Mohamed Bazoum declared Niger’s new president

 Niger’s electoral commission has declared the governing party candidate, Mohamed Bazoum, the winner of the country’s presidential election runoff.

Bazoum had secured 55.75 percent of the votes cast on February 21, beating former President Mahamane Ousmane who garnered 44.25 percent, Issaka Souna, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), announced on Tuesday.

Early on Tuesday, Ousmane’s campaign alleged widespread fraud, including the theft and stuffing of ballot boxes and threats against voters. It did not provide any evidence.

“We demand the immediate suspension of the publication of these results, which do not in any way take into account the expression of the Nigerien people for change,” the campaign team alleged in a statement as the election commission released the vote tally.

Outgoing President Mahamadou Issoufou is voluntarily stepping down after two five-year terms, opening the way to Niger’s first handover of power between elected leaders since independence from France in 1960.

The impoverished country in recent years has been struggling with armed group attacks that have spilled over from Mali in the west and Nigeria in the southeast.

On the polling day, seven local CENI workers were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine in the western region of Tillaberi.

On Monday, a similar explosive device claimed the life of a polling station head in the southeastern region of Diffa. Nine other electoral workers were injured.

In the first round of voting, held on December 27, Bazoum, a former interior minister and Issoufou’s right-hand man, had picked up just more than 39 percent of the vote. Ousmane came second, at just below 17 percent.

Ousmane became the country’s first democratically elected president in 1993, only to be toppled in a coup three years later. This was his fifth attempt at gaining the presidency since his overthrow.

COVID-19: ANGOLA WITH 36 NEW CASES, 17 RECOVERIES

 Health authorities on Tuesday announced 36 new cases, 17 recovered and one death in the last 24 hours.

According to the clinical bulletin, 31 cases were diagnosed in Luanda province, two in Huambo, two in Benguela and one in Namibe.

Amongst the new patients, whose ages range from 3 to 72, 20 are male and 16 are female.

The death was recorded in Cuanza Sul province, involving an 83-year-old Angolan citizen.

Among those recovered, according to the clinical bulletin, 10 reside in Luanda, four in Huambo and three in Cuanza Sul.

 Overall, the national epidemiological table registers 20,584, with 500 deaths, 19,207 recovered and 877 active.

Of those active, three are critical, 11 serious, 32 moderate, 33 light and 798 asymptomatic.

In the country's treatment centres, 33 patients are hospitalised, while 43 people are in institutional quarantine.

The authorities have 1,550 contacts of positive cases under surveillance.

COVID-19: ANGOLA PLANS TO VACCINATE 53 PERCENT OF POPULATION

 Angola plans to vaccinate 53 percent of the population against Covid-19, in a total of 16.4 million people, in two phases, Health Minister Silvia Lutucuta said Tuesday in Luanda.

In the first phase, according to the minister, who was speaking to Angolan public television channel, 6.4 million people will be vaccinated and in the second phase 10 million will be vaccinated.

The Angolan government plans to receive, in two phases, around 15 million doses of the vaccine against Covid-19.

The minister said that the plan had been underway since July 2020 and that the priority was for health professionals, police officers and professionals with a high level of exposure.

The country currently has 20,584 positive cases registered, with 500 deaths, 19,207 recovered and 877 active.

Of the active ones, three are critical, 11 severe, 32 moderate, 33 mild and 798 asymptomatic.

MALARIA KILLS 10,000 PEOPLE IN ANGOLA

 At least ten thousand people died of malaria in the country in 2020, up three thousand compared to 2019, according to the Minister of Health, Silvia Lutucuta.

In an interview to Angola's Public Television, the minister stressed that with Covid-19 many people, afraid, stopped going to hospitals and diseases such as malaria saw the number of victims rise.

According to the minister, there was no negligence in relation to the prevention and fight against malaria or other endemic diseases to the detriment of Covid-19, highlighting the investment of three million kwanzas in equipment and medication.

Cases of malaria, he said, rise when the vectors (mosquitoes and rubbish) increase, and it is essential to focus on the determinants of health, which includes basic sanitation, drinking water, energy and other primary care.

"The concern with malaria is not only about treatment, but also prevention," she said.

