Paris, France | AFP | In Europe, officials, doctors and engineers are looking at how smartphones could be enlisted in the war against the spread of the new coronavirus. One obvious attraction for health officials is the possibility of using smartphones to find out with whom someone diagnosed with COVID-19 has …
Read More »Medical workers protest harassment during curfew
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Medical workers under their umbrella organization, the Uganda Medical Association are threatening to lay down their tools if the government doesn’t clarify how they are to operate in the wake of Coronavirus Disease (COVID -19) which came with lockdowns, in among others, public transport. …
Read More »Ugandan doctors seek right to advertise amid pressure from herbalists
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Doctors are urging the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council to put in place a mechanism or guidelines that can enable them to advertise their services. Dr Fredrick Nelson Nakwagala, a Senior Health Researcher and head of the Directorate of Medicine at Mulago …
Read More »DR Congo makes new push to fight year-old Ebola epidemic
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | An Ebola epidemic raging in eastern DR Congo marks its first year on Thursday in a mood of fear mingled with hope that fresh money and a change of leadership will turn the tide. So far, 1,790 people have died of the dreaded haemorrhagic virus …
Read More »Cuban doctors kidnapped by suspected Al-Shabaab militants in Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Suspected Somali Al-Shabaab jihadis kidnapped two Cuban doctors Friday and killed their police protection officer in northeastern Kenya, police sources said. They said the two doctors and their guard were on the way to work in the town of Mandera when they were attacked. “It …
Read More »AI system spots childhood disease like a doctor
Paris, France | AFP | An artificial intelligence (AI) programme developed in China that combs through test results, health records and even handwritten notes diagnosed childhood diseases as accurately as doctors, researchers said Monday. From the flu and asthma to life-threatening pneumonia and meningitis, the system consistently matched or out-performed primary …
Read More »Sickness and death
Doctors ‘need to start early conversation with patients about dying’ Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | Doctors need to get better at having difficult conversations with dying patients and not just in their final days, according to a report from the Royal College of Physicians. It says doctors should talk to people …
Read More »Treating UTIs
Why we may not need to rely on antibiotics Kampala, Uganda | MONICA BEYER | Doctors tend to prescribe antibiotics to treat common bacterial infections, such as those of the urinary tract. However, a new study shows that there may be a new strategy to reduce or potentially even eliminate the …
Read More »COMMENT: Magic of Cuban doctors
Why bringing them in a hostile environment may not solve the problems of a malfunctioning healthcare system COMMENT | CISSY KAGABA | The recent rather interesting proposal by the government to hire Cuban doctors who would earn Shs5.4 million a month has attracted divergent views. There has not been sufficient stakeholder …
Read More »Cuban doctor controversy
Does medical union, NOTU, understand what they are fighting? Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | June 23 might mark a turning point in Uganda medical service sector. The National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU) gave the government up to that day to ensure it has raised the minimum pay of …
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