Solidarity in the Age of Coronavirus: What the Arabs Must Do
Ramzy Baroud | zcomm.org | 2020-04-10
Let COVID-19 be that opportunity that will allow all nations, especially in the Middle East, to take a stance against war, hunger and disease, to share their wealth and to extend the hand of solidarity to Africa and our historic allies throughout the world…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/solidarity-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-what-the-arabs-must-do/

The Racial Politics of 'Return'
Edna Bonhomme | thenation.com | 2020-04-10
The Racial Politics of 'Return'…
thenation.com/article/world/slavery-tourism-ghana-africa/

Preserving the legacy of the townsite of Negro Bar, Alta California established in 1849
Michael Harris from Wikipedia | indybay.org | 2020-04-10
Genesis 15: 12-14 speaks of a people enslaved and afflicted for 400 years. For 400 years people of Pan African Ancestry have been enslaved and afflicted throughout the United States of America. Rancho Rio de Los Americans begins to share the legacy along the American River Parkway.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/07/18832147.php

Cuban Medical Science in the Service of Humanity
Helen Yaffe | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
By 21 March, Cuba had sent healthcare professionals to 37 countries to collaborate in combating the pandemic. Italy received 53 Cuban medics who had previously worked in West Africa during the deadly Ebola outbreak of 2014. Cuba also stepped into the breach in mid-March when a cruise ship with over 600 mostly British passengers and…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/cuban-medical-science-in-the-service-of-humanity/

Africa: COVID-19 deaths rise to 608, cases near 12,000
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-10
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa has reached 11,943 with at least 608 deaths reported, the World Health Organization's Africa office said on Friday.South Africa is the leading country with the highest number of COVID-19 patients at 1,934 followed by Algeria at 1,666 and Cameron with 730 cases.Algeria has the highest number of deaths standing at 235, followed by Egypt at 103. Other countries which have reported many fatalities from the virus include Morocco (96), Tunisia (24), DR Congo (20), Burkina Faso (19)i and South Africa (18), among others.Since appearing in Wuhan, China, last Decemb…
yenisafak.com/en/world/africa-covid-19-deaths-rise-to-608-cases-near-12000-3516580

COVID-19 tally rises in Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-10
Morocco, Lebanon, and Palestine confirmed new cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus on Friday.The death toll in Morocco is up to 105 after eight more fatalities over the past 24 hours, while 57 new cases have raised the total to 1,431, according to the country's Health Ministry.The ministry said the number of recoveries has reached 114 after six more patients were discharged from hospitals.Lebanon's Health Ministry confirmed one fatality over the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 20.The total cases rose to 609 after 27 more people tested positive for COVID-19.The ministry said 28 of the total patient…
yenisafak.com/en/world/covid-19-tally-rises-in-morocco-lebanon-palestine-3516578

COVID-19 tally rises in Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-10
Morocco, Lebanon, and Palestine confirmed new cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus on Friday.The death toll in Morocco is up to 105 after eight more fatalities over the past 24 hours, while 57 new cases have raised the total to 1,431, according to the country's Health Ministry.The ministry said the number of recoveries has reached 114 after six more patients were discharged from hospitals.Lebanon's Health Ministry confirmed one fatality over the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 20.The total cases rose to 609 after 27 more people tested positive for COVID-19.The ministry said 28 of the total patient…
yenisafak.com/en/world/covid-19-tally-rises-in-morocco-lebanon-palestine-3516575

UN Seeks $130 Million To Prevent Hunger Catastrophe in Zimbabwe
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday it needed US$130 million to fund emergency operations in Zimbabwe until August and prevent a catastrophe in the southern African nation, as climate- and recession-induced food shortages deepened. | RELATED: | Uganda: Unqualified Woman Ran Health Center, 105 Children Died | The WFP added 7.7 million Zimbabweans, half the population, need food aid after a devastating drought and cyclone last year. A lack of predictable…
telesurenglish.net/news/UN-Seeks-130-Million-To-Prevent-Hunger-Catastrophe-in-Zimbabwe-20200409-0020.html

