Category: Africa

Source: APO

Millions of women and girls remain without adequate legal protection due to the failure of African governments to enact and effectively enforce national laws and regional agreements, Equality Now (https://EqualityNow.org/) warned at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (ACHPR) 87th Ordinary Session in Banjul, The Gambia.

Esther Waweru, Associate Director for Legal Equality at Equality Now, delivered a statement to the ACHPR on May 12, 2026, calling on African Union (AU) Member States to do more to address sexual violence, female genital mutilation (FGM), online safety, sexual and reproductive healthcare access, and discriminatory matrimonial property rights.

“Millions of women and girls across Africa live under laws and systems that don’t uphold their human rights. Countries have made binding commitments to advance gender equality, but gaps in legal protections, weak implementation of laws, and poor accountability are leaving many without equal rights, safeguards, or justice. African governments must move beyond rhetoric to deliver the legal reforms, protections, and accountability mechanisms women and girls urgently need,” Waweru explains.

Rape laws in Africa continue to fail survivors of sexual violence

Equality Now’s report Barriers to Justice: Rape in Africa, Law, Practice and Access to Justice (https://apo-opa.co/4wKloNu) analysed rape laws across 47 countries and found significant shortcomings. Sexual violence laws in some countries still require proof that physical force, threats, or violence was used. Such restrictive definitions place undue burdens on survivors to provide evidence, and disregard the varying contexts in which sexual violence occurs, including through intimidation, coercion, fraud, or unequal power dynamics that make it impossible to give genuine consent.

Authorities often fail to properly investigate, prosecute, or convict rape cases, while discriminatory gender stereotypes can influence judicial decisions, leading to reduced charges, lighter sentences, or perpetrators escaping punishment altogether. 

Rape cases are sometimes resolved through out-of-court settlements via informal community mediation, with victim-blaming and social pressure often compelling survivors to withdraw legal complaints or remain silent.

Kenya, whose State Report was reviewed by the ACHPR during its 87th session, retains a marital rape exemption allowing husbands to avoid prosecution for raping their wives.

Equality Now called on the Commission to encourage Kenya to remove legal loopholes permitting rape within marriage, and reform sexual offences laws in line with the Niamey Guidelines (https://apo-opa.co/4usVkoy), which set regional standards for preventing and responding to sexual violence, and the Maputo Protocol (https://apo-opa.co/4usVkVA), the landmark AU treaty outlining governments’ obligations to end gender-based violence, ensure reproductive rights, and eliminate harmful practices.

Restrictions on sexual and reproductive health services persist, especially harming rape survivors. Equality Now commended AU Member States that recognise sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as a constitutional right. For example, in October 2025, Malawi’s High Court ruled (https://apo-opa.co/4usVlJ8) that denying a 14-year-old rape survivor access to a safe termination of pregnancy was a SRHR violation, and forcing a child to carry a pregnancy resulting from rape constitutes “harsh and inhumane” treatment.

Equality Now urged all African governments to prosecute sexual violence, whether perpetrated during peacetime or conflict, and to adopt a survivor-centred approach built upon comprehensive reparations frameworks that provide compensation, medical and psychosocial support, and legal assistance to survivors.

Discrimination in matrimonial property rights laws in Africa

Equality Now’s report, Gender inequality in family laws in Africa (https://apo-opa.co/42Lzj85), maps how women face significant challenges relating to unpaid work within the family context and discrimination in property distribution during marriage annulment, separation, or divorce.

Article 7(d) of the Maputo Protocol requires equitable distribution of matrimonial property, yet in practice, this standard is often unmet. In Nigeria, property division is based entirely on direct financial contributions, leaving many women with little or nothing following divorce. In Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa, both direct and indirect contributions should be accounted for, but courts frequently fail to adequately value women’s unpaid labour.

All Member States should pass and implement legislation recognising the full value of women’s unpaid domestic and caregiving work within the family, and implement General Comment No. 6 on the Maputo Protocol (https://apo-opa.co/4v2YWgU) mandating an equitable sharing of joint property based upon both financial and non-financial contributions.

Criminalising FGM in Liberia and upholding The Gambia’s law banning FGM

Equality Now acknowledged ongoing efforts in Liberia to address harmful practices affecting women and girls, and calls on lawmakers to criminalise FGM by fast-tracking passage of the pending Women and Girls Protection Bill (https://apo-opa.co/4uTud5z).

