Nandi-Ndaitwah was a member of the underground independence movement in Namibia in the 1970s. She was promoted from foreign minister to vice president in February after President Hage Geingob died while in office. She was widely viewed as a steady hand, a seasoned diplomat not tainted by the corruption scandals that had engulfed some other members of the ruling Swapo party.
Malaria remains a leading cause of childhood mortality in Sudan, which has one of the highest malaria rates in the region. The disease claimed an estimated 7,900 lives in Sudan in 2023, though the actual toll may be higher due to ongoing conflict between rival militaries. The launch follows the arrival of the first consignment of 186,000 doses to Sudan in October and the campaign will begin across 15 health facilities in Gedaref and the Blue Nile states, benefitting more than 148,000 children under 12 months-old. In 2025 and 2026, the vaccine will be introduced in a further 129 localities.
Conservation authorities in the Republic of Congo have launched a plan to invest in the protection of “high-integrity forests” in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, treating these ecosystems as an asset class. The new initiative aims to fill a funding gap to protect the ROC’s forests by selling high-integrity forest (HIFOR) units, defined as representing “one hectare of healthy, high integrity tropical forest actively conserved within a large landscape for decades.”
Gilead Sciences says it has signed agreements with six manufacturers to make and sell generic lenacapavir in 120 “high-incidence, resource-limited” countries. Lenacapavir, given as a twice-yearly injection, has shown strong results for HIV prevention. It stopped infection in a trial involving girls and women in South Africa and Uganda, and offered almost complete protection in a second trial that mainly involved men across Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and the U.S.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. A global outbreak first emerged in May 2022 which WHO said constituted a public health emergency of international concern – the highest level of alarm under international health law. Africa has seen an unprecedented increase and expansion in mpox cases this year, with transmission mainly centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO said early diagnosis is critical as it enables timely treatment and care, as well as control of the virus. A new test from Abbott Molecular now makes that much more possible.
Tanzania has one of the most advanced Bus Rapid Transit systems on the African continent. Known as the DART, Dar Rapid Transit Agency began operations in 2016 and has 29 stations around Tanzania’s largest city, Dar es Salaam. In a significant step towards promoting sustainable transportation in Tanzania, the DART has signed a landmark contract with TRÍ to install an advanced electric charging system within the DART infrastructure.
A batch of 500,000 mpox vaccines has been bought by the vaccine alliance Gavi, for delivery this year to virus-affected countries in Africa, where until now doses have been scarce. It is estimated that 10 million vaccines are needed to meet demand, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which accounts for most cases, only received 100,000 vaccines earlier this month despite having had more than 700 deaths this year and 22,000 cases of the new Clade 1b strain.
The Kenyan government’s move to start buying electric vehicles could be good news for companies that are looking assemble or retail electric cars in the country. The announcement just said “vehicles,” and therefore could include electric buses, trucks, and motorcycles as well, which would be a major boost for Kenya’s nascent electric vehicle ecosystem.
A new analysis of satellite imagery dating as far back as 1972 reveals that mangroves in Madagascar are rebounding after decades of deforestation. The island’s total mangrove cover is down 8% compared with 1972, but a closer look at the data shows that the rate of loss has been declining and even reversed in the last decade. Between 2009 and 2019, Madagascar’s mangrove cover increased by 5%, with mangrove forests expanding even more in protected areas — showing that conservation efforts are working.
In a thoroughly debated session in the recent meeting in Madrid, the vote passed 351 to 205 to rename all current botanical species (over 200) with the species name caffra to affra. “Caffra,” also spelled Kaffer or Keffir, is a derogatory term used by Afrikaans speakers towards black people in southern Africa.
