Health

Television programmes can influence the perceptions and behaviours of adolescents either negatively or positively. But if unregulated they can cause harm. The Conversation Africa’s Health and Medicine Editor Joy Wanja Muraya spoke to Sammy Yaah Baya about its impact. How is television viewing likely to influence the sexual behaviour of …

  No country for old men: Japan’s elderly inmates prefer jail Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Every day is the same. He wakes at 6:45 am, eats breakfast 20 minutes later and reports for work at eight o’clock sharp. But this isn’t your typical Japanese salaryman. This man is in …

Wilson Kutegeka is the CEO of ClinicMaster International, the developers of a healthcare information management and medical billing software that automates patients’ transactions in health centres across East Africa.  He spoke to The Independent’s Agnes E Nantaba about automation of patient’s health records. What are the key elements in your …

Washington, United States | AFP | A new cholesterol-slashing drug that has shown promise for high-risk patients does not impair brain function, according to a study out Saturday. Previous research had raised the possibility that evolocumab, sold under the brand name Repatha by Amgen, may have a damaging effect on memory …

Washington, United States | AFP | People who received regular lifestyle counseling online were able to lower their blood pressure as much as a medication would, researchers said Saturday. Their study involved 264 people with high blood pressure and an average age of 58. The subjects’ average blood pressure began at …

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | Tanzania on Saturday agreed to send 500 doctors to Kenya after a 100-day doctors’ strike that paralyzed health services in the neighbouring country. President John Magufuli announced the decision after meeting a Kenyan delegation in Dar es Salaam headed by health minister Cleopa Mailu. …

Uganda’s Ministry of Health has embarked on a comprehensive program aimed at reducing the burden of the sickle cell disease in the country. While presenting a statement before parliament on the burden of the disease in the country, Minister Dr.Jane Ruth Aceng said the program will involve testing of new born …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenyan doctors signed a deal on Tuesday to end a strike over pay and working conditions that has crippled public hospitals for 100 days. The government had threatened repeatedly to fire the strikers and hire foreign doctors, and union officials were even briefly jailed in a …

Dr. Medard Bitekyerezo, the new Chairman of National Drug Authority (NDA) spoke to The Independent’s Flavia Nassaka about the challenges at NDA and how he plans to tackle them. You are joining an institution whose image is not impressive following the previous corruption scandals and intrigue which has led to …

Paris, France | AFP |  Scientists said Thursday they have developed a vaccine to shield endangered chimpanzees and gorillas against Ebola, which has wiped out tens of thousands of the wild apes in three decades. The vaccine is given orally, the developers said, which means it could be disguised in …