Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Health has confirmed eight more cases of Marburg, bringing the number of confirmed cases to nine since the outbreak of the viral haemorrhagic fever was declared on 13 February. The new cases were confirmed following laboratory analysis of additional samples. So far, there are 20 probable cases and 20 deaths. The…
Journalists from six African countries received various prizes at the 2022 Emerging Health Technologies (EHTs) Media Award of Excellence at a virtual ceremony held on 9 March 2023. One of them Hajara Namale Shahista, a member of the Health Journalists Network in Uganda was one of the winners of the AFIDEP award worth $2,500. The…
WHO has updated its tracking system and working definitions for variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to better correspond to the current global variant landscape, to independently evaluate Omicron sublineages in circulation, and classify new variants more clearly when required. SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple variants…
In response to Africa’s largest refugee crisis, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) today announced US$25 million in catalytic funding to expand the Fund’s Multi-Year Resilience Programme, which continues to bridge the humanitarian-development nexus in Uganda. Total ECW funding in Uganda now tops US$75 million. The extended three-year programme will be delivered by Save the Children and…
This first-of-its-kind study which spans eight decades suggests that, although the overall number of premature deaths from respiratory disease was small, people who had a LRTI, such as bronchitis or pneumonia, by the age of two were 93% more likely to die prematurely from respiratory disease as adults, regardless of socioeconomic background or smoking status.…
Kenya’s Ministry of Health announced that, starting on March 7, 2023, more children in the country will benefit from the added protection of the world’s first malaria vaccine, RTS,S/AS01 (or RTS,S). The malaria vaccine expansion follows the Kenya National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (KENITAG) recommendation for expansion within Kenya’s lake-endemic region and the 2021 World…
A monthly vaginal ring containing the antiretroviral drug dapivirine – an HIV prevention method that has been approved in several African countries and recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) –appears to be safe when used during breastfeeding, suggest results of a Phase IIIb open-label study presented today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic…
For someone previously infected with COVID-19, their risk of hospitalization or death is 88% lower for at least 10 months compared to those who had not been previously infected, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet. The analysis also suggests that the level and duration of protection against reinfection, symptomatic…
No new COVID-19 variants have emerged in China during the recent surge in infections since the country ended its zero-COVID policy, according to an analysis of cases in Beijing. The study, published in The Lancet, suggests two existing Omicron sub-variants, BA.5.2 and BF.7 – among the most dominant variants in Beijing during 2022 – accounted…
Newborn screening (NBS) for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), when combined with early treatment, results in better movement ability in affected children, including the ability to walk, when compared to children who are diagnosed once symptoms develop, suggests a new study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. SMA is a rare, genetic neuromuscular…
CABI is providing technical expertise to help the Inter-African Phytosanitary Council of the African Union (AU-IAPSC) implement the Plant Health Strategy for Africa with the ultimate aim of increasing the food security of the continent. Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), CABI’s regional centre for Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, is working with…
Today, on World Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Day, the World Health Organisation has released a new progress report, entitled “Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2023” highlighting the progress and challenges in delivering NTD care worldwide, against a backdrop of COVID-19-related disruptions. In 2020, the World Health Assembly (WHA) endorsed the NTD road map for…
Negative emotions, anxiety and depression are thought to promote the onset of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia. But what is their impact on the brain and can their deleterious effects be limited? Neuroscientists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) observed the activation of the brains of young and older adults when confronted with the psychological suffering of others. The…
Uganda today declared the end of the Ebola disease outbreak caused by Sudan ebolavirus, less than four months after the first case was confirmed in the country’s central Mubende district on 20 September 2022. “Uganda put a swift end to the Ebola outbreak by ramping up key control measures such as surveillance, contact tracing and…
An innovation that is addressing procurement constraints is making drug stock-outs and shortage of medical equipment in health facilities in Rwanda a thing of the past. Viebeg Technologies, a venture capital-backed Health Tech company, is helping to expand access to affordable health care in Central and East Africa by aiding healthcare facilities in procuring supplies…
