Category: Medical

Police said Sunday that 13 people were killed and many others seriously burned when an overturned petrol tanker exploded in western Kenya as crowds thronged to collect the spilling fuel.

The fuel truck collided with another vehicle and toppled over late Saturday near Malanga, some 315 kilometers northwest of Nairobi, on the busy highway between Kisumu and the border with Uganda.

Onlookers rushed to the scene with jerrycans but the cargo exploded, engulfing those around in a fireball.

“It burst into flames as they scooped fuel that was flowing,” said Charles Chacha, a local police chief in Siaya County where the accident occurred.

“We counted 12 bodies at the scene. Another person died in hospital from their injuries.”

Fire crews arrived on the scene two hours later to douse the inferno while those injured in the blast were taken to hospital.

“Many others have been taken to hospital with serious burns and they include young children,” Chacha said.

The cause of the explosion is not yet known.

Images broadcast by Kenyan media showed the blazing tanker lighting up the night sky and in the morning following, crowds gaping at the twisted, smoldering wreckage.

Deadly fuel truck accidents along perilous roads are not uncommon in Kenya and the wider East Africa region.

In 2009, more than 100 people were killed when a petrol tanker overturned northwest of Nairobi and an explosion consumed those gathering to collect leaking fuel.

More recently, at least 100 people were killed when a tanker exploded in Tanzania in 2019 while in 2015 more than 200 perished in a similar accident in South Sudan.

Source: Voice of America

BLANTYRE, MALAWI – The Malawi government has announced it will start inoculating its citizens with several COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to protect more of its population amid growing coronavirus infections. Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda says the extra vaccine is necessary to fill a gap.

Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda says the COVID-19 vaccines Malawi has added include Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sputnik, Sinovac and Sinopharm.

Kandodo, who also is the co-chairperson of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, says the country is expected to receive a donation of 300,000 doses each of the Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson vaccines in early August.

“We have done this because we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket, as has been the case,” said Kandodo. “That’s why we have opened up to include other vaccines, which can fill the gaps that would be created.”

She assured Malawians that the government has independently verified the safety and efficacy of the newly recommended vaccines.

Malawi stopped vaccinating its citizens in June when it ran out of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Records show that about 400,000 people have been vaccinated — far short of the 11 million people needed to reach herd immunity.

In May, Malawi destroyed about 20,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, which expired in April.

The incineration was largely because many Malawians were reluctant to be vaccinated due to concerns about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.

Malawi is expected, however, to receive a fresh consignment of 192,000 doses of the AstraZeneca next week.

But Kandodo said the vaccine will be restricted to unvaccinated health workers and those who already have a single dose.

“We know there are a lot of people who are now willing to take the jab. But bear with us, other vaccines are coming,” said Kandodo. “And the importance of Johnson &Johnson’s is that it’s a single dose vaccine. So, those who have never taken any vaccines will take these Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines.”

Health rights campaigner Maziko Matemba is advising the government to make vaccine available through a standardized program and stop relying on donated vaccine.

“Vaccine has to be part of our routine program so that everyone who wants that vaccine needs to get it,” said Matemba. “Once you have the rights information and you are convinced that this is the vaccine that can save me, you should be able to get it, other than passing two to three weeks without vaccines at all.”

Kandodo said the problem Malawi is facing, though, is not about money to buy the vaccine but where to find it.

She said the Malawian government has just received about $30 million from the World Bank to help purchase COVID-19 vaccine.

Source: Voice of America

Seventy-two people have been killed in riots and looting in South Africa, police said Tuesday, amid protests over the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma.

Violence erupted last week when Zuma began serving a 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court.

In the country’s worst unrest in years, looters vandalized shopping malls, other retail outlets and businesses in the province of Gauteng, which includes the country’s largest city of Johannesburg. Security forces seemed unable to prevent the looting and attacks, which also occurred in Zuma’s home province, KwaZulu-Natal and in Soweto.

But protesters have also taken to the street to denounce economic hardship which has increased during the pandemic over the last year.

