Feature Stories

Accra ‒ The death of his mother six years ago was a rude awakening for Saviour Yevutsey. “What started as a simple cough led to a diagnosis of pneumonia,” he recalls. “After several medicines were administered without any improvement, my mother was referred to another district hospital and later to the teaching hospital for further treatment.” 

Yevutsey spent a fortune on medicines that did not deliver the needed relief to his mother and she died, a memory that still brings him pain. 

Juba ‒ Aboja Malual Chol lives in a transit centre for South Sudanese returnees who have fled the conflict in neighbouring Sudan. Living conditions in the centre near Palouch airport in Melut County in northern South Sudan are tough for its 6000 residents who are awaiting to travel to other parts of the country. 

Brazzaville – In June 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Emmanuella Selasi Hormenoo, an 18-year-old Ghanian university student, was teetering on the brink of death. “The doctors initially thought that I might have COVID-19, but when they did the tests, they were always negative. During one of the blood transfusions I had to have, I went into cardiac arrest, and slipped into yet another coma.” 

Abuja ‒ When his seven-year-old brother Jubrin was diagnosed with diphtheria in July 2023, Aminu Dayyabu Alharini had never heard of the disease, the latest outbreak of which has claimed more than 500 lives in Nigeria.

Following the diagnosis, Jubrin was immediately transferred from the health facility near their home in Alharini settlement, in Kano State, Nigeria, to a specialist hospital after he suddenly developed a high fever following two days of complaining of a sore throat.

Brazzaville – The emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases is a pressing concern for public health and environmental conservation in an increasingly interconnected world.

Recognizing the critical role of ecosystems in human survival, leaders and representatives from the world’s three largest tropical biodiversity ecosystems – the Amazon, the Congo and the Mekong-Delta River basins – are meeting this week in Brazzaville to discuss the complex relationship between forest ecosystems and human well-being.

Lilongwe ‒The Ministry of Health in Malawi with support from World Health Organization and Africa CDC, is currently training the first cohort of 63 emergency responders out of the country’s target of 200 to handle public health emergencies in Malawi and beyond.

Bouake – In Côte d’Ivoire, popular beliefs often associate mental illness with paranormal events or spiritual manifestations. Most people seek care for mental health conditions in prayer camps set up by pastors. However, the “care” provided does not conform to standards and protocols for appropriate mental health services. 

Ouagadougou – Domdasse Adama could barely walk, with his left side paralysed and reliant on a cane. “But thanks to the support and treatment I received for hypertension, I can now walk on my own, and even ride a bicycle for several kilometres," he says.

Adama's journey to recovery from impaired mobility due to hypertension was far from easy. In the bustling town of Gana in central Burkina Faso, where medical resources were limited, his struggle to receive timely and effective care was a common challenge.