In a special edition of The Evidence, Claudia Hammond and her panel of experts focus on Africa, on how the more than fifty countries on the continent, home to 1.3 billion people and the most youthful population in the world, have fared, two years into the pandemic.

African scientists have been key players in the global response, sequencing variants of the virus and sharing this vital information with the world.

But there’s been huge frustration and anger on the continent about the way Africa has, yet again, found itself at the back of the global queue for life-saving tests, treatments and vaccines.

The sense that the global health system isn’t set up to deliver for Africa has prompted what’s been described as unprecedented solidarity, and galvanised calls for increased healthcare independence, self-sufficiency and a new public health order for the continent.

This includes plans to manufacture the vaccines, medicines and tests that Africa needs to increase its health security in Africa for Africa.

In The Evidence, the head of the World Health Organisation in Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, tells Claudia it has been “extremely devastating” to watch history repeating itself (just like the HIV pandemic and the millions of African lives lost because they were unable to access life-saving antiretroviral medication) as international solidarity faltered and Africa struggled to access vital supplies.

The Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal (along with centres in South Africa and Rwanda) has a key role in pan-African plans for increased health sufficiency. Yellow Fever vaccines have long been made here but the plan is that later this year, mRNA vaccines for Covid-19 and eventually for other diseases like Lassa and Rift Valley fevers, will be manufactured at this and other sites.

Institute head Professor Amadou Sall, a virologist and public health specialist says producing vaccines, medicines and tests will reduce the dependency of Africa on the global community and increase health security.

Dr Yodi Alakija, co-chair of the African Union’s Vaccine Delivery Alliance and WHO Special Envoy to the Access to Covid Tools Accelerator, the ACT-Accelerator, says the pandemic has laid bare a failure of global political leadership, where a life in Lagos has been viewed as worth less than a life in London.

The equity gaps in access to the tools needed to fight Covid-19, she says, must be closed, and there are hopes that a high level global conference, “Port to Arms: Africa Responds – Vaccine Equity, Delivery and Manufacturing”, in Abuja, Nigeria, in February, will lead to a renewed commitments to vaccinate the world and end this pandemic.

Produced by: Fiona Hill and Maria Simons Studio Engineer: Donald McDonald and Tim Heffer

After serving a nine-month doping ban last year, Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana is confident of success at the Africa Cup of Nations.

In the future, 10 years from now, will our fingers still reach for a laughing face with crying eyes? Will Unicode and its strict approval process for new emoji be relevant at all? Possibly not. We travel to Zimbabwe to hear how some designers are bypassing Silicon Valley by building their own emoji and sticker sets that reflect life in Africa. And we end the series in Shanghai, where we hear how in some parts of Asia, emoji have already been forgotten.

This is the curious story of how a child refugee ended up in Malta accused of the most serious crime - of being a terrorist. Lamin was 13 when he ran away from his home in Guinea in search of a better life. He had never even heard of Malta. But after attempting the perilous sea crossing to Europe, he and two other teenagers were accused of hijacking the ship, the El Hiblu, that rescued them and brought them to shore. If found guilty he and the young men could face life in prison. Two years on the case has still not been taken to trial and the three remain in limbo. For Assignment, the BBC’s Europe correspondent Jean Mackenzie travels to Malta to hear Lamin’s story, as she searches for answers about what happened on board the ship that day and why Malta is taking such a tough stance on these young migrants.

Producer Kate Vandy.

Africa is a continent of 1.3 billion people, but makes less than 1% of the lifesaving vaccines it needs. The continent’s 54 nations are almost entirely dependent on agencies like Unicef and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for these essential pharmaceuticals. But the pandemic of 2020 has been a harsh lesson in the dangers of relying on other countries and agencies for support. Numerous vaccine clinical trials have been conducted in Africa, yet these nations still find themselves at back of the queue for Covid-19 jabs. However, efforts are now underway to change this. At a conference in early April, African leaders pledged to manufacture 60% of the vaccines they need by 2040. But is this an achievable goal?

Suspect Badreddin Abdalla Adam was shot and killed by armed police following the Glasgow stabbings on Friday.

Adventurer and journalist Simon Reeve heads to east Africa to uncover the stories behind the nation's favourite drink. While we drink millions of cups of the stuff each day, how many of us know where our tea actually comes from? The surprising answer is that most of the leaves that go into our everyday teabags do not come from India or China but are bought from an auction in the coastal city of Mombasa in Kenya.

From here, Simon follows the tea trail through the epic landscapes of Kenya and Uganda and meets some of the millions of people who pick, pack and transport our tea. Drinking tea with everyone from Masai cattle herders to the descendants of the original white tea planters, Simon learns that the industry that supplies our everyday cuppa is not immune to the troubles of the continent - poverty, low wages and child labour.