NMS innovates as critics call for improved forecasting drug needs Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | A Feb.12 Ministry of Health announcement that expired drugs to the tune of 1500 tons in stores at 6619 health facilities across the country would be incinerated has incensed many. Critics wonder how such a …
Read More »Uganda’s National Medical stores set to get additional Sh41 billion
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda parliament’s budget committee has started scrutinising a Sh41b additional funding request for the National Medical Stores (NMS) to meet a funding deficit for purchase of essential medicines and health supplies. State minister for finance David Bahati has however faced some tough questioning by …
Read More »Myanmar seizes drugs and equipment worth $7 mn in lab raid
Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Myanmar troops seized $7 million worth of narcotics, precursors and equipment in a raid on drug labs in the restive north, the army said Monday, as it continues a war against ethnic rebels accused of profiting from the drug trade. Soldiers and local officials found …
Read More »THIS WEEK: Health Ministry set to burn expired drugs
THIS WEEK: Health Ministry set to burn expired drugs Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | 1500 tonnes of drugs are set to be burnt by the Ministry of Health after they expired in stores. Without giving specifics what particular drugs are to be burnt, Permanent Secretary Diana Atwiine told journalists on …
Read More »Govt to dispose of 1,200 tons of expired, unwanted medicines
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has embarked on a drive to dispose of expired and obsolete medicines and other health supplies from 6,619 Health facilities in Uganda, both Government owned and Private Not For Profit (PNFP). Currently, the quantities of expired medicines all over …
Read More »Morocco seizes more than 500 kg of cocaine
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Moroccan authorities said Sunday they had seized nearly 541 kilos (1,200 pounds) of cocaine in a container from Latin America which arrived in Casablanca. Six people including a Brazilian suspected of being the “mastermind of a criminal network” were arrested, according to the Central Bureau …
Read More »Tanzania clamps down on cannabis
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzanian authorities have stepped up an escalating war on cannabis by destroying 14 hectares (35 acres) of the crop in the northern province of Arusha in recent days. Saturday alone saw eight hectares laid waste at the Meru forest reserve following another six acres earlier …
Read More »Why is it so difficult for scientists to discover new drugs?
Over-reliance on and misuse of antibiotics has led to warnings of a future without effective medicines. Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | It’s a tale of scientific discovery taught the world over: the serendipitous find of a mould that revolutionised modern medicine. Almost 90 years ago, Alexander Fleming returned from holiday to …
Read More »Mexican minister suggests legalizing marijuana in tourist spots
Mexico City, Mexico | AFP | Mexico’s tourism minister Thursday proposed legalizing recreational marijuana use in Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo, two of the country’s most popular states for tourists. Enrique de la Madrid told journalists in Mexico City it is “absurd” that Mexico, which approved the scientific and medical …
Read More »Tanzania’s Magufuli suspends its shipping ‘flag of convenience’
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | President John Magufuli on Friday suspended the registration of foreign vessels in Tanzania, following the seizure of drugs aboard ships flying his country’s flag. He also ordered an investigation into the 470 vessels currently registered as Tanzanian to determine their activities and whether they are …
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