🔅 Ebola scare and reprieve
Uganda’s ebola cases rise, but the DRC has good news
🔅 Good morning,
In today’s issue, Uganda’s ebola cases are a cause for concern, but the DRC has good news on that front. The Rand strengthens, but the Naira is suffering…
Markets Today*
📉 Nigerian Stock Exchange: 49,161.45 (-0.12%)
📈 Johannesburg Stock Exchange: 12,613.80 (+0.78%)
📉 Nairobi Securities Exchange: 134.86 (-0.07%)
📉 US S&P 500: 3,625.90 (-0.80%)
📈 Shanghai Composite: 3,093.86 (+1.40%)
*Market data accurate as of close of markets the previous day.
The rand in South Africa strengthened on Tuesday after falling to a 28-month low on Monday. According to economists, the rand's value against the dollar will likely remain volatile. Johannesburg Stock Exchange shares gained in response to the news, and reflecting gains in global equities.
The Bank of England has hinted it is prepared to ramp up interest rates in response to the recent slump of the pound. Its chief economist said the Bank is considering a significant response in order to protect sterling.
HEALTH
Ebola — Uganda’s cases increase, DRC in the clear
Ebola infections have spread throughout Uganda's districts, increasing the total number of confirmed and suspected deaths to 23, according to health officials in the east African country on Monday.
Last Tuesday, Uganda announced an Ebola epidemic after a case of the relatively rare Sudan strain was discovered in the country's Mubende area.
The virus has now spread to the neighbouring districts of Kyegegwa and Kassanda, with the Ugandan Health Ministry reporting a total of 36 cases. In Kampala, the capital city, no instances have been reported.
On August 22, a fresh case of the fatal virus was identified in the eastern city of Beni, marking the country's fifteenth outbreak. The case was genetically connected to the 2018-2020 outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, which killed over 2,300 individuals.
Last year, another outbreak flare-up killed six people. The lush tropical jungles are a perfect reservoir for the Ebola virus, which causes fever, muscle pains, and diarrhoea. Since 1976, the country has experienced 14 outbreaks.
ACROSS THE CONTINENT
Other Headlines
🇬🇲 The United States Department of Agriculture has awarded The Gambia $28.5 million to help the country with its food security program. The gift is part of President Biden's $2 billion pledge to the United Nations General Assembly to address food insecurity in disadvantaged areas. The National Disaster Management Agency of The Gambia issued a warning a few weeks ago that the country's already poor food security is expected to worsen. Around the same time, the International Monetary Fund published a report naming The Gambia as one of the countries in the world with the weakest food import finance facility.
🇧🇫 In Burkina Faso, several persons were killed in an ambush by Islamist terrorists on a 150-vehicle convoy carrying supplies to a community in the north of the country on Monday. Militants have blockaded many areas, forcing the government to rely on convoys and air supplies to reach stranded populations. Frustration with the country's spiralling violence prompted a military coup against ex-President Roch Kabore in January.
🇳🇬 On Tuesday, Nigeria's central bank raised its primary lending rate by 150 basis points to 15.50%, the highest level ever and higher than expected. This is in response to currency inflationary forces. Annual inflation jumped to 20.52% in August, up from 19.64% in July, for the seventh month in a row.
AROUND THE WORLD
Iran protests: Death toll rises to 76
According to campaigners, at least 76 demonstrators were slain by Iranian security forces during an 11-day uprising prompted by the death of a lady in jail.
Protests against the morality police and the hijab requirement sparked by her death swiftly became the most significant challenge to Iran's Shia Muslim religious leadership in years.
Protests were reported in Tehran and a number of other towns on Monday, including Yazd in the country's center and Tabriz and Sanandaj in the north-west.
As of Monday, Iran Human Rights has recorded the deaths of 76 demonstrators across 14 provinces, including six women and four children, though it noted that internet restrictions were causing delays in reporting.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
"A low-class man will just talk; deeds are the hallmark of a gentleman."
- Swahili Proverb.