Severe nurse shortages across African neonatal units are leaving newborns without essential care, with only a fraction of required tasks being completed, new data shows. Research presented at the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2026 found that nurses are able to deliver just one-third of the care newborns need. Another third is delegated to mothers…
AXA Health International, which operates the AXA Global Healthcare brand, has launched a new collaboration in Tanzania with Alliance Insurance Corporation Limited and MIC Global Risks, marking a significant step in the company’s broader expansion across Africa. The partnership aims to provide businesses, expatriates, and internationally mobile professionals in the region with access to the…
Kenya becomes the first country to join a five-year global health initiative to reduce the deaths of newborns, as the country looks for solutions to reduce deaths that have not decreased for the last 15 years. The Healthy Birth Initiative, a KES 11B programme (US$85 million), will work with 12 counties in Kenya that account…
The Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Uganda Police Force (UPF) have raised concerns about provisions in the proposed Forensic and Scientific Analytical Bill, warning that it could undermine existing mandates of key criminal justice and regulatory institutions. The Bill, which has been tabled before Parliament three times, seeks to establish…
The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has directed the administrators of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital to immediately provide a separate changing room for female and male students, as they currently share one changing room. The Deputy Chairperson of the committee, Hon. Gorreth Namugga, made the directive to the hospital administrators on Wednesday while appearing before the…
For 150,000 shillings, Joel Obore promises more than a quick fix. He markets what he calls a “permanent” solution through AlphaMax M+ Coffee, an imported product he claims can treat a range of conditions—from cholesterol and kidney “blockages” to low sperm count. Using aggressive sales tactics, Obore presents the product as a medical breakthrough, often…
Mulago National Referral Hospital is grappling with a growing network of impostors posing as medical staff and extorting money from vulnerable patients and their families. On a recent evening in the Acute Children’s Emergency Ward, a woman known to patients as “Dr. Atieno” sat behind a desk with a blood pressure cuff around her neck,…
A new multi-agency initiative has been launched in Soroti City to curb rising HIV infections, with a focus on adolescents and young people amid growing concern over high transmission rates. The intervention, led by the Ministry of Health Uganda, the Uganda AIDS Commission and The AIDS Support Organisation, targets adolescent girls and young women aged…
Gulu Regional Referral Hospital has recorded a sharp rise in premature births, raising concern among health workers despite ongoing efforts to promote safer pregnancies. The hospital, which serves the Acholi sub-region and parts of northern Uganda, registered 7,632 normal deliveries last year, alongside 4,062 caesarean sections, according to maternity ward in-charge Rose Akumu Olok. Seven…
The Pathology Department at Mulago National Referral Hospital has introduced a WhatsApp-based system to help patients check the status of their biopsy results, easing long waits and cutting travel costs. The tool, developed by Dr. Sharif Musoke, an associate consultant pathologist, allows patients to receive updates remotely rather than returning repeatedly to the hospital. For…