Ottawa, Canada | Xinhua | The Public Health Agency of Canada on Monday confirmed a total of 235 cases of monkeypox in the country as of June 24. In a statement, the health agency provided an update on the confirmed cases, including two cases from British Columbia, four from Alberta, …
Read More »Novartis renews its commitment to neglected tropical diseases and malaria elimination
Kampala, Uganda | Patricia Akankwatsa | On June 23, Novartis endorsed the Kigali Declaration on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and announced a five-year financial commitment of $250 million to fight against NTDs and malaria in conjunction with the Kigali Summit on Malaria and NTDs alongside the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government …
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 these trends, the means to treat infectious diseases will be limited and out of …
Read More »Stanbic Bank, Prudential unveil joint medical insurance cover
MediProtect is open to the bank customers and any of their nominated dependents, irrespective of age Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Stanbic customers are now able to acquire for themselves and loved ones, annual medical insurance cover of up to Shs20million, courtesy of Stanbic MediProtect, a joint offer by …
Read More »WHO: Monkeypox not yet a global public health emergency
Kigali, Rwanda | THE INDEPENDENT | The monkeypox outbreak does not currently constitute a global public health concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, although the agency called for intense response efforts to control further spread. The rare viral disease, occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and …
Read More »Africa CDC warns spike in monkeypox cases
Monkeypox has emerged as the most prevalent orthopoxvirus infection in humans Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The Africa Center for Disease Control (Africa CDC) warned monkeypox cases are increasing across the African continent. Ahmed Ogwell, acting director of Africa CDC, while addressing journalists in his period briefing on Thursday, said …
Read More »Health ministry drafting policy for mandatory sickle cell screening
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health is drafting a policy that will require couples to compulsorily screen for sickle cell before getting married. Charles Kiyaga, the Director of the sickle cell program at the ministry revealed this on Thursday at a convention attended by policymakers, scientists, and …
Read More »HIV patients cautioned against abandoning treatment
Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Persons Living with HIV/AIDS in greater Arua have been urged to stick to treatment despite the soaring food and other commodity prices. Currently, there are over 400 registered HIV positive patients in Arua city and over 600 in Arua district, who are struggling to survive. …
Read More »Africa battling shortage of health workers: Report
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Africa does not have enough health workers to meet the needs of its population, according to a new study. The study which was published in the British Medical Journal surveyed health workforce in 47 countries between January 2018 and April 2019. The findings show that …
Read More »Beer consumption good for men
Studies reveal that drinking low to moderate amounts of beer reduces the risk of heart disease FEATURE | AGENCIES | In a recent article published in the `Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry’, scientists analysed the effect of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beer ingestion on gut microbiota. The fermented extract …
Read More »