, WHO explained that indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes across the archipelago of 10 islands has been halted nationwide for the past three consecutive years. The country's certification is the fourth on the continent, […]

January 17, 2024 41

2

Namibia

2023 Senior Secondary Certificate exam results to be released on Wednesday

The school admission process for the 2024 academic year started in May, June, and July 2023. However, some learners still haven’t found placement. We asked Sanet Steenkamp, the Executive Director of the Ministry of Education, about the systems in place for learner accommodation and what steps parents can take. Steenkamp says the Ministry has meanwhile implemented a verification process that will begin once public schools re-open on 15 January. […]

January 9, 2024 152 2

Health / Medical

Taxes on e-cigarettes: South Africa must strike a balance between economic arguments and health concerns

By Marius van Oordt, University of Pretoria The 21st century has seen a massive expansion in the ways that people can consume tobacco and nicotine. Innovative new products include electronic nicotine delivery systems (“ENDS” or e-cigarettes) and heat-not-burn (HnB) products. One of the challenges this has thrown up is the tax rates on these products. Combustible tobacco products like cigarettes and loose tobacco are generally taxed at similar rates since […]

January 8, 2024 24