Operation Forth Bridge maps out procedure in event of Prince Philip’s death

 PRINCE PHILIP is spending his seventh night in hospital after being sent by Buckingham Palace doctors – but plans are already in place should the worst happen and the Duke of Edinburgh die.

hould the Duke, 99, die while hospitalised at King Edward VII’s hospital, Operation Forth Bridge will be triggered. The procedures for the Duke’s potential death is named after a feature of Edinburgh, and lays out what must happen in regards to announcements and burials.

The BBC and Press Association will be given an announcement first by Buckingham Palace should Philip die.

Protocol holds the Lord Chamberlain will consult with the Prime Minister, before they seek Queen Elizabeth II’s specific wishes over how the death is announced.

If the death occurs overnight then it would be announced at 8am the next day, otherwise it would come soon after the Duke dies.

The Royal Family rarely makes “death bed’ announcements, usually reserving the news until after the Queen approves, but on some occasions the public is forewarned via Palace bulletin such as when Queen Victoria and George V were close to death.

The Duke is ranked as “category 1” by the BBC, a list which emphasises how important a royal’s death is, along with the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William.

Should Philip die, newsreaders must wear black, alongside any other presenters who are on the television, as a sign of respect.

Commercial radio stations will flash blue “obit lights” in the event of a national emergency or a “category 1” royals death, telling presenters to switch to inoffensive music and to prepare for a sombre broadcast

Chris Price, BBC Radio producer, said to the Huffington Post in 2011: “If you ever hear Haunted Dancehall (Nursery Remix) by Sabres of Paradise on daytime Radio 1, turn the TV on. Something terrible has just happened.”

Prince Philip news: Philip is said to favour a smaller private service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in the style of a military funeral, should he die (Image: PA)

Once it is confirmed Philip had died, the country will instantly enter a period of national mourning which will last until his funeral, according to The Greater London Lieutenancy.

During this time, flags will be lowered to half-mast, with the exception of the Royal Standard flag, which flies above Buckingham Palace, and MPs will wear black armbands (8.25cm wide) on their left arm and, in the case of male members, black ties.

Local governments will also be asked to give “careful thought”on whether to carry out official business.

Members of the Royal Family, royal households, and representatives of the royal family will also be required to wear dark colours and mourning bands throughout this period.

As the Queen’s Consort, Philip would be entitled to a full state funeral, with the Duke “lying in state” at Westminster Abbey before being buried in St George’s Chapel.

Philip is said to be against the “fuss” of a large scale funeral, and would prefer a private service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in the style of a military funeral, followed by burial at Frogmore Gardens.

Sources close to the Duke say he has been heavily involved with plans for his funeral, after experiencing multiple health scares in recent years.

The Duke was last admitted to hospital in December 2019, with Palace sources stressing it was a “precautionary measure”.

World Bank threatens to halt funding for Lebanon’s COVID jabs

 International lender issues warning after MPs were inoculated inside Parliament in violation of agreement.

The World Bank has threatened to suspend financing for coronavirus vaccines in Lebanon over what it said were violations by legislators who were vaccinated inside Parliament.

The comments by the international lender on Tuesday came as frustration grew among some residents and doctors that the national plan that requires people to get vaccinated at predetermined centres could be riddled with violations and favouritism.

Lebanon received its first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine – 28,000 doses – this month with financial aid from the World Bank, which said it would monitor to ensure the shot went to those most in need. In its first operation funding the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, the lender reallocated $34m to help Lebanon inoculate more than two million people.

Parliament’s Secretary-General Adnan Daher was quoted as saying by local media that 16 deputies as well as four parliamentary staff, all aged above 75, had received a COVID-19 jab inside the legislature. He insisted they were all registered for the vaccine with the health ministry, and had not broken any rules.

But the World Bank said it broke the terms of the agreement with the government.

“We would record it [as a] breach of terms and conditions agreed with us for fair and equitable vaccination,” Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank regional director, said on Twitter. “Everyone has to register and wait for their turn,” he added.

“Upon confirmation of [a] violation, [the] World Bank may suspend financing for vaccines and support for Covid-19 response across Lebanon,” Jha said.

