Havana, Cuba | AFP | Cuba announced Wednesday it will pull thousands of its doctors out of Brazil in response to president-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s “direct, contemptuous and threatening” remarks about its medical aid program. The far-right leader has repeatedly criticized the Communist-run island’s “More Doctors” program — which sends thousands …
Read More »MOTORING: New Mercedes-Benz A200 sets new benchmark
Kampala, Uganda | MOTORING | As is the norm with every new model now introduced in the modern era, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class has grown a little by being 120mm longer, 16mm higher and 6mm wider, but 20kg lighter. And in the quest for ever better efficiency, which every manufacturer is under …
Read More »Self-medical tests
Why some are safer than others Kampala, Uganda | GLENDA MARY DAVISON | Recent media reports revealed that digital home pregnancy tests being sold at leading pharmacies in South Africa and the UK were consistently giving false positive results. Both countries acted quickly. The home pregnancy kits, reportedly manufactured by a …
Read More »Fatty foods and alcohol
Why do you crave fatty foods after drinking even when you know it’s a bad combination? Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | You know the drill: You’ve been good all week, watching what you eat. So you accept that happy hour invitation from your co-workers to have a few drinks on Friday …
Read More »Smartphones raising a mentally fragile generation
San Diego, United States | AFP | San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge sees smartphones and social media as raising an unhappy, compliant “iGen.” QUESTION: What is the iGen? ANSWER: The iGen is the generation born in 1995 and later, and they’re the first generation to spend their …
Read More »Providing HIV services
Why integrating HIV with non-HIV facilities cannot work Kampala, Uganda | HENRY ZAKUMUMPA | In many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV services are still offered separately within health facilities. These HIV clinics have their own dedicated staff and infrastructure such as waiting areas, a separate patient flow system and they typically …
Read More »175 dead, over 10,000 affected by Nigeria cholera outbreak
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Suspected cholera cases have jumped in northeast Nigeria where Boko Haram violence has forced tens of thousands of people to seek refuge in crowded camps, the Norwegian Refugee Council said Monday. The humanitarian group said 10,000 people have been affected by the fast-spreading cholera outbreak …
Read More »Pneumonia to kill nearly 11 mn children by 2030, study warns
Paris, France | AFP | Pneumonia will kill nearly 11 million children under five by 2030, experts warned Monday on a global day aimed at raising awareness of the biggest infectious killer of infants worldwide. While in the developed world the severe lung infection mainly affects the elderly, in developing …
Read More »Fighting HIV/AIDS
Uganda’s tough choice between prevention and treatment Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | Uganda will in 2019 launch two researches aimed at preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. The first, dubbed ‘Deliver’,will be based on ring laced with the HIV drug Dapivirinebeing placed in the vagina and an oral drugTruvadataken daily …
Read More »Death toll tops 200 in DR Congo Ebola outbreak
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to more than 200, the health ministry said on Saturday. The ministry said it had recorded 201 deaths from the virus and that 291 cases have been confirmed since …
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