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Rwanda: First Lady Rallies Private Sector to Support Surgical Treatments

First Lady Jeannette Kagame has urged the private sector and other partners to work together to support safe and affordable access to expert surgical treatments, for all Africans. She made that call on Thursday, May 26 during a fundraising gala dinner for the Research Institute against Digestive Cancer IRCAD Africa. The dinner at which she […]

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Africa: Roe v Wade – Why Africans Should CARE

Johannesburg — On the night of 2 May 2022, we woke up to news that a Roe versus Wade draft decision by the U.S. Supreme Court had been leaked indicating that the ruling in that abortion case might be overturned. Abortion is not only at the center of American political discourse but in Africa as […]

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Senegal: 11 Babies Die During Fire at Hospital Neonatal Unit

Eleven babies died on Wednesday, May 26, in the fire that ravaged the neonatology department of the Mame Abdou Aziz Sy hospital in Tivaouane, reported Sudquotidien.sn. The sad news quickly spread on social networks, and drew comment from Senegal’s president, Macky Sall. “I have just learned with pain and dismay the death of 11 newborn […]

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Senegal: Eleven Newborn Babies Killed in Senegal Hospital Fire

Eleven infants have died in a hospital fire in Senegal, where great disparities exist between public health services in urban and rural areas. The tragedy was one of several incidents at a facility that is raising questions about the state of the country’s healthcare system. Just before midnight on Wednesday President Macky Sall announced on […]

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Malawi Among 5 First Five African Countries to Benefit From Pfizer Health Accord

Malawi is among the first five African countries to benefit from the Pfizer Accord for a Healthier World. Other countries to benefit from the arrangement are Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana and Uganda. The exciting news was announced on Wednesday during the World Economic Forum being held in Davos in Switzerland. The Accord aims at making available […]

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Africa: Over 11.7 Million Cases of Covid-19 Confirmed Across Continent

As of May 26, 2022, confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries reached  11,700,120 while over  299,975,452 vaccinations have been administered across the continent. Reported deaths in Africa reached  253,773 and  9,826,243 people have recovered. South Africa has the most reported cases of  3,941,045 and  101,043 people died. Other most-affected countries are Morocco (  […]

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Rwanda: Nearly Half of All Pregnancies Are Unintended – Report

Sarah Umutoniwase, who was born to a 16-year-old girl, found herself a mother too at that same age. Her mother had died when she was only two, and was taken in by a foster family. Although she had a scholarship, Umutoniwase would struggle to buy other school needs since she was going to a boarding […]

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Senegal – 11 Babies Killed in Hospital Fire

Preliminary investigation revealed that a short circuit triggered the fire, which killed 11 newborn babies in Tivaouane. This comes a month after four babies died in a similar incident. Eleven newborn babies died in a fire at the neonatal section of a regional hospital in Senegal’s Tivaouane, about 120 km (74.5 miles) east of the […]

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Kenya: Pharmacists Call for Strict Guidelines to Prevent Misuse of Prescription Drugs

Nairobi — The Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) now says strict guidelines should be put in place to prevent the misuse of prescription drugs including the so called ‘Mchele’ which can be easily obtained over the counter. According to the society’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lucas Nyabero, a lack of proper measures to regulate the […]

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Kenya: Health Ministry Says No Case of Monkeypox in the Country

Kisii — The Ministry of Health has assured that no cases of Monkeypox has been recorded in Kenya so far. Speaking in Kisii on Wednesday, Principal Secretary Susan Mochache however stated that surveillance has been heightened in all points of entry in the country. She further indicated that robust and proper response measures have been […]

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Africa: Artificial Light May Become a New Weapon in the Fight to Control Malaria

The world has not yet won the war against malaria. While the total number of cases has declined from about 81.1 cases per 1,000 population to 59 per 1,000 since 2000, there were still an estimated 240 million cases and 600,000 deaths in 2020 globally. Malaria remains a menace across Africa. The continent carries by […]

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South Africa: SA Records 4,227 New Covid-19 Cases

South Africa has reported 4 227 new COVID-19 cases bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 935 761. This increase represents a 15.7% positivity rate. In a statement on Tuesday, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said there might be a backlog of COVID-19 mortality cases reported due to the ongoing audit […]

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Nigeria: Monkeypox Is Endemic in Nigeria. but Surveillance Isn’t What It Should Be

There has been an outbreak of monkeypox cases in a number of countries that are not endemic for the virus. Monkeypox is caused by an orthopoxvirus that is closely related to the virus that caused smallpox. Monkeypox is an animal virus that occasionally infects humans after they are bitten or scratched by a monkey or […]

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Malawi: Chakwera Says Equitable Healthcare Only Option to Safeguard Global Economy From Health-Related Disruptions

Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has said ensuring equitable healthcare is the only option countries have at their disposal to safeguard the global economy from health-related disruptions experienced in the past two years. Chakwera has since challenged the global community to invest in filling the health systems gaps and inequities that the Covid-19 pandemic […]

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Africa: Fuel Shortage Crisis – Who is Responsible?

Kenya’s recent fuel crisis has left petrol pumps dry. Politicians are blaming each other and giving varied reasons for the shortage, from the government being inept to government plans to increase prices in an effort to get money for campaigning to the misappropriation of funds meant to subsidize the cost of fuel. Others have pointed […]

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Nigeria: U.S. and Nigeria Researchers Find a Way to Give a Better Estimate of Covid-19 Seroprevalence

In continuation of U.S. Government support for Nigeria’s conduct of a household survey that determines the extent of COVID-19 transmission in the country, a new study by a team of U.S. and Nigerian scientists has reaffirmed the importance of validating SARS-CoV-2 assays using locally obtained samples to assess COVID-19 exposure in the population. Therefore, the […]

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South Africa: Why Independent Healthcare Inside Prisons Is Vital

Prisoners are overlooked in an already unequal health system Our country’s healthcare system is a cumbersome double-decker bus: on top are those of us who have access of some kind to private healthcare (a high estimate is around 27% of the population). The great majority of necessity rely on public healthcare. But, within public healthcare, […]

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Tanzania: No Monkeypox Cases in Tanzania, Says Ministry

AS the World Health Organization (WHO) raises alarm on increasing Monkeypox cases around the world, the Ministry of Health has confirmed that there are no reported cases of the viral disease in the country. However, a statement issued by the Ministry on Tuesday and signed by Deputy Minister Dr Godwin Mollel, said that the public […]