Geneva, Switzerland | XINHUA | A senior expert of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that it is currently in conversation with Russia to get additional information about the COVID-19 vaccine that Russia will start production soon. Dr. Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to WHO’s director-general, told a press conference …
Read More »WHO intensely focused on global COVID-19 vaccine trials
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that six months after first sounding the international alarm over COVID-19, it is now intensely focused on shepherding global vaccine candidates through the necessary trials. Among them, the Access to COVID19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, launched in April, has …
Read More »If African governments won’t act, the people will
With frustration rising over haphazard responses to the coronavirus, community networks are filling the void across the continent | ANDREW GREEN | On April 14, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced he was adding three weeks to the country’s initial two-week lockdown. The restrictions were among the strictest on the continent—dusk-to-dawn …
Read More »Air pollution reduces global health expectancy by 2 years: study
Chicago, US | XINHUA | An analysis of data from the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) conducted by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) finds that particulate pollution cuts global life expectancy by nearly two years, relative to what it would be if air quality met the …
Read More »Global efforts intensify to curb spread of COVID-19 as cases in Africa top 1 mln
Nairobi, Kenya | XINHUA | Working as a motorbike taxi rider in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, Joseph Musau knows at least three acquaintances who have contracted COVID-19. It was not until recently did he realize that COVID-19 was spreading at a faster speed in his country, where it took three months for …
Read More »WHO chief urges U.S. to reconsider withdrawal decision
Geneva, Switzerland | XINHUA | The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said that the COVID-19 pandemic can not be defeated in a divided world, and he hopes the United States will “reconsider its position” on the decision to withdraw from the organization. “Now it’s time to work …
Read More »Breastfeeding link to COVID-19 is negligible- WHO
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The risk of COVID-19 infection from breastfeeding is negligible and has never been documented, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said in a call for greater support for the practice even as the world is facing the worst pandemic of all time. Dr Laurence …
Read More »Kampala air quality worsening
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The air quality in Kampala is worsening following the partial lifting of the lockdown. Kampala had a high concentration of tinny air particles small enough to invade even the smallest airways and the air quality was six times lower than World Health Organization acceptable …
Read More »WHO chief highlights role of young people in fighting COVID-19
Geneva, Switzerland | XINHUA | The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday highlighted the role of young people in curbing the COVID-19 outbreak. “Although older people are at a higher risk of severe disease, younger people are at risk too. One of the challenges we face …
Read More »Zimbabweans seek traditional medicine amid pandemic
Harare, Zimbabwe | XINHUA | With the costs for formal health care skyrocketing at the backdrop of an economic crisis that has seen inflation skyrocketing to more than 700 percent, many Zimbabweans are resorting to traditional medication. Amos Kafera, a Zimbabwean traditional healer from Chitungwiza, a dormitory town south of …
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