Brazzaville, Congo | Xinhua | After a six-week surge, Africa’s fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic driven primarily by the Omicron variant, is flattening, marking the shortest-lived surge to date in the continent where cumulative cases have now exceeded 10 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. Weekly cases having …
Read More »School re-opening strategy gets Shs10bn donor boost
UK, Ireland and UNICEF support COVID-19 fight in schools | THE INDEPENDENT | As schools in Uganda reopen after a prolonged period, the UK and Ireland have partnered with UNICEF to support two key activities which aim to support safe and sustainable reopening. The focus will be on school-based surveillance …
Read More »Tourism sector recovery disrupted by budget cuts
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Tourism has asked Parliament to exempt the tourism sector from budget cuts to enable the sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. During a meeting on Thursday between Parliament’s committee on Tourism, Trade, and Industry and officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife …
Read More »Half a million doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccines wasted
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | More than 500,000 Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses have gone to waste following the failure by the Ministry of Health to use them within thirty days after being removed from the required cold chain of -80 degrees to remain potent. Dr. Daniel Kyabayinze, the Incident Commander …
Read More »WHO cautions against concurrent outbreaks of COVID-19, other diseases
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday cautioned and urged for preparedness against concurrent outbreaks of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases during the coming spring. Dr. Maria van Kerkhove from the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said at a press briefing that this could happen as population …
Read More »Ministry of health to conduct concurrent vaccination for polio, Covid-19
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health will embark on a three-day vaccination campaign against polio among children aged five years and below, starting this Thursday. This campaign that targets 8.7 million children aims to also reach children that have missed routine immunization. By the end of August, …
Read More »Insurances industry sees positive growth amidst COVID-19
Failure to operationalise the National Health Insurance Scheme and resurgence of COVID-19 may constrain demand for insurance Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Uganda’s insurance industry is projected to register consistent growth in 2022 riding on technology innovations, government’s investment in infrastructure and increased economic activities as economy opens up. …
Read More »Booster doses of current vaccines may not be enough: WHO
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that current COVID-19 vaccines may need to be updated if they are to provide continued protection against emerging variants, including Omicron. WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC), a group of 18 experts, said that although current …
Read More »MPs demand accountability for funds spent on Covid-19 vaccines
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Parliament’s Health Committee is demanding accountability for the Covid-19 vaccine funds allocated to the National Medical Stores-NMS in the last two financial years. NMS officials led by Apollo Newton Mwesigye, the NMS Board Secretary, Paul Okware, the Chief Operations Officer, and Lillian Audo, on …
Read More »Traffic police to arrest drivers, conductors without vaccination cards
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Directorate of Traffic Police has announced plans to mount checkpoints to arrest drivers and conductors without COVID-19 vaccination cards. Without mentioning the exact date, the Traffic Police Spokesperson, Faridah Nampiima told journalists on Monday they will soon start checking drivers and their conductors for …
Read More »