Health – KMAUPDATES

Sep72020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Uganda repatriates 322 Ugandans from Saudi Arabia

INTERNATIONAL

The Embassy of the Republic of Uganda in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has successfully repatriated a total of 322 Ugandan Nationals and legal residents who have been stranded in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the fifth repatriation exercise the Embassy has undertaken with the first four having taken place on 22nd, 28th July, 12th August and 3rd September 2020 respectively which ensured that over 1000 Ugandans and legal residents in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Oman returned home safely. The Embassy undertook the registration process of Ugandan Nationals who were stranded in the Jeddah a province in Saudi Arabia and coordinated their return aboard Saudi Airlines. The flight no. SV 7842 departed King Adulaziz International Airport at 2:00pm and arrived at Ent...

Sep62020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Uganda Records the Highest Covid-19 Infections and Deaths in a Single Day

Uncategorized

Since the Corona virus pandemic hit Uganda as well as Africa at large, the East African country has managed to record low number of new infections as well as deaths. However, on Saturday 5th of September 2020, the country recorded very high number of new Corona virus infections as well as deaths in a single day. The country recorded 186 new Corona virus infections which raised the total number of infections to 3,539 cases. The ministry of health also reported 4 new deaths bringing the total number of Covid-19 fatalities do far to 39. "Results from COVID-19 tests done on 04 September 2020,186 new COVID-19 cases confirmed. The cumulative total confirmed cases of Ugandans are now 3,539🔺4 COVID-19 deaths registered today. This brings the total COVID-19 deaths to 39."@Ministry...

Sep42020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Coronavirus – Niger: Influencers Strengthen Migrant Voices in Niger

AFRICA

GENEVA, Switzerland -- Since 2019, REFEMAC (an acronym for the French: “Meeting of Female Migrants, Women Working in Media and Female Artists”) has welcomed active Nigerien women leaders and influencers from media, the digital world, as well as the art scene. The aim of the initiative has been to engage youth leaders in gender-sensitive topics related to irregular migration. The hope is that in this way, they would be better equipped to sensitize other women and girls wishing to embark on perilous migration journeys. Between 24–29 August, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) partnered with the Nigerien music label Art-Disc Records to organize the second edition of the REFEMAC workshop at the Centre Culturel Franco-Nigérien Jean Rouch (CCFN) in Niamey. Launched under th...

Sep42020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Coronavirus – Africa: COVID-19 Situation update for the WHO African Region, External Situation Report

Uncategorized

BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (Republic of the) -- The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the WHO African Region continues to decrease in the past six weeks. Since our last External Situation Report 26 issued on 26August 2020, a total of 41 614 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1 363 new deaths were reported from 46 countries between 26 August and 1 September 2020. This is a 21% decrease in cases as compared to 52 544 cases registered during the previous reporting period (19-25August 2020). At the same time, a 13% (1 363) decrease in the total number of deaths was recorded compared to the previous week when 1 562 deaths were registered. Overall, South Africa continues to bear the highest burden of COVID-19 in Africa, accounting for nearly half of all new cases, 37% (15 242), repor...

Sep42020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Coronavirus – Africa: UNHCR Report – Coronavirus a dire threat to refugee education – half of the world’s refugee children out of school

Uncategorized

GENEVA, Switzerland -- In a report released yesterday, titled “Coming Together for Refugee Education,” UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, predicts that unless immediate and bold action is taken by the international community to beat back the catastrophic effects of COVID-19 on refugee education, the potential of millions of young refugees living in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities will be further threatened. The data in the report is based on the gross enrolment figures from the 2019 school cycle. While children in every country have struggled with the impact of COVID-19 on their education, the report finds that refugee children have been particularly disadvantaged. Before the pandemic, a refugee child was twice as likely to be out of school as a non-refugee child. This is se...

Sep32020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Coronavirus: WHO Guidance on the use of corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19

Uncategorized

GENEVA, Switzerland, September 2, 2020/ -- WHO has published guidance for clinicians and health care decision-makers on the use of corticosteroids in patients with COVID-19.We recommend systemic corticosteroids for the treatment of patients with severe and critical COVID-19. We suggest not to use corticosteroids in the treatment of patients with non-severe COVID-19 as the treatment.Corticosteroids are listed in the WHO model list of essential medicines, readily available globally at a low cost. This guidance was developed in collaboration with the non-profit Magic Evidence Ecosystem Foundation (MAGIC), which provided methodologic support to develop and disseminate living guidance for COVID-19 drug treatments.Work on this guidance began on 22 June when the RECOVERY trial publish...

