COVID-19

ADF STAFF Pregnant women who catch COVID-19 are in much greater danger than previously suspected, according to a new study that analyzed data collected from six African countries. The study found that pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2, the…

ADF STAFF BA.5, the COVID-19 omicron variant behind surging global infection rates, packs a different set of symptoms than previous strains. Luke O’Neill, an immunologist at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, explained why. “There…

ADF STAFF Minutes after dropping her daughter off at school on August 23, 2021, Babita Deokaran returned to her home in south Johannesburg, where she was killed in a hail of bullets by paid assassins. The Gauteng health department chief…

ADF STAFF After giving rise to a new wave of infections in South Africa, the BA.4 and BA.5 strains of COVID-19’s omicron variant are rapidly sweeping through other countries because of changes that make the strains more contagious and more…

ADF STAFF Nearly one-third of the people living in Sub-Saharan Africa could be at a greater risk of dying from COVID-19 because they carry the genetic marker for sickle cell disease, according to a new study looking at how the two diseases…

ADF STAFF From early childhood development to primary and secondary education, the impact of COVID-19 on the basic education system will be felt for years to come. In South Africa, the pandemic has reversed 20 years of gains made by the…

ADF STAFF As Kenya grappled with its sixth wave of COVID-19 infections, it opened an oxygen plant that will supply health care facilities in Nakuru, about 160 kilometers northwest of Nairobi. Launched in early July, the plant will…

ADF STAFF Even before the onset of COVID-19, Nigeria had the world’s highest number of school-age children who did not attend school. The pandemic has made everything worse. Lockdown measures to prevent the pandemic’s spread…

ADF STAFF With South Africa’s fifth wave of COVID-19 infections now passed, Minister of Health Dr. Joe Phaahla has lifted the latest round of public health restrictions. But experts warn that those restrictions could return if infections…

ADF STAFF During the COVID-19 pandemic, the South African government restricted the purchase and consumption of alcohol. The goal was to ease the burden on the country’s health care system from people with alcohol-related trauma. It…