In a fresh push to tighten their ties, South Africa and Kenya have signed six new Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) designed to broaden cooperation across key sectors, from trade and maritime transport to skills development, gender equality, arts and culture, and sport. The agreements were concluded during Kenyan President William Ruto's State Visit to South Africa, marking another step in what both governments describe as a deepening strategic partnership. The latest set of MoUs brings the total number of bilateral pacts…

With Ebola still flaring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, frontline medics are straining to contain the disease while research teams worldwide sprint to produce a vaccine tailored to the specific strain driving the crisis. The epicentre lies in Ituri province in the country’s northeast, where ongoing conflict, mass displacement, a sizable migrant population, and underfunded clinics create a perfect storm that complicates efforts to halt transmission.

South Africa has begun rolling out a new line of defense against HIV: a six-monthly preventive injection that is now available free of charge at hundreds of public health facilities. The anti-HIV jab, which prevents HIV through sex, is currently stocked at 360 government clinics across six provinces, according to the health department’s list of clinics. The provinces included in the initial rollout are Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape. The Northern Cape, Limpopo and the…

After a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the country’s Ebola outbreak is beginning to turn a corner, even as major hurdles persist in testing, surveillance, vaccine development and winning community trust. What he witnessed on the ground, he added, left him hopeful. Tedros reported a decline in cases. He said 344 infections have been confirmed in the DR Congo, including 60 deaths. At the same time, suspected cases have fallen sharply—from…

Despite dramatic leaps in medical science, Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is still one of the world’s most prevalent birth defects—and it continues to test health systems with stark gaps in care. A new World Heart Federation report estimates CHD affected 2.3 million children in 2023, noting that survival has improved as diagnosis and treatment have advanced, even as deep inequalities persist, especially in low-income countries. According to the report, the specialists and pediatric heart programs required to diagnose and…

Venâncio Mondlane insists the 2024 race was his to lose only on paper. Now, as Peter Fabricius writes for Daily Maverick, he is turning his focus to the long game: building a party capable of taking power in 2029. In Mozambique’s 2024 presidential election, Mondlane was officially recorded as finishing second. Yet in his own view — shared by many commentators — he believes he came first. The state electoral authority nevertheless declared Frelimo candidate Daniel Chapo the winner, crediting him with 65% of the vote to…

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has brushed aside mounting resistance from a bloc of retired military generals and former senior civil servants to Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3, declaring “whoever wins, wins” as the fight over the proposed changes intensifies. Mnangagwa is pressing ahead with amendments that would keep him in power beyond the constitutionally stipulated two terms, setting up a sharp confrontation with the group, which has come out strongly against the bill. Represented by retired Air Marshal Henry…

Britain will not owe Kigali a payout over the collapsed migrant-relocation plan after an international court sided with the UK, shutting down Rwanda’s bid for more than £100 million. Rwanda had claimed London breached its agreement when Prime Minister Keir Starmer axed the scheme shortly after taking office in 2024. First unveiled by Boris Johnson and later pushed by Rishi Sunak, the policy sought to fly asylum seekers who arrived in the UK illegally to Rwanda for processing and potential resettlement. The proposal became a…

Namibia is preparing to overhaul the legal backbone of its migration system, with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security moving to review the 1993 Immigration Control Act as part of a broader push to modernise migration management, tighten border control and security, and encourage investment and travel. Director of Immigration and Border Control Danelie /Naris said the existing law no longer adequately addresses the complexities that now come with modern migration patterns and the demands of…

Questions over whether President Peter Mutharika has been stepping back from the day-to-day demands of governing have drawn a firm rebuttal from the presidency, which insists he remains fully in charge and actively engaged. In an official statement, the government dismissed reports that Mutharika has shirked key responsibilities by handing over his roles to ministers. It described the claims as “regrettable” and “unpatriotic,” and said the president has chaired every Cabinet meeting since taking office in September 2025.…