Facts in Q&A format

Data from the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry (ZNCR), which collates cancer data in the country, shows cases have increased over the past decade. In 2009, a total of 3,519 new cancer cases were recorded in Zimbabwe. Cases rose to 6,548 in 2013 and 7,265 in 2016. In 2018, according to a re...

Niger has the world’s youngest population. Half of Niger’s population is 14 or younger, and the median age is 15. ...

As of February 2020, there were only 67 ICU ventilators and no non-invasive ventilation machines for a population of 30 million people in Ghana. This is equivalent to an estimated ventilator capacity of 0.22 ventilators per 100,000 people in Ghana. Even if operating room ventilators are used as a ba...

According to the World Health Organization’s data, South Africa’s drinking population consumed 28.9 litres of pure alcohol per capita a year, the fifth-highest consumption rate in the world.This was below Namibia (31.3 litres), Eswatini (32.7 litres), Cook Islands (32.9 litres) and Tunisia...

The Delta or B.1.617.2 variant of SARS CoV-2 (previously known as the “Indian variant”)was first detected in India in December 2020 and became the most commonly reported variant in the country from mid-April 2021. The mutations in the Delta variant’s spike protein help the virus to bette...

Although it is still too early to know, there is some evidence suggesting that the Delta variant reduces vaccine efficacy. Data from cases in England showed that the effectiveness of both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines had been lowered after one dose from 51.1% to 33.5%. But after a second shot...

No. According to the World Bank’s latest Global Findex database, 73% of adults in Kenya had a mobile money account in 2017. In Uganda and Zimbabwe, the figure stood at about 50%.The share of adults owning a mobile money account in Ghana in 2017 was 39%. ...

In a statement issued on 4 January 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted patients and health care providers of the risk of false results, particularly false-negative results –a test that says you don’t have the virus when you actually do have the virus –with the C...

Tinnitus is commonly described as a ringing in the ears, but it also can sound like roaring, clicking, hissing, or buzzing. It may be soft or loud, high pitched or low pitched. You might hear it in either one or both ears. Tinnitus is not a disease. It is a symptom that something is wrong in the ...