COVID-19

ADF STAFF Pregnant women are not more susceptible to catching COVID-19 than anyone else, but they are at greater risk of developing severe symptoms, especially in the last 12 weeks of pregnancy. In South Africa, that has translated…

ADF STAFF From the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have formed the foundation for the health systems across Africa — frequently putting their own lives on the line to treat community members infected by the coronavirus.…

ADF STAFF In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials warned that the disease could overwhelm the continent’s fragile health care system and lead to devastating numbers of people falling sick and dying. The…

ADF STAFF Despite continuous COVID-19 challenges, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda each experienced an economic rebound in 2021. Rwanda’s economy made the most dramatic comeback, expanding by 10.3% in the fourth quarter last year after…

ADF STAFF Acclaimed for its inventive measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic such as the use of robots, thermal cameras, drones and disease-sniffing dogs, Rwanda has offered a blueprint for handling outbreaks. The country’s latest…

ADF STAFF A large study of the omicron variant of COVID-19 has found that it is just as severe as other variants that came before, contradicting earlier research from South Africa and elsewhere that claimed omicron was more transmissible…

ADF STAFF Social media can be an effective tool to spread accurate information about COVID-19 and help guard against the pandemic’s spread. Its many platforms can also be used to disseminate false information about the disease, its…

ADF STAFF With a population of nearly 8.3 million, Sierra Leone has recorded only 125 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began. As in other countries, experts believe the true coronavirus death toll in Sierra Leone is likely much higher.…

ADF STAFF With new cases growing rapidly, rising hospitalizations and positivity rates above 30%, South Africa appears to be in an undeclared fifth wave of COVID-19 infections. The rise in cases is driven largely by the latest…

ADF STAFF After repeated monthslong waves of COVID-19, public health experts believe the future of the disease is likely to become a series of short waves that peak quickly and produce fewer deaths. “This is what is likely to happen…