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Africans wary of COVID-19 vaccination amid ongoing misinformation

The Xinhua said, the statement was made by William Carew, head of the Secretariat of AU's Economic Social and Cultural Council, as he urged the African populace to get vaccinated if herd immunity is to be achieved. Only some 3.6 percent of Africa's population are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 so far.
An AU statement issued Tuesday quoted Carew as saying: "There has been a lot of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines that had contributed to many people being wary of getting vaccinated."
Carew made the remarks during COVID-19 vaccines capacity building and sensitization meeting, which was held recently as part of the Council's continental sensitization campaign aimed at promoting the accessibility and use of the COVID-19 vaccines in order to build herd immunity in Africa.

He called on Africans to implement public health experts' assertion that vaccination remains the only realistic path to finally halting the spread of the virus given its ease of transmissibility and ability to mutate.
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Carew told representatives of African Civil Society Organizations attending the meeting: "I want to urge you all to take this opportunity to get the right information about the vaccines and help us to educate the communities that you operate in."
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that as the COVAX facility is forced to slash planned COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to Africa by around 150 million this year, the continent faces almost 500 million doses short of the global year-end target of fully vaccinating 40 percent of its population.
With the cutback, COVAX is now expected to deliver 470 million doses to Africa this year, which will be enough to vaccinate just 17 percent of the population, far below the 40 percent target.
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An additional 470 million doses are needed to reach the end-year target even if all planned shipments via COVAX, a multilateral initiative aimed at guaranteeing global access to lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines, and the AU are delivered, according to the WHO.
As of Tuesday noon, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 8,166,634 while the death toll from the pandemic stood at 206,740, according to the latest figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
Source: xinhua
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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