Category: Healthcare
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Kenya: MSF trains health workers to be sent to Ebola-hit DR Congo
MSF has established an Ebola training centre in Nairobi to prepare health workers for the fastest-growing outbreak in DR Congo, which has claimed at least 600 lives since mid-May 2026. The facility simulates high-risk field conditions, including personal protective equipment use, community engagement, and safe burial practices, addressing challenges such as armed conflict and misinformation.…
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🇺🇸 U.S. Abandons WHO: A New Era of Uncertainty and Opportunity for African Health Security
On January 22, 2026, the United States formally completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). The move, initiated by President Donald Trump a year prior, marks a seismic shift in global health governance. For Africa, a continent that has long relied on multilateral cooperation to combat infectious diseases, this rupture presents profound challenges…
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🇯🇲Vybz Kartel and the Skin-Lightening Controversy: What’s Really in These Products and How Do They Affect the Skin?
Jamaican dancehall artist Vybz Kartel has long been at the center of regional and international conversations about colorism, skin bleaching, and the commercialization of “lighter skin” as a beauty commodity. Over the years, Kartel has been publicly associated with a line of cosmetic and skin-brightening products—including soaps, creams, and astringents—marketed under the “Vybz” brand. His…
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🇬🇭🇷🇼🇹🇿🇨🇮🇸🇸🇰🇪🇳🇬Skin Lightening Bans Across Africa: Laws on Paper, Products on Shelves
Across many African countries, the fight against harmful skin-lightening products has intensified over the last decade. Nations such as Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, South Sudan, Kenya, and Nigeria have all enacted restrictions or outright bans on cosmetics containing dangerous chemicals like hydroquinone, mercury, and corticosteroids.Yet a troubling reality persists: despite these laws, skin-lightening products…
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🇷🇺🌍 Russia has increased the export of pharmaceuticals to Africa by 16%
In January-March of this year, Russia increased the export of critical medication and medication to African countries by 16%. Supplies of pharmaceuticals to the Republic of Congo, Algeria and Morocco have increased the most. “In general, for the [first] five months of 2025, the export of pharmaceutical products increased by almost 8%. Deliveries of pharmaceutical…
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WHO says Africa’s Ivory Coast reports cases of mpox Clade 2
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that Africa’s Ivory Coast has reported cases of mpox Clade 2 for the first time since the start of the multi-country outbreak in 2022.
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Ivory Coast rolls out malaria vaccine drive targeting children
Health workers in Ivory Coast began vaccinations on Monday against malaria, the leading cause of death of children in the country, as the government added the malaria vaccine to the list of routine vaccinations for children. The West African country became the first to start rolling out the newest shot targeting malaria in an effort…
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Kenyan court rejects Rastafarians’ bid to use cannabis for religion
A Kenyan court refused to grant Rastafarians the right to smoke weed on religious grounds in a ruling Wednesday.