Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | An all-Ugandan team of doctors has carried out a vascular bypass surgery at the Uganda Heart Institute in Mulago on Monday. The first of its kind by an all Ugandan doctors team, the eight-hour procedure was performed to redirect blood flow from one area …
Read More »Why blood shortage hit Uganda’s hospitals
Donor cuts, low government funding contribute, but the bigger problem could be you Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | This is not a good time to be sick and in need of a blood transfusion as hospitals across the country experience an acute shortage. “We only have 10% of what …
Read More »THIS WEEK: NDA stops licensing drug shops in Kampala, municipalities
THIS WEEK: NDA stops licensing drug shops in Kampala, municipalities Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In a Jan.10 press statement, the National Drug Authority (NDA) announced that they will no longer license drug shops in Kampala and other municipalities saying there are pharmacies already sufficiently serving those areas and that …
Read More »THIS WEEK: Committee to investigate Mengo deaths set up
THIS WEEK: Committee to investigate Mengo deaths set up Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners council revealed on Jan.10 that they had set up a committee to investigate heart surgery deaths at Mengo hospital. This was after government ordered the council to conduct an inquiry …
Read More »Second face transplant for Frenchman in world-first
Paris, France | AFP | A man whose body rejected a face transplant he received seven years ago has been given a second donor face after living nearly two months without one, French medical agencies said Friday. It is the first time in transplant history that doctors have replaced one …
Read More »After two-year wait, Uganda gets its new cancer machine
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda’s only radiotherapy machine was officially replaced Friday, nearly two years after the previous one broke down, giving hope to cancer patients who had been denied a crucial tool against the disease. The failure of the old machine in March 2016 caused a public outcry …
Read More »GLOBAL COMMENT: Resuscitating health care
The model of Rwanda, which is a world leader in health-care access and outcomes, should be everywhere COMMENT | SAMUEL KARGBO | In late October, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) confirmed what many had long suspected: millions of dollars donated to fight the Ebola outbreaks …
Read More »UK appoints ‘minister for loneliness’
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain appointed a “minister for loneliness” on Wednesday to tackle what Prime Minister Theresa May described as “the sad reality of modern life” affecting millions of people. Tracey Crouch, a junior minister for sport and civil society, will take on the role as part …
Read More »Breastfeeding for 6 months cuts diabetes risk in half: study
Miami, United States | AFP | Women who breastfeed their babies for six months or more may be able to cut their risk of developing diabetes in the future by nearly half, according to a study Tuesday. The findings from a three-decade US study of more than 1,200 white and African-American …
Read More »Fake medicines flourish in Africa despite killing thousands
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | There’s nothing covert about Roxy — a huge market in Abidjan selling counterfeit medicine, the scourge of Africa and the cause of around 100,000 deaths annually on the world’s poorest continent. Located in the bustling Adjame quarter of Ivory Coast’s main city and commercial hub, …
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