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Death toll rises in Nigeria meningitis outbreak
Nigeria is struggling with a rapidly spreading meningitis outbreak that has so far killed 151 people – children affected the most – with efforts...
Critically-ill patients in African hospitals don’t get the care they need – study
When someone falls critically ill, hospitals are expected to provide life-saving care – but in many African countries, ICUs are rare. Critically-ill patients are...
Nigeria Lassa fever death toll now 100
Nigeria has recorded 29 new Lassa fever infections and five deaths in one week, bringing the total fatalities recorded in 2025 to 100, according...
New African Epidemic Fund will boost efficiency, responses – CDC
The African Epidemic Fund is now operational on the continent, providing the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) with flexible funding to...
Vital leprosy drugs arrive in Nigeria after year-long delay
After waiting for more than a year, Nigerians with leprosy will finally be able to obtain critical drugs to treat the disease, which were...
WHO probes causes of DRC mystery illness
An ongoing investigation into an unexplained illness cluster in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) province of Equateur suggests chemical poisoning or rapid-onset bacterial...
Mystery illness in DRC kills more than 50 people
An unknown illness has killed more than 50 people in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, including a group of children who...
Boy (4) dies of Ebola in Uganda as US slashes help
The Trump administration has cancelled at least four of the five contracts with organisations that helped manage the Ebola outbreak in Uganda – which...
Africa’s medical system risks ‘collapse’, warns health leader
Health services in Africa are at risk of “collapse in the next few years” due to soaring chronic diseases, a senior public health leader has warned.
Foreign...
Ugandan intern doctors angry over plan to end sponsorships
A planned policy by the Ugandan Ministry of Health to stop sponsoring recently graduated intern doctors has sparked widespread unrest among medical students, supported...
Long-term strategy vital to combat cholera threat in Africa
Southern and eastern African countries are facing a resurgence of cholera, threatening worldwide progress toward eliminating the disease, a recent analysis has said.
The study,...
Ebola outbreak in Uganda under control
The recent outbreak of Ebola in Uganda has been deemed “contained”, according to the Minister of Health, after the announcement that eight patients who...
Continent’s sperm donor industry ‘lacks vital safeguards’
Poor regulation and lack of transparency in Africa’s fertility industry leave sperm donors and recipients vulnerable to exploitation and unethical practices, including relatives unwittingly...
Landmark deal jumpstarts Africa’s vaccine production
In a deal inked in Cairo last week and backed by a $1.2bn investment from Gavi, the vaccine alliance, an end-to-end mRNA vaccine production platform...
Genetic link flagged in West Africans’ high kidney disease risk
Kidney disease, leading to kidney failure, afflicts disproportionately more black people than white people, resulting in a huge burden of kidney healthcare costs among...
Wits RHI to lead study on mpox seroprevalence in SA
Mpox has gained global attention since the 2022 outbreaks, with declining immunity from smallpox vaccinations and evolving transmission patterns – particularly through sexual contact...
Mother, baby die as doctors watch YouTube to perform C-section
A bereaved husband has described how a medical team at Lebechi Hospital in Owerri, Nigeria, reportedly watched a YouTube tutorial while performing a Caesarean...
Rwandan Marburg research to give clues on virus immunity
Experts are launching a research project in Rwanda that could shed light on the body’s response to the deadly Marburg virus, and hopefully guide...
Uganda launches Ebola vaccine trial
By launching an Ebola vaccine trial within days of an outbreak, Uganda is sending the message that epidemic responses can be proactive, strategic and...
Ugandan nurse dies in first Ebola outbreak in two years
A nurse in Uganda has died of Ebola in the first recorded fatality since the country’s last outbreak of the disease ended in early 2023, a...
Major boost for Afrigen with $6.2m grant for mRNA jab
A $6.2m grant awarded to Afrigen Biologics from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi) will allow it to develop its human candidate mRNA...
Rising cardiovascular cases tied to air pollution in Africa
Research on other continents has shown a clear link between high air pollution levels and cardiovascular diseases, but such data is lacking in Africa...
Tanzania denies Marburg outbreak after WHO alert
A World Health Organisation (WHO) report of a suspected new outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in Tanzania were false alarms, according to officials...
Sierra Leone declares mpox emergency
A state of emergency was declared in Sierra Leone on Monday after the country reported its second case of mpox in less than four...
Genetics put African men most at risk of prostate cancer
Breakthrough research, and the largest study of its kind, has identified the genetic risk factors contributing to increased prostate cancer in African men.
The study,...
Kenya’s balancing act with addictive natural stimulant
Amid growing concerns about muguka, a highly addictive variant of the natural stimulant khat, Kenya needs evidence-based regulations to balance public health and economic...
Morocco produces Africa’s first mpox tests
In a first for Africa, a Moroccan company is filling orders for mpox tests as an outbreak continues in the Congo and neighbouring countries,...
Zimbabwe’s sick turn to herbalists as system crumbles
Zimbabwe’s health system continues to deteriorate, with hospitals lacking medicine, equipment and staff, and with frustrated patients turning to herbalists as an alternative –...
WHO experts to probe mystery disease in DRC
Health experts have been deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo by the WHO to try to determine the cause of an undiagnosed disease...
Infections rise as 143 die from unknown disease in Congo
An unknown disease killed 143 people in the DRC’s southwestern province last month, with the victims reporting flu-like symptoms, including high fever and severe...
Pepfar boss to resign before Trump takes office
Ambassador John Nkengasong, head of the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), says that because he is a political appointee, he will be...
Two-decade SA study unpacks challenges in nephroblastoma treatment
A 21-year study on nephroblastoma by the University of the Free State revealed unique challenges, with the scientists noting that future research should analyse...
WHO green-lights emergency listing for Japan’s mpox jab
In a welcome move for regions in Africa being pulverised by mpox, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has granted emergency use listing for Japan’s...
African activists fear Trump will cut birth control funds
There is growing anxiety across Africa – and other countries – that US President elect Donald Trump might end the donor funding for services...
Chewing gum linked to drop in preterm births – randomised Malawi study
Results from a study in Malawi showed that chewing gum containing xylitol, a naturally occurring alcohol sugar, was associated with a 24% reduction in...
Rwanda success story in controlling Marburg outbreak
Marburg virus – which has no approved vaccines or drugs – is notorious for its killing ability, with as many as nine patients out...
Millions of sub-Saharan Africa’s teens have undiagnosed asthma
Rapid urbanisation is thought to be damaging adolescent health, say researchers, whose recent study found that millions of teenagers in Africa are suffering from...
Rwanda’s Marburg wanes as mpox cases increase
While the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda appears to be on the decline, with no new cases in the past several days, mpox continues...
Egypt now malaria-free
Egypt has become the fourth African country to eradicate malaria, a “disease that plagued pharaohs”, in what the World Health Organisation (WHO) said was...
Kenya's path to universal health coverage
Kenya’s pursuit of universal health coverage has evolved over three decades through incremental reforms. But by far the boldest step taken so far was...