A new all-oral, six-month treatment regimen is safer and more effective at treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) than the current options, according to results of a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) study published in the New England Journal of Medicine today. These findings come from MSF’s TB PRACTECAL, the first-ever multi-country, randomized, controlled clinical trial to…
Researchers from the University of Oxford released findings from a clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of the antiviral treatment molnupiravir against COVID-19 – the first treatment tested in the ongoing PANORAMIC trial. In their paper published in The Lancet, they reported that molnupiravir did not reduce hospitalisations or deaths among higher risk, vaccinated adults with…
The 2nd International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2022), in Kigali, Rwanda, at the Kigali Convention Centre kicks off today with African Heads of State, ministers of health, and leading researchers and scientists scheduled to give remarks during three days of official sessions. The conference, which is taking place from 13-15 December, is…
Common bacterial infections were the second leading cause of death in 2019, and were linked to one in eight deaths globally, according to an analysis published in The Lancet. There were 7.7 million deaths in 2019 associated with 33 common bacterial infections, with five bacteria alone connected to more than half of all deaths. The…
While Africa is witnessing its lowest level of new COVID-19 cases since the onset of the pandemic, a recent four-week rise—the first such sustained increase in four months—underscores the criticality of maintaining vigilance as the end-year holiday seasons sets in. The continent recorded a four-week long rise until 20 November, but the number of new…
Kampala, December 1, 2022 – Today, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) commemorates World AIDS Day in Uganda as it reaffirms its commitment to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, remembering the 39 million people who have died of AIDS worldwide since the start of the pandemic. We are proud of the tremendous progress we have…
Following a series of consultations with global experts, WHO will begin using a new preferred term “mpox” as a synonym for monkeypox. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while “monkeypox” is phased out. When the outbreak of monkeypox expanded earlier this year, racist and stigmatizing language online, in other settings and in…
In preparation for the upcoming International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP), members of the faith community are reaffirming their commitment to build the capacities of faith-based organizations in family planning advocacy. The ICFP Faith Subcommittee will hold a pre-conference on November 13 that will unpack tools and strategies that can be used to engage religious leaders, youth and…
The United States government recognizes that a healthy population is the foundation for a country’s social and economic development. Almost 20 years ago on January 28, 2003, while announcing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), then U.S. President George W. Bush said, “We must remember our calling, as a blessed country, to…
A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has discovered that edoxudine, an anti-herpes molecule discovered in the 60s, weakens the protective surface of Klebsiella bacteria and makes them easier to eliminate for immune cells. These results can be read in the journal PLOS ONE. Klebsiella pneumoniae causes many respiratory, intestinal and urinary tract infections.…
Each year, an estimated 1 million people, die from lead poisoning. Millions more, many of them children, are exposed to low levels of lead causing lifelong health problems, including anaemia, hypertension, immunotoxicity and toxicity to the reproductive organs. The neurological and behavioural effects of lead could be irreversible. “Lead exposure is especially dangerous to…
A new web app has been launched to make it super easy for journalists in Kenya and Uganda to find researchers for science stories. The Script Connect app is part of the Script science communication programme by SciDev.Net, funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation. It works like a ‘speed-dating’ app, linking journalists to scientists in…
To combat these deadly menaces, a professor in Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is researching a state of relaxation that is integral to both insects and humans alike. Clément Vinauger, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry, received a two-year $430,000 R21 grant from the National Institutes of Health to research the sleep habits…
Current pressures due to poor funding, staff shortages, and inadequate preparation mean that health systems around the world are unfit to cope with another pandemic, an international survey to assess the effects of COVID-19 on health and care workers has revealed. 49 percent of healthcare professionals surveyed in countries including the UK, US, Saudi Arabia,…
Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have developed a ground-breaking plastic film that can kill viruses that land on its surface with room light. The self-sterilising film is the first of its kind – it is low cost to produce, can be readily scaled and could be used for disposable aprons, tablecloths, and curtains in hospitals.…
The UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has today announced €1.2 million as a first grant to a digital payments company, MFS Africa, to promote the use of mobile remittances in marginal rural areas in five African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, The Gambia and Uganda. The two-year grant is funded by the European Union through…