Aug132020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

A man cycles 680 miles to create COVID-19 awareness

Uncategorized

A 27-year-old man began a journey on a bicycle from Moyale township on the Kenya-Ethiopia border heading to Busia on the Kenya-Uganda border. The journey of close to 2,000 kilometers is his own initiative as a COVID-19 awareness campaign. He arrived in Isiolo on Wednesday. Fredrick Ochieng’, a father of two, began the journey last Thursday and expects to complete it in 29 days. When he arrived in Isiolo, he made a courtesy call to the County Commissioner’s office before speaking to journalists. Ochien’g plans to traverse at least 14 counties focusing on the need to observe the guidelines laid out by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation in fighting the pandemic. He will pass through Marsabit, Samburu, Isiolo, Meru, Laikipia, Nyeri, Murang’a, Kiambu, Na...

Aug132020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

7M posts removed from Facebook for sharing false information on coronavirus

TECHNOLOGY

Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it removed 7 million posts in the second quarter for sharing false information about the novel coronavirus. This includes content that promoted fake preventative measures and exaggerated cures. Facebook released the data as part of its sixth Community Standards Enforcement Report, which it introduced in 2018 along with more stringent decorum rules in response to a backlash over its lax approach to policing content on its platforms. The company said it would invite external experts to independently audit the metrics used in the report, beginning 2021. The world’s biggest social media company removed about 22.5 million posts containing hate speech on its flagship app in the second quarter, up from 9.6 million in the first quarter. It also deleted ...

Aug122020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

NIGERIA: “Wellness On Wheels” initiative to provide diagnostic & treatment for COVID-19, TB and other life-threatening diseases

HEALTH

BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (Republic of the), August 12, 2020/ -- “Wellness On Wheels” a.k.a "WOW Truck" reaches remote areas in northern Nigeria with much-needed essential health services.This Kaduna State Government, KNCV Tuberculosis F. & World Health Organization (WHO) initiative provides diagnostic & treatment for COVID-19, TB & other life-threatening diseases.

Aug112020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

Coronavirus – Kenya: Development of Healthcare Facility for COVID-19 response in Kericho County

HEALTH, KENYA

NAIROBI, Kenya, August 11, 2020/ -- CS Kagwe: Kericho County; It is gratifying to see first-hand the development including the equipping of health facilities in the county. I am also pleased to note that all the critical care equipment in your facilities remain functional and this is as it should be.

Aug102020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

AFRICA: The United States announces $7.5 million in Additional Humanitarian Assistance to contain Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

HEALTH

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, August 8, 2020/ -- The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing more than $7.5 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help end the 11th outbreak of Ebola in Équateur Province in Northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The funding also will support Ebola survivors and maintain a rapid-response capacity in Eastern DRC, where the DRC's 10th outbreak, also the second-largest outbreak of the disease in history was declared over in June 2020. The U.S. Government remains the DRC's principal partner in countering Ebola: USAID has provided nearly $350 million since August 2018, including for preparedness and response activities in the DRC and neighboring countries. The funding an...

Aug102020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

CORONAVIRUS: Uganda registers 7th Covid-19 death, 16 new cases

HEALTH, UGANDA

The Ministry of Health on Sunday confirmed another death of one COVID-19 patient, bringing the number of people who have succumbed to the disease in Uganda to seven.A statement by the ministry says that 16 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed from samples tested on Saturday, bringing the cumulative confirmed cases of Ugandans to 1,283.The deceased, a 49-year old Ugandan female, was an HIV positive patient on treatment and a resident of Wakiso. The patient, according to a statement from the health ministry also had a history of asthma and Tuberculosis (TB) which are considered as high risk factors for Covid.According to Dr Henry Mwebesa, the director general of health services, the deceased, on August 6 presented at a private health facility in Wakiso with signs and symptoms consistent with t...

Aug82020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

HEALTH REPORT: Over 5,500 children got infected with HIV last year.

HEALTH

The 2020 report on the progress towards the ‘Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free' targets reveals that the children contracted HIV from their mothers either during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding.This shows an increase of 1,500 in the number of children contracting HIV from their mothers, from the 4,000 infections that the health ministry recorded in 2018.Basic conceptsThe report tracks the progress of the targets that were made in 2015 by global partners under the ‘Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free' framework. The framework was based on three basic concepts.The first concept was to ensure that all babies are born free of HIV through eliminating vertical transmission (mother-to-child); second is to prevent adolescent girls and young women from acquiring HIV as they grow up; and the third...

Aug72020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

HEALTH: Eating too much rice with your meals could be fatal, experts claim

HEALTH

After a long day at work, sometimes there's nothing better than coming home and tucking into some food in front of the TV. But if your dinner contains rice, you might want to reconsider reaching for seconds or thirds. That's because experts have warned that eating too much rice could prove fatal in the long run. Rice contains low-levels of arsenic and it is now thought that prolonged exposure to this could be contributing to thousands of avoidable premature deaths per year. According to research by two Manchester universities, prolonged exposure to low-levels of inorganic arsenic can be linked to health problems such as cancers and cardiovascular diseases. The researchers from The University of Manchester and The University of Salford have been exploring this relationship a...

