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Ghana has made steady progress in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic since recording the first case.  Over 91, 000 cases have been confirmed with 754 deaths since March 2020, giving a case fatality rate of 0.83%. Effective critical case management of the disease among others could be described as a key contributing factor to this success. To sustain the momentum in the fight, the World Health Organization has presented ICU equipment to the Ministry of Health to support in this direction.

In the wake of a COVID-19 spike in new cases and deaths the Kenya government responded swiftly to increase measures that are aimed at taming rapid transmissions. In his 15th presidential address to the Nation on Corona Virus pandemic, H.E President Kenyatta issued a public order restricting movement in or out of the declared disease infected zone consisting of 5 counties. In this Zone, comprising of the five counties that are contiguous, the daily curfew was tightened among other measures on public gatherings, bars and restaurant operations.

Clara Magalasi, who lives in a rural village near Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, woke up to a grey morning with a dull sky that was threatening rain. For Clara, the weather did not stop her from walking 4 kilometers to Chileka Health Centre. Her daughter Grace Butawo, who just turned 22 months, was due for her fourth and final dose of the RTS,S malaria vaccine. According to Clara, she was conscious about the dates to take her child for the final dose of the malaria vaccine as she understands its benefits.

Over the past two decades, the world has made great progress in reducing malaria cases and deaths, but the pace has stalled in many high malaria burden African countries. Global malaria cases dropped by 29% between 2000 and 2019, but only by 2% between 2015 and 2019 when deaths fell by 15% compared with 60% between 2000 and 2019. Professor Francis Omaswa, Executive Director, African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation, explains what needs to be done to get malaria control and prevention back on track