New global and country-level estimates suggest that routinely wearing helmets and seat-belts, obeying speed limits and avoiding drunk-driving could save between 347,000 and 540,000 lives worldwide every year. In addition, improving post-crash emergency response, trauma care, and clinical interventions to control haemorrhage and early resuscitation could save up to 200,000 lives a year in low-…
Climate summary: July 2022 surface air temperature: Globally, July 2022 was one of three warmest Julys on record, close to 0.4°C above the 1991-2020 reference period, marginally cooler than July 2019 and marginally warmer than July 2016 Northern hemisphere land masses see predominantly well above-average temperatures Below average temperatures along the western Indian Ocean, from…
The following statement is by Stacey Knobler, Sabin Vaccine Institute Vice President, Vaccine Innovation & Global Immunization, in response to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) estimates of national immunization coverage (WUENIC). “After decades of reaching more communities and saving countless lives, the alarming data released…
People with a severe form of diabetes, where the beta cells of the pancreas do not produce or no longer produce enough insulin, have no choice but to inject themselves regularly with artificial insulin in order to survive. But Insulin therapy is not without its dangers: it is difficult to dose and, in the long term, it can also…
Women in the health and care sector face a larger gender pay gap than in other economic sectors, earning on average of 24 percent less than peers who are men, according to a new joint report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The report, the world’s most comprehensive analysis…
Ghana has announced the preliminary finding of two cases of Marburg virus disease and if confirmed these would the first such infections recorded in the country according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Marburg is a highly infectious viral haemorrhagic fever in the same family as the more well-known Ebola virus disease. Preliminary analysis of…
An estimated 80 000 people have taken part in the Kabaka Birthday Run, an annual event that forms part of the celebrations to mark the birthday of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II of Buganda. For the last three years, the run’s theme has been “Men for Good Health and Ending AIDS by 2030.” The…
World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced plans to set up a mentorship programme for African women working in neglected tropical diseases programmes. The mentorship is in honour of the late Dr Mwele Malecela, who was one of Africa’s most highly respected female scientists and public health leaders. The mentorship programme will provide African women with leadership…
The Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh and Rwanda have announced the Kigali-Dhaka Compact on Mental Health at a high-level dialogue held on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on 22 June. The event, which was held under the theme “Rethinking Mental Health: A Commonwealth Call to Empower, Care and Transform”, was hosted…
By RSIF The University of Rwanda’s Centre of Excellence on Internet of Things (IoT), Embedded Computing Systems with funding from the PASET Regional Scholarship’s competitive grants scheme, in close collaboration with a team from Makerere University is implementing a project to assess the levels of indoor air pollution in rural and urban communities in Rwanda.…
The Geneva Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases of the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has publicly made available the full monkeypox virus DNA sequence from the two first cases identified in Switzerland, on the 21st and 24th of May 2022. The Geneva Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases shares the first…
The Sabin Vaccine Institute released the Vaccine Acceptance Research Network 2022 (VARN2022) conference report: a synthesis of the discussions and research findings from global experts in anthropology, epidemiology, public health and medicine across the academia, government, civil society and other sectors, to share knowledge and set priorities at the intersection of immunization and social and…
Copper is one of the most widely used metals on the planet today due to its electrical and thermal conduction properties. It is one of the most exploited natural resources on the planet. The greatest natural resources of this metal are the so-called “porphyry” deposits that come from magmas deep in the Earth. In a recent…
The UK Government – through UNICEF – has procured a Pressure Swing Absorption Oxygen Plant in Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital, to increase the oxygen producing capacity of the 200-bed facility and other lower-level facilities in seven neighbouring districts in central Uganda. The Oxygen plant installed by UNICEF in February 2022 was today unveiled and officially…
African governments and regional economic blocs have been urged to increase funding for Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) and create an enabling environment for technology adoption. This would transform livelihoods and enable the continent to benefit from modern agricultural innovations such as biotechnology including gene-editing and other emerging technologies for sustainable economic growth. This call…
A team of biologists led by researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has discovered, for breast cancer, a factor that explains the spread of metastases to the bones. When cancer cells break away from a primary tumor and migrate to other organs, this is called «metastatic cancer». The organs affected by these metastases, however, depend in…