Aug72020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

HEALTH: New method to help spot gastric cancer cells

HEALTH

Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, accounting for over 1,000,000 new cases and nearly 800,000 deaths per year. The poor prognosis of gastric cancer is largely due to the difficulty in early diagnosis of peritoneal metastasis. Separation and characterisation of cancer cells are essential for early diagnosis of peritoneal metastasis. However, due to the low content of cancer cells in patients' peritoneal lavages, traditional detection methods lack sensitivity and cannot satisfy clinical demand. Researchers from the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA) of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) and City University of Hong Kong (CityU), in cooperation with doctors from the First Hospital of China Medical University, jointly proposed an optically in...

Aug12020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

UGANDA: 48yr old arrested for defiling, infecting five minors with HIV /Aids

AFRICA, HEALTH, UGANDA

Police in Masaka District in central Uganda are holding a 48 -year -old man for allegedly defiling underage girls who he later infected with HIV/Aids.The suspect is a carpenter in Masaka Town and is a resident of Bwabikere Village, Kalagala Parish in Mukungwe Sub County in Masaka City. It is alleged that he has been defiling children between ages of eight and13.Police say the suspect was caught defiling a minor by a resident who quickly reported the case to the village chairperson, Mr Paul Lutaaya.Ms Juliet Shida, the officer in charge of Children’s Affairs at Masaka Central Police Station said the suspect had been subjected to an HIV test as part of police investigations. “The suspect was taken to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital and he was found to be HIV positive. After getting ...

Jul312020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

HEALTH: Uganda Prisons gets machines to increase the diagnosis of TB

AFRICA, HEALTH, UGANDA

The Ministry of Health has handed over four GeneXpert machines to Uganda Prisons Service in order to increase diagnosis and detection of Tuberculosis among prisoners in Uganda. According to the officials,TB is the biggest cause of death among prisoners in Uganda therefore the additional machines will provide an opportunity for expanded capacity for TB diagnosis and detection of the resistant strains among inmates allowing for prompt initiation of treatment. According to Dr Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Health, recent studies show that TB prevalence is 10 times more in our prisons than in the general population. She said this is due to over congestion among other factors thus the need for timely testing and treatment if found with TB. Atwine said the ...

Jul312020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

CORONAVIRUS: Zimbabwe’s agriculture minister dies of COVID-19, President comments.

AFRICA, ZIMBABWE

HARARE — Zimbabwean agriculture minister Perrance Shiri died of COVID-19, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced on Thursday. Shiri, a retired Air Chief Marshall, died early Wednesday morning, a few days after his driver succumbed to the virus. Mnangagwa, accompanied by the country’s two vice presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, told mourners gathered at Shiri’s home in Harare that post mortem results had revealed that the late national hero died of COVID-19. He said as a result, Shiri’s burial at the National Heroes Acre in Harare on Friday will be done in line with World Health Organization guidelines on COVID-19. Shiri was the first cabinet minister in Zimbabwe to die of COVID-19. Zimbabwe has reported 2,879 COVID-19 cases, with 41 deaths and 887 recoveries ...

Jul312020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

UGANDA: Rift Valley Fever hits Kabale

AFRICA, HEALTH, UGANDA

The Ministry of Health has confirmed the outbreak of the Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in Kabale District. The confirmation comes after Robert Mwesigye, a boda boda rider at Voice of Kigezi stage in Kabale town, died on July 22 at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital where he was rushed after presenting signs and symptoms of the RVF. One of the boda boda operators at Voice of Kigezi stage, who preferred anonymity, said by the time they rushed Mwesigye to hospital, he had severe headache, sore throat, vomiting, cough and was complaining of muscle and joint pains. The Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Health, Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, yesterday said they had started tracing those who came in contact with the deceased. “We appeal to the public to be vigilant to avoid contracting t...

Jul312020 by KMA UpdatesNo Comments

UGANDA: Government has permitted private laboratories to exercise Covid-19 tests

AFRICA, HEALTH, UGANDA

The Ministry of Health has said it has allowed private laboratories to carry out Coronavirus tests provided they are approved by a committee of scientists. Speaking while issuing an update on the pandemic in the country on Thursday, the Health Minister. Dr.Jane Ruth Aceng confirmed the development adding that three private laboratories have so far been cleared for the same. “The accredited private laboratories include MBN on Plot 28, Nakasero road( opposite Multiplex headquarters), Lancet on Plot 99/101 Madhavani building on Buganda road(opposite YMCA) and Medipal International H on Plot 1-A, Lower Kololo Terrace,” Aceng said. “Other Laboratories have been assessed and accredited and 12 are ready for operationalization. Of these, three are public, three private and six research l...