Health

Paris, France | AFP | Traditional white-striped bodypainting practiced by ndigenousi communities mimics zebra stripes to reduce the number of potentially harmful horsefly bites a person receives by up to 10-fold, according to new research published Wednesday. Tribes in Africa, Australia and southeast Asia have practiced bodypainting in cultural ceremonies for …

Kampala, Uganda | AMY SLOGROVE, KATHLEEN M. POWIS & MARY-ANN DAVIES | One of the most remarkable public health successes of the last decade in southern Africa has been the reduction in the number of babies born with HIV. This was achieved through the provision of antiretroviral therapy to pregnant and …

  Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The death toll from the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has passed the 400 mark in the east and northeast, health authorities said Tuesday. “Since the start of the epidemic, the total number of cases is 658 — 609 confirmed and 49 probable. …

Washington, United States | AFP | A judge in the United States on Monday blocked an order by President Donald Trump’s administration that would have stripped free birth control from some American women. In October 2017, the Trump administration annulled an Obamacare provision that obliged employer health plans to pay for contraception. The move extended …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is targeting collection of over 6,000 units of blood in a week long countrywide blood donation drive. The NSSF’s 9th annual blood donation drive was launched today at Mulago Hospital. Speaking at the launch, the NSSF Managing Director, …

      Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Water and Sewage Corporation and Kampala Capital City Authority – KCCA are to work together to improve hygiene in the city following the Cholera outbreak. Cholera was confirmed in Kabowa, Rubaga Division early this week. This was after two …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Going vegan has many benefits. First, there’s the obvious ‘you’re not eating animals’, environmental factors and improvements to your health. On the latter, research has linked veganism with benefits such as lowered blood pressure and cho¬lesterol, as well as reducing rates of heart disease, type …

Shanghai, China | AFP | At least 145 children were administered expired polio vaccines in eastern China, state media reported, despite the government promising to prevent such lapses in the industry following a major scandal last year. Thirteen county-level health officials in Jiangsu province have been dismissed since the case …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Doctors in Zimbabwe have ended a more than month-long strike without winning a deal on higher salaries, their union said Thursday, adding the government had pledged to address their grievances. Hundreds of doctors in public hospitals walked out on December 1 demanding salaries in US …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A looming water shortage threatens cholera response activities at Naguru Hospital. Administrators at the health facility have said that they do not have enough water to run the facility beyond the next 12 hours following a crisis that has hit parts of Kampala, over the …