60 percent of Ugandan Cervical Cancer Patients Suffer Extreme Wasting

A new study has revealed that over 60% of women undergoing cervical cancer treatment at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) suffer from extreme wasting, a severe complication known as cancer cachexia. Releasing preliminary findings on Friday, Dr. Innocent Atuhe, a co-investigator, noted that the study—launched in 2023—focused on women with advanced cervical cancer receiving chemotherapy.…

US Government Terminates Baylor Uganda HIV Programme, Citing Policy Realignment

The United States Government has terminated the services of Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Uganda (Baylor-Uganda), one of the largest providers of child and adolescent HIV care in the country. The decision comes just a month after the U.S. instituted a three-month halt on foreign programmes to realign its foreign policy priorities. In a…

Colorectal cancer: lipids can predict treatment efficacy

Colorectal cancer, the second most common cause of cancer-related death, affects almost 2 million people worldwide every year. It is mainly treated with chemotherapy, but its effectiveness decreases over time due to the progressive resistance of tumor cells. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has identified specific alterations in certain lipids in cancer…

Uganda Heart Institute Expands Lifesaving Heart Surgeries to Ugandan Children

The Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) has successfully performed five closed heart surgeries at Lira Regional Referral Hospital (LRRH) during a specialized surgical camp aimed at treating congenital heart defects. This marks the fourth such camp held at regional referral hospitals across Uganda, expanding access to critical cardiac care. The surgeries focused on Patent Ductus Arteriosus…

Tricky to spot and cumbersome to treat, visceral leishmaniasis turns deadly in arid east Africa

Without treatment, the parasitic disease is an all-but-guaranteed killer, but the current therapy is no walk in the park. Could new drugs make all the difference? 26 February 2025 by Kang-Chun Cheng Tightening the straps on his leather jacket, 33-year-old Isaac Nyeris prepares to ride his motorbike to Dungdung, a small village in northwestern Kenya. Here…

Soroti Health Center in Darkness: Midwives Deliver Babies by Torchlight as Power Crisis Sparks Confrontation

A month-long power outage at Asuret Health Centre III in Soroti District has plunged the facility into crisis, severely affecting night operations and emergency medical services. The health center relies on solar power, but the system shuts down around 8 PM, forcing nurses and midwives to rely on torches for critical procedures, including childbirth. Midwives…

Uganda’s Condom Shortage Worsens as AIDS Care Providers Demand Waiver on Inspection Fees

AIDS care providers in Uganda are urging the government to waive inspection fees on imported condoms to help address the ongoing shortage in the country. The National Drug Authority (NDA) oversees the verification and quality assurance of all imported condoms before they are distributed to Ugandans. While the government scrapped importation fees on medical supplies,…

Kawempe Hospital Sees Sharp Drop in Deliveries but Overcrowding Persists

Kawempe National Referral Hospital has reported a sharp decline in the number of mothers delivering at the facility, raising questions about shifting maternal care trends. Dr. Lawrence Kazibwe, the hospital’s Clinical Head, revealed that while the facility once recorded an average of 30,000 deliveries per year, the number plummeted last year to just 23,000—nearly a…