For more than a decade, Zimbabwe's healthcare system has been in a state of collapse. Hospitals have been without basic supplies, and health workers regularly strike over unpaid wages and poor working conditions. With Robert Mugabe forced out of the presidency in November after 37 years in power, there are now crucial questions about how quickly the new administration can turn the health system around – or whether it will. Read more.
Two months after Germany’s federal elections, the country is on the brink of an unexpected political crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats ran first in the vote, but they finished without an outright majority. Since election night, they have been casting about for coalition partners — a process that has proven surprisingly more difficult than political pundits anticipated. Read more.
Remittances are already a lifeline for many people in developing countries — but with reforms to the system, leaders across Europe and Africa believe they could become a key driver of global development. Read more.
All of my coverage from the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany:
Specialist in tropical medicine and health administration who was founder of the Yemen Red Crescent Society. Born in Sana'a, Yemen, on Feb 26, 1941, he died from complications after heart surgery in Sana'a on Aug 31, 2017, aged 76 years. Read more.
For Dr. Twalib Ngoma, innovation emerged from simplicity at this year’s World Health Summit in Berlin. At an event showcasing everything from medical record technology to artificial intelligence, it was a mere speculum, acetic acid, and "good eyesight” that struck him as a game-changing combination.
With those widely available tools, a health worker can conduct a simple cervical cancer screening. Ngoma is the executive director of the Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Tanzania, where cervical cancer is the most common form of female cancer.
Advocates for universal health coverage this week lauded the way that global political agendas have integrated health issues in recent years. But participants in this week's World Health Summit in Berlin — including Nobel laureates, health ministers from around the world, and leaders of international agencies — warned that, without political will, few countries will be able to deliver on those pledges. Read more.
After several false starts over the past decade, the United States finally lifted sanctions it first levied against Sudan nearly two decades ago. Read more.
Germany is positioning itself as a key player in antimicrobial resistance research with the expected launch of a Research and Development Collaboration Hub, likely to be housed in Berlin. Read more.
Surgeon and chairman of the University of Nairobi's Department of Human Anatomy. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug 3, 1965, he died of cancer in Nairobi on Aug 29, 2017, aged 52 years. Read more.
Angola's economy has been devastated by a global collapse in oil prices and the country's health sector is suffering as a result, with widespread shortages of critical medicines and supplies. The health system had experienced uneven development in the wake of a decades-long civil war that ended in 2002, but the government and its partners had made advances in improving access to health services and reducing the spread of communicable diseases. Those accomplishments are now at risk. Read more.
Under 12 years of Angela Merkel's chancellorship, Germany has emerged as a leader in global development. Merkel's party, the Christian Democratic Union, has touted this rise in the current national election campaigns as evidence of her commitment to human rights and global development issues.
But other parties have expressed concern about a development policy they say is too focused on a single issue: stopping the influx of refugees and migrants to Europe. They warn that by roping ODA into a key domestic policy debate, Merkel and her CDU party have politicized development.
Development experts are frustrated at how little airing these issues have had during the current campaign, even as Germany's approach to them becomes increasingly significant. Read more.
The unusual harmony between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main opponents may mask future problems for the country. Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have not been pushed to articulate detailed positions on issues like the future of Germany’s economy, including growing inequality, or the German role on the international stage. The anti-climactic campaign has also crowded out disaffected voters, who are frustrated with the country’s current trajectory. Read more.
Ghana is at the cutting edge of a global push to introduce CHWs in a bid to achieve universal health coverage. The model has been around for decades, but health officials here say there is much to learn from previous attempts — especially better integration into existing health systems — to ensure these new efforts will actually help deliver better health coverage. Read more.
While stemming the flow of Africans fleeing to Europe has always been an aspect of Germany’s approach to the continent, the 2015 influx elevated it to an almost singular goal. Aid and development assistance are now increasingly linked to efforts to reduce migration. And Germany has demonstrated a willingness to strike or be party to arrangements with countries on the continent that have abysmal human rights records but can be helpful in curtailing new arrivals.