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Action urged for sickle cell disease in Nigeria, across Africa
The growing burden of sickle cell disease in Nigeria – and across sub-Saharan Africa – has prompted calls by health professionals and researchers for...
Southern Africa inches ahead in war against drug-resistant malaria
As malaria cases nudge their way upwards on the continent, and while the cunning parasite evolves to evade detection and conquer drugs used to...
Mystery illness in Burundi kills five
At least five people have died in Burundi, and another three dozen become ill from unexplained causes, reports CIDRAP News.
The case-fatality rate of 14%...
Africa, Europe sign €100m in pacts to boost health systems
Three agreements have been signed between the African Union and the European Commission to reinforce and strengthen Africa’s health systems, reports Health Policy Watch.
The...
Nigerian doctors demand justice after attacks
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has demanded justice for a doctor and a nurse who were assaulted at the Kwara State University...
One in three young girls in Africa untested for HIV
HIV remains one of the biggest public health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, a region which accounts for about two-thirds of 40m people with HIV globally....
Africa needs to reassess fight against malaria
As progress on malaria stalls, the case for local research in Africa is stronger than ever, write Edwine Barasa of the KEMRI-Wellcome Research Programme...
Africa’s health worker brain drain tracks colonial patterns
Africa has a challenge to retain the health staff it needs – with the WHO estimating a global shortfall of 11m health workers by...
Supplier still selling expired medicines to Malawi state facilities
Despite a recommendation to revoke its licence, one of Malawi’s largest pharmaceutical suppliers that was shut down for supplying state hospitals with faulty antibiotics...
Genetic risk factors threaten kidney disease crisis for Africa
With kidney disease rising across the continent, there’s an overwhelming need for African health systems to boost investment in early disease detection, for pharmaceutical...
Kenyan president slams healthcare scheme critics
President William Ruto has dismissed criticism of the government’s Social Health Authority (SHA), saying opponents lack the capacity to understand or interpret the scale...
Low CD4 count linked to cervical cancer risk – Swiss-SA study
A team of scientists, led by the University of Bern, Switzerland, and in collaboration with the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, has found...
Africa’s deadly legacy – one stillbirth every 30 seconds
A major report has revealed that a baby is stillborn every 30 seconds in Africa, exposing major cracks in the continent’s healthcare systems. Most...
Tpoxx no longer advised for mpox: EMA
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is recommending that the antiviral drug tecovirimat (Tpoxx) no longer be used for treating mpox, after studies found it...
Half of all badly injured patients don’t reach medical care – UK-Stellenbosch study
Many seriously injured patients in Global South countries fail to reach medical care within the lifesaving “golden hour”, with ambulances often associated with these...
Expert urges caution on Africa-US health agreements
The United States has been signing bilateral health deals with African countries, with pacts worth $19.8bn having been negotiated and inked by the end...
Zambia stands firm against US bullying over health support
The US State Department is threatening to withhold lifesaving health support to Zambia as a negotiating tactic to force that country’s government to sign...
Africa summit flags fungal diseases as public health priority
A landmark summit held in Addis Ababa this month – Africa’s first event dedicated to fungal diseases – concluded with a multi-stakeholder commitment to...
Doctors arrested amid escalating tensions at Nairobi Hospital
One of Kenya’s leading private medical institutions, The Nairobi Hospital, is facing a deepening governance crisis after sudden arrests at the weekend of senior...
SA leading the charge for made-in-Africa anti-HIV jab
South Africa’s National Aids Council (Sanac) has asked local drug companies to submit applications by 7 April to make generic versions of the anti-HIV...
Madagascar reports first mpox death
Madagascar has reported its first death – a three-year-old girl – from mpox since the disease was detected in the country last December, according to...
Breakthrough sickle cell gene therapy a distant hope in Africa
As Uganda rolls out mandatory nationwide screening of newborns for sickle cell disease, a gene therapy celebrated in the United States and Europe remains...
Kenyan health, hospital officials charged in multimillion-dollar fraud probe
Charges against a number of directors from various Kenyan hospitals as well as several government officials all linked to Social Health Authority (SHA) fraud –...
Africa-wide psychosis research network launched
Psychotic disorders remain under-researched and under-resourced across Africa, despite evidence that between 1% and 4.4% of people on the continent may experience psychosis during...
Zimbabwe rejects $350m US health deal
A proposed $350m health funding agreement with the United States has been rejected by Zimbabwe after President Emmerson Mnangagwa described the deal as compromising...
Traditional medicinal plants at frontline for men’s health – SA study
Men’s sexual and reproductive health may be awkward to talk about, but there’s a need to do so. For example, about one-sixth of all...
Indigenous African foods might help fight diabetes – SA study
African indigenous food groups present an exciting area to explore when it comes to taste and nutrition, and may even offer potential as nutritional...
Lesotho’s flying doctors won't let their wings be clipped
An intrepid band of airborne health workers is bringing essential medical care to isolated communities in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, where villagers go...
US threatens Gavi over vaccines ingredient
The US Government has threatened to withdraw all future funding unless Gavi, the vaccine alliance, removes the ingredient thimerosal from its vaccines. This comes...
Kenya’s NHI loses billions to fraud
Kenya’s Health Cabinet has revealed that the government lost Sh11bn through fraudulent and irregular medical claims under the new Social Health Authority (SHA) system,...
Wits team leads African genome mapping project
A team of Wits scientists is leading an ambitious project to analyse hundreds of human genomes from African populations, paving the way to a...
Scientists issue clarion call for African R&D solutions
Disruptions and reductions in global health financing have prompted increased, urgent calls for Africa to become more self-sufficient in research, development and production of...
Hidden mpox exposure found in healthy Nigerians – Cambridge study
The mpox virus appears to be circulating silently in parts of Nigeria, in many cases without the symptoms typically associated with the disease, according...
Washington launches billion-dollar health pacts in Africa – with provisos
The United States is reshaping development policy again with 14 bilateral pacts with African states so far setting out the parameters for aid in...
Controversial study will delay life-saving vaccine for Guinea-Bissau babies
This week saw the start of a $1.6m trial in Guinea-Bissau, funded by the United States Government, on the timing of hepatitis B vaccinations,...
Real-world data boosts African fight against HIV, TB
African biostatisticians have offered a powerful, data-driven alternative that can accurately inform HIV policy, reduce healthcare costs, and save more lives, reports Newswise.
HIV and...
WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Congo over
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now over, DRC health officials and the World Health Organisation said this week, after...
AI steps in to detect TB
Many low- and middle-income countries are now using AI to screen for tuberculosis, saving hundreds of lives in regions where doctors and other technology...
US seeks Africa data access in new aid agreements
The US Government is planning to secure memorandums of understanding (MOU) with African countries that offer limited health aid for five years in exchange...
Stroke care guidelines for African contexts urgent
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in Africa, with current estimates indicating rates of new cases as high as 316...