In The Gambia, the Supreme Court is considering a case seeking to overturn the ban on FGM under the Women’s (Amendment) Act 2015, with petitioners arguing on constitutional grounds that the law violates cultural and religious freedoms. Equality Now called on the State to defend and fully implement the Act as repeal would endanger women and girls, undermine years of progress, and set a dangerous precedent by revoking hard-won legal safeguards.

Online gender-based violence in Africa

Across Africa, weak, outdated, and fragmented digital governance frameworks leave women and girls vulnerable to harm online, including tech-facilitated gender-based violence (https://apo-opa.co/3RkjFhB). Most countries rely on narrow cybercrime laws that lack gender perspectives, resulting in disproportionate censorship, surveillance, or penalisation of those seeking protection, while allowing online harassment, exploitation, misinformation and disinformation, and algorithmic biases to proliferate.

The concentration of digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence systems in the Global North risks reinforcing digital colonialism and embedding racial and gender bias into technologies.

African states should establish binding due diligence and transparency requirements for transnational technology companies, align digital governance frameworks with the Maputo Protocol, invest in gender-responsive digital capacity building for women and girls, and strengthen access to remedies for survivors of digital harms.

Domestication and implementation of the Maputo Protocol in South Sudan

South Sudan ratified the Maputo Protocol in 2023. Three years on, women and girls face conflict-related sexual violence, entrenched harmful practices, and weak legal protections and inadequate enforcement, underpinned by deep-rooted patriarchal norms.

The country’s ongoing constitution-making process offers a time-bound opportunity to embed gender equality at the heart of legal and institutional reform. South Sudan needs to fully domesticate and implement the Protocol and expedite adoption of national laws that strengthen protections for women and girls.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Equality Now.

Notes to editors:
Esther Waweru is the Associate Director, Legal Equality at Equality Now. A lawyer with nearly two decades of experience, she focuses on advancing the rights of women, girls and marginalised communities across international and regional human rights platforms. Read more about Esther’s work at https://EqualityNow.org/.

For media enquiries, contact:
Tara Carey
Associate Director, Media
Equality Now
tcarey@equalitynow.org

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About Equality Now:
Equality Now is a worldwide human rights organisation dedicated to securing the legal and systemic change needed to end discrimination against all women and girls. Since its inception in 1992, it has played a role in reforming 120 discriminatory laws globally, positively impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of women and girls, their communities and nations, both now and for generations to come.

Working with partners at national, regional and global levels, Equality Now draws on deep legal expertise and a diverse range of social, political and cultural perspectives to continue to lead the way in steering, shaping and driving the change needed to achieve enduring gender equality, to the benefit of all.

For more details, go to https://EqualityNow.org/.

Source: APO

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The United States remains a longstanding and valued partner of Africa in disease surveillance, emergency response, workforce development and global health security.

In March 2025, amid major shifts affecting USAID and other health programmes, Africa CDC engaged the US Government through a high-level dialogue at the Department of State involving multiple American to agencies. Meeting Africa CDC – US team (https://apo-opa.co/496EB1I). Africa CDC advocated for a new partnership model grounded in sovereignty, shared responsibility and sustainability, in which the US increasingly channels support through direct country funding while African governments progressively expand domestic co-financing for health systems and health security priorities.

Africa CDC also recalls the consensus reached by the African High-Level Ministerial Committee on Global Health Architecture, which convened in Geneva on 17 May 2026, bringing together 48 African ministers from all five regions of the continent. Ministers agreed that future strategic negotiations related to continental health security partnerships should increasingly be coordinated through Africa CDC to strengthen African solidarity, policy coherence, and alignment among Member States.

From the earliest stages of the current Ebola outbreak, Africa CDC acted rapidly, transparently, and responsibly. Following confirmation that at least two countries were affected, the agency exercised its continental mandate to declare this outbreak on 15 May 2026, elevating political attention and accelerating coordination across Africa. Since the beginning of the outbreak, Africa CDC has maintained continuous information sharing with Member States, partners, media, and the international community, with more than 1,600 global media citations referencing Africa CDC data and technical updates.

