Pfizer and BioNTech to test a candidate | THE INDEPENDENT | Pfizer and BioNTech announced a new clinical trial for universal COVID-19 vaccine candidates.They say the candidates will include T-cell enhancing shots and pan-coronavirus shots that “protect against the broader family of viruses and its mutations.” A key challenge for …
Read More »Kenya, WHO launches hub for handling health emergencies in Africa
Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the Kenyan government on Saturday launched the Health Emergency Hub to enhance response to health emergencies in Africa. A statement from the WHO released in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital said the hub will lay the foundation for a …
Read More »Mulago agrees to open ‘Berlin Wall’, Medical School celebrates
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mulago Specialized National Referral hospital has finally bowed to pressure and reopened the gate connecting to the Makerere University Medical School. The closure of the gate had fueled rumors that it was an extension of the ongoing fights between the two institutions. However, the Principal Administrator of Mulago …
Read More »Cooking with ‘dirty’ fuels
It affects women’s mental health, say researchers | MATHEW SHUPLER | About 2.6 billion people – nearly half of the global population, most of them in Africa, Asia and central and south America – rely on biomass fuels, like wood and charcoal, or kerosene to cook meals, heat and light …
Read More »Antimicrobial resistance
Lack of diagnostic facilities escalates the problem Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | The problem of antimicrobial resistance in infectious agents has been rising, and there is global concern that in the absence of interventions to reverse this trend, the means to treat infectious diseases will be limited and out …
Read More »Crisis as cases of multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis rises in Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Sixty Ugandans being treated for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis have recently succumbed to the disease. Medical doctors say the number is too high since the globally allowed figure is 5 percent of all detected cases. Annually, an estimated 1,500 cases of MDRTB are registered in …
Read More »Uganda to carry out multi-drug resistant TB survey
Only 33 percent of patients with MDRTB are able to access treatment Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health is to carry out a survey to determine the burden of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis(MDRTB) in the country. The nationwide survey will give a better picture of the prevalence of …
Read More »Uganda monkeypox samples come back negative
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Monkeypox samples from 24 suspected cases have turned out to be negative, according to the Uganda Virus Research Institute. The samples were taken to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in South Africa following an outbreak of the disease in more than 80 countries in …
Read More »Rwanda to host the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | THE INDEPENDENT | The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors has approved the establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation, a new groundbreaking institution that will significantly enhance Africa’s access to the technologies that underpin the manufacture of medicines, vaccines, and other pharmaceutical products. The Foundation …
Read More »WHO ramps up response in Eastern Africa amid looming health crisis
Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday it’s intensifying its operations to the looming health crisis in eastern Africa amid acute food insecurity. Ibrahima Soce Fall, WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergency Response said the health risks in the region are increasing while access to healthcare is …
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