Features

By Flavia Nassaka Joseph Kanyike tested positive for HIV in 2009. In 2011, the 42-year old was diagnosed with Kaposi’s sarcoma. This is a viral cancer that causes wounds on the skin and inside the body which, in most cases, are impossible to cure. Kanyike’s wound is at the back …

By Flavia Nassaka Uganda’s elephant numbers increase but conservationists remain wary of poachers Globally, elephants are under threat with the increase in demand for ivory. With estimates showing about 96 elephants being killed every day, global figures indicate that their number has decreased by 62% over the last decade. The …

By Flavia Nassaka Reflecting on the country’s advancement in education, healthcare As Uganda marks 53 years of Independence from Great Britain, the country has a lot to celebrate. Key among them is that Ugandans now live longer as life expectancy has increased from 45 years in 1962 to 59 in …

By Flavia Nassaka Experts call for shift from CD4 to Viral load testing, suppression The biggest challenge HIV/AIDS treatment providers face today is achieving and maintaining undetectable levels of HIV in the blood of patients. Dr. Williams Moullado, the HIV monitoring officer at Medecins San Forentieres (MSF), an international medical …

By Agencies Global health experts have found that processed meat such as hot dogs, ham and sausages can cause bowel cancer Red meat is also “probably” carcinogenic, with associations mainly with bowel cancer, but also with pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report. The …

By Flavia Nassaka The Ministry of Health together with development partners have earmarked Shs33.9 billion to finance a three day mass immunization exercise due to start on Oct 03. The Acting Manager of Uganda National Expanded Programme for  Immunization (UNEPI), Dr. Henry Luzze said in the three day countrywide exercise, …

By Flavia Nassaka Even if you work 24/7 with computers Do you work in a medium or large organization with a lot of office based staff? Do most of them use computers for long periods? If so, what proportion of workers wears specs or spectacles, eyeglass or merely glasses if …

By Ronald Musoke Wakisa Ministries gives unwanted teenage mothers a home Behind the high walls of a spacious house at Bakuli, a suburb about 5km west of Kampala city centre is Wakisa Ministries— Uganda’s only teenage pregnancy crisis centre. The 27 girls we found here when we visited should normally …

By Flavia Nassaka Research done by Uganda National Academy of Sciences (UNAS) and the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP) Uganda has revealed that surveillance of antibiotics is not routinely performed in Uganda as information on antibiotic resistance remains limited. The report says resistance has not been investigated consistently to the …

By Flavia Nassaka There is a huge disparity in diagnosis and treatment due to high costs involved Cancer may become the next health crisis if Ugandans do not change their lifestyles, according to Dr. Gerald Mutungi, the Programme Manager Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health. Mutungi …