Uganda on Alert, Fight Locusts Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Desert locusts swarm into Uganda from neighboring Kenya, threatening food security and livelihoods, while the country also faces another problem, the new coronavirus, COVID-19. | RELATED: | UN Warns Desert Locusts Spreading in East Africa | Farmers in Uganda are bracing for a fresh onslaught of desert locusts after two swarms entered the country from neighboring Kenya last week, threatening to destroy crops and intensify hunger amid the struggle to contain the COVID-19 pande…
telesurenglish.net/news/Uganda-on-Alert-Fight-Locusts-Amid-the-COVID-19-Pandemic-20200409-0021.html

Fight against desert locust swarms goes on in East Africa despite coronavirus crisis measures
news.un.org | 2020-04-09
Sustained efforts to contain East Africa's worst invasion of desert locusts in decades are forging ahead, despite limits on the flow of personnel and equipment stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the UN food agency said Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061482

The Pandemic Has Accelerated the Global Economic "Slowbalization"
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
COVID-19 has now reached dozens of countries including in the Middle East and Africa, and over 1 million global citizens have been infected. The global pandemic continues to impact United States domestic and foreign policy at every level of government while creating new norms in both social a…
truthout.org/articles/the-pandemic-has-accelerated-the-global-economic-slowbalization/

Ghebreyesus: 'Africa Will Not Be Testing Ground for Any Vaccine'
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization leader, condemned the suggestion of testing an anti-COVID vaccine on the African population. These statements, qualified as racism, were made by two doctors who were live on French television. | RELATED: New York Lives Its Deadliest Day With 799 Deaths by COVID-19 | The main argument for the hypothetical vaccine testing is Africa does not have the defense and preventive resources as other regions. Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Loc…
telesurenglish.net/news/-ghebreyesus-africa-will-not-be-the-testing-ground-for-any-vaccine-20200409-0014.html

Congressional Black Caucus tackles outsized coronavirus impact on African Americans
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-09
CHICAGO–One of every seven Illinoisans is an African-American. One of every three Chicagoans is an African-American. And 72% of the deaths in the Windy City from the coronavirus pandemic are of African-Americans. It's horrifying contrasts like that, duplicated–though not to such an extreme–in cities from New York to Milwaukee to Detroit to D.C., that have …
peoplesworld.org/article/congressional-black-caucus-tackles-outsized-coronavirus-impact-on-african-americans/

Albert Woodfox: COVID-19 Offers Public a "Small Window" into What Prisoners Face in Solitary Confinement
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-08
As millions shelter in place around the world, we speak with Albert Woodfox, who served the longest time in solitary confinement of any prisoner in the United States. Known as one of the Angola Three, along with Robert King and Herman Wallace, Woodfox was held in isolation for nearly 44 years at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola. He was convicted of killing a guard in jail, but always maintained his innocence. He says he was targeted for co-founding the first Black Panther chapter in Angola. He was released in 2016 and is now 73 years old. His memoir is "Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solit…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/8/albert_woodfox_solitary_confinement

"A Systematic Issue of Disparity": Black People in Louisiana Account for 70% of COVID-19 Deaths
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-08
Louisiana faces one of the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus in the United States. New data shows black people account for 70% of all the state's coronavirus deaths, though they comprise just 32% of the state's population. Louisiana also has the highest incarceration rate in the country, and more than 65% of the people in its jails and prisons are black. At least 28 people are infected, and 22 corrections staff have tested positive. State corrections officials are sending infected prisoners to the Louisiana State Penitentiary

If COVID-19 Doesn't Discriminate, Then Why Are Black People Dying at Higher Rates?
ReNika Moore | aclu.org | 2020-04-08
COVID-19 is ravaging many parts of the United States, but nowhere more than in Black communities. Early data from the Midwest and the South reveal that Black people are contracting and dying from the virus at far higher rates than whites. Louisiana just released data which shows that African Americans account for 70 percent of all deaths in the state. In Milwaukee…
aclu.org/news/racial-justice/if-covid-19-doesnt-discriminate-then-why-are-black-people-dying-at-higher-rates

Over 10,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa; Zimbabwe and South Sudan among most vulnerable
news.un.org | 2020-04-08
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday that the number of COVID-19 cases in Africa has now risen to more than 10,000, claiming more than 500 lives.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061352