The increased death toll comes as South Africa announced it would deploy thousands of troops to reinforce overwhelmed police officers in two states.

Police said Tuesday that most of the deaths were the result of stampedes around incidents of looting. Over 1,000 people have been arrested since demonstrations began last week.

In his address to the nation Monday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa denounced the violence and looting, urging calm.

“The path of violence, of looting and anarchy, leads only to more violence and devastation,” Ramaphosa said.

But the Zuma Foundation said Tuesday that there would not be peace as long as the former anti-apartheid fighter was behind bars.

“Peace and stability in South Africa is directly linked to the release of President Zuma with immediate effect,” the foundation wrote on Twitter.

Zuma was convicted of resisting a court order to testify in a state-backed investigation into allegations of corruption during his nine-year term as president that ended in 2018.

Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told reporters at the news conference she did not believe current conditions warrant imposing a state of emergency.

Zuma’s lawyer argued Monday before South Africa’s Constitutional Court that Zuma should have his sentence rescinded. Judges on the court said they would consider the arguments and announce their decision at a later date.

Source: Voice of America

Five civilians, four soldiers and 40 armed attackers were killed Sunday in a clash in Niger’s restive southwest region near the border with Mali, the government said.

Around 100 heavily armed “terrorists” riding motorcycles attacked the Tchoma Bangou village, striking around 3 p.m. Sunday, Niger’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement read on public television that did not identify who it suspected was behind the latest deadly incident.

The “prompt and vigorous reaction” by the Defense and Security Forces “made it possible to repel the attack and inflict heavy losses on the enemy,” the ministry said, adding that its soldiers had seized motorcycles and a cache of weapons, including AK47s and machine guns, from the assailants.

Tchoma Bangou is located in the Tillaberi region, bordering Mali and Burkina Faso, an area known as “the three borders” that has been regularly targeted by jihadist groups.

Tillaberi has been under a state of emergency since 2017. The authorities have banned motorbike traffic night and day for a year and ordered the closure of certain markets suspected of supplying “terrorists.”

One of the poorest countries in the world, Niger has for years battled jihadist insurgencies on its southwestern flank with Mali, as well as Boko Haram on its southeastern border with Nigeria. The repeated attacks have claimed hundreds of lives and forced thousands to flee their homes.

In January, 70 civilians were killed by gunmen in Tchoma Bangou and 30 in the neighboring village of Zaroumadareye.

Last month, 19 people were killed in villages in the same commune, according to officials.

According to United Nations estimates, there are more than 300,000 internally displaced people in Niger, many of whom fled terrorist violence that has escalated since 2015.

Source: Voice of America

In Malawi, a survey by the Ministry of Health to help ascertain the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine has shown its effectiveness in fighting the coronavirus. The survey was based on current hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients across the country.

The preliminary results of the findings released Saturday were based on COVID-19 admissions between June 26 and July 8 of this year.

These results show that over 80% of 227 COVID-19 patients admitted during the period were those not vaccinated.

And those who have only had one AstraZeneca jab were 12% while those fully vaccinated only accounted for 4%.

The secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Charles Mwansambo, says it’s still too early to measure the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine based on these findings.

“We are still vaccinating more and presently our vaccination status is still low. But what we have found out so far is that the majority of those that are coming in those that are not vaccinated,” he said.

However, he says the findings would help end fears and doubts some Malawians had over the vaccine, which prevented them from getting vaccinated.

Malawi has currently vaccinated about 400,000 people of the 11 million needed to reach herd immunity.

“So we encourage more people to come for vaccination because obviously this is strongly putting a case for vaccination. So I encourage citizens to make sure that they come for vaccination,” said Mwansambo.

In May, Malawi destroyed about 20,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine which had expired.

The incineration was largely because many Malawians were reluctant to be vaccinated over concerns on the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.

Lydia Kamwana, a baker in Blantyre, said the survey is a wake-up call to her.

“I haven’t been vaccinated,” she said. “I really wanted to go for the jab but then I was so scared. And when I saw those findings, the results are making sense and I am convinced I will get the jab once the vaccine is in stock.”

