As a way of improving the country’s ability to provide reproductive, maternal and child health services, the Ministry of Health has tabled before Parliament a proposal to borrow $110m (390bn) from the International Development Association, an arm of the World Bank. Dr Jane Aceng, Minister for Health while appearing before …
Read More »Canada to ban asbestos by 2018
Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Once the world’s top producer of asbestos, Canada said Thursday it will ban the heat-resistant fibrous mineral that is woven into building and other materials but which has been found to cause cancer. In a statement, government ministers of health, science and the environment said …
Read More »Lack of funds threatens malaria progress
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Global progress on controlling malaria risks stalling due to an “urgent need” for more funding, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its annual report on Tuesday. Overall, the number of new cases fell by 21 percent between 2010 and 2015, and mortality rates …
Read More »Kenya deploys army doctors as hospital strike deepens
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya deployed army doctors on Friday to the country’s main teaching and referral hospital where the last remaining doctors joined a five-day strike that has crippled healthcare services around the country. “Our doctors are already at the hospital to help needy cases,” said military spokesman …
Read More »Paris rat catchers deployed to tackle rodent scourge
Paris, France | AFP | Paris officials have announced a crackdown on rats which blight parks and gardens around the City of Light and are thought to easily outnumber humans. The city’s rodents were given an image overhaul in 2007 in the hit animated film “Ratatouille” which depicted them cooking …
Read More »South African court rules against right-to-die
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday overturned a ruling that granted a man the right to medically-assisted death and could have opened the way to legalise euthanasia. Last year, the High Court in Pretoria had ruled that a doctor could help retired …
Read More »HIV rates still high
Rate at which girls in the age bracket of 14-24 are getting infected alarming When it comes to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Uganda is classified as a high burden country by UNAIDS, the international agency that is at the helm of mustering a joint response to the disease. High numbers of …
Read More »Fighting malnutrition
African Civil Society alliances vows to fight against malnutrition in Africa Civil society alliances from several African countries have come together to moot strategies for achieving the sustainable development goal of attaining a world free from malnutrition by 2020, writes Susan Babijja. The intervention to minimise the impact of malnutrition …
Read More »Over 100 psychiatric patients escape as Kenya doctors strike
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | More than 100 patients escaped from Kenya’s only psychiatric hospital on Monday as doctors and nurses joined a national hospital strike for pay rises. Nairobi Police Commander Japheth Koome told AFP that police had launched an operation to return the patients to the hospital, as …
Read More »The snake-catchers’ cooperative saving lives in India
Chengalpattu, India | AFP | A small scythe, a crowbar and a bundle of canvas bags are all that Kali and Vedan carry when they venture into the fields of southern India to catch some of the world’s deadliest snakes. Their skills, passed from generation to generation of the Irula …
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