Cameroon, Afghanistan, Liberia.

Today's three stories you should know.

Jan 22, 2024

Cameroon

I can’t recall the last time Proximities opened with good news but this certainly qualifies. Cameroon today became the first country in the world to roll out a routine malaria vaccination program. The symbolic first jab was given to an eight-month-old girl named Daniella in front of the country’s media. Cameroon will offer the RTS,S vaccine, approved by the World Health Organization in late 2021, to all children up to six months old. Its nationwide program follows pilot projects in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. Malaria kills about 600,000 people a year in Africa, the majority of them children, and researchers say the vaccine could save more than one in three lives.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban is restricting the right of women to work, travel and access healthcare if they are unmarried or don’t have a male guardian, according to a new report from the UN. In one incident quoted in the report, a woman was told she must get married to keep her job at a health clinic. The Taliban’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the report was based on misunderstandings and accused the UN of criticising Islamic law. Since sweeping into Kabul and taking power in August 2021, the Taliban has systematically stripped women and girls of a slew of rights.

Liberia

Liberia's new President Joseph Boakai, the country’s oldest-ever leader, failed to finish his inauguration speech today and had to be helped off the podium. The 79-year-old spoke for about 30 minutes in hot weather before he began to struggle, initially being fanned with papers by an aide before being led away. Boakai narrowly defeated incumbent George Weah, who had been Liberia’s youngest-ever president, in a run-off vote in November. His age had become an election issue but he said at the time that he was in good health and "age should be a blessing to this country."