Health news from Africa summarised in English: epidemics, public health, hospitals, accidents and natural disasters, from the local press. 255 articles published.
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A gunman killed four people, including three children aged 5, 8 and 11, at Silver Rail Primary School in Oregon before being shot dead by a community member. A 7-year-old pupil and a 54-year-old teacher are in critical condition in hospital, according to Daily Maverick.
A collision involving two public transport buses in Calgary, Canada, killed three people and injured at least 13, while one of the vehicles caught fire. Emergency services took ten injured people to hospital and authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, according to police and emergency services cited by Vetogate.
Congolese Public Health Minister Roger Kamba has barred unaccredited organisations from operating on the ground in the response to the 17th Ebola outbreak. Of 97 organisations involved, 25 have received accreditation; the outbreak declared in Ituri has spread to seven provinces, while questions have been raised about the traceability of more than $700 million allocated to the response, according to the minister and Africa CDC.
The Gambia River has risen by 22 centimetres at Simenti in Senegal, where localised flooding has already affected banana-growing areas. Minister Cheikh Tidiane Dièye has called for increased monitoring, while water releases from the Manantali Dam could push levels higher, Senego reports.
Food and nutrition aid stocks in Sudan could be exhausted in early 2027, as a rainfall deficit worsens hunger and malnutrition. Denise Brown, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, is calling for urgent funding to prevent assistance to vulnerable populations from being interrupted, according to a UN statement.
Temperatures could reach 40°C on Friday in Matam and Podor, in northern Senegal, while Kaffrine could record 39°C. In Dakar, the thermometer is expected to be around 28°C at about 10pm on the night of 15 to 16 October, according to forecasts reported by Senenews.
Twelve bodies have been recovered off Jinack Kajata, in Gambia’s North Bank region, after a boat accident involving migrants attempting to reach the Atlantic route. Searches are continuing for possible missing people, while the Gambia Red Cross is supporting families and residents, according to Gambiana.
Liberia and Sierra Leone are calling for stronger joint scientific research, disease surveillance and cross-border health cooperation. These priorities were highlighted in Monrovia at the fifth annual Emmet A. Dennis Scientific Conference, organised from 14 to 16 October 2026 by Liberia’s National Public Health Institute, The Liberian Investigator reports.
Africa CDC says international donors paid nearly $962 million directly to organisations involved in the Ebola response in DR Congo, rather than to the Congolese government. At a meeting to share financial data, only 30% of the organisations concerned took part and reported receiving about $220 million, of which $120 million had already been spent, according to Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya.
Two Ebola cases have been confirmed in Nord-Ubangi, bringing to eight the number of provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo affected by the outbreak. The Bundibugyo strain outbreak has exceeded 9,000 cases and 4,000 deaths, according to health officials cited by Reuters.
Seven people are missing after two drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania. The strikes are part of a series of recent incidents targeting vessels near the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts, France 24 reports.
Hélder, whose home was destroyed in a fire in the 3 de Fevereiro neighbourhood of São Tomé, is asking for help for his seven children. He had built the house over many years and lived there with his wife and children, Rádio Somos Todos Primos reports.
Nigeria’s Senate has ordered an investigation into the death of Etimbuk Daniel, a member of the NYSC national service programme, at an orientation camp in Enugu State. Parliamentary committees will conduct the investigation with the police and security services, and will also examine medical care and emergency response at camps across the country, according to Punch.
Tunisia is expected to have stable, mild weather overnight, with few clouds across the country. Local fog is possible in the north towards the end of the night, while winds will remain light to moderate, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.
Clashes between students from two organisations left one person injured on 14 October on the campus of Bouira Akli Mohand Oulhadj University in Algeria. The student was taken to hospital and the university said it had restored calm, according to a statement published the following day.
In Ituri, 25 pupils have contracted Ebola since the start of the 2026-2027 school year: ten have died and seven are being treated at specialised centres. Yvon Muke, director of the Ituri 1 educational province, gave the figures in Bunia, as the province accounts for most of the epidemic, according to Beto.
The Dakar University Centre for Works (COUD) has declared the water in halls E, F, G, H and I at Cheikh-Anta-Diop University unfit for consumption. Residents must neither drink it nor use it to prepare food, according to a public notice by the COUD reported by Le Soleil on 15 October 2026.
The Ivorian state and AstraZeneca have mobilised more than 10.37 billion CFA francs to provide targeted therapies free of charge to more than 4,400 patients with breast, prostate, lung or ovarian cancers. Signed on 14 October 2026 in Abidjan for three years, the partnership also aims to strengthen diagnosis and health worker training, according to AIP.