To the people of Tenerife, My name is Tedros, and I serve as the Director-General of the World Health Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for global public health. It is not common for me to write directly to the people of a single community, but today I feel it is not only appropriate, it…
Africa has to make a critical shift towards self-sufficiency in addressing its HIV challenges, emphasising the need for ownership, sustainable financing and strengthened health infrastructure for lasting impact. The recent Second Global Edition of the African Public Square (APS) open debate, convened during King’s Africa Week at Bush House, King’s College London, on 2 March…
An outbreak of deadly hantavirus aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has triggered an international public health response. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is coordinating evacuations and risk assessments following the death of three people and multiple suspected infections. One patient remains in intensive care in South Africa. To date, one case…
Students woke up on February 11, 2026, to a campus unrecognizable. At the Public University of Barikadimy in Toamasina, roofs had vanished, classrooms were flooded, books drifted in muddy water, and electricity lines lay useless on the ground. “It feels like I’m walking through a real nightmare,” said Haingomalala, a student in Management. “Cyclone Gezani…
The World Health Organization (WHO) wrapped up Exercise Polaris II, a 2-day high-level simulation exercise, based around an outbreak of a fictional new bacterium spreading across the world. Bringing together 26 countries and territories, 600 health emergency experts and over 25 partners, the exercise, which took place on 22 and 23 April, allowed countries to…
A safety and security reporting feature has been added to the city’s app. (Image: supplied) Cape Town’s safety and security directorate has added emergency reporting to the city’s mobile application. The functionality, developed by the emergency policing incident control team within the safety and security directorate, allows the public to report by-law and criminal acts….
To counter the severe economic shocks triggered by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Board of Directors of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a US$10 billion Gulf Crisis Response Programme (GCRP) to insulate African and Caribbean economies, financial institutions and corporates from the impacts of the ongoing Gulf crisis. The conflict, which…
World shares mostly fell and oil gained again on Friday after Wall Street had its worst day since the start of the Iran war over growing doubts about a de-escalation. In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 9,939.96. France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.7% to 7,718.97, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.3% to 22,314.28….
Thiery Karsenti, VP EMEA technical solutions at Palo Alto Networks, warned delegates that growing cyber complexity is increasing enterprise risk. Cyber security teams are drowning in tools, and that complexity is contributing to breaches. This is according to Thiery Karsenti, VP EMEA technical solutions at Palo Alto Networks, speaking at Ignite on Tour Johannesburg last week….
WHO is testing an innovative way to improve outbreak detection, notification and response through an interactive ‘7-1-7 Strategy Game’. The 7-1-7 target calls for detecting a suspected outbreak within seven days, notifying public health authorities within one day, and mounting an effective response within seven days. Achieving these benchmarks requires coordinated action across surveillance, laboratories,…
