By simply washing your hands with soap and water, you can prevent the transmission of the dreaded Ebola virus from person to person, meaning that personal hygiene and awareness play important role in stemming the spread of the virus.
This is America, and even much of the world, are currently captivated by the Ebola virus that has, since its discovery in 1976, killed less than 2,000 people.
Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) reported that the reason people are so frightened by the virus is because of two factors: there is no cure, and if you are infected with it, you are more likely to die than survive.
The current outbreak carries with it a 55 percent death rate. Other outbreaks have soared into the 90 percent mortality range.
The good news is that Ebola is not spread in the air. You get it from direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids such as blood, sweat, vomit, or feces.
So for developed countries that’s encouraging because the Ebola virus can be killed simply with soap and warm water.
With that in mind, one wonders how more than 1,000 people have contracted it. The answer is, they don’t wash their hands. They don’t even wear gloves in hospitals, oftentimes, wear protective masks, or even use disinfectant and clean needles!
They touch – with their bare hands – dead people who haven’t even been washed, who’ve died from Ebola, at funerals.
Fortunately, in recent days, through education and the involvement of other countries, these practices are changing.
There are now buckets of diluted bleach scattered about villages for people to wash their hands. Some African governments are insisting that Ebola victims be cremated, and hospitals are receiving the gloves, masks, and needles they need.
The two American aide workers who contracted Ebola in Africa are back in American now, reportedly undergoing both traditional and experimental treatments.
Traditional treatments include strengthening the patient’s immune system to help the body naturally fight off the virus.
This means balancing their fluids, maintaining their oxygen levels and blood pressure, and treating them for any complicating infections.
The experimental treatment includes taking a drug called ZMapp, developed by a California-based biotech company called Mapp. The drug has reportedly only been tested on monkeys so far. But it was successful in those trials.
The ZMapp three-antibody cocktail isn’t a vaccine. Instead, it provides an artificial immune response against proteins on the outside of the Ebola virus.
It’s highly unusual for humans to receive drugs like ZMapp that have not completed the series of trials, including human testing, required by the Food And Drug Administration. However, the FDA does allow the use of a drug before its approval, in extreme cases, if a patient’s situation warrants.
It’s unclear why the American patients are not taking an experimental Ebola drug developed by a Canadian company, Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, as their drug has advanced to human trials. However, like ZMapp, it has also not yet been approved for general use.
Considering the deaths of about 900 African Ebola victims with this current outbreak, both drugs may be fast-tracked for approval to treat the victims there.
Meanwhile, an Ebola vaccine is in the works, but reportedly still a ways off.
Symptoms of Ebola are much like the flu: fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain.
In some cases, the disease causes rashes, red eyes, and hiccups.
Unfortunately, a person can be infected, and contagious for a couple of days up to a few weeks before they start experiencing symptoms. That means infected people can literally travel the world virtually undetected.
Ebola kills by destroying the function of critical organs such as the liver and kidneys, as well as causing extensive internal and even external, bleeding.
Jollof+, a product of Baobab Nigeria, one of the finest leading financial services dedicated to supporting the financially excluded and unbanked communities in Nigeria has partnered with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to promote financial literacy and increase awareness of its financial services among corps members nationwide.
This initiative, implemented in NYSC camps in Lagos, Sagamu, Abuja, Keffi, and Uyo seeks to educate young Nigerians on the importance of saving and financial literacy.
Through this partnership, Jollof+ sponsored Mr Macho and Miss NYSC events at Ogun state camp, where winners were awarded amazing items and also provided with valuable insights into how they can use the Jollof+ app to save smarter and manage their money more effectively.
Commenting on the partnership, Joy Micheal-Oti, Business Development Manager, Baobab Nigeria, said: “We believe that financial literacy is the key to financial independence, and it is something every young Nigerian should know.
“Our partnership with NYSC is our way of investing in the future of Nigeria by helping corps members understand how to save, invest, and secure their financial future with Jollof+. These are the leaders of tomorrow, and we want to ensure they are well-prepared for the future ahead of them.
In addition to promoting financial literacy, the partnership also aims to build brand awareness for Jollof+, a fast-growing digital savings platform designed to simplify how Nigerians manage their money. Corps members were introduced to the key features of Jollof+, including its high-interest savings options like Jolloflock, Ajo+, and Babybox, which are designed to cater to various savings goals.
On their part, the State Coordinator NYSC Ogun State, Mrs Nasamu Olayinka Diana said, “We are excited about the partnership with Jollof+ as it aligns with our youth development initiative, where we equip corp members for the future ahead.
When you invest in the youths, you have not wasted anything, they are indeed the best place to invest in. Thank you Jollof+ for this partnership, it will indeed have a great impact on our corp members.
With Nigeria facing rising inflation and economic uncertainty, financial literacy has never been more important. Young Nigerians, particularly corps members, are entering the workforce and facing financial challenges that require them to be financially savvy.
Jollof+ plans to continue expanding its reach to more NYSC camps across the country in the coming months, ensuring that even more young Nigerians are introduced to Jollof+ and the importance of financial literacy
d.light, the global provider of transformational household solar products and affordable finance for low-income households, was today announced as an Earthshot Prize Finalist at the third-annual Earthshot Innovation Summit.