The reports raised anger in a country where many have lost faith in the corrupt political class blamed for many of its woes.

“My mom is 84 she is registered and didn’t [have] her turn yet, while all the politicians, [their] families and friends will be vaccinated before her,” said one Twitter user.

Abdel Rahman al-Bizri, who heads the committee supervising the vaccination campaign, had planned to resign in protest on Tuesday but changed his mind, saying his committee will hold a meeting on Wednesday to follow up the case. He added that an explanation is needed from the legislature.

“What happened today is outrageous and should not be repeated,” al-Bizri said at a news conference. “I am not responsible for this breach but I will apologise for it,” he was quoted as saying by the local Daily Star newspaper, saying the breach threatened to undermine people’s trust in the vaccination programme.

There was no immediate comment by the health ministry.

An MP said current and retired lawmakers older than 75 years, as well as some administrative staff, were getting vaccinated in the parliament hall. “What’s the big deal? They’re over 75 and registered,” the MP was quoted as saying by The Associated Press news agency.

In January, Lebanon’s government launched a digital coronavirus vaccination registration platform for people in the country.

The World Bank and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have signed an agreement for independent monitoring of Lebanon’s coronavirus vaccination campaign.

The vaccination campaign began on February 14 and Lebanon has so far received nearly 60,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Some 17,000 people have had their first injection, according to health officials.

“There were many violations that took place at vaccination centres,” said Sharaf Abu Sharaf, president of Lebanese Order of Physicians. He added in a statement that violations included vaccinating people who were not registered or not included in the first phase of the campaign.

Lebanon, a country of six million people including a million Syrian refugees, has registered more than 356,000 coronavirus cases and 4,387 deaths since the first case was registered in February 2020.

SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Biden taps Ghanaian Liberian millennial for key White House role

 The Biden White House has tapped another African for key White House role. Gabe Kofi Amo has been appointed as Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs to assist Julie Chavez Rodriguez in liaising with all elected officials from the state and local governments.

The Biden White House has tapped another African for key White House role. Gabe Kofi Amo has been appointed as Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs to assist Julie Chavez Rodriguez in liaising with all elected officials from the state and local governments.

Amo, a Pawtucket native and Moses Brown graduate, has been named the deputy director in Office of Intergovernmental affairs, according to a White House spokesman.

Amo, 33, is expected to be the liaison between Biden and state and local elected officials across the country, and is focused on building support for the president’s economic recovery plan. He reports to Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the granddaughter of American labor leader Cesar Chavea.

Amo graduated from Wheaton College and was a Marshall Scholar at the University of Oxford. He worked in the same office for President Barrack Obama before joining Raimondo’s staff as director of public engagement and community affairs. He was a senior advisor on her reelection campaign in 2018 and worked on Mike Bloomberg’s failed campaign for president before jumping on board with Biden.

There has been chatter in Rhode Island political circles that Amo will run for statewide office at some point, although it’s unclear if that will come in 2022 when there will be open spots for secretary of state, treasurer, and lieutenant governor.

Gabriel Kofi Amo’s father is Ghanaian (Gabriel Sr) and his mother is Liberian (Weady Beatrice Socree).

Obaa Yaa Agyeiwaa, DNT News, New England, USA

7,000 seek Sudan asylum after fleeing western Ethiopia violence

 At least 7,000 people who fled escalating ethnic violence in western Ethiopia have sought asylum in neighbouring Sudan, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has said, amid heightened tensions between the two neighbouring countries.

Violence in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz region is separate from the deadly conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which has sent more than 61,000 Ethiopians into Sudan’s provinces of al-Qadarif and Kassala since fighting erupted in November.

The UNHCR said on Tuesday most of the 7,000 asylum seekers who fled Metekel have been living among Sudanese host communities. It said it was working with local authorities in the Blue Nile province to respond to the humanitarian needs of the newly arrived, many of whom have arrived in hard-to-reach places along the border.

“The situation [in Metekel] has rapidly escalated in the past three months,” Babar Baloch, UNHCR spokesman, told reporters in Geneva. “The stories the refugees are bringing – they are fleeing attacks from their opponents,” Baloch said.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said more than 180 people were killed in separate massacres in Metekel in December and January.

