More than 150 patients were referred from Bududa District to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in the 2025/2026 financial year because of inadequate blood supplies, according to the District Health Officer. The shortage is reflected in the district’s request to the Mbale Regional Blood Bank. Bududa requested 6,000 units of blood during the financial year but…
The deaths of two airport workers in Frankfurt have highlighted a rare phenomenon that appears to be on the rise in Europe. 28 August 2026 by Linda Geddes At a glance Though rare, mosquitoes infected with malaria parasites are occasionally carried to non-endemic areas by air, sea or road, resulting in cases of airport or…
Whether via emergency evacuation or outreach vaccination, Uganda’s boat ambulances are life-preservers for remote island communities. 18 June 2026 by John Musenze Gavi-funded Koome Island boat-ambulance waiting for Rebbecca Nabiryo on 6 June 2026. Credit: John Musenze At a glance A fleet of boat ambulances plying Lakes Victoria, Albert and Kyoga have been saving islander…
Apac, in northern Uganda, is infamous for its record bug-bite rate. But early indicators suggest that the new vaccine is blunting the severity of the malaria infections the mosquitoes are spreading. 30 July 2026 by John Agaba At a glance The people of Apac are the most mosquito-bitten in the world. But a year after…
Madrat and Chiko are Ugandan comedians using their platforms – both online and on stage – to persuade parents to vaccinate their children. 27 August 2026 by John Musenze At a glance Comedians Madrat and Chiko have criss-crossed Uganda on the immunisation trail, cracking jokes at public health gatherings to make conversations about vaccination feel…
Historian Dr Elise Mitchell re-examines the early history of smallpox inoculation on both ends of the Atlantic slave trade. 4 September 2026 by Maya Prabhu At a glance West African societies practised inoculation – a precursor to vaccination that deliberately provoked immunity to smallpox by managed exposure to the virus – long before Europeans had…
Premature babies at Lira Regional Referral Hospital may soon have a safer journey to intensive care after hospital engineers developed a locally made baby transporter that provides oxygen during the critical transfer from the labour suite or theatre to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The innovation is intended to address one of the critical…
Financing As of 23 August, the WHO—Africa CDC finance tracker shows pledges of US$1.3 billion and disbursements of US$333.3 million against a continental plan costed at US$518 million to the end of November. The tracker shows disbursement flows from financing partners to receiving governments or institutions and the geographical target for the funding. On 20 August, Africa CDC…
Cabinet has approved plans to borrow up to €31.98 million, equivalent to about 139 billion Shillings, from the French government to construct and equip a regional oncology centre in Mbarara. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting at State House, Entebbe, on Monday, August 24, 2026, alongside a range of measures covering agricultural productivity,…
The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to vaccinate frontline health workers against Ebola using a vaccine whose effectiveness against the Bundibugyo strain remains unknown, as the outbreak becomes the country’s deadliest on record. The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision has allocated 70,000 doses of Ervebo to the DRC, with 50,000 doses reserved for…