Africa CDC takes note of the US Government’s decision to issue a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory for the DRC and to impose entry restrictions on non-US passport holders who have recently travelled to the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan. The agency fully recognises the sovereign responsibility of every government to protect the health and security of its people. Our concern is not with the objective of protecting populations, but with the use of broad travel restrictions as a primary public health tool during outbreaks.

Public health measures during outbreaks must be guided by science, proportionality, transparency, international cooperation, and international health regulations. Africa CDC’s position is clear: generalised travel restrictions and border closures are not the solution to outbreaks. Such measures can create fear, damage economies, discourage transparency, complicate humanitarian and health operations, and divert movement toward informal and unmonitored routes – potentially increasing public health risks rather than reducing them.

“The fastest path to protecting all countries in the world is to aggressively support outbreak control at the source,” said H.E. Dr Jean Kaseya, Africa CDC Director General. “Global health security cannot be achieved through borders alone. It is achieved through partnership, trust, science and rapid investment in preparedness and response capacity.”

This current Ebola outbreak highlights a deeper structural injustice in global health innovation: the Bundibugyo Ebolavirus was identified nearly two decades ago, yet no licensed vaccines or therapeutics specific to this strain exist today. Africa CDC believes that if this disease had predominantly threatened wealthier regions of the world, medical countermeasures would likely already be available.

The world witnessed a similar reality during the West African Ebola outbreak, when solutions were disclosed when an American doctor was infected, while thousands of Africans had already died without support. The world must not repeat the same mistake today.

The declaration of the PHECS on 18 May 2026, Africa CDC Official Website, was intended to mobilise political leadership, resources, and coordinated continental action. It is not a signal for panic, but a call for solidarity, urgency and collective responsibility.

Africa CDC is calling for intensified international support for:

• Strengthened cross-border preparedness and regional coordination;
• Sustained support to frontline health workers and Ministries of Health;
• Support risk communication and strong community engagement;
• Expansion of Bundibugyo Ebolavirus laboratory diagnostics and genomic sequencing;
• Deployment of epidemiologists and emergency response experts;
• Increased financing for surveillance, logistics, infection prevention and case management, including the capacity to isolate cases and to organise dignified burials;
• Accelerated development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics for all Ebola strains;

Africa CDC is fully mobilised to support the DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and all at-risk Member States. Africans must know that the agency stands with them – not only to respond to outbreaks and strengthen public health systems, but also to defend their dignity, sovereignty, and collective security under the framework of Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS). Africa CDC – Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) (www.AfricaCDC.org)

This position is consistent with Africa CDC’s previous actions. During the Marburg outbreak in Rwanda in 2024, Africa CDC publicly opposed travel measures that penalised transparency and effective outbreak control and welcomed the lifting of the U.S. travel notice after Rwanda demonstrated strong containment. Africa CDC Statement on Rwanda Marburg Response (www.AfricaCDC.org)

Africa CDC, therefore, calls on all countries – both within Africa and globally – to refrain from imposing unnecessary travel or trade restrictions in response to this outbreak. The world must avoid repeating the mistakes of previous health emergencies, where fear-driven measures caused major economic damage without delivering proportionate public health benefits.

Africa needs solidarity, not stigma. Africa needs investment, not isolation. Africa needs partnerships that strengthen both economies and health systems.

No one is safe until Africa is safe. And Africa is safer when the world invests in African health security, trusts African institutions, and works with Africa as a full partner.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Media Contact:
Wilson Johwa
Senior Communications Officer
Directorate of Communication & Public Information
JohwaW@africacdc.org

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About Africa CDC:
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is the public health agency of the African Union. As an autonomous institution, Africa CDC supports AU Member States to strengthen health systems, improve disease surveillance, and enhance emergency preparedness and response. For more information, visit: www.AfricaCDC.org.

Source: APO

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The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) (https://AfricaCDC.org/), acting on the recommendations of its Emergency Consultative Group (ECG), has officially declared the ongoing Bundibugyo ebolavirus disease outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS).

This declaration, under Article 3, Paragraph F of the Africa CDC Statute, empowers the organisation to lead and coordinate responses to significant public health emergencies across the continent. The statute mandates Africa CDC to “coordinate and support Member States in health emergency responses, particularly those declared a PHECS or Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), as well as health promotion and disease prevention through health systems strengthening.”

