Tag Archives: health

Geneva, Switzerland | WHO MEDIA| Today the Member States of WHO elected Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as the new Director-General of WHO. Dr Tedros  was nominated by the Government of Ethiopia, and will begin his five-year term on 1 July 2017. He will succeed Dr Margaret Chan, who has been WHO’s Director-General …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | An unlicensed Ebola vaccine could soon be tested in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of Congo hit by an outbreak of the virus, the World Health Organization said Thursday. There is no licensed vaccine for the Ebola virus, but a promising candidate vaccine …

Paris, France | AFP |  Weight-loss balloons swallowed rather than surgically inserted in the stomach were shown to be safe and effective in preliminary trials, according to findings unveiled Thursday at a medical conference. So-called intragastric balloons have been used for decades to help obese patients shed unwanted kilos. Inflated …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP |  When an emergency call comes in from one of South Africa’s most crime-ridden neighbourhoods, ambulances do not rush straight to the scene but to a police station first to request an armed escort. A surge in attacks on ambulance workers has led to …

The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has launched a mass distribution of over 390,000 insecticide treated mosquito nets in Kamuli to curb incidents of malaria in the eastern region. The distribution is part of a countrywide effort by the Malaria Control Programme under the Ministry of Health, which commenced in …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigeria on Monday said it had stepped up health surveillance and vigilance was high at entry ports after an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least three people. “The minister has directed the director of health services at the ports to …

Ebola in DR Congo’s isolated far north a logistical challenge Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  An Ebola outbreak in a remote region in DR Congo’s far north poses a logistical challenge for doctors and aid workers although the sheer remoteness could help limit its spread. The latest outbreak of …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  An international cyber attack on Friday struck countries including the UK and Spain, British Prime Minister Theresa May said, as security experts warned it could affect many other countries. The UK’s state-run National Health Service declared a “major incident” after the attack, which forced …

Ebola epidemic declared in northeast DR Congo, three dead: WHO Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  The first Ebola outbreak since the crisis in West Africa that killed 11,300 people has been declared in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization said Friday, after the virus caused three …

NOT SLEEPING: At 93, there is something that happens to the eyes and the President cannot suffer bright lights. If you look at his poise, he looks down, avoids direct lighting. Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 93, is not asleep when he closes his eyes for …