By Henry Opondo Southern Africa is a region that has witnessed the highest annual declines in new cases of tuberculosis, a new WHO’s 2018 Global TB Report, released in New York Tuesday shows. Countries such as Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are experiencing reduction rates that range between 4-8%, thanks to better…
Ebola vaccine to help tackle DRC outbreak
Gavi has released US$1 million towards deployment of the Ebola vaccine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to boost efforts to contain the disease. Gavi’s funding will support the deployment of health workers, transport, critical supplies and other operations. The vaccination will be implemented by the Government of DRC and partners including WHO,…
WHO urges action to tackle malnutrition, Universal Health Coverage
Undernutrition, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases are leading to catastrophic costs to individuals, to communities and to national healthcare systems in Africa, experts attending a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on nutritional status said Wednesday. Every year, they said, it is estimated that 11 million Africans fall into poverty due to high out-of-pocket payments for healthcare.…
WHO moves to contain Nigeria’s Lassa fever outbreak
The World Health Organization has scaled up its response to an outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria, which has spread to 17 states. and may have infected up to 450 people in less than five weeks. In a statement released to the press Tuesday, the WHO said nearly 450 suspected cases were reported, of…
Caution as Madagascar’s plague epidemic slows down
Although the unprecedented outbreak of pneumonic plague in Madagascar’s is slowing down, the WHO has however cautioned that the response be sustained. “The worst of the outbreak is over, but we must stand ready to detect and respond to new infections until the end of the plague season in April 2018,” said WHO Director-General Dr…
Sierra Leone to begin cholera vaccination drive in disaster-affected areas
Half a million people in Sierra Leone will be able to access the life-saving cholera vaccine within weeks, the country’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation announced on Tuesday. The vaccines will be received from the Gavi-funded global stockpile and will target areas particularly affected by August’s floods and deadly landslide, which resulted in over 500…
Carton-boxes, an innovative way that is saving the life of Kenyan babies
By Gitonga Njeru Pyllis Kantai aged 33 is a mother of one. She has a twenty seven day baby girl. She is one of the mothers who has benefited from an innovative way of clothing her child after delivering in hospital. Many Kenyan hospitals are now offering baby carton-made beds for free. In addition, the…
GAVI warns that vaccine progress in developing countries ‘in danger of stalling
New WHO/UNICEF figures released this week show that in 68 of the world’s poorest countries, while close to a million more children received the basic diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine in 2016 compared to 2015, the coverage rate has remained at 80% for the past three years. Millions of children remain under-vaccinated in countries torn apart by conflict,…