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In July 2012, President Yoweri Museveni asked The Independent’s Managing Director, Andrew Mwenda, to accompany him to visit the window of former President Milton Obote, Mrs. Miria Obote, at her home along Impala Avenue in Kololo. Mwenda is a close friend of the Obote family and an admirer of the …

By Joan Akello Former opposition Forum for Democratic Change chairman, Sam Kalega Njuba, died Dec.13 of intestinal complications at Nsambya Hospital in Kampala. He was 72 years old. The lawyer, politician, and academic had been battling illness. Former FDC President, Dr Kizza Besigye said Uganda has lost a wonderful man …

By Agencies Bribes, poorly trained medical staff and the lack of medical care for pregnant HIV-positive mothers are among the reasons for high rates of infant and maternal mortality in Uganda. NGOs want to see more government action. According to the latest official figures from a 2006 health survey, 16 …

John Amory, a doctor at the University of Washington, has been developing a male contraceptive for 15 years. Turns out, it’s harder than it sounds. He explains why. Why is it taking so long to produce a birth-control pill for men? Women make one egg a month, but men make …

By Agencies WHO released its first adolescent-specific care guidelines ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 The number of adolescents infected by the HIV virus has jumped by one third over the past decade, the UN’s health agency said Monday, blaming gaps in care programmes.  “More than 2 million …

Watching sport can make you fitter, according to research that said viewing other people exercise increases heart rate and other physiological measures as if you were working out yourself.  The study, published in the international journal Frontiers in Autonomic Neuroscience, showed that when watching a first person video of someone …

By Melinda Gates Investing in data will go a long way towards helping countries design and implement effective family planning programs My job as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation requires a lot of travel. I don’t always like being away from my children, but I know I …

By Ronald Musoke Experts say scaling up pneumonia interventions plus innovative diagnostic technologies are key to containing the disease Jane vividly remembers the day her first child died sometime back. After a motorcycle ride in cold weather one evening, she realized that her baby had started developing a breathing problem. …

By JM Kavuma-Kaggwa How Obote ended the life of Uganda’s first President and why Uganda should value his legacy as a great leader and freedom fighter. Sir Edward Muteesa II, the first president of Uganda, was born on November 19, 1924 and died on his birthday in 1969. If he …

By Julius Businge Five reasons why taking that HIV test is long overdue On Nov. 8, President Yoweri Museveni took an HIV test at Kiswa Health Center IV in Bugolobi before the glare of cameras in gesture he believes would re-energize the fight against the disease by curbing new infections.  …