Kampala, Uganda | AFP | A five-year-old boy who tested positive for Ebola in Uganda has died, a health ministry official told AFP Wednesday, in the first spread of a deadly outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. “”The young patient died last night. Two more samples were sent to …
Read More »How Ebola virus has spread to Uganda from DRC
Kampala, Uganda | Grace Matsiko – AFP | A five-year-old boy is being treated for Ebola in Uganda, the first case since a deadly outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo 10 months ago, Health Minister Ruth Aceng said Tuesday. Uganda has been on high alert since the outbreak across …
Read More »Disease fears mount for Africa cyclone survivors
Beira, Mozambique | AFP | Disease is threatening to aggravate the already dire conditions facing millions of survivors following the powerful tropical cyclone which ravaged southern Africa 10 days ago, officials warned on Sunday. Cyclone Idai smashed into Mozambique’s coast unleashing hurricane-force wind and rain that flooded swathes of the poor …
Read More »‘Short’ drug-resistant TB regimen could cut treatment time by more than half
Washington, United States | AFP | A new drug cocktail reduces the length of treatment for multi drug-resistant tuberculosis from nearly two years to nine to 11 months with a similar effectiveness, according to a large clinical trial whose results were published in a US journal Wednesday. Nearly 600,000 people …
Read More »From disease treatment to health promotion
Health ministry plans major switch in 2019 healthcare Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | As 2018 ended, President Museveni was seen getting more involved in the country’s healthcare. First he launched the Presidential Fast Track Initiative to encourage men to get tested for HIV and enroll on treatment and then …
Read More »Jimmy Carter says US, China should partner in Africa
Washington, United States | AFP | Former US president Jimmy Carter warned Monday of the risks of sliding into a Cold War with China and called on the powers to find common cause on African development. Marking the 40th anniversary of his January 1979 normalization of relations with Chinese leader …
Read More »Waste sorters daring disease in the search for money
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In a hustle to find a job, Peter Mubiru was introduced to the garbage world. Today Mubiru earns a living from collecting domestic waste across Kampala. Mubiru’s working day starts at 7 a.m., and unlike others, endures hours of standing at the back of a …
Read More »New outbreak of Ebola kills 17 in northwest DR Congo
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Seventeen people in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have died from Ebola, the health ministry said on Tuesday, describing the fresh outbreak as a “public health emergency with international impact.” “Twenty-one cases of fever with haemorrhagic indications and 17 deaths” have been …
Read More »Double curse: After drought, Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps hit by floods
Dadaab, Kenya | AFP | The children can’t believe their luck: storms and showers have turned their dirt football pitch into a lake. Youngsters scamper and splash through the murky water, chasing one another, leaping and laughing. Any entertainment is welcome in Dadaab, one of the biggest refugee bases in …
Read More »World Malaria Day: Can Africa get out of the disease trap?
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda and other African countries are being urged to raise local resources towards the fight against malaria. The call, contained in the African Development Bank’s report, comes as Africa joins the recent of the world to commemorate World Malaria Day 2018. The global Malaria day …
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