Health

Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | The World Health Organisation on Monday said global efforts to fight malaria have hit a plateau as it reported there were more cases of the killer disease in 2017 than the previous year. The latest WHO report showed that the number of malaria cases climbed …

Global fight against malaria has stalled, WHO warns Maputo, Mozambique | AFP |  The World Health Organisation on Monday said global efforts to fight malaria have hit a plateau as it reported there were more cases of the killer disease in 2017 than the previous year. The latest WHO report …

How does it truly impact survival? Kampala, Uganda | MARIA COHUT | In the medical world, there is an ongoing debate about the extent to which regularly screening for breast cancer actually improves a person’s chances of survival if cancer is detected. New research tries to settle that debate. Breast cancer …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Efforts to fight a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s restive eastern Beni region have resumed after a brief suspension following clashes, the World Health Organization said Sunday. “On Sunday, all activities have re-launched, including vaccination,” the UN health agency said in …

Havana, Cuba | AFP | Cuba announced Wednesday it will pull thousands of its doctors out of Brazil in response to president-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s “direct, contemptuous and threatening” remarks about its medical aid program. The far-right leader has repeatedly criticized the Communist-run island’s “More Doctors” program — which sends thousands …

Why some are safer than others Kampala, Uganda | GLENDA MARY DAVISON | Recent media reports revealed that digital home pregnancy tests being sold at leading pharmacies in South Africa and the UK were consistently giving false positive results. Both countries acted quickly. The home pregnancy kits, reportedly manufactured by a …

Why do you crave fatty foods after drinking even when you know it’s a bad combination? Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | You know the drill: You’ve been good all week, watching what you eat. So you accept that happy hour invitation from your co-workers to have a few drinks on Friday …

San Diego, United States | AFP | San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge sees smartphones and social media as raising an unhappy, compliant “iGen.” QUESTION: What is the iGen? ANSWER: The iGen is the generation born in 1995 and later, and they’re the first generation to spend their …

Why integrating HIV with non-HIV facilities cannot work Kampala, Uganda | HENRY ZAKUMUMPA |  In many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV services are still offered separately within health facilities. These HIV clinics have their own dedicated staff and infrastructure such as waiting areas, a separate patient flow system and they typically …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Suspected cholera cases have jumped in northeast Nigeria where Boko Haram violence has forced tens of thousands of people to seek refuge in crowded camps, the Norwegian Refugee Council said Monday. The humanitarian group said 10,000 people have been affected by the fast-spreading cholera outbreak …