Two people in Palorinya refugee settlement in Obongi district have tested positive for meningitis, health officials have revealed. Meningitis is caused by inflammation of the meninges that surround the brain and spinal cord and protect the central nervous system. The two, cases which are among South Sudanese refugees have been isolated at Belameling Health Center II in Zone 1,…
The Uganda Ministry of Health in collaboration with Kids Operating Room, a global health charity, has today unveiled the first ever Children Surgery National Plan, a five-year strategy that aims to scale up paediatric surgical services to regional referral and general hospitals as well as training of paediatric surgical workforce. Uganda currently has eight paediatric…
The COVID Treatment Quick Start Consortium announced today that the governments of Zambia, Laos, Malawi and Rwanda have received shipments of PAXLOVID™ (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir), Pfizer’s COVID-19 oral treatment. Zambia was the first country to receive the treatment through the consortium, with an initial shipment of 1,000 courses of PAXLOVID™ reaching Lusaka in late December 2022 as…
WHO has updated its tracking system and working definitions for variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to better correspond to the current global variant landscape, to independently evaluate Omicron sublineages in circulation, and classify new variants more clearly when required. SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple variants…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 55 countries around the globe as vulnerable to the availability of health workers required to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal target for universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030. According to the organization’s latest statement, of the 55, 37 are in the WHO African region, 8 in the…
The 30th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)showed an energized field- with scientific advances galvanizing research across a host of disease areas. The findings highlighted in this round up offer a look at standout research — and, at AVAC, we know it must be matched with informed advocacy. Scroll down to learn about new interventions for…
In response to Africa’s largest refugee crisis, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) today announced US$25 million in catalytic funding to expand the Fund’s Multi-Year Resilience Programme, which continues to bridge the humanitarian-development nexus in Uganda. Total ECW funding in Uganda now tops US$75 million. The extended three-year programme will be delivered by Save the Children and…
St Mary`s Hospital Lacor in Gulu City has successfully operated on and treated thirty children with Anorectal malformation, a birth defect where a child presents without an anus or narrow anal opening. Such children experience chronic constipation or difficulty in passing stool among others. The Acholi community widely attributes the condition to ‘’evil spirits’’ or bad omens…
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland has said that collaborative action is vital to prevent the runaway effects of climate change and loss of biodiversity. Patricia Scotland KC told a One Forest Summit Conference of global leaders and experts meeting in Libreville, Gabon on Thursday that a clear regenerative and inclusive approach is needed to…
This first-of-its-kind study which spans eight decades suggests that, although the overall number of premature deaths from respiratory disease was small, people who had a LRTI, such as bronchitis or pneumonia, by the age of two were 93% more likely to die prematurely from respiratory disease as adults, regardless of socioeconomic background or smoking status.…