Miami, United States | AFP | African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to lose two or more family members by age 30 — often their mother, father or a sibling — a factor that may contribute to poorer health over a lifetime, researchers said Monday. The study in the …
Read More »Trump bans federal funding for foreign NGOs that support abortion
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Monday signed a decree barring US federal funding for foreign NGOs that support abortion, relaunching a battle that has long divided Americans. It comes just two days after women led a massive protest march in Washington to defend their …
Read More »Ugandans invent ‘smart jacket’ to diagnose pneumonia
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Grace Matsiko A team of Ugandan engineers has invented a “smart jacket” that diagnoses pneumonia faster than a doctor, offering hope against a disease which kills more children worldwide than any other. The idea came to Olivia Koburongo, 26, after her grandmother fell ill, and …
Read More »Why Kenya, Rwanda have banned poultry from Uganda
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenyan and Rwandan authorities said Wednesday they had banned poultry products from neighbouring Uganda, where a virulent H5 strain of avian flu has broken out. “The government banned importation of poultry and poultry products from Uganda with immediate effect,” said Kenya’s agriculture cabinet secretary Willy …
Read More »Uganda’s High Court to pronounce itself on missing twin baby
The High Court has set January 24 to deliver judgement in a case filed in 2013 by a Ugandan human rights watchdog against the office of the Executive Director of Mulago National Referral Hospital and the Attorney General, over a stolen twin baby. Center for Health, Human rights and Development …
Read More »Will Artificial Intelligence disrupt health?
New technologies continue to be introduced into the sector and we should welcome them Intelligent machines are increasingly operating complex manufacturing systems and replacing humans on factory floors, but they have so far not made significant inroads in health care. The sector’s most advanced machines, from ultra-high-resolution imaging instruments to …
Read More »Uganda detects bird flu in Entebbe, Masaka
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda announced Sunday it had detected bird flu among migratory birds, without specifying whether it was the particularly virulent H5 strain detected this season in countries worldwide. The agriculture ministry said bird flu had been detected in two spots, one near Entebbe, on the banks …
Read More »US Congress approves first step for repealing Obamacare
Washington, United States | AFP | The US House of Representatives on Friday joined the Senate in passing a critical measure that marks the first major step toward repealing outgoing President Barack Obama’s landmark but controversial health care reforms. The House’s party-line vote of 227 to 198 approved a budget …
Read More »Slum health is not urban health
By Alex Ezeh, Blessing Mberu and Tilahun Haregu Why we must distinguish between the two We live in an urban century. Already more than 50% of the global population lives in urban areas. The United Nations estimates that by 2030 five billion of the world’s population of eight billion will …
Read More »Modern life, bad habits: Africa faces deadly new illnesses
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | When Rose Kariuki first felt a lump on her left breast, the spectre of cancer — a disease she had only heard of on television — was the last thing on her mind. “To me, cancer was nowhere near us. It was shocking, I feared …
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