The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is advancing efforts to establish a continental digital health identity system aimed at strengthening data protection, improving healthcare delivery, and enhancing outbreak response across Africa. Prof. Yap Boum II, Deputy Incident Manager for Mpox at the Africa CDC Incident Management Support Team (IMST), disclosed the developments during the weekly high-level regional news conference on Thursday. Boum II said the initiative forms part of a broader digital public health agenda to help African countries securely manage health data and improve coordination during public health emergencies. He explained that the proposed digital…
Author: Newsdesk
TeKnowledge and Microsoft have expanded their partnership to accelerate Nigeria’s national Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills development and enhance the country’s global competitiveness. Ms Aileen Allkins, President of TeKnowledge, announced the development at a news conference on Thursday in Lagos. She detailed the company’s expanded role as a delivery partner for Phase 2 of Microsoft’s AI National Skilling Initiative in Nigeria. Allkins said AI capability has become a defining measure of national economic competitiveness, with a widening gap between early investors and those that delay. She noted that AI is projected to contribute trillions of dollars to the global economy over…
Google says it has expanded language support for its Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered search features to include Yorùbá and Hausa Languages in Nigeria. The Communications and Public Affairs Manager, West Africa, Google, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, said this in a statement on Thursday. He said the update allowed speakers of the two Nigerian languages to access AI powered search experiences in their mother tongue for quick summaries and conversational exploration. The manager noted that the expansion formed part of Google’s broader effort to make AI more inclusive across Africa. He explained that the development brought the number of supported African languages in…
The Confederation of African Football has officially postponed the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, shifting the tournament from its initial March schedule to a new window between July and August. The continental football governing body confirmed the decision in a statement published on its website on Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty surrounding the tournament. The competition, which Morocco secured the rights to host in October 2024, will now run from July 25 to August 16, following consultations between CAF, FIFA and other key stakeholders involved in organising the event. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place…
China on Thursday lowered its GDP target to 4.5 to 5 per cent for this year in the face of Trump’s trade tariff war, the worsening global crisis following the US-Iran war and headwinds in the domestic economy, owing to property market slump and unemployment crisis. The target close to that of last year was announced by Chinese Premier Li Qiang in his work report presented to the annual National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s parliament, which opened here on Thursday. China has been setting a 5 per cent target for the GDP for the last three years amid growing…
Kenya is preparing to export hundreds of thousands of live sheep to Algeria ahead of the upcoming Eid al-Adha festival, following high-level discussions between officials from the two countries aimed at strengthening livestock trade and agricultural cooperation. The development follows talks between Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and Farid Ouahid Dahmane, as both governments explore ways to accelerate livestock exports and deepen bilateral agricultural ties. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Algeria is implementing a government-backed livestock import programme that could require up to one million sheep to meet the surge in demand associated with the Muslim…
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have renewed calls for expanded access to new HIV prevention tools and increased domestic investment, warning that the continent still bore largest share of the global HIV burden. Africa CDC said the continent continued to account for nearly 70 per cent of new HIV infections globally, underscoring the need for stronger prevention strategies and sustainable financing. Dr Landry Tsague, Director of the Centre for Public Health, Africa CDC, disclosed this during the weekly high-level regional news conference on Thursday. Tsague said the continent was entering what he described as an “unprecedented era in the HIV…
Canal+, the new owner of Multichoice Group, is set to discontinue Showmax, the video streaming platform, as part of a broader cost-cutting drive. According to reports, the decision comes after a review of the company’s streaming operations, with Canal+ seeking to reduce expenses and streamline its business. MultiChoice and Canal+ confirmed the planned shutdown of the streaming service. While the companies did not provide a specific timeline, the service is expected to be discontinued soon as legal and operational issues are resolved. According to the company, the decision was made by the Showmax board and reflects the continued focus of MultiChoice on financial discipline and investment…
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned that climate change is increasingly driving the spread of infectious diseases across the continent. The agency urged governments to strengthen climate-resilient health systems to address the growing threat. Dr Kyeng Mercy of the agency’s Surveillance and Disease Intelligence Unit, made the disclosure during a weekly high-level regional press briefing on Thursday. Mercy said rising temperatures, flooding and drought were contributing to the spread of diseases such as Malaria and Cholera, including vector-borne infections emerging in areas previously unaffected. She noted that malaria cases were now appearing in highland…
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has said that it is advancing efforts to establish a continental digital health identity system aimed at strengthening data protection, improving healthcare delivery and enhancing outbreak response across Africa. Prof. Yap Boum II, Deputy Incident Manager for Mpox at the Africa CDC Incident Management Support Team (IMST), disclosed the developments on Thursday during the weekly high-level regional news conference. Boum II said the initiative formed part of a broader digital public health agenda designed to help African countries securely manage health data, while improving coordination during public health emergencies. He explained that…