Health

Mulago National Referral Hospital is again in the spotlight, after being dragged to the High Court by a mother who claims that her baby went missing in the hands of Mulago staff on December 26,2015. Fatuma Nakayima and Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) have sued the Executive Director …

Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Once the world’s top producer of asbestos, Canada said Thursday it will ban the heat-resistant fibrous mineral that is woven into building and other materials but which has been found to cause cancer. In a statement, government ministers of health, science and the environment said …

In this week’s issue of The Independent: COMMENT Yahya Jams: Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s decision to cling to power after initially conceding defeat in the Dec.01 election might be a result of his fear about how the victorious opposition might treat him. That has lessons for those opposing President Yoweri …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Global progress on controlling malaria risks stalling due to an “urgent need” for more funding, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its annual report on Tuesday. Overall, the number of new cases fell by 21 percent between 2010 and 2015, and mortality rates …

   COMMENT: By George Weisz Civil-society organisations create new alliance to tackle the challenge of NCDs in East African Global health organisations and initiatives – and, in particular, the World Health Organization – have traditionally focused on infectious diseases, from malaria (their great failure) to smallpox (their greatest success). But …

Rwanda has one of the lowest HIV prevalence rates on the African continent. Over the last decade, Rwanda has managed to stabilize the prevalence of HIV; the virus that causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), at 3% in the general population aged 15-49 years. But despite or because of …

Paris, France | AFP |  Paris officials have announced a crackdown on rats which blight parks and gardens around the City of Light and are thought to easily outnumber humans. The city’s rodents were given an image overhaul in 2007 in the hit animated film “Ratatouille” which depicted them cooking …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday overturned a ruling that granted a man the right to medically-assisted death and could have opened the way to legalise euthanasia. Last year, the High Court in Pretoria had ruled that a doctor could help retired …

Rate at which girls in the age bracket of 14-24 are getting infected alarming When it comes to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Uganda is classified as a high burden country by UNAIDS, the international agency that is at the helm of mustering a joint response to the disease. High numbers of …

New interventions to offer women, children better protection Zam Kabali is a secondary school teacher in Kampala and so was her husband. In 2000, he fell sick and for the next four months, his health was only deteriorating. As he developed a rash all over his body and became sicker, …