By HEJNU Fifty-four countries have signed up to a ground-breaking initiative, which aims to secure at least 220 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine once licensed and approved, the World Health Organisation has announced. The governments will secure the vaccine through COVAX, a global initiative that is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations…
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…
There is a haze surrounding COVID-19 in the media at a time when the public looks to us to help them understand what scientists are saying. The imperative is that journalists need to rapidly cultivate greater clarity about: How science works How scientists can differ in translating certainties/uncertainties in the evolving science of COVID 19…
Edited by Esther Nakkazi and compiled by Evelyn Lirri On March 18th, the Health Journalists Network in Uganda (HEJNU) held a media science Café titled; The COVID-19 Pandemic: Interlinkage between HIV and COVID-19 virus. About 40 journalists attended this Café which gave an insight to COVID-19 a disease many of the journalists were yet to learn about. The Key speakers…
By Esther Nakkazi China has certified three traditional medicines for treatment of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The three Chinese patented medicines－Jinhua Qinggan Granule, Lianhua Qingwen Capsule and Xuebijing Injection prescriptions were developed by the Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and have been clinically proven effective for COVID-19 treatment, China media reports. Jinhua Qinggan Granule was developed during the 2009 H1N1…
By Esther Nakkazi Zimbabwe’s first death from Covid-19 is a journalist. A fine broadcaster Zororo Makamba, 30, was Zimbabwe’s second reported positive Covid-19 patient, health and child care minister Obadiah Moyo said on Saturday. Makamba died three days after admission with ‘severe respiratory distress’ at the Wilkins Infectious Diseases hospital in Harare, the city’s only…
By Vivian Agaba People living with HIV especially those not adhering to their drugs are more likely to be affected by coronavirus disease, experts say. In 2018, an estimated 1.4 million people were living with HIV, and an estimated 23,000 Ugandans died of AIDS-related illnesses. As of 2018 around 73% of adults living with HIV and 66%…