Maternal deaths increase as health workers shift to care for COVID-19 patients Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | Uganda’s response to COVID-19 has negatively impacted maternal, child and neonatal health, according to data by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UNFPA says the biggest and longest lasting impact is …
Read More »Africa sidesteps warning on J&J Vaccine
Vaccine linked to rare condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves Africa, the continent with the world’s lowest vaccination rate, is going ahead with plans to procure Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine undeterred by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s warning about the inoculation. The FDA earlier this …
Read More »Prudential shakes up insurance market
Global insurer, Prudential, has become the country’s largest life insurer following the acquisition of IAA Air Ambulance Healthcare, a Health Membership Organisation, at undisclosed consideration. Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Prudential Life Assurance Uganda Ltd entered the Ugandan market in 2015 through the acquisition of Goldstar Life Assurance, and …
Read More »COVID-19 rekindles travel insurance business, call center inquiries
Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Long before the outbreak of coronavirus, one thing that most local travelers never spent time on was to buy a travel insurance cover. Planning and making arrangements for visas, flights and accommodations, researching tourist’s attractions and perhaps buying new clothes was all they needed. Little …
Read More »Gossip: Social skill not a character flaw
Why do we feel such a strong urge to share a juicy piece of gossip? | FRANK T. McANDREW | According to a Wall Street Journal article, some communities in the Philippines consider gossiping so horrible that they have outright banned it. But aside from the difficulty of enforcing this …
Read More »South Africa in flames
Spontaneous outbreak or insurrection? South Africa | DAVID EVERATT | South Africans spent most of mid-July glued to their news outlets, from established media outlets to TikTok, from streaming news to old-fashioned printed words, to see just one thing: would Jacob Zuma blink? Would the country finally get some …
Read More »URA misses 2020/21 revenue target by Shs2.4trillion
The taxman is optimistic about future performance Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | The Commissioner General for Uganda Revenue Authority, John Rujoki Musinguzi, has an uphill task of collecting taxes from businesses and individuals that continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic hit. His supervisors at the Ministry of Finance …
Read More »GM mosquitoes to fight malaria
Ugandan scientists seek integrated approach to tackle killer disease Scientists at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) plans to undertake a research on genetically engineered mosquitoes to tackle malaria. Dr. Jonathan Kayondo, the principal investigator Target Malaria Uganda and Senior Research Officer at UVRI had an email interview with The …
Read More »More reshuffles, less change
New accounting officers have to walk thin line between service and politics Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Ramathan Ggoobi and Lucy Nakyobe who a month ago were rumoured to be joining cabinet have been rewarded with top posts in the civil service in the latest reshuffle of government by …
Read More »GMO research: Lack of law complicates it
Now scientists plot new law after Museveni sat on old one Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | For years Ugandan scientists have been trying to figure out how various crops can be made to respond to numerous challenges – drought, pests and diseases. Dr. Godfrey Asea is one of them. A …
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