Aspen to produce COVID-19 vaccine in Africa
“A deal struck by South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine in Port Elizabeth will bring technology transfer but may not increase the supply of vaccines to the continent.”
News & Analysis: Guinea-Bissau
Old vaccines for new infections – what we discovered
Analysis and Opinion Guinea-Bissau The Conversation Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“Broad beneficial non-specific effects of vaccines on the immune system could be useful in a pandemic. Right now many clinical trials are investigating whether old vaccines, such as BCG, oral polio vaccine and MMR, can strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of serious COVID-19.”
Guinea-Bissau: Schools reopen after seven-month break despite strike threats
Latest Developments Guinea-Bissau Macau Business Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“Schools in Guinea-Bissau are once again receiving students, after a seven-month break as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with tight new restrictions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes the disease.”
Guinea-Bissau holds independence celebration despite virus threat
Latest Developments Guinea-Bissau Africa News Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“Guinea-Bissau held a big gathering in its capital to mark its 47th independence anniversary at a time when huge rallies are being discouraged as a measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus.”
Continuing vital health services in Guinea-Bissau during COVID-19
Analysis and Opinion Guinea-Bissau UNDP Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“As lockdowns, curfews and transport disruptions prevent many vulnerable people from getting healthcare, communities are stepping into the breach. Community health workers and volunteers are ensuring their peers, friends, and neighbours are protected from disease.”
The promise of digitising cash transfers in sub-Saharan Africa during COVID-19 and beyond
Analysis and Opinion Angola / Benin / Botswana / Burkina Faso / Burundi / Cameroon / Chad / Cote d'Ivoire / Eritrea / Ethiopia / Gabon / Gambia / Ghana / Guinea / Guinea-Bissau / Kenya / Lesotho / Liberia / Madagascar / Malawi / Mali / Mauritania / Mauritius / Mozambique / Namibia / Niger / Nigeria / Rwanda Africa Portal by Gaby“This year, the coronavirus pandemic has forced governments to grapple with difficult questions regarding lockdowns, contact tracing and the provision of emergency financial assistance to citizens now without work. In developing countries, these hardships are magnified with the World Bank estimating that remittances – money transfers sent from foreign workers to their home countries – to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are projected to fall by 19.7 percent (from $554 billion in 2019 to $445 billion in 2020). Considering the significant role that remittances play in alleviating poverty and improving nutrition, many governments have turned to mobile cash transfers for vulnerable citizens to use while minimising COVID-19 exposure.”
The coronavirus is jeopardizing a ‘very, very finite’ workforce: Africa’s doctors and nurses
Latest Developments Cameroon / Ethiopia / Guinea-Bissau / Liberia / Nigeria Washington Post Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“The coronavirus pandemic has tightened its grip on much of Africa, where reported cases have more than tripled over the last month, jeopardizing overstretched medical teams as the need for care soars.”
Post-coronavirus: More sorrow for Africa’s new oil and gas producers
Latest Developments Ghana / Guinea-Bissau / Kenya / Liberia / Mauritania / Mozambique / Niger / Sao Tome and Principe / Sierra Leone / Uganda The Africa Report Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“For new producers in the pandemic era, some licensing rounds are likely to be cancelled, and production is being pushed back once more. Debt is becoming an even greater issue. Yet some investors—like Total in Uganda—still show signs of interest.”
What West Africa’s resilience can teach the world about COVID-19
Analysis and Opinion Cote d'Ivoire / Ghana / Guinea / Guinea-Bissau / Liberia / Nigeria / Senegal / Sierra Leone / Togo The New Humanitarian Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“With a rise in populism and associated patterns of scapegoating, response to any crisis in the United States tends to default towards denial, deflection, blame-shifting, and foot-dragging, rather than the proactive, collective response necessary for resilience that is so much more evident in West Africa. Governments in much of the region have responded swiftly and urgently to curb COVID-19, with the memory of the Ebola outbreak still strong.”
Africa Is Not Waiting to Be Saved From the Coronavirus
Analysis and Opinion Guinea / Guinea-Bissau / Kenya / Liberia / Nigeria / Sierra Leone / South Africa / South Sudan / Uganda The Nation (Mali) Article/Blog post by John Schellhase“As COVID-19 races its way across Africa, there are two stories happening at once. The first is of governments using their armies and militarized police to beat, threaten, and shoot their way to public health…The second is of communities knitting together their meager resources to fill the gap of failed services and absent states.”
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