coronavirus South Africa Archives

21Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Collaboration is needed to end SA’s growing hunger pandemic

One Moment Foundation founder and YPO member Isaac Chalumbira shares insights on the growing hunger in SA The United Nations has reported a significant spike in global hunger, as a result of the pandemic. According to the 2021 edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, Africa experienced the biggest jump, with the estimated prevalence of undernourishment currently residing at 21% of the population – more than double that of any other region. Zooming in on South Africa, the National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) revealed that during April/May 2021, approximately 2.3 million households reported child hunger, while an Ipsos study found that more than 40% of South Africans of all age groups were affected by hunger. Isaac ...

Vaccine production in Africa key to pandemic-proofing the Continent

The unprecedented speed of development of the Covid-19 vaccines can be attributed to multiple factors including record levels of international collaboration and swift action on the part of many governments and regulatory bodies to provide a conducive framework. As every nation across the globe faced impending economic doom, massive cross-sector funding materialised, allowing large-scale phased trials to be performed in parallel (multiple phases run simultaneously). The accumulation of knowledge from decades of study on related viruses, including research which started after the SARS outbreaks of 2002 -2004, and the advent of mRNA-based vaccine technology further assisted in ensuring a swift response to halting the spread of the deadly virus. The potential for factors that ena...

There is a third way to minimise COVID exposure –Let’s start using it

by FAR UVC AFRICA There is nothing normal about what some people are calling the “new normal“. Humans are gregarious. For millions of years, we have eaten together, celebrated together, and played together. It’s time to get back to that “old normal“. And there are certainly safe ways to go back there. The main way SARS-Co-2 spreads, in fact the way most coronaviruses spread, is through the air. An infected person coughs or sneezes and aerosolised droplets are inhaled by an otherwise healthy person. There are two primary methods for minimising exposure to the virus recommended by the various Centres for Disease Control: wearing a mask or face covering over your mouth and nose, and social distancing. In addition to these two widely publicised methods is a third, fairly new, yet rarely mentio...