Founded by Prince William in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is the world’s most prestigious environmental prize designed to discover, spotlight and scale the groundbreaking solutions we need to repair and regenerate our planet.
The five eventual winners will be crowned at The Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa in early November, with each receiving £1 million in prize money to support efforts to expand the reach of their transformational products and services. This year’s shortlist was selected from a pool of close to 2,500 organisations across 139 countries.
d.light is named alongside an inspiring group of global innovators, entrepreneurs, community leaders and advocates pioneering solutions to our most pressing climate and environmental challenges.
Finalists also earn a place on the Earthshot Fellowship Programme, receiving dedicated mentorship, resources, and technical support, including access to The Prize’s Global Alliance of Partners, a robust network of the world’s largest businesses, donors, investors and environmental organisations committed to climate action.
Commenting on the news, d.light CEO Nedjip Tozun said: “We’re truly honoured to be named as a finalist for such a prestigious award, and recognition from the Earthshot Prize committee is a reflection of d.light’s efforts to support underserved communities by providing access to safe, affordable off-grid solar solutions.
“2024 has been a landmark year so far for d.light and it’s exciting to see that our impact has extended beyond the solar industry to the wider sustainability community.
“Pivotal moments have included raising USD$176 million in securitized financing in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, launching our customer loyalty programme and installing solar in over 1.7 million off-grid households across Africa.
“d.light is the first company in the off-grid energy sector to be nominated for the Earthshot Prize, outlining our credentials as a pioneer in this space.
Since the company was founded in 2007, we’ve developed unique and innovative ways to manufacture, distribute and finance solar projects in the developing world, allowing us to transform the lives of over 175 million people in the process.
“To be named as a finalist helps us amplify our core message that so many still live without access to a safe source of electricity, while supporting our efforts to spearhead the rollout of reliable solar solutions,” Tozun concluded.
“With this milestone, d.light moves one step closer to achieving our wider aim of transforming the lives of one billion people by 2030 by giving them access to safe, clean, affordable renewable energy.”
The number of unique users targeted by cybercriminals using popular children’s games as a lure surged by 30% in the first six months of 2024 compared to H2 2023, according to Kaspersky experts.
Researchers analysed gaming risks for young players and discovered that more than 132,000 users had been targeted by cybercriminals. More details can be found in the latest Kaspersky report on cybercrimes targeting young gamers.
The most exploited children’s games
Kaspersky looked into the threats disguised as popular kids’ video games and analysed the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
Throughout the reported period, Kaspersky security solutions detected more than 6.6 million attempted attacks, where cybercriminals used the brands of the kids’ games as a lure.
Out of the 18 games chosen for this research, the majority of attacks were related to Minecraft, Roblox, and Among Us. According to Kaspersky’s statistics, more than 3 million attempted attacks under the guise of Minecraft were launched throughout the reported period.
Most likely, cybercriminals chose this method of attack based on the popularity of games among players, as well as the ability of gamers to use cheats and mods. Since the majority of mods and cheats are distributed on third-party websites, attackers disguise malware by posing as these applications.
Kaspersky experts believe that the higher success rates detected in 2024 can be explained by the trends observed in the recent developments of the general cyberthreat landscape.
On the one hand, following popular trends, cybercriminals launch more cunning attacks, exploiting the current agenda and crafting less obvious schemes, instead of using generic attacks.
On the other hand, cybercriminals are increasingly using AI to automate and personalise phishing attacks that are more likely to deceive young gamers. At the same time, new advanced phishing kits — pre-made templates of phishing pages — created with automated tools consistently appear on the dark web, allowing an increasing number of attackers to deploy highly effective phishing sites that mimic popular gaming platforms.
Scams on children’s favourite games
One of the most common scams in gaming is the offer to receive new skins for your character — essentially clothing or armor — that enhance the hero’s skills. Some skins are common, while others are extremely rare and, therefore, more desirable.
Kaspersky experts have found an example of a scam that uses both the name of popular game Valorant and that of the world-famous YouTuber Mr. Beast. By selecting this blogger and using his photo, the fraudsters aim to capture children’s attention and hook them into their fraudulent scam.
To receive the desired Mr. Beast skin, young users are asked to enter their login and password for their gaming account, enabling their credentials to be potentially stolen by scammers as a result.
Another popular trap is the offer of receiving in-game currency. In one of the discovered scams exploiting the Pokémon GO brand, users are asked to enter the username for their gaming account. Next, they’re asked to take a survey to prove they’re not a bot.
Once the survey is complete, they are redirected to a fake website, usually one promising free prizes or giveaways. This is where the real scam kicks in.
The scammers aren’t actually after personal data like credit card details; they’re using the guise of gaming to lure users into another hoax — one involving fake downloads, prize claims, or other deceptive offers.
The whole process is a clever way to redirect users to a different, more dangerous scam under the pretense of a legitimate verification step.
“Throughout our research, we see attacks on children are becoming a common vector of cybercriminals’ activities. That’s why cyber hygiene education and the use of trusted cybersecurity solutions are a ’must-have’ in building children’s safety in the online environment.
By fostering their critical thinking, responsible online behaviour, and a strong understanding of the risks, we can create a safer and more positive online experience for this generation of digital natives,” comments Vasily Kolesnikov, security expert at Kaspersky.
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