Mali: UN mission fulfills mandate, aids battle against coronavirus
news.un.org | 2020-04-07
As the COVID-19 pandemic plagues the world, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali told the Security Council on Tuesday that the mission continues to fulfill its mandate while doing whatever it can to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from overrunning the country.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061312

Course of coronavirus pandemic across Libya, depends on silencing the guns
news.un.org | 2020-04-07
Fighting must stop immediately in Libya if it is to have any chance of staving off the COVID-19 outbreak, the top United Nations official in the North African country said on Tuesday as he condemned an attack on a major Tripoli hospital.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061272

Deaths of Inequality: AOC on Black and Latinx Communities at Epicenter of Epicenter of the Pandemic
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-07
As COVID-19 deaths spike in African-American and immigrant communities, almost a third of New York City's infections are in Queens, one of the most diverse places in the world, and many in the hardest-hit neighborhoods are undocumented and working-class. We speak with Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the neighborhoods at the epicenter of the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, about how the Trump administration's response to the pandemic is causing "deaths of incompetence," "deaths of science denial" and "deaths of inequality."
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/7/aoc_coronavirus_queens_bronx

Protect Immigrant Communities: Fear Mounts of Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak in U.S. Border Camps, ICE Jails
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-03
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has joined thousands of medical professionals and immigration rights groups to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement release all prisoners from immigration jails as the coronavirus continues to spread. Meanwhile, immigration advocates are working to prepare crowded encampments of asylum seekers across the U.S.-Mexico border for a potentially catastrophic outbreak of COVID-19. Since the implementation of the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy, tens of thousands of asylum seekers from regions like Central America and Africa have been stranded in Mexican bord…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/3/covid_us_mexico_border_immigration_jails

[Correspondence] COVID-19 gives the lie to global health expertise
Sarah L Dalglish | thelancet.com | 2020-03-26
As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak began spreading in Europe and the USA, a chart started circulating online showing ratings from the 2019 Global Health Security Index, an assessment of 195 countries' capacity to face infectious disease outbreaks, compiled by the US-based Nuclear Threat Initiative and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health's Center for Health Security. The USA was ranked first, and the UK second; South Korea was ranked ninth, and China 51st; most African countries were at the bottom of the ranking.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30739-X/fulltext?rss=yes

[Research Paper] A phase 1b randomized study of the safety and immunological responses to vaccination with H4:IC31, H56:IC31, and BCG revaccination in Mycobacterium tuberculosis-uninfected adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa
Linda-Gail Bekker, One Dintwe, Andrew Fiore-Gartland, Keren Middelkoop, Julia Hutter, Anthony Williams, April K. Randhawa, Morten Ruhwald, Ingrid Kromann, Peter L. Andersen, Carlos A. DiazGranados, Kathryn T. Rutkowski, Dereck Tait, Maurine D. Miner, Erica Andersen-Nissen, Stephen C. De Rosa, Kelly E. Seaton, Georgia D. Tomaras, M. Juliana McElrath, Ann Ginsberg, James G. Kublin, HVTN 602 | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
BCG revaccination administered as a single dose ID and both H4: IC31 and H56: IC31 administered as 2 doses IM had acceptable safety profiles in healthy, QFT-negative, previously BCG-vaccinated adolescents. Characterization of the assays and the immunogenicity of these vaccines may help to identify valuable markers of protection for upcoming immune correlates analyses of C-040-404 and future TB vaccine efficacy trials.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30057-2/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Adoption of COVID-19 triage strategies for low-income settings
Rodgers R Ayebare, Robert Flick, Solome Okware, Bongomin Bodo, Mohammed Lamorde | thelancet.com | 2020-03-11
Despite major advances in epidemic preparedness, Africa remains uniquely susceptible to novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). According to the Infectious Disease Vulnerability Index,1 22 of the 25 countries most susceptible to an infectious disease outbreak are in Africa. The high prevalence of HIV, tuberculosis, and other pathogens might potentiate the severity of COVID-19 and contribute to diagnostic uncertainty. Health-care systems and human resources are already spread thin. And although the young age of the population (with more than half aged younger than 20 years) might prove protective, it also means…
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30114-4/fulltext?rss=yes