Blantyre, Malawi | AFP | Malawian President Peter Mutharika returned home Sunday after an unexplained trip to the United States that lasted several weeks, sparking rumours over his health. Mutharika flew to New York to give a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 25 but there had been …
Read More »Medical delivery drones take flight over Rwanda
Muhanga, Rwanda | AFP | “Three, two, one, launch!” And with that, catapulted from a ramp, the small fixed-wing drone buzzes into the air towards its pre-programmed destination, the Kabgayi hospital two kilometres away. On Friday Rwanda inaugurated a drone operation that its backers hope will kickstart a revolution in …
Read More »Cancer Institute boss says no rift with Health ministry
The Uganda Cancer Institute has settled the controversy surrounding the purchase and construction of the radiotherapy bunker , saying a consensus has been reached. According to the Director of Uganda Cancer Institute Dr. Jackson Orem, the disagreement between the institute and the ministry of Health on who to be contracted to …
Read More »Tackling the medical internship challenge
Questions as Health ministry proposes stringent guidelines on enrollment The mood at Nakasero Primary School in Kampala on Oct.01 was similar to a movie shooting scene gone wrong – bitter exchanges and mean stares were flying about. The unpleasant body language of medical interns to-be as Dr. Jacinto Amandua, the …
Read More »COMMENT: Safe abortion, religion, culture
COMMENT: By Joy Asasira When religion and morality dictate reproductive health policy in Uganda, who suffers? Over the past few months, much as been said by politicians and the media about reproductive rights issues, from comprehensive sexuality education, legalisation or decriminalisation of abortion and even access to essential HIV prevention …
Read More »Health expert warns about high HIV/AID deaths among adolescents
A leading Ugandan health expert has warned that the country still faces unprecedented deaths related to HIV/AIDS mainly among the pediatric and adolescent age group. HIV is the second leading cause of deaths among adolescents in Uganda, reported to be at 11%, according to statistics at the ministry of health. According to Dr. Sabrina …
Read More »Charity scores small win in Hepatitis C drug battle
Berlin, Germany | AFP | A medical charity scored a small victory Wednesday in its bid to break a US pharma giant’s hold on an eye-wateringly expensive Hepatitis C drug when a European body partially revoked the firm’s patent. Patient groups around the world have accused Gilead Sciences of charging …
Read More »Cancer Institute row with NMS leaves patients stranded
A visit to the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) is for the hard-hearted since a row broke out between its management and those of the National Medical Stores (NMS) and drugs stopped being delivered. Patients who are in need of drugs now lie around without help. One of such patients is …
Read More »Court halts new medics internship guidelines
The High Court in Kampala has issued an interim order staying the implementation of new Health Ministry policy guidelines regarding internship centres and remuneration of medical interns across the country. This means that the current group of prospective medical doctors, dental surgeons, pharmacists and nurses should immediately be posted to their respective training …
Read More »Now, outbreak of deadly monkeypox in Central Africa Republic
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | At least 10 people have died in an outbreak of monkeypox in western Central African Republic, a country already hit by cholera, the health ministry announced Wednesday. “We have logged 10 deaths out of 19 patients,” in the southern province of Basse-Kotto, said …
Read More »