A leading manufacturer of medical and life sciences equipment, Getinge, has joined IFC’s Africa Medical Equipment Facility, an initiative designed to help healthcare providers in sub-Saharan Africa have better access to life-saving equipment and supplies, IFC announced today. Sweden-headquartered Getinge’s participation in the IFC-led facility will expand opportunities for medical clinics and hospitals in Africa to…
The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched its first ever global guidelines to support women and newborns in the postnatal period – the first six weeks after birth. The guidelines include 63 recommendations, combining relevant existing recommendations with 31 that are new or updated. These are now the official WHO reference point for all aspects of postnatal care.…
The Government of Belgium has today announced a financial contribution of EUR 4.2 million (approx. 16bn Ugandan shillings) to UNICEF that will see 3,000 vulnerable in and out-of-school girls in Kampala receive support through mentorship, linkages to essential social services and a cash transfer to enable them to transition safely into adulthood. The four-year Belgian…
Road traffic injury statistics are the foundation to monitor the progress of the five pillars of the UN Road Safety Strategy – road safety management, safer vehicles, safer road users, post-crash response, and safer driving environments. This was the discussion at a webinar led by Dr Benjamin Wachira, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the…
More than 1.2 million people – and potentially millions more – died in 2019 as a direct result of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, according to the most comprehensive estimate to date of the global impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The analysis of 204 countries and territories, published in The Lancet, reveals that AMR is now a…
Study includes more than 2,700 healthcare workers in Delhi, India, who were symptomatic and underwent RT-PCR testing for COVID-19. Findings suggest 50% vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 after two doses of BBV152. This vaccine effectiveness is lower than the vaccine efficacy suggested by Bharat Biotech’s phase 3 randomised control trial results. The authors note several…
First global estimates of impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in 2020 suggests additional 53 million cases of major depressive disorder and 76 million cases of anxiety disorders were due to the pandemic. Women and younger people were the most affected by major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders in 2020. Countries hit hardest…
The fluvoxamine arm of the TOGETHER trial, a randomised adaptive platform trial investigating the efficacy of repurposed treatments for COVID-19 among high-risk Brazilian adult outpatients, is the largest trial of the SSRI fluvoxamine as a COVID-19 treatment to date. Of the 741 participants who were treated in an emergency setting for COVID-19 after receiving fluvoxamine,…
Study of 621 people in the UK with mild COVID-19 infections found that people who received two vaccine doses could still pass the infection on to vaccinated and unvaccinated household members. The analysis found that 25% of vaccinated household contacts tested positive for COVID-19 compared with 38% of unvaccinated household contacts. The infectiousness of vaccinated…
Uganda on 13 November received 1,904,140 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, donated by the Canadian Government and shipped via the COVAX facility, —the world’s facility for universal access to COVID-19 vaccines. The arrival marks an important step towards the goal to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally. Uganda is targeting the vaccination of…
By World Health Organisation Africa is expected to experience the highest increase in diabetes globally. The number of people suffering from the disease is predicted to rise to 55 million by 2045—a 134% spike compared with 2021. At 70%, the continent also has the world’s highest number of people who do not know they have…
Africa’s sharp increase in diabetes is clashing with the COVID-19 pandemic and poor access to vaccines says the World Health Organsiation. Africa’s death rates from COVID-19 infections are significantly higher in patients with diabetes, according to a preliminary analysis which the World Health Organization (WHO) presented in advance of the World Diabetes Day on 14…
BY WHO Uganda Team Uganda launched the Third Edition of the National Guidelines for Integrated Diseases Surveillance and Response (IDSR) at Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala. The third edition highlights new methods of disease detection, reporting, and provision of real-time surveillance data using new technologies and platforms. The platforms include event-based disease surveillance, community-based surveillance,…
Cote d’Ivoire has launched Ebola vaccination of high-risk populations, including health workers and first responders in Abidjan, where an Ebola outbreak was declared on 14 August. The country was able to swiftly begin the vaccination on 16 August with the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine manufactured by Merck as the vaccine doses that the World Health Organization…
26 January 2021 – Important advances in HIV prevention research were announced today at the 4th HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P // Virtual), convened by IAS – the International AIDS Society. Highlights included findings from a pair of trials evaluating whether infusions with a broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) can prevent HIV acquisition and positive…
