Africa

Kenya was hailed for its decision to outlaw single use plastic bags in 2016, with remarkably hefty penalties. So why are the bags back in stores, piling up in dumps — and being ingested by livestock?

Nodding syndrome is a rare neurological condition that can result in head nodding and violent seizures. Some researchers think they know the cause, but questions remain.

Tuberculosis kills 1.6 million a year — the second deadliest infectious disease after COVID-19. Using immune cells and mRNA technology, scientists in South Africa are working on a new vaccine.

Afrigen is the linchpin of global project to use mRNA technology to empower low-resource countries to make their own vaccines against killer diseases from TB to HIV. What will it take to succeed?

With an outbreak of the deadly disease declared in Uganda, travelers who have been to the African country within 21 days of arriving in the U.S. will be subject to enhanced screening.

Although most cases of the smallpox-related disease are mild, authorities in numerous European countries and the U.S. are offering to immunize people at high risk and considering the use of antivirals.

The variant caused fewer deaths and less severe infections than past versions of the virus in South Africa, but that could be different in other countries.

The U.S. donation from its domestic supplies comes on top of the 50 million doses previously donated to Africa, which world health officials say is 500 million doses short of its goal.

The challenge of refrigerating COVID-19 vaccines is acute in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 28% of health care facilities have reliable power. One solution? A new kind of freezer powered by the sun.