Kush – the deadly drug wreaking havoc in West Africa
The synthetic drug kush, first seen in Sierra Leone in 2022, has now spread into much of West Africa while also evolving into an even more dangerous drug. Tests have found it contains nitazenes, which are 25 times stronger than fentanyl.
Sky News has found that ingredients used to make kush are being shipped into Sierra Leone from the UK.
In today's Sky News Daily, Gareth Barlow is joined by our Africa correspondent, Yousra Elbagir, who has spoken to addicts and those trying to tackle the problem.
Producer: Emily Hulme
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Reuters
9 hours ago
- Reuters
Fact Check: Statement from Namibian president rejecting Gates Foundation contraceptives trial is fake
Online claims that the Namibian president released a statement rejecting a proposal by the Gates Foundation to conduct trials of a contraceptive device are false. The claims followed an August 4 announcement, opens new tab by the Gates Foundation committing $2.5 billion to 'accelerate research and development on women's health' by 2030. This includes 'contraceptive innovation' and a focus on low- and middle-income countries, Reuters reported. An August 11 Facebook post, opens new tab attributed an 'official statement' to President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah rejecting a supposed Gates Foundation proposal to conduct trials of a hormonal intrauterine device, designed to prevent pregnancy for up to eight years. 'Any attempt to hinder or suppress the growth of human potential in Namibia constitutes a grave injustice to our people and their future,' read the statement attributed to Nandi-Ndaitwah. TikTok posts, opens new tab made the same claim on August 12. On August 11, the X account linked to the Namibian presidency's official website labelled a screenshot, opens new tab of one of these posts as 'fake.' The presidency did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. The Gates Foundation told Reuters that it is 'not undertaking any H-IUD (hormonal intrauterine device) work in Namibia,' but that it does 'work with partners to expand access to trusted, voluntary options like H-IUDs in other countries.' The foundation added that the quote attributed to the president was 'fabricated,' saying that the presidency has 'dismissed the claims as unfounded,' referring to the post by the presidency's X account. Reuters found no statement rejecting any such trials published on the Namibian presidency's official website or associated social media channels. False. The Namibian president did not publicly reject a proposal by the Gates Foundation to conduct contraceptive trials. No such trial is taking place in Namibia, and the presidency said a statement attributed to Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was fake. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Wetin we know about 'assault' on healthcare workers for Ridge hospital for Ghana
Di health minister for Ghana don set up committee to chook eye for one incident wey involve group of young pipo and healthcare staff for Ridge hospital for Accra. Di minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh give di committee seven days to submit dia report. Dis na afta some young pipo allegedly attack some nurses on duty for di emergency ward of di hospital on 18 August wen dem carry accident victims go di place. According to di group wey one popular activist wey im name na Ralph Saint Williams bin dey lead, di nurses and oda staff for di emergency ward neva show any urgency to attend to di accident victims, wey some bin dey critical. Since di mata happun, many groups and pipo don react wey some say dem dey surprised say police neva arrest di social activist yet. But wetin we know about di kasala wey happun ? Why youth storm di hospital Ralph St Williams wey dey associated wit #FixTheCountry and #DemocracyHub, groups wey bin dey advocate for good governance and oda tins for di citizens, bin stream live on top Facebook for di emergency ward dat night. Inside di video, im dey complain say nurses for di hospital emergency ward neva respond to di emergency cases wey dem carry go di facility. Ralph wey also get injury for im fingers bin dey bleed wey im say di healthcare staff no dey rush to try and stabilize some of di victims wey bin dey critical. Im show oda patients for di hospital wey bin dey suffer and how nobody dey attend to dem. "Pipo dey here since, more than one hour, di nurses no dey mind dem. If anytin happun to pipo hia, we go deal wit dis nurses." Ralph tok say "I dey bleed for hand since, nobody dey attend to me." Inside di video, many young men dey visible for di emergency ward wey dem dey shout and complain about di nurses. Di video also show policemen for di hospital wey dem dey try to calm tension and ask di youth to leave di accident ward. Afta more dan 20 minutes, police calm tension wey di youth ride dia motorbikes wey dem comot di hospital. Di youth allegedly assault some nurses One nurse narrate how di youth attack her wen dey storm di hospital dat night. She explain say "Ralph bin ask dem to leave all di cases make dem attend to im and im pipo." "My boss wey dey in-charge tok am say make im get hospital card make di process start, na so im vex wey im begin to insult us wey im begin to video us," di nurse wey dem bandage her hand narrate. She continue to explain say "na me even give im pressure dressing for di wound for im fingers, but im comot di gauze wey im begin to shout. We tok am say we get two trauma cases and odas wey we gatz to attend to, but im vex wey im attack me." Di nurse further explain say "afta Ralph comot, I neva know where di guys comot, dem bin enta di ward, some of di nurses bin see di youth early so dem take cover, but I neva see dem on time, na so dem begin to hit me from my back, my shoulder, my face and all my body." Ridge hospital, health ministry condemn di incident Afta di video of di incident bin go viral, di Ridge hospital issue statement wia dem tok say di presence of di youth for di facility dat night "disrupt smooth delivery of care wey e cause tension and threaten di safety of our clinicians." Di statement wia tok tok pesin Juliana Haruna don sign add say "dem assault one of our dedicated staff, sometin wey be unacceptable." "Hospital management bin call di police during di kasala wey dem restore calm bifor our clinicians continue to dey work dat night." She add say "any form of interference, aggression or assault towards our staff na unacceptable wey e dey put lives at risk." "We don dey remind di public say to dey take photo