Kalangala district is struggling with the growing aggressiveness by commercial sex agents who are recruiting more teenage girls into prostitution. The agents operate on the different landing sites in Kalangala, where they act as main links between commercial sex workers and their prospective clients, who include local fishermen and revelers in bars and other entertainment…
At least 15 high-tech beds inside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Mulago National Referral Hospital are lying idle due to a chronic staffing shortage. Despite boasting a 27-bed capacity equipped with world-class technology valued at approximately UGX 200 billion, the hospital is forced to operate at less than half capacity. Currently, only 12 patients…
Results of a new study released on Tuesday indicate that health workers in maternity wards are not consistently practicing proper hand hygiene, putting mothers at risk of maternal infections, technically known as sepsis. Sepsis remains among the top three causes of maternal deaths in Uganda. In a study conducted across fifty-nine health facilities, researchers found that…
In the high-pressure environment of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mulago Specialized Hospital, the line between professional duty and personal trauma is razor-thin. For Martha Alupo, the unit’s in-charge, nine years in the ICU have demanded constant resilience. Chronic staffing shortages only deepen the strain—one that rarely ends at the hospital doors. “It’s a…
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to pose a serious global health threat, but experts at a recent AMR Dialogues session warned that solutions must go beyond science and medicine to include gender equity, youth participation, and community-centered approaches. The discussion highlighted how women, gender-diverse communities, and young people experience disproportionate risks of infection, drug resistance, and…
As Africa enters a decisive decade in the fight against malaria, a new generation of African scientists is shaping the future of malaria research, innovation, and public health leadership. They are driven by personal experience, community connection, and the urgent reality of a preventable disease that still claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year…
Professor Abdoulaye Djimdé, a globally recognised malaria researcher from Mali, has been appointed to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board, bringing an important African perspective to a global body that provides independent scientific advice on science, technology, and innovation for sustainable development. A leading expert in malaria genomics and drug resistance, Professor Djimdé heads the…
Kenyan courts issued a series of landmark rulings affirming abortion as a fundamental right, yet advocates warn that institutional stigma and administrative barriers continue to fuel a deadly national health crisis. According to a 2025 report by the Ministry of Health and the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), an estimated 792,694 induced abortions…
Global experts and survivors are sounding the alarm as progress toward ending female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and ensuring menstrual health falls dangerously behind schedule, despite 2030 targets set by world leaders. At the SHE & Rights session held in February 2026, ahead of the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women,…
With just 58 months left to meet the 2030 deadline, global commitments to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and guarantee menstrual health for all are drifting off course. Although governments pledged under the Sustainable Development Goals to eliminate FGM/C and uphold dignity in menstrual health, the number of women and girls affected by FGM/C has…