“Major telecoms in Africa jointly with health ministries, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) have launched a continental public health mobile platform that will provide advice, especially on the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“AfCFTA was supposed to take operational effect on Wednesday, July 1, but the timeline has slipped, under the complications caused by the COVID-19 outbreak but also the slow pace of negotiations themselves.”
“More than half of Uganda’s commercial banks would have collapsed if the Central Bank had enforced a three-month customer loans repayments holiday at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector regulator has revealed. A stress test conducted on Uganda’s 25 banks showed most would not have survived the cash crunch since loan interest income accounts for 60 percent of their revenue.”
“Some health facilities in Cameroon are turning to telemedicine as patients have been keeping away from and fleeing medical facilities for fear of contracting the coronavirus COVID-19.”
“Across Africa, wildlife reserves and parks have closed their gates as tourists stay home, hitting the continent’s multi-billion-dollar tourist industry and leading to job cuts and loss of income for thousands.”
“As it battles mounting cases of coronavirus, Sudan is grappling with acute medicine shortages at a time of economic woes largely blamed on the policies of ousted president Omar al-Bashir. Healthcare providers have reported shortages of basic medications in pharmacies and hospitals, while patients suffering from critical diseases struggle to find drugs.”
“About eight in 10 workers are unable to send cash to their relatives in rural Kenya in the wake of the COVID-19 economic hardships, says a new survey, which reveals that majority of households have not felt the impact of the reduction in VAT from 16 to 14 percent. According to the poll released Sunday, 79 percent of Kenyan workers interviewed were not in a position to support their dependants financially.”
“Zimbabwe’s Health minister was on Saturday released on bail, a day after he was arrested over allegations of corruption after the government bought $60 million worth of medical equipment from an unregistered company.”
“When they posted pictures of their prototypes on social media, they got a surprise phone call from the local public hospital.”
“South Sudan’s Ambassador to Belgium, Jwokgwen Severio Yukwan, has died, Information Minister Michael Makuei has confirmed. He died in Juba on Monday.”
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