Nearly half a million people in Sub-Saharan Africa died in 2019 due to rising resistance to anti-biotic medicines, a report published in Lancet reveals. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread,…
Africa’s health systems unfit to meet needs of the poor, new UHC Report shows
By Adelyn Wangusi Africa’s health systems are poorly attuned to meet the health care needs of the poor, the State of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Africa Report, a comprehensive document that maps the progress of African countries towards their UHC goals and unveiled today by the independent Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) Commission shows. According…
Wary as COViD-19 cases sharply rise in Africa
COVID-19 continues to spread in Africa since the virus was first detected on the continent in mid-February 2020. More than 200 000 cases have been confirmed so far, with more than 5600 deaths. The pandemic is accelerating – it took 98 days to reach 100 000 cases and only 18 days to move to 200…
DR CONGO: Major cholera vaccination campaign kick off
A vaccination campaign against cholera in North Kivu in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that targets over 800,000 people has on Monday been launched. The campaign is being implemented by the DRC Ministry of Health with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners and funded by Gavi,…
Building a TB-Free World feasible, Lancet Commission declares
Rapid, sustained declines in tuberculosis deaths in many countries during the past 50 years provide compelling evidence that ending the pandemic is feasible, a report by the Lancet Commission released ahead of World TB Day discloses. At the heart of the report is a recognition that TB preventive therapy can be an effective intervention to…
Scale-up of TB prevention among people living with HIV possible, reveals new study
In an important moment for tuberculosis (TB) control, a new study finds that a shorter regimen to prevent TB can be safely co-administered with dolutegravir (DTG)—the first-line drug to treat HIV in many high-burden TB countries. Presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), the study found that weekly administration of rifapentine and…
DR Congo: Ebola vaccination begins In North Kivu
The Democratic Republic of the Congo announced Thursday the launch of Ebola vaccinations for high-risk populations in North Kivu province. The vaccinations have begun just one week after the announcement of a second outbreak of Ebola this year in the country. A total of 44 cases have been reported so far, of which 17 have…
Ensure Safe and Healthy Food for Citizens, Greenpeace Africa Urges Kenya’s Government
In response to news that some of Kenya’s imported sugar contains dangerous elements such as copper and lead; and that fertilisers sold to farmers in Kenya are reported to be laced with harmful mercury, Greenpeace Africa has called on the government of Kenya to act now – Food for life Campaigner, Claire Nasike has said:…
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