African women are forging a healthier future, blending innovation, agency, and tradition to reshape healthcare and reclaim their well-being. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | When Seliyian Lokerra, 28, went into sudden labour late in her third pregnancy last year, she braced for the worst. In her rural Kenyan …
Read More »Inside the economics of vaccine manufacturing
Why not all African countries should venture into vaccine business ANALYSIS | The African Union has embarked on one of its most audacious health security missions: Ensuring that the continent manufactures 60% of its own vaccines by 2040. Africa currently manufactures a lowly 1% of the vaccines. However, since April 2021, …
Read More »Sarah Naluyima’s response to the Ebola
She is dedicated to changing community behaviour HEALTH | AGENCIES | Sarah Naluyima is a dedicated community health worker at the forefront of Uganda’s Ebola outbreak response. For 15 years, Sarah has worked in her community, raising awareness about various health issues. Today, her focus is on preventing the spread of …
Read More »Mpox vaccines roll out
Sex workers have been twice victimised, first by the virus and then by the stigma, but advocates hope the government will prioritise their safety Kampala, Uganda | ESTHER NAKKAZI | When Brian Lubega, a 30-year old resident of Kawempe in Kampala, heard a radio announcement about mpox vaccine distribution in his …
Read More »Africa’s bumpy road to vaccine independence
How continent is navigating decades-old obstacles to build robust vaccine industry ANALYSIS | The African Union has embarked on one of its most audacious health security missions: Ensuring that the continent manufacture 60% of its own vaccines by 2040. It currently manufactures a lowly 1% of the vaccines. However, since April …
Read More »More than 47 million people sign call for clean air for better health
GENEVA | THE INDEPENDENT | More than 47 million health professionals, patients, advocates, representatives from civil society organizations, and individuals worldwide have signed a resounding call for urgent action to reduce air pollution and to protect people’s health from its devastating impacts. Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental …
Read More »New HIV prevention drug for babies
A dissolvable oral dispersible film of dolutegravir could transform treatment ANALYSIS | MELODY CHIRONDA | In the fight against HIV, one of the most vulnerable populations – newborn babies – is often overlooked. It is estimated that 120,000 new HIV infections occur in children aged 14 years and younger every year, …
Read More »PATRICK OYULU: I stepped on a ‘landmine’
COMMENT | PATRICK OYULU | In Uganda, when someone wakes up with swollen legs or mysterious pain, explanations abound. In Buganda, they’d say, “Yalinye Etalo,” meaning they stepped on something supernatural. Among the Alur, it’s “Enyonu Tho,” an ominous declaration that someone has “stepped on an illness.” But in urban …
Read More »Africa relies too heavily on foreign aid for health
Prof. Francisca Mutapi, a global health expert suggests 4 ways to end the dependence HEALTH | FRANCISCA MUTAPI | There’s been a global trend in the reduction of aid to Africa since 2018. Donors are shifting their funding priorities in response to domestic and international agendas. Germany, France and Norway, for …
Read More »What is ‘double pneumonia’?
The condition that’s put Pope Francis in hospital HEALTH | Pope Francis has been in hospital for more than two weeks with what some media reports are now calling “double pneumonia”. The Vatican released a statement on Feb.18 evening saying laboratory tests, chest X-rays, and the clinical condition of the Holy …
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