Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | AFP | The Gates Foundation will invest $45 million in nutrition and family planning programs in Burkina Faso, Melinda Gates said on Tuesday during a visit to the capital Ouagadougou. “The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will invest $45 million (23.5 billion FCFA) over three years in …
Read More »S.Africa’s Winnie Mandela hospitalised
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s Winnie Madikizela-Mandela who is popularly known as “the mother of the nation” has been admitted to hospital with a kidney infection, the family of her ex-husband Nelson Mandela said Tuesday. Winnie, 81, is an icon of the anti-apartheid struggle and was persecuted …
Read More »Why blood shortage hit Uganda’s hospitals
Donor cuts, low government funding contribute, but the bigger problem could be you Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | This is not a good time to be sick and in need of a blood transfusion as hospitals across the country experience an acute shortage. “We only have 10% of what …
Read More »Second face transplant for Frenchman in world-first
Paris, France | AFP | A man whose body rejected a face transplant he received seven years ago has been given a second donor face after living nearly two months without one, French medical agencies said Friday. It is the first time in transplant history that doctors have replaced one …
Read More »After two-year wait, Uganda gets its new cancer machine
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda’s only radiotherapy machine was officially replaced Friday, nearly two years after the previous one broke down, giving hope to cancer patients who had been denied a crucial tool against the disease. The failure of the old machine in March 2016 caused a public outcry …
Read More »GLOBAL COMMENT: Resuscitating health care
The model of Rwanda, which is a world leader in health-care access and outcomes, should be everywhere COMMENT | SAMUEL KARGBO | In late October, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) confirmed what many had long suspected: millions of dollars donated to fight the Ebola outbreaks …
Read More »UK appoints ‘minister for loneliness’
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain appointed a “minister for loneliness” on Wednesday to tackle what Prime Minister Theresa May described as “the sad reality of modern life” affecting millions of people. Tracey Crouch, a junior minister for sport and civil society, will take on the role as part …
Read More »Breastfeeding for 6 months cuts diabetes risk in half: study
Miami, United States | AFP | Women who breastfeed their babies for six months or more may be able to cut their risk of developing diabetes in the future by nearly half, according to a study Tuesday. The findings from a three-decade US study of more than 1,200 white and African-American …
Read More »Fake medicines flourish in Africa despite killing thousands
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | There’s nothing covert about Roxy — a huge market in Abidjan selling counterfeit medicine, the scourge of Africa and the cause of around 100,000 deaths annually on the world’s poorest continent. Located in the bustling Adjame quarter of Ivory Coast’s main city and commercial hub, …
Read More »Mr President, can you identify this animal?
Washington, United States | AFP | Identifying animals and reciting a list of words are among the type of challenges contained in the cognitive fitness test taken by US President Donald Trump. According to White House doctor Ronny Jackson, Trump scored “exceedingly well” (30 out of 30) on the Montreal …
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