Amnesty International reported in December that members of the ethnic Gumuz community – the ethnic majority in the region – attacked the homes of ethnic Amhara, Oromo and Shinasha.

The rights group said the Gumuz set the homes on fire and stabbed and shot residents. The Gumuz see minorities as “settlers”, the rights group said.

Ethnic violence poses a major challenge to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as he tries to promote national unity in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups.

Amharas are the second most populous ethnic group in Ethiopia and they have been targeted repeatedly over the last year. Fighters from Amhara, however, have been accused by witnesses of carrying out atrocities along with Ethiopian and Eritrean forces in the Tigray conflict.

The new influx of refugees into Sudan comes amid tensions between Addis Ababa and Khartoum over a border dispute and the deadlocked talks over a massive dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River.

Tigray has been the theatre of fighting since early November, when Prime Minister Abiy announced military operations against the region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) party, accusing them of attacking federal army camps.

Abiy, the winner of the Nobel 2019 Peace Prize, declared victory after federal forces entered the regional capital of Mekelle in late November, though the TPLF pledged to fight on and clashes have persisted in the region, hampering efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance.

“You have come to the situation which is militarily and human rights-wise, humanitarian-wise very out of control,” Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told journalists in Brussels, a day after briefing the bloc’s ministers on the crisis.

“This operation has lasted more than three months, and we do not see the end,” Haavisto said.

Haavisto, who met Abiy during his visit to Addis Ababa this month as part of a fact-finding mission, said Ethiopia’s leadership had failed to provide a “clear picture” of the situation in Tigray – including the widely documented involvement of forces from neighbouring Eritrea.

“The question of Eritrean troops is extremely sensitive, so we don’t get the clear answer about the whereabouts or magnitude of the Eritrean troops,” he said.

Addis Ababa and Asmara both deny that Eritrean forces are involved in the conflict, contradicting witness reports from civilians, aid workers and some military and government officials in Tigray. The EU has joined the United States in demanding Eritrean troops withdraw.

“We are seeing the beginning of one more potentially big refugee crisis in the world,” Haavisto said. “If you don’t influence it now then the circumstances will build so that there are more and more refugees coming.”

Haavisto repeated urgent calls from the international community for the Ethiopian government to grant full humanitarian access to Tigray, including areas beyond its control.

“What we need from the Ethiopian government is the green light to the humanitarian community to negotiate access to the Eritrean-controlled areas, to the opposition-controlled areas,” he said.

The UN says that areas where 80 percent of the region’s population live remain cut off from assistance. It has also sounded the alarm over a “very critical malnutrition situation” unfolding in the Tigray region, citing continuing insecurity, bureaucracy and the presence of “various armed actors” as major obstructions to the efforts to deliver life-saving aid.

“Despite some progress, the humanitarian response remains drastically inadequate compared to the sheer magnitude of needs across the region,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA) said in a report on Saturday.

SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Review laws to criminalise homosexuality in Ghana – Chief Imam

 Sheikh Dr Usumanu Nuhu Sharubutu, the National Chief Imam, has urged the Government to consider the immediate review of the country’s laws to criminalise homosexuality.

This was contained in a statement signed by Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, Spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, on Tuesday.

Homosexuality is broadly defined as the “romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behaviour between members of the same sex or gender”.

The statement said going strictly by the Qur’anic teachings and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W), regarding the non-negotiable prohibition of same-sex, the Muslim Community in Ghana remained resolutely opposed to any attempt to legalise homosexuality as a way of life and asked the government to criminalise the practice.

It said homosexual acts had negative attribution associated with it, which formed the “basis for prohibitions of indecency, unprecedented abomination, unnatural lust for same-sex and a route to wasteful and distractive life.”

The statement said the Islamic religion stood vehemently opposed to homosexual inclinations because it constituted a dangerous threat to the existence and sanctity of human family values.

It said LGBTQI did not uphold divine guidance as a means to happiness and a fulfilled life and that it emanated from a “Godless, secular humanistic worldview in which God has no place in the equation.”

