🔅 The (Guinea) Worm War: Who's Winning?
Plus: Malawi’s deadliest cholera outbreak, Uganda’s cars must all have bins, Microsoft to formalize DRC's mining industry, Merkel awarded the UNESCO Peace Prize in Ivory Coast, And much more... ☕
Photo of the day: Cankuzo, Burundi
Markets — Year to Date:
🔺 Nigerian SE: 54,327.30 (+6.00%)
🔺 Johannesburg SE: 78,985.35 (+8.13%)
🔻 Ghana SE: 2,390.43 (-2.19%)
🔻 Nairobi SE: 128.25 (-0.29%)
🔻 US S&P 500: 4,090.46 (+6.96%)
🔺 Shanghai Composite: 3,260.67 (+4.64%)
South Africa: South Africa’s rand took a hit on Friday after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a “state of disaster” to address the country’s crippling power shortages. While investors were looking for answers, all they got was a lot of questions—like what precisely this state of disaster would entail, other than setting up a ministry of electricity, as Ramaphosa announced.
Adidas' Yeezy Problem: Adidas’ relationship with Kanye West has cost them big bucks. After the company cut ties with Ye over his anti-Semitic comments last November, Adidas’ new boss Bjørn Gulden announced that the firm could lose hundreds of millions of dollars this year if it decides not to sell its remaining Yeezy sneaker stock. This is the fourth profit warning from the sportswear giant since July, and Adidas expects a €700m operating loss this year.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
HEALTH
The (Guinea) Worm War: Who's Winning?
We've all heard of the fight against polio, malaria, and HIV. But few are aware of the fight against guinea worm disease, a parasitic infection spread through contaminated water, causing horrific pain and disability.
But now, after over four decades of global efforts, the number of cases of this tropical illness has fallen to a record low.
How low?
So low, in fact, that there were only 13 cases reported worldwide in 2022, a number which could be the smallest ever documented.
Jimmy Carter, the former US president who co-founded the Carter Center in 1982, said their partners are working hard “to rid the world of this scourge.”
What's been done?
The global eradication programme has managed to mobilise communities and improve drinking water quality in hotspots. It's also helped countries like Pakistan, India and Uganda to eliminate the disease.
The remaining endemic countries are Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola, Mali and Sudan, with other non-endemic countries like the Central African Republic reporting cases too.
What happens if you're infected?
Once a person is infected with guinea worm, or dracunculiasis, there is no known way to stop the disease from taking its course. After a year, the affected person will experience severe pain due to the formation of a blister and the slow emergence of one or more worms measuring up to a metre. This can debilitate the patient for weeks or even months.
So, is eradication in sight?
It looks like it. Adam Weiss, director of the Carter Center’s guinea worm eradication programme, said: “We continue to study ways to defeat and prevent this infection … We won’t stop until the last guinea worm is gone.”
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OTHER HEADLINES
Across the Continent
A Look at Earth and Africa at 50 | In 1972, NASA took the iconic “Blue Marble” photo of Earth, quickly becoming an icon of the global environmental movement. Fifty years later, NASA has taken another image of our planet from 1.5 million kilometres away, and the effects of climate change are particularly visible in Africa. The photo, which was centred on Africa, reveals clear changes to the face of the continent, some of which are indicative of 50 years of climate change. For example, the dark shadow of Lake Chad in the northern Sahara has shrunk, and forest vegetation now begins hundreds of miles further south. This is consistent with evidence of desertification in north Africa’s Sahel region. Additionally, Madagascar’s once-green landscape is now mainly brown due to rapid habitat loss.
Equatorial Guinea's Mystery Disease | Equatorial Guinea is facing a medical mystery. At least eight people have died of an unknown hemorrhagic fever and over 200 people are quarantined. Could it be Ebola? Lassa? The Black Death? We don’t know yet, but experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Atlanta Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are on the case. So far, the deaths seem to be linked to a funeral ceremony, so if you're in E. Guinea, don't go to any funerals for the time being, folks. Until we get results from the tests, which should be in a few days, the Cameroonian government is also restricting movement along the border to try to contain the outbreak.
Does He Owe Her More Money than he Stole? | A Nigerian man found himself in a relationship pickle after stealing 10K from his girlfriend to place a bet and then winning 100M. He gave her back the stolen money, but his girlfriend was not impressed. She asked for 40M and he refused, offering only 5M. The internet had a lot to say about this situation: some thought he should give her at least 10M as an apology for stealing, while others thought he only owed her the 10K. And you, fellow reader, what would you do?
10 Soldiers Killed in Niger | At least 10 Nigerien soldiers were killed, and 16 are missing after an armed assailant ambush near Mali’s border. Niger's defence minister released a statement, saying that the attack occurred on Friday evening in Banibangou and that air force support was able to drive the insurgents back into Mali. Unfortunately, the violence isn’t limited to this one incident. Neighbouring countries Mali and Burkina Faso are also facing attacks from al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked militants, who are wreaking havoc in the region.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“We desire to bequeath two things to our children; the first one is roots, the other one is wings.”
— Sudanese Proverb.