Nearly two weeks have passed since the coup in Niger, and the two men making competing claims to power have gone quiet in recent days.

President Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled Chad for more than 30 years and became an important ally to Western nations in the fight against Islamic extremism in Africa, has died.

In a separate briefing Thursday, a World Health Organization official said just 51% of health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa have basic water services. Health experts say Africa has fared far better than the dire predictions made early in the pandemic. Spurred by this year's turmoil over racial injustice and inequality, African nations again demanded a permanent seat on the U.N.'s most powerful body, the Security Council — or even two. The council reflects a world order of 75 years ago that few people in Africa recognize, some said. “Unfortunately," he said, “less than two months later, a fifth horseman of the apocalypse, very destructive, the coronavirus, has appeared.”