LGBTQI, it said, was contradictory to the country’s national belief and worldview, adding, “Ghana’s firm belief in God is firmly captured in national symbols such as the national anthem, the national pledge and the Oath of office”, and that the said LGBTQI community was a great threat to Ghana’s national value system.

It said Ghana’s socio-cultural, religion and moral space had come under force confrontation with the proponents of the “abhorrent” Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) movement in Ghana and said it was time the Government stated its position.

The statement called on all citizens to “engage in serious prayers for God’s interventions to free the proponents of LGBTQI from their sinful and deviant worldview.”

Though sodomy is a misdemeanour in Ghana, the crime is rarely prosecuted, while the law is silent on homosexuality.

Under the Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29), as amended to 2003 [R1.3] Section 104, “Whoever has unnatural carnal knowledge of any person of the age of sixteen years or over without his consent shall be guilty of a first-degree felony and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years and not more than twenty-five years;

Or “Of any person of sixteen years or over with his consent is guilty of a misdemeanour…”.

Unnatural carnal knowledge is defined “as sexual intercourse with a person in an unnatural manner or with an animal”.

On 16 July 2012, the government, of the day, adopted the Constitution Review Commission’s recommendation that the Supreme Court should rule on whether same-sex acts should be legalised.

Nigeria: Ebonyi State Governor Umahi shows leadership in local conflict resolution

 In the determination of Ebonyi State Government to end the needless crisis between the people of Effium and Ezza Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area, the Governor of Ebonyi State His Excellency, Engr Chief David Nweze Umahi FNSE FNATE has been holding series of meetings with the stakeholders of both Effuim and Ezza Effium with a view to finding a permanent solution to the dispute which both sides identified as communal, perennial and non political.

Aside from the  separate meetings of key   stakeholders of the state  with key stakeholders from the Effium/ Ezza Effium community, government  on Tuesday, 23rd  February,2021 held a combined meeting of both parties with representatives of the state government, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Founding Fathers, Elders’ Council and leaders of Ezza nation who were observers in the meeting which held at the State Ecumenical Centre Abakaliki.

The Governor who presided over the meeting appealed to the stakeholders of Effium and Ezza Effium to do everything possible to  ensure that there is no more reprisal attack from any part of the community noting that government shall hold the stakeholders responsible if there is any further break down of law and order in that community.

The two sides of the dispute presented their positions on the immediate and remote causes of the crisis and their recommendations for  immediate interventions and lasting peace.

The Governor directed them to go into a closed door meeting by themselves with a view to having a common ground in their recommendations and which they did with the supervision of representatives of Christian Association of Nigeria.

As part of the outcome of their meeting, the stakeholders of Effium requested the state government to  carry out land demarcation between them and Ezza Effium people as a last resort in the attainment of a lasting peace in that community, while the   stakeholders of Ezza Effium requested that they be allowed to live together with the people of Effium as they had lived before the misunderstanding that reared its ugly head. They however renewed their commitment towards stopping all forms of reprisal attacks forthwith, and were  bonded to keep the peace pending the final resolution of the matter.

His Excellency, the Governor in his wisdom gave them a period of two weeks to consult with their people, including, the youths and women, both those within and outside the state so they can have a common ground that will enable the state government take a decision that will bring lasting peace and stronger harmony among the people of Effium and Ezza Effium.

The Governor further set up a committee made up  of one representative from Effium and one from Ezza Effium with two CAN representatives to supervise their consultation processes, namely, Bishop   Monday  Nkwoegu as Chairman and Rev  Dr. Scamb Nwokolo as Secretary. The Committee is to bring its report within 14 days.

God bless you all.

Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji ( Commissioner for Information and State Orientation Ebonyi State)

Trump Fans Charged In Capitol Attack Didn’t Like Antifa Getting Credit For Their Work

 Capitol attack defendants, lured to D.C. by a mass voter fraud conspiracy theory, didn’t like seeing conspiracy theories steal their credit.

Not long after he used a stick to swing and stab at police officers struggling to protect the U.S. Capitol from a pro-Trump mob seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Jonathan Mellis took to Facebook. He apparently didn’t like what he saw. Many of his fellow Trump supporters, the ones who like him bought into former President Donald Trump’s lies about mass voter fraud, were starting to believe in another conspiracy theory: that “antifa” was responsible for the attack Mellis participated in.

