New Study Highlights Huge Burden of Alzheimer’s Disease among Uganda’s Elderly

One in five Ugandans aged 60 and above suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, a new study by researchers at Makerere University’s Department of Psychiatry has revealed. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative condition that causes the brain to shrink and brain cells to die, slowly destroying memory and thinking skills, and eventually, the ability to carry out…

WHO outlines 40 research priorities on antimicrobial resistance

WHO has published its first global research agenda for the world’s scientists to address the most urgent human health priorities to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It outlines 40 research topics on drug-resistant bacteria, fungi and Mycobacterium tuberculosis that must be answered by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The WHO Global Research Agenda…

Getting Private Health Facilities to Share Data into Disease Surveillance System is a Pain

During the Private Health Sector Convention organized by the Uganda Healthcare Federation (UHF), Dr. Tom Aliti, the Commissioner in charge of partnerships in the Ministry of Health, highlighted some concerning issues regarding private health providers in Uganda. He revealed that although private health providers serve as the first point of care for over 50 percent…

Unclaimed Bodies Draining Moroto Hospital

Moroto Regional Referral Hospital is facing significant challenges in disposing of unclaimed bodies abandoned by relatives. The hospital administrators have decried the financial burden of burying the bodies, as families are neglecting their responsibility to claim their deceased loved ones.  The unclaimed corpses include individuals who have died from gunshot wounds, alcohol abuse, and other…

Emergency Care in Kenya: $18 million project for saving Moms and Babies

The Government of Kenya, the U.S. Government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Vodafone Foundation, Safaricom Plc, and M-PESA Foundation agreed to a new public-private partnership to bring the emergency transportation system m-mama to Kenya. Efficiently accessing transport in the case of obstetric emergencies can save the lives of mothers and newborns.  m-mama is an emergency referral…

160 cross-border women traders affected by the pandemic to benefit from a safe trade market

TradeMark Africa (TMA) jointly with Busia County Government, the Ministry in charge of EAC Affairs and development partners, have today officially launched a safe space market that will benefit 160 women cross-border traders, who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The construction of the market started in July 2021 as part of the Safe Trade Emergency Facility (STEF)…