• Global ratings agency S&P downgrades Kenya from “B” to “B-” on weaker debt trajectory.
• S&P says Kenya’s financial outlook has deteriorated following the rejection of Finance Bill 2024, which was intended to raise tax revenues.
• Agency projects that Kenya’s budget deficit will widen by almost two percentage points, reaching 4.3% for the 2025 fiscal year.

S&P Global Ratings has further downgraded Kenya’s credit score, pushing the East African nation’s rating deeper into junk territory. This downgrade follows the government’s decision to reject controversial tax increases in late June that were aimed at addressing fiscal imbalances.

The latest move by S&P places East Africa’s biggest economy’s rating on par with countries such as Egypt and El Salvador.

The rejection of the 2024/2025 Finance Bill, which was expected to introduce several tax increases, has been a pivotal moment for Kenya’s economic trajectory. The bill included tax hikes on essential items such as …

• Historically, efforts to combat malnutrition have often been siloed, with different sectors working in isolation.
• Despite the clear benefits of improving nutrition—both in terms of individual well-being and broader economic development—funding for nutrition initiatives has often been insufficient.
• A new approach seeks to break down these silos by promoting cross-sector collaboration and integrating nutrition into broader development strategies.

Malnutrition in Africa remains a persistent challenge, affecting millions of people and hindering the continent’s development. The African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank Group’s African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN) initiative, in collaboration with the government of Senegal, have launched a new effort to address this issue head-on.

This initiative, which has brought together key stakeholders from various sectors, aims to develop Africa’s first-ever Multisectoral Nutrition Policy Framework (MNPF) and an ambitious investment target to combat malnutrition across the continent. The recent regional consultation held in Dakar, Senegal, marks the …

• Health Minister Roger Kamba announced last week that the DRC expects to receive the first shipment of vaccine doses from the US within days.
• DRC is the hardest hit country by the epidemic globally reporting over 1000 new cases in a week.
• The country currently faces a huge shortfall in vaccine supplies, with an estimated 3 million doses required to curb the epidemic.

The US is expected to deliver critical Mpox vaccines to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this week, marking a turning point in Kinshasa’s fight against the fast-spreading viral infection. This intervention comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox outbreaks in Africa a global emergency, highlighting the urgent need for international support to combat the virus.

The DRC, which has been hardest hit by the epidemic reporting over 1000 new cases in a week, is poised to receive a much-needed boost in its battle against …

• DRC is grappling with a severe outbreak of Mpox, reporting over 1,000 new cases in just one week.
• This alarming surge has prompted health authorities in Africa to urgently request vaccines to combat the viral infection.
• Kenya, the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda are set to benefit from a donation of 50,000 doses of mpox vaccine as part of a global effort to check spread.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is grappling with a severe Mpox outbreak, reporting over 1,000 new cases in just one week. This alarming surge has prompted health authorities in Africa to urgently request vaccines to combat what is increasingly seen as a growing threat on the continent. As the Mpox outbreak escalates, the need for international support has become more critical than ever.

The growing threat of Mpox in Africa

Mpox, a viral disease belonging to the same family as smallpox, is spreading rapidly …

• Africa CDC has announced an ambitious alliance with vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic to secure 10 million doses of the mpox vaccine by the end of 2025.
• Vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic says it can supply up to 2 million doses by the end of 2024.
• Mpox outbreak has been particularly severe, prompting Africa CDC to declare it a PHECS on August 13, 2024.

In response to the escalating threat of mpox across the Africa, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has announced an ambitious plan to secure 10 million doses of the mpox vaccine by the end of 2025.

This commitment comes in collaboration with Bavarian Nordic, a leading vaccine manufacturer, which has pledged to ramp up production and ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines.

The initiative is a critical step in tackling the ongoing mpox outbreak, which has been declared a Public Health Emergency of …

• Suspected mpox cases across the continent have surged past 17,000—a sharp increase from 7,146 cases in 2022 and 14,957 cases in 2023.
• The disease has rapidly spread from the epicentre, DRC to at least 13 African countries, including nations previously unaffected such as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
• Already, Africa CDC has entered into an alliance to provide over 215,000 doses of the MVA-BN® vaccine—the only Mpox vaccine approved by the FDA and EMA.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has declared the ongoing Mpox outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS).

This declaration is the first of its kind since the agency’s establishment in 2017, marking a critical moment in Africa’s public health scene even as authorities step up measures to tackle an outbreak of this deadly disease.

Under the authority granted by Article 3, Paragraph F of the Africa CDC Statutes, …