or video of patients and clinicians without dia consent dey prohibited for di facility, sake of e don dey breach privacy and hospital regulations." Di health ministry also don condemn di incident wey happun for di hospital. Di ministry tok say dem bin take steps to increase security for di hospital wia dem chook eye for di mata. "Di ministry dey investigate wetin lead to di reported delay in care and address di gaps wey don contribute to di wahala." Tok tok pesin for di ministry oga Tony Goodman say "di ministry bin dey take di mata seriously sake of dis kind tin fit endanger di lives of patients and staff." Staff for di hospital don brief di health minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh about wetin happun for dia dat night. "We don set committee to investigate di mata within one week, so dat di law go take its course," di minister tok journalists. Im add say im visit di hospital to assure di staff say govment to protect dem so make dem continue to dey do dia work. "To attack health workers na bad tin, we no go encourage dat kind tin, so di law gatz to work, if dem bin assault di staff, na crime." Registered nurses and midves give ultimatum Di nurses and midwives association call on di police to arrest Ralph Saint Williams. Dem join oda groups like di minority lawmakers for parliament to demand dis arrest sake of im lead di boys to assault healthcare workers for di facility. Inside one statement, di association say "di police gat to act swiftly and arrest di ring leader and im accomplices wey don carry out di violent attack on di healthcare professionals within 48 hours." "If di police fail to do dis, we go take our own actions as an association to ensure say nurses wey dey work for di hospital, especially di emergency unit, dey safe."
The Independent
18 hours ago
- The Independent
New malaria drug for babies offers hope to health workers in Uganda
Alice Nekesa did not know she was infected with malaria-causing parasites until it was too late. She was in the fourth month of pregnancy last year when she started bleeding, a miscarriage later attributed to untreated malaria in her. The Ugandan farmer said recently that she regretted the loss of what would have been her second child 'because I didn't discover malaria and treat it early.' Variations of such cases are commonly reported by Ugandan health workers who witness stillbirths or feverish babies that die within days from undiagnosed malaria. The deaths are part of a wider death toll tied to the mosquito-borne disease, the deadliest across Africa, but one easily treated in adults who seek timely medical care. Until recently, a major gap in malaria treatment was how to care for newborns and infants infected with malaria who weren't strong enough to receive regular medication. That changed last month when Swiss medical regulators approved medicine from the Basel-based pharmaceutical company Novartis for babies weighing between 2 and 5 kilograms (nearly 4½ to 11 pounds). Swissmedic said the treatment, a sweet-tasting tablet that disperses into a syrup when dropped into water, was approved in coordination with the World Health Organization under a fast-track authorization process to help developing countries access much-needed treatment. Africa's 1.5 billion people accounted for 95% of an estimated 597,000 malaria deaths worldwide in 2023, according to the WHO. More than three-quarters of those deaths were among children. In Uganda, an east African country of 45 million people, there were 12.6 million malaria cases and nearly 16,000 deaths in 2023. Many were children younger than 5 and pregnant women, according to WHO. Nigeria, Congo and Uganda — in that order — are the African countries most burdened by malaria, a parasitic disease transmitted to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes that thrive and breed in stagnant water. The drug approved by Swiss authorities, known as Coartem Baby in some countries and Riamet Baby in others, is a combination of two antimalarials. It is a lower dose version of a tablet previously approved for other age groups, including for older children. Before Coartem Baby, antimalarial drugs designed for older children were administered to small infants with careful adjustments to avoid overdose or toxicity. Ugandan authorities, who have been working to update clinical guidelines for treating malaria, say the new drug will be rolled out as soon as possible. It is not yet available in public hospitals. The development of Coartem Baby has given hope to many, with local health workers and others saying the medicine will save the lives of many infants. Ronald Serufusa, the top malaria official for the district of Wakiso, which shares a border with the Ugandan capital of Kampala, said he believes Coartem Baby will be available 'very, very soon' and that one priority is sensitizing the people adhering to treatment. Some private pharmacies already have access to Coartem Baby, 'flavored with orange or mango' to make it palatable for infants, he said. During the so-called malaria season, which coincides with rainy periods twice a year, long lines of sick patients grow outside government-run health centers across Uganda. Many are often women with babies strapped to their backs. Health workers now are trained to understand that 'malaria can be implicated among newborns,' even when other dangerous conditions like sepsis are present, Serufusa said. 'If they don't expand their investigations to also suspect malaria, then it goes unnoticed,' he said, speaking of health workers treating babies. The Malaria Consortium, a global nonprofit based in London, in a statement described the approval of Coartem Baby as 'a major leap forward for saving the lives of young children in countries affected by malaria.' In addition to Uganda, the drug will be rolled out in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Tanzania, the group said. Jane Nabakooza, a pediatrician with Uganda's malaria control program, said she expects the government will make Coartem Baby available to patients free of charge, even after losing funding when the U.S. shrank its foreign aid program earlier this year. Some malaria funding from outside sources, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, remains available for programs such as indoor spraying to kill mosquitoes that spread the malaria-causing parasite. Because of funding shortages, 'we are focusing on those that are actually prone to severe forms of malaria and malaria deaths, and these are children under 5 years,' she said. ___ The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
