Bishops’ statement on genocide seen as positive In 1994, violence erupted in Rwanda after a plane carrying then president Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down. Thousands of ethnic Tutsis, a minority group who became a target after Habyarimana’s death, sought refuge in the country’s Catholic and Protestant churches. Hutu militia surrounded …
Read More »THE LAST WORD: Healthcare in poor countries
THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda Why nations that are different exhibit similar health service dysfunctions I have been rereading Melle Leenstra’s 2012 book, `Beyond the Façade; the instrumentalisation of the Zambian health sector’. It offers an interesting insight into the challenges that central African nation faces in its …
Read More »Sweden slaughters 200,000 hens on bird flu fears
Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Sweden on Friday said 200,000 chickens were being slaughtered at a farm where bird flu has been detected, following a resurgence in the virus across Europe. Traces of the H5N8 virus were found at the Aniagra farm in Morarp, southwest Sweden, on Thursday. The discovery …
Read More »Tracksuited Thai junta chief leads workout for bureaucrats
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | He’s a mercurial army general known for penning saccharine ballads and angry tirades against his critics. Now Thailand’s junta chief has launched a new eye-catching project: trimming the waistlines of the kingdom’s civil servants. Former army chief turned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha ditched his fatigues …
Read More »VIDEO: Minister refutes reports of increased Mulago baby deaths
VIDEO: The Ministry of Health has actually brought down the number of pediatric deaths at Mulago hospital-Kawempe to one child a day, down from the reported 15 deaths announced by Dr Micheal Bukenya, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary committee. According to state minister for health in charge of general duties …
Read More »Parliamentary committee closes Blue Wave mineral water factory
The parliament committee on equal opportunities has ordered the immediate closure of Blue Wave Beverages Uganda Limited factory over failure to comply with minimal health standards. The directive was issued by the chairperson of the committee Mohammad Nsereko after an interface on Tuesday with the directors of the beverages company …
Read More »Chile sues Nestle, Kellogg’s in anti-obesity drive
Santiago, Chile | AFP | Chilean authorities are suing the giant breakfast cereal-makers Nestle and Kelloggs for putting children’s cartoon characters on packets of fattening food in breach of an anti-obesity law, officials said Tuesday. The government’s National Consumer Service said in a statement it had filed a suit against …
Read More »Without a vaccine the AIDS epidemic can still end, UNAIDS boss
Over the years, the HIV/AIDS discussion has changed from tackling transmission to treatment and prevention. Worldwide, experts are now looking to a cure to end the epidemic.In Uganda, however, despite efforts to reduce new infections, what still baffles experts are the increasing infection rates in adolescents now at 66% of …
Read More »Pope gives priests permanent right to pardon abortion
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis declared Monday that all priests would have the right permanently to forgive abortion, seen as a significant outreach by the Catholic Church to women. “I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who …
Read More »HIV treatment soars, but young African women suffer
Windhoek, Namibia | AFP | The number of HIV-infected people taking anti-retroviral medicine has doubled in just five years, the UN said Monday, while highlighting high infection rates among young African women. A new report by UNAIDS said it was on course to hit a target of 30 million people …
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