Good morning,
On Tuesday, we marked the annual World AIDS Day, and with it came some good news, that we could all use amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Statistics from around the world indicated a drastic drop in the prevalence of the virus, which was once as much of a headache to the world as the coronavirus is now.
About two decades ago, the mere utterance of the words ”HIV” or ”AIDS” would earn you a vicious backlash, with infected persons being heavily stigmatized.
But scientists eventually managed to formulate virus suppression drugs, that have enabled patients to live long and normal lives, and here is where the hope for the world overcoming coronavirus lies.
We are battling the new pandemic under different circumstances than when HIV emerged: Technology is at its peak, we have more than enough scientists to brainstorm on vaccines and cures, and, globalization has ensured that information on the virus is ample across all corners of the globe.
With these factors in mind, we are pretty sure that a solution to this scourge will be found within no time, unlike in the case of HIV, where hope started emerging almost 20 years after the first case.
Here are the stories making headlines on Opera News today:
Ruto’s BBI game plan as he meets 150 MPs
Deputy President William Ruto has fashioned a strategy to either completely scuttle the referendum or neutralise the political consequences of the plebiscite.
Publicly, Ruto is pushing for consensus on contentious Building Bridges Initiative proposals, which he says will avert a divisive referendum.
But what will his hustler loyalists say if he joins the ‘dynasties’?
You are on your own, doctors tell Kenyans as strike crisis looms
The doctors’ union has told Kenyans to expect the worst as a stalemate between them and the government remains unresolved.
There’s less than a week left to the union’s three-week strike notice and no consensus has been reached with their employer.
“Kenyans, I want to tell you that you are on your own; the patients in the hospitals I want to tell you that you are on your own; people in your homes who suffer from different ailments I want to tell you are on your own. The good government doesn’t care for you anymore,” KMPDU chairman Samwel Oroko said.
Sakaja dragged into Sh7.8bn Kemsa PPE scandal
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has been dragged into the Sh7.8 billion PPE scandal at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency.
Suspended procurement director Charles Juma mentioned the lawmaker’s name when he was grilled by the Public Investments Committee on Tuesday.
He quoted a third party — his secretary — as having informed him that the senator was at CEO Jonah Manjari’s office when the latter was pressuring them to draft a commitment letter for Shop N Buy.
Keeping in mind that we are still riding the second wave of coronavirus infections, will you be travelling upcountry as Christmas and New Year festivities beckon, or will you play it safe for your safety and that of rural dwellers?