The declaration follows extensive consultations at political, strategic and technical levels, including consultations with H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the African Union Commission chairperson; H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and the African Union Champion for Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response (PPPR); and consultations with Member States affected or at risk. This declaration was built on recommendations from the ECG, chaired by Professor Salim Abdool Karim, which reviewed the evolving epidemiological situation, regional risks, response capacities, and the implications of the confirmed Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain.

As of May 18, 2026, about 395 suspected cases and 106 associated deaths have been reported in the DRC (mainly in the Mongwalu, Rwampara, and Bunia Health Zones) and in Kampala, Uganda, where two cases and one death have been reported so far.

Africa CDC is deeply concerned about the high risk of regional spread due to intense cross-border population movement, mining-related mobility, insecurity in affected areas, weak infection prevention and control measures, community deaths occurring outside formal healthcare systems, and the proximity of affected areas to Rwanda and South Sudan.

H.E. Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, emphasised the urgency of coordinated continental action: “Today, we declare this PHECS to mobilise our institutions, our collective will, and our resources to act swiftly and decisively. The confirmation of the Bundibugyo ebolavirus in interconnected countries reminds us once again that Africa’s health security is indivisible. We must act early, act together, and act based on science.”

Dr Kaseya highlighted that the declaration would strengthen regional coordination, facilitate rapid mobilisation of financial and technical resources, reinforce surveillance and laboratory systems, support the deployment of emergency responders, and accelerate preparedness activities in neighbouring countries considered at heightened risk of transmission.

He further stressed the importance of an Africa-led and partner-supported response: “This outbreak is occurring in one of the most complex operational environments on the continent, marked by insecurity, population mobility, fragile health systems, and limited medical countermeasures for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus disease. We call upon our Member States and international partners to stand together with Africa CDC, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the affected countries to prevent further spread and protect our populations.”

Africa CDC and the WHO are working jointly to strengthen coordination by activating an Incident Management Support Team (IMST), building on the successful model used during the mpox and cholera responses under the “4 Ones” principle: one team, one plan, one budget, and one monitoring framework.  

Africa CDC has already deployed multidisciplinary experts, including specialists in epidemiology, infection prevention and control, laboratory systems, risk communication, logistics and emergency coordination, and has internally mobilised US$2 million to support the continental response.

The declaration also comes amid growing concerns about the limited availability of validated vaccines and therapeutics for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus disease. Africa CDC is therefore working closely with various partners to assess available medical countermeasures and accelerate operational research and evidence generation efforts to inform outbreak response strategies.

Professor Karim, chair of the ECG, noted: “The ECG carefully reviewed the epidemiological evidence, regional risk profile, and operational realities surrounding this outbreak. The interconnected nature of transmission between DRC and Uganda, combined with the challenges posed by insecurity and cross-border movement, requires urgent coordinated continental action.” 

Ebola is a severe and often fatal illness transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected persons, contaminated materials, or deceased individuals infected with the virus. Early detection, rapid isolation and care, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, community engagement, and safe and dignified burials remain essential to interrupt transmission. 

Africa CDC will continue to provide regular updates as additional epidemiological, laboratory, and sequencing information becomes available. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Media Contact:
Wilson Johwa
Senior Communications Officer, Directorate of Communication & Public Information
JohwaW@africacdc.org

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About Africa CDC: 
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is the public health agency of the African Union. As an autonomous institution, Africa CDC supports AU Member States to strengthen health systems, improve disease surveillance, and enhance emergency preparedness and response. For more information, visit: https://AfricaCDC.org/ 

Source: APO

At AI Everything Kenya x GITEX Kenya, taking place from 19-21 May, global cybersecurity company, Kaspersky (www.Kaspersky.co.za), talks about the current threat landscape in Kenya and the wider East Africa region, warning that the rapid development and adoption of artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities for innovation while simultaneously introducing cyberthreats for businesses and individual users. With risks varying from AI-powered social engineering campaigns and deepfake fraud to “Shadow AI” risks inside organisations, Kaspersky advises organisations to adopt clear policies, cybersecurity controls and employee education to ensure AI technologies are deployed safely and responsibly.

“As organisations in Kenya and the wider region accelerate digital transformation, cybersecurity is becoming a board-level priority. We are seeing growing awareness that innovation and security must develop hand in hand. Industry events such as GITEX play an important role in this process by helping businesses better understand both the impressive opportunities AI and digital technologies create, and the precautions needed to manage the evolving cyber risks that come with them,” says Chris Norton, General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Kaspersky.

