You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Host Esther Githui-Ewart and a team of correspondents zero in on the big stories making news on the continent and around the world with context and analysis.
The World Health Organization says dire infection and death numbers from coronavirus could be in the future for tens of thousands of Africans. The United Nations agency responsible for international public health says up to 44 million people in Africa could contract COVID-19 and 190,000 may die if the virus is not contained.
A new WHO report looks at 47 countries on the African continent. It says while the rates of transmission in Africa would be slower than in other parts of the world during the pandemic’s first year, COVID-19 in Africa could simmer for a long time in what the report calls hot spots.
The United Nations is boosting its global appeal, asking for close to $7 billion dollars to avoid devastating repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.N.’s emergency relief chief tells VOA the updated plan to fight the corona-virus will target nine more countries, including seven in Africa: Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Zimbabwe.
There is no proven medical cure or prevention against COVID-19. But Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina is claiming a beverage brewed from a local herb can fight the disease. The herb, called Artemisia, is commonly used to make tea. Madagascar has shipped the herbal mixture to other African countries. But Madagascar has not released any scientific proof of artemisia's effectiveness against coronavirus.
Kenyan officials say flooding and landslides in Kenya have killed nearly 200 people, displaced 100,000 and strained critical infrastructure, with unprecedentedly high-water levels at two dams forcing the evacuation of villagers at risk. The heavy rain, which accelerated in mid-April, is expected to continue in already hard-hit areas in the coming weeks, according to the Kenya meteorological department.
An animated video from Nigeria is teaching children about the coronavirus and it's having a global impact. VOA spoke to Nigerian filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan.
A54 Entertainment: Many countries honor mothers and mother figures once a year with a Mother’s Day celebration. In the United States, it happens every second Sunday in May since 1907 when it was first established by a woman in the state of West Virginia. Music Time in Africa host Heather Maxwell brings us new music from Nigeria, by an expectant mother, to share the joy of Mother’s Day worldwide. VOA’s Kwame Ofori joins her.
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