Kampala, Uganda | PATRCIA AKANKWATSA | While malaria remains a major public health challenge, its impact extends far beyond the immediate illness and death it causes. One of its less recognised but critical consequences is the severe strain it places on blood supplies, particularly in malaria-endemic countries like Uganda. In Uganda, …
Read More »Nigeria rolls out malaria vaccine
The vaccine being introduced is being given to children between five and 15 months old Nigeria | AGENCIES | Nigeria, which has more malaria deaths than any other country in the world, has begun rolling out a vaccine against the disease for the first time. The West African nation accounts for …
Read More »DR Congo’s disease X
How worried should we be about it? DRC | AGENCIES | They’re calling it Disease X. It’s a mysterious illness circulating in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Current figures by Dec.06: almost 400 cases and 79 deaths. International health authorities are monitoring. It all started on October …
Read More »Funding Africa HIV fight
Progress has been made but donor funds are drying up – what must change ANALYSIS | YOGAN PILLAY & MAGDA ROBALO | Remarkable progress has been made against the HIV epidemic in the last two decades. However, a loss of momentum in fighting HIV across the globe threatens to undermine the …
Read More »Study: Campaign health workers satisfied with cashless payments
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Evidence from a study by Makerere University School of Public Health suggests that adopting digital payment for health workers involved in short-term contracts for health campaigns helps eliminate fraud and other challenges associated with handling cash. Speaking at a results dissemination event, Prof. Peter Waiswa, …
Read More »For the first time, elimination of cancer is within reach
We have the tools and the opportunity but to eliminate cervical cancer requires determined political leadership COMMENT | DR TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS | Every year, over 350,000 women die from cervical cancer and another 660,000 are diagnosed. As a consequence, children are orphaned, families impoverished, and communities diminished by the loss …
Read More »Making a new antibiotic
Two experts explain why it is so difficult ANALYSIS | ALISTAIR FARLEY & HELEN SMITH | The discovery of antibiotics is one of the greatest medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. Before antibiotics, childbirth, a urinary tract infection, or a simple cut could lead to death from infection. Antibiotics, a type …
Read More »Long Covid in Africa: ‘I Don’t Think Govts Are Taking It Seriously Enough’ – Prof Resia Pretorius
INTERVIEW | Juanita Williams from allAfrica interviews Professor Resia Pretorius from Stellenbosch University, Pretorius about her extensive research on Long Covid. A 2023 study published in Nature, involving over 29,000 patients, highlighted that nearly half exhibited Long Covid symptoms, with fatigue being the most debilitating. This finding underscores the ongoing burden …
Read More »Blinding disease affecting premature babies
Lack of information and screening affects Retinopathy of Prematurity treatment Mbale, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a potentially blinding eye disease affecting premature infants, remains a significant healthcare challenge in Uganda. ROP occurs when abnormal blood vessels develop in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back …
Read More »Diabetes: Why regular screening is crucial for prevention and management
Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Health workers have urged the public to consider regular screening for diabetes to make treatment easier and avoid complications associated with the disease. Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough of the hormone insulin, which regulates blood glucose, …
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