Society catergory

Paris, France | AFP | “Unfounded rumours” causing people to spurn the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was preventing the elimination of cervical cancer, which kills more than 300,000 women every year, health authorities said Monday. To mark World Cancer Day 2019, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issued a …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Estimated to cost $583.4 million, the Ministry of Health on Jan.25 launched the Health Sector Intergrated Refugee Response Plan 2019 – 2024 in which they will provide drugs, infrastructure and cater for human resources for health in refugee camps and the host community. Speaking at …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Global immunization experts attending the biannual Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group (RITAG) meeting in Congo Brazzaville on Jan.23 noted that over the past five years, immunization coverage in sub-Saharan Africa has stagnated at 72%, exposing populations to vaccine-preventable diseases and outbreaks. They said there was …

  Fake health news: How it can lead you to make dangerous decisions Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | Fake health news can do real harm. Here’s how to spot the difference between false stories and verified information. Sleeping with raw, sliced onions in your socks can release toxins from your …

Tampa, United States | AFP | Should healthy people take aspirin to ward off heart disease? The notion has been controversial, and the medical advice mixed. But a review of scientific data on the topic Tuesday showed that any benefits are slight, and are counterbalanced by a matching rise in …

Paris, France | AFP | Leaf-cutter ants build super highways to transfer food and building materials hundreds of metres without communicating with each other, scientists claimed Wednesday, in findings that could prompt a rethink about how some insect communities organise themselves. Each leaf-cutter colony can carve out nearly three kilometres of …

Paris, France | AFP | Eye-watering, throat-scratching air pollution is a major driver of big city blues in China, according to a study published Monday that matched social network chatter with fine-particle pollution levels. “The take-away is simple,” lead author Siqi Zheng, an associate professor at MIT and director of the …

ANIANSUE, Ivory Coast | AFP | A dozen women, their bodies coated with clay, sway to beating drums as if in a trance, ankle bells jingling as they stamp their feet, in the eastern Ivorian town of Aniansue. They are training to become certified “komians”, or priestesses, steeped in traditional …

Beijing, China | AFP | The second woman carrying a gene-edited foetus in China is now 12 to 14 weeks into her pregnancy, according to a US physician in close contact with the researcher who claimed to have created the world’s first genetically-modified babies last year. Chinese scientist He Jiankui …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Toyota announced on Tuesday it was creating a joint venture with Panasonic to develop batteries for electric cars, as the Japanese auto giant ramps up its ambitions for electric-powered vehicles. The firm will be set up by 2020 and controlled 51-49 percent by Toyota, the Prius …