Mellis wasn’t having it. He hated antifa. And he wasn’t about to see them get credit for his work.

“Don’t you dare try to tell me that people are blaming this on antifa and BLM,” Mellis wrote, referring to Black Lives Matter. “We proudly take responsibility for storming the Castle. Antifa and BLM or [sic] too pussy … We are fighting for election integrity. They heard us.”

The criminal case against Mellis ― dubbed “Cowboy Screech” by online sleuths because of his resemblance to the “Saved By The Bell” character and his cowboy hat ― was unsealed Tuesday. He faces several charges, including for assaulting officers and aiding and abetting, civil disorder, entering a restricted building or grounds, violent entry or disorderly conduct, and obstruction of Justice/Congress.

Mellis wasn’t alone. While plenty of defendants later arrested and charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol joined many of their fellow Trump supporters in blaming antifa for the attack, plenty of others were also a bit upset that their work alongside a mob of Trump supporters was being attributed to some fictitious gang of anti-fascists.

HuffPost found at least three other Capitol insurrectionists charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol who, the feds say, complained on social media about antifa getting credit for their work.

“Listen up: I hear so many reports of ‘Antifa’ was storming the capital [sic] building. Know that every single person who believes that narrative has been DUPED AGAIN!” wrote Ryan Nichols, who was charged alongside his fellow insurrectionist Alex Harkrider. “Sure, there may have been some ‘Antifa’ in DC, but there wasn’t enough to ‘Storm the Capital’ [sic] themselves.”

“Okay all you conspiracy theorists 😜 don’t worry I love yous all just setting the record straight,” wrote Karl Dresch. “Antifa did not take the capitol. that was Patriots, I can’t guarantee there weren’t some shit birds in the crowd but what multi-million crowd can you guarantee? dodon’t give them the thunder, we the people took back our house, the news is all bullshit. and now those traitors Know who’s really in charge.”

“It was not Antifa at the Capitol,” wrote Brandon Straka, a “Stop the Steal” organizer with ties to Trump who was charged last month. “It was freedom-loving Patriots who were DESPERATE to fight for the final hope of our Republic because literally, nobody cares about them. Everyone else can denounce them. I will not.”

The conspiracies that some mysterious gang of undercover anti-fascists cosplaying as Trump supporters was behind the Jan. 6 attack have gripped Trump supporters since that day. Even as the attack was unfolding, former President Trump himself was floating conspiracy theories about “Antifa” being behind the attack.

Trump told House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during the attack that “Antifa” was behind the violence at the Capitol, according to an account by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.). But when McCarthy pushed back, Trump acknowledged reality: that the mob was pro-Trump.

“Well, Kevin,” Trump reportedly said. “I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”

Guinea launches Ebola vaccination drive in country’s south

 Guinea has launched an Ebola vaccination campaign to halt the spread of the deadly disease which hit the country’s south this month and has already caused several deaths.

The vaccination drive got under way on Tuesday in Gouecke, in the N’Zerekore prefecture where the first cases were detected on February  14, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, adding that the launch started with the vaccination of health workers.

“The vaccination uses the ‘ring strategy’ where all people who have come into contact with a confirmed Ebola patient are given the vaccine, as well as frontline and health workers,” the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ebola causes severe fever and, in the worst cases, unstoppable bleeding.

It is transmitted through close contact with bodily fluids, and people who live with or care for Ebola patients are most at risk.

The resurgence of the virus has alarmed governments in the region. A major outbreak could overwhelm health infrastructures already battling the coronavirus pandemic.

Guinea has recorded four confirmed and four probable cases – including five deaths – in the first resurgence of Ebola since the 2013-2016 outbreak that killed 11,300 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

During a ceremony outside a health centre in Gouecke, local government officials received jabs before a crowd of several dozen people.

A religious leader and preacher also encourage people to get immunised.

Guinea’s Health Minister Remy Lamah, who hails from the region, said he had spent the day trying to persuade local leaders to overcome their resistance to the vaccine.

“I think that in six weeks, we can be done with this disease,” Lamah told AFP news agency.

SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES