Nurses and midwives are the backbone of health systems globally. Of the world’s 43.5 million healthcare professionals, more than 20 million are nurses and midwives. They play a critical role, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, as quite often they are the first and only healthcare professionals people will see. Because nurses and midwives respond to the...

African countries need to do more to upgrade the continent’s fragile health delivery systems if they are to cope with pandemics such as the coronavirus which within weeks, has infected 10,662 people in 52 countries with 533 deaths and 1174 recoveries recorded as of this writing. The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in a new...

As African countries impose measures to prevent the spread of highly contagious Covid-19, sexual and reproductive health workers are finding their work increasingly difficult, from transportation bans to rules that could put a pregnant woman’s life in jeopardy, according to an international sexual health group. “The Covid-19 pandemic is a health crisis across every setting,...