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Today in Africa — Nov. 2, 2026: South Africa & Rwanda Set to Lose U.S. Duty-Free Trade Access by January 1; $40-a-Year Generic HIV Prevention Drug Gets Approval

OkayAfrica has scoured the Internet for today’s major news stories, so you don't have to. On Nov. 2, coverage includes: South Africa’s 28% drop in farm exports to the U.S. and its $2.14 billion agricultural trade surplus; the generic’s rollout to 120 low- and middle-income countries; and more.

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Lihle Z. Mtshali Today in Africa & Newsletters Editor
Cyril Ramaphosa speaks while Donald Trump listens during a seated Oval Office meeting.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called the potential loss of AGOA from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration "devastating" but said South Africa is seeking new markets, including a zero-tariff deal with China.

Every day, OkayAfrica shares a roundup of news we’re following but haven’t published as full articles. These short updates cover what’s happening across the continent — in culture, politics, and beyond. For more stories like these, check out our News page for updates from across the regions.

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U.S. Moves to Suspend South Africa and Rwanda From AGOA Duty-Free Trade Access

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement today, Monday, November 2, that Washington intends to suspend South Africa and Rwanda from duty-free access to the U.S. market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by January 1, 2027. Greer said President Donald Trump found that both governments are "engaging in practices that are inconsistent with AGOA's eligibility criteria." South Africa has been AGOA's largest beneficiary, exporting about $1.7 billion worth of goods to the U.S. under the program in 2025. Washington cited trade barriers, rule-of-law, and human rights concerns in Rwanda, which it suspended in 2018. For South Africa, it cited barriers to U.S. trade and investment, corruption, and threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. Neither country has responded.

Sanctions, Demands, and Economic Stakes

  • The U.S. sanctioned Rwanda's Ministry of Defense on October 28, saying it directed troops across North and South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to operate alongside rebels. Rwanda denies backing the Refoundation of the Nation rebels, formerly AFC-M23.

  • The Trump administration has cracked down on South Africa over what Trump says is the persecution of white people, which South Africa's government calls a falsehood spread by fringe groups. The U.S. has also objected to South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

  • U.S. Ambassador to South Africa L. Brent Bozell III says the U.S. made five demands in November 2025. Three remain unmet in Washington's view: condemning the "Kill the Boer" chant, making rural crime a priority crime with a funded plan, and creating equity-equivalent alternatives to Black economic empowerment ownership rules in telecoms and mining. The State Department also announced visa restrictions on South African officials.

  • South Africa's trade ministry said last week it is prepared for a negative outcome and remains open to dialogue. It noted AGOA exports are about 10% of its total exports to the U.S. and 1% of its global exports. Industry estimates say more than 125,000 jobs, including 86,000 direct manufacturing jobs, depend on AGOA trade, and autos are its second-largest earner in U.S. trade.

  • Congress voted to extend South Africa's eligibility until 2028, but the executive still has the final say. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called the potential loss "devastating" but said South Africa is seeking new markets, including a zero-tariff deal with China, and added, "we should not go out and jump off tall buildings."

  • South Africa’s agricultural exports to the U.S. fell 28% in the second quarter of 2026, partly because exporters moved shipments earlier ahead of expected tariff changes. Even so, overall farm exports still rose 9.1% to $4.12 billion, with a $2.14 billion trade surplus, as shipments to Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and China surged.

FDA Approves Generic Twice-Yearly HIV Prevention Shot for 120 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic version of lenacapavir, the world's only twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV, in a step toward making it available faster and more cheaply in 120 low- and middle-income countries, with a large portion of the 120 countries covered by the manufacturer Gilead's voluntary licensing agreements being located in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of North Africa. The manufacturer and the groups that helped speed up its development announced the approval today, Monday, November 2. The generic is expected to cost $40 a year per person, the same as daily preventive pills, and the shots nearly eliminated new infections in two groundbreaking studies of high-risk people. India-based Dr. Reddy's Laboratories developed the generic under an agreement brokered by Unitaid, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and Wits RHI, an African health research institute. The FDA approval is "tentative," its standard designation for generics while the original drug is still under patent, and it can speed regulatory approval in many other countries.

Access, Cost, and What Comes Next

  • Gilead has been the sole supplier until now, and demand has outstripped supply in low- and middle-income countries. Last year, it signed royalty-free licenses with six generic manufacturers covering specific countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The other manufacturers’ versions have not yet been approved by the FDA. Gilead plans to prioritize 18 of the 120 covered countries, which together carry 70% of the HIV burden across the agreement’s territory. Fifteen are in Africa: Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The other three are the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

  • Generic lenacapavir should become available in some places within weeks, though it may take longer in countries that require their own approval process.

  • Users must be tested for HIV before starting and with each injection, since drug-resistant HIV has been found in people with an undiagnosed infection. Common side effects include injection site reactions, headache, and nausea.

  • According to the World Health Organization, 41 million people worldwide live with HIV, and 570,000 died of HIV-related causes last year. Carolyn Amole of the Clinton Health Access Initiative says the generic could help scale PrEP to the 20 million people who need it, but that funding and delivery are still needed.

