News Releases

19 December 2021

2021: A year in review

Africa is ending another challenging year. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread, fuelled by new variants, while vaccine deliveries to the continent stuttered before picking up, causing delays in vaccination drives amid intensified calls for equity. The region also faced a range of other major health emergencies, including cholera, Ebola, Marburg and meningitis.

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14 December 2021 | Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccines

Africa clocks fastest surge in COVID-19 cases this year, but deaths remain low

An 83% surge in new COVID-19 cases during the past week in Africa, driven by the Delta and the Omicron variants, is causing fewer deaths than previous surges—but more waves could be building as updated forecasts warn that the continent may not reach 70% vaccine coverage until August 2024, a new World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic assessment finds.  

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