This year marks 25 years since the Uganda government introduced Universal Primary Education or UPE, a program that has received criticism and praise in equal measures over the years. When the government introduced UPE in 1997, school enrollments increased by more than four times, and currently, according to the Ministry of Education, there are 8.6…
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has received notification of the detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) linked with the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2). Through ongoing surveillance, the viruses were isolated from the stool samples of seven children with acute…
President Yoweri Museveni has reiterated his position against homosexuality, saying that the act is a deviation from normal. Museveni made the statement while addressing Parliament on Thursday in a sitting held at Kololo Independence grounds. In a brief statement about the issue that continues to dominate public debate, Museveni told Members of Parliament that they…
The Ministry of Health still has 13.4 million unutilized COVID-19 vaccines, the Public Accounts Committee – PAC Central Government has learned. The Health Ministry Permanent Secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine, says that the country risks losing huge sums of money that was used to procure the vaccines if they expire without being utilized. Some of the vaccines are scheduled…
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…
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…
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…