Health

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A total of 150 deaths occurred last year due to measles according to the Uganda National Expanded Program on Immunization. According to the Ministry of Health figures, the deaths recorded last year showed an increase of over 100 percent. In 2018, the number of deaths …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Russia has announced that it’s vaccine Sputnik V is safe and effective for controlling COVID-19.  Russia registered the vaccine for public use in August and became the first country to do so through a controversial approval that came in before the start of the large-scale …

COMMENT |  Bijoy Varghese | Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a phased reopening of schools in Uganda, beginning with candidate classes. This offers an opportunity to look at all factors needed to ensure the re-opening goes according to plan, including their nutrition, given the nature of the disease …

Kwania, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Kwania District local government offices have been closed to the public after ten staff tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.  The ten were part of 150 people whose samples were taken for testing by a medical team from Lira Regional Referral hospital. Solomon Odur, the …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The African Union has a commitment of USD 5 billion promised by the World Bank and other donors, out of the USD 12 billion that African countries need to access the coming COVID-19 vaccine. This revelation was made at a teleconference meeting convened Tuesday …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |   The Health Ministry plans to introduce a new strategy where health workers will offer mental health services at the community level similar to the model of Voluntary Health Teams-VHTs.  Apparently, mental health services are largely a preserve of regional referral and national referral hospitals.  …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ten regional referral hospitals are set to benefit from a five-year program funded by the United States government aimed at strengthening the coordination of HIV related activities in Uganda. They are Masaka, Arua, Fort Portal, Soroti, Jinja, Mbarara, Lira and Moroto, Kayunga and Bombo military …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Families have now been allowed to bury their loved ones that succumb to COVID-19. The government had initially taken up the burial arrangements, to guarantee safe and dignified burials, commonly used when dealing with highly infectious diseases. Guidelines earlier  issued by the health ministry  …

  Mainz, Germany | THE INDEPENDENT | German company BioNtech and Pfizer from the US have announced success in phase three study of an experimental vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infections. “Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mental health experts want counselling services to be availed to people testing for COVID-19. They argue that the services be availed as a means of preparing people for any outcome of the test to avoid anxiety. At some of the sample collection sites that …