WHO Chief Says Attacks in Northern Ethiopia Are Pushing the Region's Health System Toward Collapse

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today, Monday, November 2, that attacks in northern Ethiopia, which reportedly killed children including a newborn, are pushing the region's fragile health system closer to collapse. In a statement on X, he said children were among those reportedly killed at the Jaari 2 displacement camp in Amhara, and that several people were reportedly killed in Rama, in neighboring Tigray, while trying to get food. Tedros gave no casualty totals or dates, did not name who was responsible, and said drone attacks and civilian casualties are becoming frequent across Ethiopia. Hospitals in the north lack health workers, medicines, and equipment; ambulance services are severely limited, and insecurity is blocking medical deliveries. WHO and other United Nations agencies are working to deliver more supplies. No government response was immediately available.

Rebel Alliance, Training, and Sudan's Complaint

  • Renewed fighting has effectively shattered the November 2022 peace agreement between the federal government and Tigray rebel forces. Ethiopian authorities have accused Tedros, an ethnic Tigrayan who served as Ethiopia's foreign and health minister, of political bias, which he denies.

  • Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said government leaders are undergoing military training at Hurso in the east. The Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, a seven-group opposition coalition formed in September to remove Abiy's government, said it approved plans to deepen cooperation, coordinate campaigns, and expand diplomatic engagement.

  • Ethiopia's Orthodox Church says at least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in separate attacks in Oromia. U.S. Ambassador Ervin J. Massinga condemned reported targeted killings in the Arsi zone and called for an investigation.

  • Meanwhile, Sudan has filed complaints against Ethiopia with the UN Security Council and the African Union's Peace and Security Council. It accuses the Rapid Support Forces of using Ethiopian territory to launch drone attacks on civilian sites and power stations in Sudan.

  • Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council alleges 70 assaults involving 187 drones between February 15 and October 27, killing or wounding 484 civilians and killing 176 soldiers. Ethiopia accuses Sudan's military of backing Tigrayan rebels, which Khartoum denies.

In Brief: More Stories Today

Russia Agrees to Stop Recruiting Ghanaians for the War in Ukraine

Ghana says Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to stop recruiting Ghanaians to fight in Ukraine, after President John Mahama raised the issue on the sidelines of last week's Russia-Africa summit in Moscow. Putin reportedly said he will ban Ghanaians from taking part, whether through irregular recruitment or voluntary enlistment. As of mid-August, more than 270 Ghanaians had fought for Russia; at least 62 had been killed, and 15 were missing. Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, and The Gambia have also complained that their citizens were lured with false promises of work or education. Last week Uganda said 27 of its citizens had been killed or were presumed dead in the Russia-Ukraine war. 

DR Congo's Ebola Death Toll Reaches 5,372

The Democratic Republic of Congo's National Institute of Biomedical Research reports 10,414 confirmed Ebola cases and 5,372 deaths as of October 30, a case fatality rate of 51.6%. The institute said the jump in reported deaths came from a retrospective data adjustment with the Ituri Province outbreak team, not a single-day surge. The Bundibugyo strain has no known vaccine or treatment, and Africa CDC says about 80% of new cases come from outside monitored contacts. Cases have also been recorded in Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Uganda Begins Withdrawing Troops From Somalia

Uganda said today, Monday, November 2, it has started a phased drawdown that will end its almost two-decade deployment helping Somalia fight al Shabaab. Troops deployed under a bilateral arrangement are leaving first, and all forces, including those under the African Union mission AUSSOM, will be out by the end of 2027, army spokesperson Chris Magezi said. Uganda has about 4,500 troops in AUSSOM, and a mission letter warned the withdrawal could leave parts of Lower Shabelle vulnerable to attacks. Somalia's Ali Omar said things are "not dire now" but could become a problem if troops pull out suddenly.

Western Sahara Refugees Face Uncertainty After UN Mission Ends

The UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, in place since 1991, has ended after Russia vetoed a US-drafted resolution reaffirming Morocco's autonomy plan and a competing Russian draft was defeated, leaving the mission without a renewed mandate. In the Tindouf camps in southern Algeria, refugees like 51-year-old Binina Mohamed say they want stability after a lifetime of displacement. Algeria and the Polisario say over 160,000 people live in the camps, UNHCR assists about 90,000 of the most vulnerable, and Morocco disputes both figures. The World Food Program says more than 80% of residents rely on humanitarian aid for basic food.

South Africans Vote Wednesday in Local Elections Testing the ANC

South Africans vote on Wednesday to elect councilors who will choose mayors in major cities, testing whether the ruling ANC's decline continues after it lost its parliamentary majority in 2024. Johannesburg, with nearly 5 million people, has had nine mayors in 10 years, and candidates include the opposition Democratic Alliance's Helen Zille, ActionSA's Herman Mashaba, and the Economic Freedom Fighters' Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng. Water problems affect cities across the country, including a stomach illness outbreak in Pretoria that sent more than 500 people for treatment. Illegal immigration is also a major campaign issue, with ActionSA and the Patriotic Alliance making opposition to it central to their campaigns.

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