Nearly every minute, a child under five dies of malaria, according to the WHO Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ghana on April 13 became the first country to approve public usage of a new experimental vaccine for children to protect them from malaria. The R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine is a low-dose …
Read More »World Health Organisation at 75
Science, Solutions and Solidarity ensure the United Nations health agency remains central to protecting future health COMMENT | Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus | Turning history’s page on its deadliest conflict, countries came together in 1948 to heal a bloodied world. After years of war, distrust and pain, nations across the globe forged a …
Read More »Winning the cancer war in Sub-Saharan Africa
Noncommunicable diseases are expected to overtake infectious diseases as the region’s leading cause of death by 2030, following a sharp increase in cancer-related mortality COMMENT | Miriam Mutebi | Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity, kill 41 million people per year, with 77% of these deaths occurring …
Read More »Marburg virus outbreak in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea puts WHO on alert
The pathogen is extremely rare but has an mortality rate of as high as 90% Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | The deadly Marburg virus has reached Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea, with a total of 17 cases confirmed in the countries. Marburg virus which can cause internal bleeding and kidney failure …
Read More »Life-saving yellow fever vaccine
It is being administered to children aged 9 months in the routine immunisation programme Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | The Ministry of Health will vaccinate over 1.9 million children against yellow fever with support from UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Gavi In 2022, Uganda was one of 14 countries …
Read More »WHO says Uganda vulnerable, in dire need of health workers
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 55 countries around the globe as vulnerable to the availability of health workers required to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal target for universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030. According to the organization’s latest statement, of the …
Read More »Malawi cholera outbreak largest on continent: WHO official
Lilongwe, Malawi | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) has described Malawi’s cholera outbreak as the largest in Africa as the country has so far contributed nearly 40 percent of total cases recorded in 12 countries across the continent. WHO Regional Health Security Advisor Ambrose Talisuna said this during his presentation …
Read More »Floods raise cholera risk even as cases decline in Africa: WHO
Brazzaville, Congo | Xinhua | As weekly cholera cases in the affected African countries decline, heavy flooding due to seasonal rains and tropical cyclones in southern Africa are raising the risk of the disease spreading and threatening to undermine outbreak control efforts, warned the World Health Organization (WHO) Thursday. …
Read More »A woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth every two minutes
Every day in 2020, approximately 800 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth – meaning that a woman dies around every two minutes COVER STORY | AGENCIES | Maternal health setbacks in many parts of the world have contributed to the worrying finding that a woman dies during …
Read More »WHO warns of ongoing multiple disease outbreaks amid food insecurity in Horn of Africa
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned over multiple disease outbreaks that are ongoing in the Horn of Africa region as countries in the region face serious food insecurity. The WHO, in its Horn of Africa food insecurity and health situation update issued late …
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