Cyberthreat landscape developments

AI risks come amid other cybersecurity challenges of the evolving threat landscape in the region. Kaspersky data demonstrates that in 2025, password stealer attacks increased by 83% year-over-year in Kenya and 56% across Sub-Saharan Africa. Spyware attacks grew by the same figure of 83% in Kenya and 53% regionally, while backdoor attacks rose by 25% in Kenya and 8% across Sub-Saharan Africa. Although exploit attacks showed a slight decline, they remain a major concern due to their mass spread and unauthorised access they open to a users’ systems. Meanwhile, ransomware continues to pose a serious risk to organisations, with 7.62% of organisations in Africa experiencing ransomware detections in 2025.

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) remain among the most serious risks for enterprises. According to the Kaspersky Security Services Global Report, APT groups were detected and blocked in 21% of customers in 2025 and accounted for 23% of all high-severity incidents. These highly organised groups increasingly combine AI-enhanced techniques with social engineering and targeted intrusion methods to maximise operational effectiveness.

Cybersecurity traps of AI

According to Kaspersky experts, cybercriminals can use AI across multiple stages of cyberattacks: from preparation and communication to assembling malicious components, probing for vulnerabilities and deploying tools, while simultaneously concealing evidence of AI involvement to complicate investigations and attribution. Malicious actors are also actively distributing malware disguised as AI tools to steal sensitive information from victims.

One of the growing cybersecurity issues is the spread of deepfakes and AI-generated fraudulent content. As AI tools become more and more sophisticated, distinguishing authentic material from manipulated ones is becoming more difficult. Kaspersky researchers warn that AI models can also be vulnerable to “unintended memorisation”, where models retain fragments of sensitive information that attackers may later extract. Additional risks include malicious tampering with training datasets, injection of harmful logic into AI software code and exploitation of vulnerabilities within AI-powered systems.

The emergence of AI agents, which are systems capable of autonomously taking actions on behalf of users, creates another significant attack surface. According to Kaspersky, these systems can be manipulated through adversarial content or misconfigured autonomy settings, potentially leading to harmful real-world actions.

Kaspersky also highlights the growing challenge of “Shadow AI”, where employees use public AI services without oversight from IT departments. This creates uncontrolled data flows and increases the risk of confidential information exposure. A recent Kaspersky study* titled “Cybersecurity in the workplace: Employee knowledge and behaviour” showed that 87.8% of professionals surveyed in Kenya use AI tools for work-related tasks, including text editing, e-mail writing, data analytics and content creation. However, only 35% reported receiving cybersecurity training related to AI use.

Essential Actions in the AI-driven IT world

Kaspersky recommends organisations to regularly assess AI-related risks and establish comprehensive AI governance policies defining which AI tools are approved and what types of data can be processed. Regular employee training on secure AI usage, recognition of fake AI services, malicious links and prompt injection risks is equally essential.

To effectively manage the growing range of cyber risks, organisations should adopt a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that combines advanced security technologies, reliable threat intelligence, strong internal processes and continuous employee education. Robust cybersecurity solutions, such as the AI-powered Kaspersky SIEM and Kaspersky Next product line, provide real-time protection, threat visibility, investigation and response capabilities.

For private users, Kaspersky recommends exercising caution when using AI-powered tools, carefully reviewing privacy settings, verifying the authenticity of AI applications and double-checking information generated by agentic AI systems before making decisions based on automated outputs. The company also advises families to maintain open discussions with children regarding their use of AI technologies and online safety practices.

Visit the Kaspersky stand at B10 in Hall 2 at GITEX Kenya to find out more.

*The survey was conducted by Toluna research agency at the request of Kaspersky in 2025. The study sample included 2800 online interviews with employees and business owners using computers for work in seven countries: Türkiye, South Africa, Kenya, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kaspersky.

For further information please contact:
Nicole Allman
nicole@inkandco.co.za

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About Kaspersky: 
Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. With over a billion devices protected to date from emerging cyberthreats and targeted attacks, Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative solutions and services to protect individuals, businesses, critical infrastructure, and governments around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading digital life protection for personal devices, specialized security products and services for companies, as well as Cyber Immune solutions to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. We help millions of individuals and nearly 200,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.Kaspersky.co.za.