SEATTLE – January 27, 2021 – Today, Bill and Melinda Gates share their 2021 Annual Letter, “The Year Global Health Went Local.” In this year’s letter, Bill and Melinda reflect on the worldwide impact of COVID-19 and the global collaboration and scientific innovation fueling one of the largest public health efforts in history. They share…
Thirteen African countries and an international network of research institutions have joined forces to launch the largest COVID-19 clinical trial in mild-to-moderate outpatients in Africa. The ANTICOV clinical trial aims to respond to the urgent need to identify treatments that can be used to treat mild and moderate cases of COVID-19 early and prevent spikes…
Regulatory review and introduction plans must be accelerated New York City, November 9, 2020— AVAC enthusiastically welcomes the news that another trial of the long-acting, injectable antiretroviral cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for HIV prevention for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has demonstrated safety and efficacy, this time among cisgender women. Today’s announcement from ViiV, the US National Institute of Allergy and…
The U.S. Embassy in Uganda developed a “COVID-19 Resource Toolkit” in collaboration with Uganda’s Ministry of Health and other partners in order to expand access to key COVID-19 information and resources across Ugandan society. The toolkit includes links to videos, public service announcements in various languages, posters, and other information on COVID-19 signs and…
Up to 2,000 delegates from all over the world took part in a live event held this week alongside the UN General Assembly 2020, which called on governments, donors, and other key actors in global development to demonstrate greater accountability for supporting and improving women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health (WCAH) and rights during the COVID-19…
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today named Dr. John N. Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), as the winner of the 2020 Global Goalkeeper Award. As part of its annual Goalkeepers campaign, the foundation also announced three other Goalkeepers Awards and launched two innovative partnerships that address…
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today launched its fourth annual Goalkeepers Report, featuring new data showing how the ripple effects of COVID-19 have stopped 20 years of progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals). The report provides the most contemporary global data set for how the pandemic is affecting progress toward…
The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors (www.AfDB.org) on Wednesday approved $27.33 million in grants to boost the African Union’s (AU) efforts to mobilize a continental response to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The approval follows a meeting of the extended Bureau of the Conference of Heads of State and Government with Africa’s private sector on…
For many public health workers in Uganda, responding to disease outbreaks of epidemic potential is not new. This is because the country has been in preparedness and response modes for quite some time and its disease outbreak system has regularly been tested over the years. Uganda has had four Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks in…
Togo has received validation from the World Health Organization (WHO) for having eliminated human African trypanosomiasis or “sleeping sickness” as a public health problem, becoming the first country in Africa to reach this milestone. Sleeping sickness is caused by parasites which are transmitted by infected tsetse flies and is only found in 36 countries in…
Montreal, September 14, 2017 – Journalists based in Africa suffered from a lack of credible information during the West African Ebola viral epidemic in 2014, states a report published today by the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ) in partnership with the Department of Journalism at Concordia University. “The report concludes that if better communication…
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2015 (All day) Theme: Reproductive Health Seminar FREE RESEARCH SEMINAR AND WORKSHOP ON COVERING WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH Speakers: Dr Daniel Murokora (Uganda Women’s Health Initiative) and Dr Eleanor Nakintu (Uganda Martyrs University & Nsambya Hospital), Rosanne Anholt, master student in public health at VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands & Esther Nakkazi,…
Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2015 – 13:30 The Health Journalists Network in Uganda (HEJNU) in partnership with the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) will hold its second Science Café today, Wednesday 4th February 2015 starting at 2-5 pm in Ntinda, Muteesa II Road. This second science café, will focus on ARV-based prevention in the wake…
Date: Sunday, February 10, 2013 – 22:45 Theme: “DISEASE ERADICATION: What will it take?” On 9 November 2012, the World Medical Association and World Veterinary Association signed a collaborative One HealthMemorandum of Understanding in Bangkok, Thailand. In light of the above, the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), the Uganda Veterinary Association (UVA) and their international and…
Date: Thursday, February 14, 2013 – 01:30 Theme: Promoting “Preventive Health” Health Journalism Network Uganda (HEJNU) is happy to welcome journalists across Uganda to the 3rd Health Journalism Conference. The conference which attracted journalists with keen interest in health reporting was held under the theme, promoting preventive health. Over 80 Journalists from different media houses…