Rwanda Intensifies Efforts to Prevent Marburg Virus ‘Export’

[ad_1] Rwanda is intensifying efforts including contact tracing as well as screening travelers at Kigali International Airport (KIA) to prevent potential export of Marburg virus disease cases, health minister Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana said on Thursday, October 3. He made the observation during a press briefing, on the Marburg outbreak, co-hosted by the Director-General of Africa Centers for Disease Control (Africa CDC), Dr Jean Kaseya. Nsanzimana was commenting on surveillance to address international spread of the virus, and policy regarding international […]

October 9, 2024

Africa

Africa: One of Science’s Greatest Achievements – How the Rapid Development of Covid Vaccines Prepares Us for Future Pandemics

[ad_1] Since COVID was first reported in December 2019, there have been more than 775 million recorded infections and more than 7 million deaths from the disease. This makes COVID the seventh-deadliest pandemic in recorded history. Factors including climate change, disruption of animal habitats, poverty and global travel mean we're only likely to see more pandemics in the future. It's impossible to predict exactly when the next pandemic will happen, or what it will be. But experts around the world […]

October 9, 2024

News

Africa: Statement Against Travel Restrictions Inresponse to Mpox and Marburg Virus Outbreaks

[ad_1] 8 October 2024 — In light of the ongoing Mpox and Marburg virus outbreaks, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) urges all countries to refrain from implementing travel bans or movement restrictions targeting African nations. Such measures are inconsistent with international health guidelines and risk undermining public health responses, deepening economic challenges, and reigniting the inequities and mistrust that surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly between the Global North and the Global South. Under the […]

October 9, 2024

Africa

Africa: Tiktok Users Claim a Cast Iron ‘Fish’ Can Help With a Mineral Deficiency – but It’s Not Quite That Simple

[ad_1] Iron deficiency is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies in the world. Iron deficiency is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies in the world. While eating iron-rich foods is the best way to tackle an iron deficiency, some users on social media say there's an even easier way to get more iron in your diet. According to some influencers, adding a cast iron "fish" to your meals while cooking is an easy way to boost the iron […]

October 8, 2024

Africa

Africa: WHO Calls for Action to Halt Rise in Hearing Loss in Africa

[ad_1] The number of people in Africa living with hearing loss could rise to 54 million by 2030, up from 40 million today, unless urgent measures are taken, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report published on Monday. Hearing loss already costs the continent $27 million annually, exacting profound impact on lives and economies, according to the report, which was launched at the African Summit on Hearing Impairment in Nairobi, Kenya. Widespread hearing loss disproportionately affects poor and […]

October 8, 2024

Africa

Africa: When Medicines Don’t Work – Eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases Will Reduce Drug Resistance – a Win for All

[ad_1] A major health challenge of our time is when drugs no longer work to treat infections. This happens when the agents that cause infections - they may be bacteria, viruses or fungi - become resistant to the drugs. Antimicrobials are a broad range of medications that act on microbes - like bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasites. Antibiotics, for instance, are one type of antimicrobial working against bacteria. Resistance to antimicrobial drugs therefore makes it difficult to treat and prevent […]

October 8, 2024

Africa

Africa: The Digital Future of Pharmacy in Africa

[ad_1] Amid the drain of Africa's trained healthcare workers to the West, pharmacists are increasingly playing a frontline role that goes beyond dispensing drugs. Across Africa, community pharmacies are often the first - and sometimes the only - accessible points of care, particularly in rural and underserved regions. In Nigeria, for example, pharmacies comprise ~50% of the primary healthcare facilities that cater to 70% of registered care visits. Similar trends are seen in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, where pharmacies are […]

October 8, 2024

Africa

Africa’s Researchers Playing Crucial Role in Advancing HIV Prevention #HIVR4P2024

[ad_1] Lima, Peru — Africa is contributing to groundbreaking data from the PURPOSE 2 study, which explores twice-yearly lenacapavir for HIV prevention. This study, with participants from South Africa and Uganda , is one of the scientific highlights showcased at the 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference, better known as HIVR4P 2024, in Lima, Peru. A key development is the promising results from the PURPOSE 1 study, which demonstrated that lenacapavir, a biannual HIV prevention injectable, reduced HIV acquisitions by […]

October 8, 2024

Africa

Africa: Health Labour Market Analysis Support Tool Launched

[ad_1] Nairobi, Kenya — The World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa launched the Health Labour Market Analysis (HLMA) Support Tool to assist countries assess their health workforce education capacity, supply, demand and need for health workers and facilitate integrating health workforce planning into Health Labour Marker Analysis. The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021 developed the Health Labour Market Analysis Guidebook, trained 75 experts from 25 countries in Africa. Building on this, the WHO designed a HLMA Support Tool […]

October 8, 2024

Health and Medicine