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This World Health Day, World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling on everyone to participate in building a fairer, healthier world. Matshidiso Moeti The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on inequalities between countries. Amid shortages of essential supplies, African countries have been pushed to the back of the queue in accessing COVID-19 test kits, personal protective equipment and now vaccines. Of the 548 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered worldwide, Africa only had 11 million or 2%, whereas the continent accounts for around 17% of the global population. There are also inequities within countries. Discrimination based on gender, place of residence, income, educational level, age, ethnicity and disability disadvantage vulnerable populations. Recent data from 17 African countries show, for example, that a person with secondary school education is three times as likely to have access to contraception as someone who has not attended school. Those in the highest economic quintile are five times more likely to deliver their babies in health facilities and have their babies vaccinated with BCG compared to those in the lowest quintile. To improve this situation, we need to act on the social and economic determinants of health, by working across sectors to improve living and working conditions, and access to education, particularly for the most marginalised groups. Communities need to be engaged as partners, through their networks and associations, to shape and drive health and development interventions. A key challenge in overcoming inequities is that there is limited data showing who is being missed and why. To address this, national health information systems need to capture age, sex and equity stratified data. This information can then be used to inform decision and policy-making. At WHO, we are working with countries to strengthen capacities to collect, manage and use data, and to enhance monitoring and action to address avoidable inequities. In the past year we have disseminated technical guidance on gender, equity and COVID-19 and trained 30 country teams in gender and health equity integrated programming. The teams are using skills gained to support equitable health response, including to deal with gender-based violence in the context of COVID-19. Investment is also needed to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage, to protect individuals from financial hardship in accessing needed care and to improve service coverage. Most African countries have initiated reforms in these areas believing that these reforms will in turn contribute to building more resilient health systems and societies. Moving forward, leaders need to work together to address inequities in their own countries and abroad in the spirit of international solidarity. Specifically, on COVID-19 vaccines, we strongly encourage pharmaceutical companies to expand their manufacturing capacities to overcome current supply shortages. We also encourage wealthy countries to share their doses with poor ones, so that the most-at-risk popula
A November 26 letter from the presidency asked the head of Uganda's national drug authority to 'work out a mechanism' to clear the importation of the vaccines.
China has about five COVID-19 vaccine candidates at different levels of trials. It was not clear what vaccine was being imported into Uganda.
One of the frontrunners is the Sinopharm vaccine developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
On Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates said the vaccine has 86% efficacy, citing an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials.
China has used the drug to vaccinate up to a million people under its emergency use program.
On Tuesday, Morocco said it was ordering up to 10 million doses of the vaccine.
Record cases
Uganda on Monday registered 701 new COVID-19 cases, the highest-ever daily increase, bringing its national count to 23,200.
The new cases were out of the 5,578 samples tested for the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the country's health ministry said in a statement.
Tuesday's tally was 606, the second-highest ever number of new infections, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the east African country to 23,860.
Health authorities have blamed ongoing election campaigns which have drawn huge crowds for the rise in infections.
guest column:Emmanuel Zvada Just as business leaders thought they could start thinking about a new normal, a different kind of reality began to set in. In the past year, we have seen companies face serious disruptions but the second wave caught everyone unaware again as many had relaxed. The second wave of coronavirus pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on leaders in business and nations. Crises normally bring out the best and worst leaders as the true character of a leader or employer is reviewed during a crisis. COVID-19 case numbers continue to climb, and in many parts of Zimbabwe, records for new cases are set daily. While the second wave of the pandemic is here in earnest, it’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of normalcy. The second wave of coronavirus is a defining moment for true leaders to emerge and manage the situation. A leader’s response to a crisis is much more than speeches. Business leaders across every industry are getting a dosage of crisis management again so that they navigate through the coronavirus pandemic. To companies that had already put systems and processes in place for work from home, there will be no challenge but to those that had relaxed, it’s a headache again as the whole month of shutdown will be an unproductive month. Leaders must demonstrate a well-oiled business continuity machine and the ability to continuously adapt and respond to new challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has sent employers into a frenzy as they try to stay abreast of new developments and do everything, they can to protect their employees and their business. Calm, principled, and decisive leaders continue to be an essential ingredient for navigating a situation that affects everyone, directly or indirectly. Good leaders need to not only formulate return-to-work plans and adjust work processes for the short-term recovery of operations but also discern what longer-term impacts this pandemic will have overall. To be sure, another lockdown amid a second wave could further damage an already fragile global economy. Positive, effective leadership helps us navigate crises and forge ahead in moments of uncertainty like the time we are in. Leaders should act on three essentials which are clarifying purpose, supporting stakeholders, and bolstering emotional and organisational resilience. Responsible business leaders have an important role to play for effective navigation of organisations during this second wave for no one knows when it will end. Continuous communication is key If leaders are not prepared to manage remote teams or if these teams don’t have good communication and collaboration habits in place, the effects of this virus could disrupt team connectivity, morale, and accountability — not to mention results. Good leaders should relentlessly communicate so that the followers do not operate in darkness. This will also avoid rumours especially during a crisis. People are obviously nervous about the implications of the virus, and it is essential to keep them engaged, informed, and safe. If you do not provide in
“America and South Africa share sacred principles that people are equal before the law,” says US ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks.
