Guinea-Bissau has halted a US-backed hepatitis B vaccine study on newborns, pending an emergency ethical review. The country’s health minister says a six-member ethics committee never met before the study was approved, a major red flag.
The trial would randomly vaccinate some newborns and withhold the shot from others, tracking illness, death, and development. Critics say that’s unethical, because the vaccine is proven to protect babies in a country where hepatitis B is common.
Africa CDC leadership supports the review, saying decisions must serve African public health, not outside interests.
Paul Biya reelected Cameroon’s President
Constitutional Council on Monday announced that Paul Biya has been re-elected President of Cameroon for an eighth term, securing 53.66 per cent of votes.
The candidate of the Cameroon National Salvation Front, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, finished second with 35.19 per cent.
More than 4.6 million Cameroonians cast their ballots out of over eight million registered voters, bringing the turnout rate to 57 per cent, compared with 53.85 per cent in 2018 and 65.82 per cent in 2011.
Biya, 92, who has been in power since 1982, leads the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement.
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