“Migrant workers don’t have the same labor rights as Lebanese citizens, and the power relationship between employers and employees is extremely lopsided. Such a vulnerability exposes African migrant workers to exploitation and abuses.”
“A number of African countries have recently been contesting decisions by credit rating agencies. Some have raised objections that the rating agencies lack understanding of their economic environment.”
“Their mantra might best be summarized as: act decisively, act together and act now. When resources are limited, containment and prevention are the best strategies.”
“In many African countries, COVID-19 severity and mortality has been much lower than originally predicted based on experience in China and Europe. Africa’s much younger population explains a very large part of the apparent difference. Some of the remaining gap is probably due to under reporting of events but there are a number of other plausible explanations.”
“As more African countries have looked to China for financing and technical support to rapidly boost infrastructural development, there have been loud musings about the scale of China’s lending to African countries as well as the Asian giant’s motives.”
“Scientists in Nigeria have developed a new vaccine candidate which they say is optimized for the African population. The vaccine has undergone a successful pre-clinical trial but the human trial is being delayed due to a lack of funds.”
“A new investigation from Amnesty International reports on the worsening, life-threatening treatment of Ethiopian migrants stranded in Saudi Arabia including prisoners who are chained in pairs, confined at all hours in a crowded detention center, forced to use an open floor as toilets, little medical care, beatings and several deaths.”
“On average, only 24% of households across the 34 African countries analyzed met all three criteria of readiness: availability of key amenities, availability of media devices and phones. and ownership of savings accounts or rate of formal employment.”
“While Togo’s mobile-based digital program stood out early on, it was not alone in Africa in providing social welfare relief for its citizens. More than 40 African countries have introduced or expanded social welfare programs since the pandemic.”
“It is important to track lineages as they can be very useful for determining how a virus spreads through communities or populations.”
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