Monday is World Mental Health Day. To mark the day, the World Health Organization has launched a campaign to “raise awareness and spur action” in regions where there are high rates of death by suicide. The world health body said that the pandemic has created “a global crisis for mental health,” in a statement Monday, adding that it is “fueling

The World Health Organization says Africa has the highest rate of people dying by suicide in the world. In a statement, the agency said Africa is home to six of the 10 countries with the highest suicide rates globally. The continent is said to have one psychiatrist for every 500,000 inhabitants – 100 times less than the WHO recommendation. Around

CONAKRY– At least 15 people were killed yesterday, after a landslide hit a gold mine in Guinea’s north-east Siguiri region. An official of Norassoba town, Fatoumata Traore, said that, the landslide had killed eight people and injured five. The victims’ bodies have been sent to a local hospital, where four injured persons are being treated, with the one seriously injured

The Beijing-funded African Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is due to open in the next few months. The controversial project is just one example of China’s increasing investment in health care on the African continent since the pandemic as it builds what analysts and Beijing call a “Health Silk Road.” The reasons behind China’s investments in

HAVANA— A solidarity cargo from Mexico arrived in Cuba with electrical material destined for the recovery of the province of Pinar del Rio (westernmost Cuban province), the most affected by the passage of Hurricane Ian, which on Tuesday hit that territory with category three on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Miguel Díaz Reynoso, Mexican ambassador to the island, and local authorities received

As Uganda reports more deaths from the latest Ebola outbreak in the country, medical interns at the hospital handling most of the cases have gone on strike. The interns say they are not being provided with adequate personal protective equipment against the deadly virus, which causes a hemorrhagic fever. Uganda’s health ministry has so far confirmed five deaths and 18

The WHO South-East Asia Region sustained its polio-free status despite disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic but needs to scale-up measures in view of the persisting and increased risks of polio globally. “Countries have been making efforts, but gaps persist, specially at sub-national level. We need to scale-up surveillance and immunization coverage and update our polio outbreak response capacities to respond

UNITED NATIONS— UN Children’s Fund UNICEF warned that children in the Horn of Africa and the vast Sahel region “could die in devastating numbers” without urgent intervention and support. In the last five months, the number of people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia without reliable access to safe water has risen from 9.5 million to 16.2 million Children in Sahel

Aid groups say more than 37 million people in the Horn of Africa are struggling with hunger fueled by a deadly record drought that has killed nearly 9 million animals. The worst situation may be in Somalia, where more than 700 children have died of malnutrition this year. Exacerbated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in

With COVID-related school disruptions setting back children around the world, activists implored world leaders Monday to prioritize school systems and restore educational budgets slashed when the pandemic hit. The summit on transforming education, held at the U.N. General Assembly ahead of the annual leaders’ meeting, was expected to produce commitments from the world’s nations to ensure that children everywhere from