South Africa at the start of a Covid-19 vaccine the world has never seen
The World Health Organisation has enlisted a team of South African researchers to produce a new mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, but with no recipe to follow, it’s not an easy task
The convenient myth of an Africa spared from Covid-19
There are few, if any, studies to support Pfizer chief executive’s assertion that the global south would be more vaccine-hesitant than the north
Unvaccinated, untreated: Africa may not get its fair share of Covid-19 drugs
Only 18 countries are using dexamethasone, while tocilizumab and sarilumab can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars a dose
Hospital fire leaves South African cancer patients in the cold
When one of the country’s biggest public cancer treatment centres fell victim to fire and left more than a thousand patients waiting for treatment, an uncomfortable truth rose from the ashes.
Zambia faces birth control shortages after UK slashes UN funding
The United Nations Population Fund is the world’s largest provider of contraception to poor countries. The UK’s cuts to the agency are almost three times more severe than anything imposed previously by the Trump administration
Africa could produce a Covid-19 vaccine sooner than you think
In mere months, Moderna transformed an old Polaroid factory in America into a state-of-the-art vaccine-production centre. Why can’t we do the same?
South Africa pauses Covid-19 vaccine rollout after disappointing AstraZeneca results
SA’s one-million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will expire by early April — unless India’s Serum Institute can safely extend their use-by date.
Egypt, Seychelles get first jabs
The two countries have rolled out China’s Sinopharm vaccine, but data issues are likely to keep some countries from doing the same
Six injections a year could stop new HIV infections
New research from seven countries in Africa signals the future of HIV prevention — but what can it learn from its past?
Wheeling and dealing for a Covid-19 vaccine
A Covid-19 jab could cost hundreds of rands. Or not. It’s anyone’s guess. Could another pandemic almost a century ago hold clues for handling the coronavirus today?