Copenhagen, Denmark | AFP | European governments should not cut healthcare spending during the current economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday. “We are concerned that countries will respond to this crisis in the same way they did to the recession 10 years ago… by …
Read More »Over 100,000 qualified health workers can’t find jobs – Health Ministry
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has revealed that 101,350 qualified medical workers cannot find jobs in the public service. This was contained in the new Human Resources for Health data released by the Ministry on Thursday afternoon. While the 101,350 could be redundant, under employed, have …
Read More »Scientists unravel secrets from the faults in our genes
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Imagine the body’s instruction manual, the genome: here words are genes, letters are DNA, and the equivalent of typos can have disastrous consequences. In recent years, scientists have grown increasingly fluent in the language of genome, but much remains mysterious, including the function of many of …
Read More »Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients suffered organ damage- Study
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients suffered significant organ damage after treatment, a study by researchers from Makerere University has indicated. The study conducted in April involved 56 patients who were being treated at Mulago and Entebbe hospitals. The scientists found 12.8 percent of the patients to …
Read More »WHO suspends hydroxychloroquine trial as COVID-19 treatment
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization said Monday it had temporarily suspended clinical trials of hydroxychloriquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19 being carried out across a range of countries as a precautionary measure. The decision came after publication last week of a study in The Lancet which …
Read More »Lifting lockdown restrictions should not excite you – Health Minister
Lira, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Minister of Health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has cautioned that the lifting of lockdown restrictions should not be a reason for excitement in Uganda today. Instead, the public should be worried about the possible increase in COVID-19 infections. The warning comes barely a week …
Read More »80 million children risk being exposed to measles, pneumonia
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | 80 million children in the world could face the risk of suffering from measles, diphtheria and pneumonia. In a joint statement, the World Health Organization, the United Nations International Children’s Fund-UNICEF and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, note that as many as 80 million children …
Read More »Medics struggle to administer preeclampsia treatment
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There are calls for increased research into the management of preeclampsia, a condition characterized by high blood pressure which often leads to fatal complications to mothers and babies. Experts attending a virtual meeting on Friday to discuss the disease and its complications said that …
Read More »Study finds hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine ineffective for COVID treatment
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A new study has found that the two drug regimens; Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, that have been widely used in the treatment of COVID-19 are ineffective. The drugs instead lowered the chances of survival for those who used them, according to a reported published in the …
Read More »Mattresses, blankets stolen from isolation and quarantine centres in Kitgum
Kitgum, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Kitgum District COVID-19 task force is puzzled over reports that mattresses and blankets were stolen from the isolation and quarantine centres meant to accommodate suspected cases of COVID-19 in Kitgum Municipality. Walter Tooroma, the Kitgum Municipality Mayor revealed that two of the 10 mattresses …
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