Experts believe actual tally of cases is much higher than current numbers due to country’s limited testing capacity. by Amanda Sperber Six weeks after registering its first coronavirus case, Somalia on Monday had confirmed 480 infections out of 764 people tested for COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease that has disrupted life worldwide. The figures,...
November 14, 2026
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US review: Airstrike in Somalia killed, injured civilians
By LOLITA C. BALDOR WASHINGTON (AP) — An American military airstrike in Somalia more than a year ago killed two civilians and injured three others, U.S. Africa Command is acknowledging in a new report expected on Monday. The deaths, confirmed by an internal investigation, mark only the second time Africa Command has determined that civilians...
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Questions surfacing about history of WHO’s director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
GEOFFREY YORK For many years, health experts in Ethiopia noticed a strange phenomenon: The government was refusing to acknowledge cholera outbreaks. Instead, the authorities labelled the outbreaks as “acute watery diarrhea” – a broader term that includes milder diseases. Research by Human Rights Watch found that the Ethiopian government was pressuring its health workers to...
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After Two Years of Transition, Ethiopia Still Has a Difficult Path Ahead
By Messay Asgedom Gobena The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has ruled the country since 1991. Since then, the party has brought commendable economic growth and development including improvements in health, education, electricity, road, telecommunication, and other infrastructures. The same cannot be said on the governance front where the party has demonstrated shortfalls. Over the years, there have been problems...
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Africa’s biggest airline fights for ‘survival’ amid pandemic: CEO
Ethiopian Airlines is fighting to stay in the skies, its CEO tells AFP In early March, Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told an aviation conference in Addis Ababa the coronavirus pandemic was “a temporary problem” — comparable to a natural disaster or a spike in oil prices. Several weeks later Africa’s largest carrier is locked...
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“Dr. Tedros” – The man at the helm of the WHO
Many experts praise Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for successfully transforming Ethiopia’s health system, but he has long been a controversial figure. The COVID-19 pandemic is his biggest test yet. Anyone who has watched interviews with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus probably knows this story: That as a seven-year-old, he witnessed the death of his younger brother who succumbed...
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Somali Journalists Arrested, Intimidated While Covering COVID-19
By Sirwan Kajjo, VOA WASHINGTON – Somalia’s prime minister has classified media as an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic, but at least four journalists have been briefly detained over their coverage. As of Friday, Somalia had 80 confirmed coronavirus cases and five deaths and authorities have imposed a nighttime curfew in Mogadishu, where most...
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Mogadishu residents reluctant to follow State orders on Covid-19
By ABDULKADIR KHALIF Mogadishu, In mid-March, Somalia’s council of ministers held a special meeting on Covid-19, as it became clear that the pandemic was soon to hit country. Chaired by Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, the cabinet members labelled the virus as germ with massive potential to kill masses, hence deciding a series of measures....
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Boost for Kenya’s farmers as children lend a hand during coronavirus
Wesley Langat NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – At the start of the planting season, Lily Langat, 41, was busy sowing maize with her husband and four of their six children on their family farm in the remote Kenyan village of Kaptich. As cases of COVID-19 rise in the East African country – now at about...
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Somaliland: Authorities must release imprisoned journalist Abdimalik Muse Oldon
Amnesty International is calling on the Somaliland authorities to immediately and unconditionally release detained journalist Abdimalik Muse Oldon who was arrested and arbitrarily detained a year ago today for exercising his right to freedom of expression. Amnesty International is concerned that the journalist who was detained solely for peacefully exercising his human rights is now...