🎬Number 5

HEALTH
More good news for Egyptian tourism

Who needs pyramids when you can upsell a fever-free holiday? Yesterday, the WHO certified Egypt as “malaria-free” ending a historic 100-year battle with the disease in the country.

It’s become only the second country in the world, following Cabo Verde, to be officially declared malaria-free this year. It is also the fifth African nation to receive malaria-free certification from the WHO, joining the exclusive club of Algeria, Mauritius, Morocco, and Cabo Verde.

It wasn’t always like this. Being the home country to the Nile, Egypt has had its fair share of malaria cases throughout the years, notably due to the mosquito-breeding conditions afforded in parts where the river was stagnant.

• Boy pharaoh Tutankhamun, who lived between 1332 to 1323 BC, suffered from malaria, along with up to 70% of ancient Egypt’s population.

• By 1942, cases in Egypt had spiked to more than three million as a result of population displacement during World War II.

• The 1969 construction of the Aswan Dam created new malaria risks near the Sudanese border due to stagnant water from irrigation canals.

By the end of June 2014, the last case was cured, after which no new cases were reported in the following two years, effectively ending the country’s malaria headaches.

“You could borrow a leaf or two”, 

What WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said to Nigeria, as he restated the need to intensify efforts to bring the disease under control in the Sub-Saharan country. Nigeria currently accounts for more than a quarter of all malaria deaths annually, a number that now sits at 600,000 per year in 2022.

In good faith, efforts to step up vaccination coverage have picked up steam this year with many countries bidding for the latest R21 malaria vaccine. Nigeria picked up a million doses for distribution last week. - GN.

TRENDING
Talking pets

Ever wanted to know what your dog wants to say while it wags its tail from side to side? You’re welcome: The Shazam Band, an AI-fueled pet wearable from startup Personifi AI, promises to “awaken your pet’s inner human.” OK, you caught us: It boils down to a collar loaded with a chatbot primed to respond in a human voice. If you want a more “sentient” conversation, you’ll have to pay up — on top of the baseline $495 cat and $595 dog collars, annual subscriptions of $195 and $295, respectively, will follow. The company says they’ll start shipping in February.

SHOWER THOUGHTS

NEWS
Round the continent

• President Paul Biya has returned to Cameroon, ending a 6-week long absence that sparked concerns over his health.

• The ceasefire deal in DR Congo has gone up in smoke, following attacks by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels on the government forces yesterday.

• Meanwhile, Rwanda is in the conversation for the ‘fastest-ever outbreak to be contained’.

• New Zealand has beaten South Africa to win the T20 Women’s World Cup for the first time.