Freetown, Sierra Leone | THE INDEPENDENT | Sierra Leone will begin mass vaccination against COVID-19 on Monday to further curb the spread of the disease in the country, a health official said Friday. Tom Sesay, head of the Expanded Program on Immunization under Sierra Leone’s Health Ministry, made the announcement at …
Read More »WHO praises Tanzania’s new position on COVID-19
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended Tanzania for reverting to measures meant to contain the spread of Covid-19, Tanzania’s daily The Citizen has reported. The Citizen quoted the WHO regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti who at a press briefing on Thursday, stated …
Read More »WHO investigates reports of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine blood clots
Geneva, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT | Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the Geneva-based UN health agency “systematically reviews safety signals, and is carefully assessing the current reports on the AstraZeneca vaccine.” The COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has been suspended …
Read More »Turkey confirms 14,941 new COVID-19 cases
Ankara, Turkey | THE INDEPENDENT | Turkey reported on Friday 14,941 new COVID-19 cases, including 834 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 2,850,930, according to its health ministry. The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 66 to 29,356, while the …
Read More »Agriculture body seeks USD 1.1 billion to save starving population
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said they will need up to USD 1.1billion this year to save people who are struggling with food insecurity around the world. Blaming COVID-19 disruptions for driving hunger levels higher in many countries, the organization said …
Read More »Persons with allergies advised not to take COVID-19 jab
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Health Experts have cautioned individuals with a severe history of allergic reactions to keep away from the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination. Uganda has so far acquired 940,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines through the COVAX facility, a WHO initiative to ensure equal access to vaccines by all …
Read More »Kampala recorded highest maternal deaths in 2020-Report
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | More than 170 mothers died giving birth in health facilities in Kampala. This is according to a survey released by the Ministry of Health. This is more than double the number of deaths that were reported in the 2018/2019 financial year. Findings published in the …
Read More »Health ministry yet to receive funds for vaccines
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Minister of Health Jane Ruth Aceng has said that the Ministry is yet to receive funds for the covid-19 vaccine. Although Parliament passed 18.3 billion shillings for the procurement of the AstraZeneca Vaccines from the Serum Institute of India last month, the Health Ministry …
Read More »Vaccine deliveries to Africa
Vaccines arriving at international airports is only the first step in the race for vaccine access equity COMMENT | By Dr. Solomon Zewdu | On February 24, 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Accra, Ghana. Two days later, another 504,000 doses arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. These were the …
Read More »Is Kenya’s ban on Uganda’s maize a blessing in disguise?
COMMENT | OSCORD MARK OTILE | According to Uganda’s grain trade policy, most Ugandans, especially in local governments (68%), depend on agriculture for both livelihood and income generation. The country’s major agricultural commodities include coffee, tea, cassava, maize, beans, groundnuts, rice, and bananas. Coffee and tea are traditional cash crops grown …
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