Southern Africa

ADF STAFF When the omicron variant appeared in researcher Sikhulile Moyo’s Botswana laboratory, it become the latest contribution African scientists have made to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. A study in the British Medical Journal…

ADF STAFF When South Africa experienced a COVID-19 outbreak at a hospital in Durban in early 2020, researchers at the nearby KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) swung into action. Teams there examined…

ADF STAFF The omicron variant that struck Africa in December seems to have receded almost as quickly as it appeared in South Africa, but public health leaders warn that other countries may not have the same experience. “This is just…

ADF STAFF The rapidly spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 has reached 13 African countries, but so far it is producing milder infections than earlier variants, according to researchers. South Africa, which first reported omicron in…

ADF STAFF The omicron variant of COVID-19 presents an increased risk of reinfection for the millions of people across Africa who have recovered from the disease, according to public health experts. “Previous infection used to protect…

ADF STAFF It was no coincidence that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had just boarded an airplane when he delivered a forceful rejection of recent COVID-19-related travel bans. His country was the first to alert the world to a…

ADF STAFF In the fight against COVID-19, public health leaders say increasing Africa’s capacity for genomic surveillance is a key part of understanding the enemy and defeating it. If hospitals and health workers are the front line of…

ADF STAFF Africa’s public health leaders believe tools such as testing and viral gene sequencing will help track the spread of COVID-19 and blunt the impact of future waves. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa regional office…

ADF STAFF Wilson Lang’at owns a 2.5-hectare farm in the village of Koiyet, which lies in Kenya’s verdant southern Rift Valley. For years, his primary source of income was trading cows while he grew maize as a smaller side business.…

ADF STAFF More than 8 million South Africans live with HIV-compromised immune systems, a situation that makes them vulnerable to infection by COVID-19 and — if they become infected — potential sources of new variants as their bodies…