AIDS: Four vaccines reach highest level of testing ever Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | HIV/AIDS prevention researchers at the Medical Researcher Council (MRC) are excited about two upcoming vaccine trials. The two trials; a PrepVac and a mosaic concept study will start in December and January 2019 respectively. The …
Read More »Ebola vaccine arrives in DR Congo amid outbreak
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Thousands of doses of Ebola vaccine arrived Wednesday in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is facing an outbreak of the deadly virus, the health ministry said. Congolese authorities declared the outbreak in the northwest region near Congo-Brazzaville on May 8, and three have …
Read More »Why HIV prevalence is 4 times higher among young women than men in Uganda
AFRICAN ARGUMENTS | Alice McCool & Brian Mutebi | In an informal settlement in central Kampala, Yusuf Byaruhanga sits within the faded pastel walls of a school. With his walking stick resting next to his chair, the 63-year-old talks openly about the fact he is HIV-positive. “Most men fear shame, stigma and …
Read More »Ghana fights malarial chemical resistance with new spray
Obuasi, Ghana | AFP | Bismark Owusu moves food and bowls from a bedroom and covers clothes and furniture with a large sheet before mixing a mosquito-killing chemical with water in his spray pack. He then puts on head-to-toe safety gear, straps the pack to his back and methodically sprays …
Read More »New HIV drug a game changer?
TLD to be available in July but experts warn of sustainability of supply and lack of sensitization Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | Starting in July, HIV/AIDs patients picking their Anti-Retroviral (ARV) drug refills might notice a difference; they might be given prescriptions of one pill a day instead of …
Read More »US first lady Melania Trump hospitalized with ‘benign’ kidney condition
Washington, United States | AFP | US First Lady Melania Trump had surgery Monday for what aides called a “benign” kidney condition, and will remain in hospital for the rest of the week. The Slovenia-born wife of Donald Trump underwent an embolization procedure, said her communications director Stephanie Grisham. “The …
Read More »WHO preparing for the worst in DR Congo Ebola outbreak
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization said Friday it was preparing for “the worst case scenario” in a fresh outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “We are very concerned, and we are planning for all scenarios, including the worst case scenario,” WHO’s head of …
Read More »Nigeria says will prevent Ebola spread from DR Congo
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | The Nigerian government on Wednesday said it was acting to prevent the spread of Ebola from Democratic Republic of Congo where an outbreak of the disease has killed 17 people. The federal government had put in place an emergency programme to monitor all border activity …
Read More »Ebola: Profile of a much-feared killer
Paris, France | AFP | A factfile on the deadly Ebola virus, a new outbreak of which has killed 17 people in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the DRC government and World Health Organization (WHO). – What it is – Ebola — formally known as Ebola virus disease, or …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari flies to UK to see doctor
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | President Muhammadu Buhari flew out of Nigeria on Tuesday, a source at the capital’s airport said, less than a day after Buhari announced he was heading to Britain for medical reasons. “I will be travelling to the United Kingdom tomorrow, to see my doctor, at …
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