Maziko Matemba is the national community ambassador for health in Malawi. He welcomes the survey findings but he says the government is now responsible to ensure it has enough vaccine for its people.

“As you know, this is one or less than one percent of the population which has been vaccinated. So the bigger population is not well vaccinated,” he said.

However, Mwansambo said Malawi is expected to receive a donation of 192,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines Thursday to restock its vaccination centers, which ran out of vaccine mid-June.

Source: Voice of America

BLANTRYE, MALAWI – The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control have designated Malawi a COVID-19 high risk country, and they are warning people against traveling to the southern African nation. The warning follows a surge in COVID-19 cases in a third wave of the pandemic.

Malawi is facing an unprecedented rise in COVID-19 cases in its third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with an infection rate of 22%. That’s up from about 2 percent in May.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health released Friday show that for the previous 24 hours, Malawi confirmed 451 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths.

In Its travel notice this week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people to avoid traveling to Malawi.

It says if travel is necessary, individuals must make sure they are fully vaccinated before making the trip.

The CDC also says in the current situation in Malawi, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.

The World Health Organization has added Malawi to a list of African countries that expose people to a high risk of COVID-19 infection.

Malawi Facing COVID Vaccine Shortage after Burning Expired Doses

The shortage comes just weeks after Malawi destroyed about 20,000 doses that expired, partly due to vaccine hesitancy

George Jobe is the executive director of the Health Equity Network. He says although the CDC’s travel notice was not expected, it hasn’t come as a surprise, considering the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

“Therefore, declaration should be an eye-opener for Malawians to be very strict, observing the regulations that we have, and also for Malawi to enforce compliance of the regulations,” said Jobe. “That is what we need, especially that only 1 percent of Malawians have been vaccinated. Therefore, we are still prone to serious infections”

Malawi Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda told a local radio station the announcement is not surprising and said it would affect the country’s tourism sector.

Economists say although the travel notice is logical, they nonetheless worry it will have a negative impact on the country, which depends greatly on international trade.

Betchani Tchereni is a professor of economics at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences.

“If travel restrictions are being placed against us, we are going to face problems with having people to be attracted to come to Malawi for tourism purposes,” said Tchereni. “The second thing is, we want to attract the best investors from elsewhere, but if people cannot come here because they feel there is high risk of COVID-19, or indeed because they have been advised so, then you have problem. Remember, we are busy creating jobs in this country.”

To curb the pandemic, the Malawi government has reintroduced strict COVID-19 preventive measures. Restrictions include a ban on political rallies, no fans at stadiums for football games, no gatherings of more than 50 people, and a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

But Tchereni said Malawi has never been serious about enforcing the measures.

“Look, we have never been as very serious in Malawi. We have always said people should not gather, but have you been to markets? People are gathering in markets. People are gathering in schools, are everywhere people are doing so many things,” said Tchereni. “Yes, it is because of the nature of our economy, but you see what, we are going to lose lives and that is not good for the economy.”

The government says it has engaged the police and the military to help enforce the measures.

For example, police officers say that on Friday alone, they arrested about 40 people in a crackdown on those ignoring COVID-19 preventive measures.

Source: Voice of America

UNICEF said Thursday it has signed a deal to provide up to 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to African Union member states by the end of 2022.

The child humanitarian group announced in a statement the agreement was reached with Belgium-based and J&J-owned Janssen Pharmaceutica NV.

An additional 35 million doses of the single-dose vaccine could be delivered to the African Union’s 55-member states by the end of this year and another 180 million doses could be ordered by year’s end, UNICEF said.

“African countries must have affordable and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible. Vaccine access has been unequal and unfair, with less than 1 per cent of the population of the African continent currently vaccinated against COVID-19. This cannot continue,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “UNICEF, with its long history of delivering vaccines all around the world, is supporting global COVID-19 vaccination efforts through AVAT, COVAX, and other channels to maximize supply and access to vaccines.”

The J&J vaccine received emergency approval from the World Health Organization in March.

Source: Voice of America