By Julius Businge Five reasons why taking that HIV test is long overdue On Nov. 8, President Yoweri Museveni took an HIV test at Kiswa Health Center IV in Bugolobi before the glare of cameras in gesture he believes would re-energize the fight against the disease by curbing new infections. …
Read More »Mobile-driven agriculture
By Stephen Kafeero Amid limitations, small holder farmers are finding a great ally in their mobile phones He handles his Huawei Ideos Android-powered smart phone like a treasure. Indeed, the gadget has become the most powerful tool in his work. Two years ago; Bbosa, a farmer in Kiyola Parish in …
Read More »Population explosion
By Joan Akello Population experts, ministers disagree on need to control population growth As Uganda’s population continues to expand, there does not seem to be an agreement between population experts and politicians about the need to put a brake on it. However, the population experts though not entirely counting on …
Read More »Beating the ‘Resource Curse’
By Larry Diamond and Jack Mosbacher Novel recommendations for ensuring that Uganda’s ‘Black Gold’ cash benefits as many citizens as possible Uganda is awash in oil. But how can the country avoid the negative development outcomes experienced by every previous oil-rich country in Africa? Uganda’s legislators have tried to craft …
Read More »A trouble-free pregnancy
Twelve easy steps to getting a healthy pregnancy and baby Uganda is a country with one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. Whenever a mother or a baby dies during pregnancy or labour, most people normally blame the health worker or health facility for the …
Read More »Goodbye Bernard Onyango: 1930 – 2013
By Ronald Musoke Uganda’s favourite registrar bows out Bernard Onyango, 83, passed away recently after distinguishing himself in a 30-year stint in the academic Registrar’s Office at Makerere University, and another decade as the founding registrar at Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi. A his requiem mass at Makerere University’s St. Augustine …
Read More »Inside the placebo effect
By Ted J. Kaptchuk and John M. Kelley This “placebo drift” poses significant challenges to detecting drug-placebo differences For many medical researchers and followers of science, few things are more unsettling than the placebo effect. How can an inert sugar pill have therapeutic value? The answer requires understanding the context …
Read More »Dealing with stress
By Independent Reporter Six stress management strategies everyone must learn It almost certain that we have all been there before – feeling stressed and burned out. Stress – a biological and psychological response experienced on encountering a threat that we feel we do not have the resources to deal with …
Read More »The end of malaria?
By Stephen Kafeero Promising new vaccine under trial provides hope to millions British pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline, says a malaria vaccine could be on the market by 2015. This would be the first vaccine for the disease that has claimed millions of people especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The global NGO, Malaria …
Read More »Shock treatment for VIPs at Mulago
By Ronald Musoke So why do some doctors there say the hospital is getting better? At around 11 O’clock on Oct. 7, the most vivid scene that symbolises Mulago Hospital’s current pitiable state unfolded as a high profile delegation visited one of the two maternity wards on the fifth floor …
Read More »