… of history about Africa or African-American contributions to society.
Saulsberry taught …
Our team is looking back at some of our favorite episodes to work on this year, and what made them so meaningful. And oh, what a year it has been.
South Africa currently has a cumulative COVID-19 caseload of 1 494 119 along with 48 313 deaths and 1 494 119 recoveries.
A 2020 study was recently published by the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance (GTIPA) which illustrates how the Covid-19 pandemic has made e-commerce an inevitable means of doing business around the world. What this means for African countries is that if there is a better time to fling their borders open and soften regulations...
The post Africa can grow its e-commerce by removing heavy tariffs on online transactions appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
African leaders will open a two-day virtual summit Saturday to discuss the continent's Covid-19 response as well as security issues that have been overlooked during the pandemic.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Major League Baseball’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is hosting its annual “Unfiltered Series” featuring conversations with MLB’s Chief Baseball Development Officer and former Los Angeles Angels General Manager, Tony Reagins. The conversations, which began on Friday, December 18, include leadership from The Players Alliance, including retired star Curtis Granderson, Chris Dickerson, and Chris Young. The panel series, which is typically held during Baseball’s Winter Meetings to provide attendees with an opportunity to hear perspectives from individuals throughout the sport on diversity issues, will be streamed on MLB.com on Friday […]
The post MLB 'Unfiltered Series' Features Conversations on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion appeared first on Black News Channel.
NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of minority-owned small businesses were at the end of the line in the government’s coronavirus relief program as many struggled to find banks that would…
BY TAPIWA GOMO Sometime back, I stayed in one of the troubled East African countries along the coastline of the Indian Ocean. The country has endured nearly three decades of war and is now attempting to rise with the re-establishment of State institutions and proper governance systems. It is not an easy task but it is happening. The climate in that country is very warm, oppressive, windy, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 25 degrees to 35 degrees and is never below 25 degrees. However, the evenings tend to be cooler and windy; and at our lodgings there was a nice rooftop that overlooked the Indian ocean just after the airport runway. It is there that most people gathered during weekend evenings for a drink and dinner. One of the mid-weekdays, I decided to go for a solo dinner at the rooftop and to enjoy the Indian Ocean breeze and to steam-off and unwind after a long and hectic day in office. I tucked myself near a corner facing the ocean side. Just moments as I started to enjoy my dinner, a clowder of cats appeared and positioned themselves around my dinner table. They looked hungry and they wanted food. I had the food but I also wanted it. It was my food. I do not have a good history with cats. My young age was full of “cat-fights” as I enjoyed stepping on their tails. Some cats were unforgiving, cantankerous and they would retaliate. And here on this day in this compound, the number of cats had grown exponentially and yet they was no one tasked to feed them. They scrambled for food every meal time. On this day, my young-age discomfort with cats was evoked compounded by the awareness that a hungry cat can do anything for food and here I was surrounded by a clowder of them. So, they started with their usual strategy. One mews to draw my sympathy while another crawled from under the bench, as the rest criss-crossed around — perhaps to unsettle me so I could abandon my dinner. I remained still and steady. They made their advances using different tactics. I held my ground but I had stopped eating which I thought pleased them. My attempts to scare them away did not yield results. The cats were unwavering. Maybe this was their only chance for dinner and I was cornered. My dinner was saved by a colleague, who I thought also intended to have a solo dinner at the rooftop. I told him of my battle to scare away the cats, how they were reluctant to leave me alone and disrupted my dinner. He laughed and then he went downstairs to the kitchen to collect waste food in a huge bowl which he brought upstairs and placed at the far corner of the rooftop. With speed all the cats trooped away and followed him and feasted from that bowl. I did not see them again that evening. We resumed our dinner as he tried to tell me that hungry cats are unrelenting and if push comes to shove, they can attack just for food. He further told me that the best way to handle that situation was to find them food and place it far. That way, the cats will never disrupt your meal. They are proud creatures. As
[Premium Times] According to her, the Pfizer vaccine and the AstraZeneca one were presently being negotiated so that poor countries don't have to stand in a queue behind rich countries.
African leaders are expected to focus on the continent's Covid-19 response at a virtual summit this weekend, as well as pressing security crises that have gone overlooked during the pandemic.
www.huffingtonpost.com By Joyce M. Rosenberg and Justin Myers AP Thousands of minority-owned small businesses were at the end of the line in the government’s coronavirus relief program as many struggled to find banks that would accept their applications or were disadvantaged by the terms of the program. Data from the Paycheck Protection Program released Dec. […]
[The Herald] Correspondent
