WHO ships in three evaluated candidate vaccines as outbreak evolves Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & AGENCIES | First doses of candidate vaccines against the Sudan Ebola virus are expected to arrive in Uganda in the coming days, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Supplies of one of the …
Read More »African countries scale back on COVID-19 measures
Nearly half of all countries in Africa have stopped tracing the contacts of cases | TH INDEPENDENT | With new COVID-19 cases significantly dropping, many countries are increasingly curtailing COVID-19 surveillance and quarantine measures. While the need to reopen economies and resume social life is important, the World Health Organization …
Read More »COVID-19 takes a heavy toll on women’s health
| THE INDEPENDENT | Disruptions to essential health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic are being felt broadly. As the world marks International Women’s Day March 08, a new World Health Organisation (WHO) analysis finds that women’s health services are far from being fully restored, with 40% of African countries reporting …
Read More »Africa surge in COVID-19 cases fastest this year
But deaths remain low ANALYSIS | THE INDEPENDENT | An 83% surge in new COVID-19 cases in early December in Africa, driven by the Delta and the Omicron variants, is causing fewer deaths than previous surges—but more waves could be building as updated forecasts warn that the continent may not …
Read More »More COVID-19 vaccines arrive
But experts says number of jabs too small for populations battling third wave Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Following recent calls from African leaders to manufacturers and rich countries to ensure equity in distribution of the desperately needed COVID-19 vaccines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa Region Office has …
Read More »Africa’s COVID-19 vaccine supply crunch
It adds to risk of COVID-19 resurgence With Africa-bound COVID-19 vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India delayed for the foreseeable future, slow vaccine rollouts and new variants making inroads, the risk of a new wave of infections in Africa remains high. Delays and shortages of vaccine supplies are …
Read More »WHO urges greater COVID-19 vigilance in Africa as holidays near
Large group gatherings and mobility have been identified as risk factors for increasing the spread of COVID-19 | THE INDEPENDENT | With the end of year approaching and many African families planning get-togethers, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging countries to be on high alert for a possible surge …
Read More »Mental health challenge for re-opening school
Students, teachers return with post-COVID lockdown problems Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Schools are scheduled to re-open on Oct. 15, for some 1.2 million learners who are in their final year of their respective levels of formal education. But as school administrators and parents continue mulling over how to …
Read More »How Polio was eradicated from Africa
‘Elimination of polio virus is testimony that vaccines work’ Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Dr. Alfred Driwale, the programme manager of the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization in the Ministry of Health was probably one of the happiest people on Aug. 25 when the World Health Organization (WHO) …
Read More »Six months of COVID-19 in Africa
The virus has since moved from high density urban areas to the congested slums Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Aug. 14 marked six months since COVID-19 was first detected on the continent. While the virus has accelerated in many other regions of the world, the pandemic’s evolution on the …
Read More »