Health file - Page 2

The lack of education and political will, poverty, out-moded traditional beliefs, to mention but a few, have been widely blamed for causing severe and sometimes unwarranted health catastrophies of genocidal proportions on the African continent. Child killer diseases, malaria, tuberculosis, water borne diseases, HIV/AIDS, among other preventable ailments have killed millions in their wake. As rightly said by the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, on May 13, 2000 “More people (…) died of Aids in the past year (1999-2000, ndlr) in Africa than in all the wars on the continent”.

Cholera infections still ravaging Zimbabwe

Cholera infections still ravaging Zimbabwe

A humanitarian aid agency in Zimbabwe today says cholera infection rate is fast hitting one hundred thousand and that could be "any time" next...
Ethiopia: Ministry of Health challenges UN report

Ethiopia: Ministry of Health challenges UN report

According a recent report released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA), a malaria outbreak in many low and...
Ethiopian MoH muscles in on the swine flu – A/H1NI

Ethiopian MoH muscles in on the swine flu – A/H1NI

Petrified with the spreading Swine Influenza (A/H1N1), Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport Enterprise have moved to install...
Swine flu: A big hype or a looming death sentence?

Swine flu: A big hype or a looming death sentence?

The swine flu, initially discovered in Mexico, has become the new worldwide scare as governments run helter-skelter in search of solutions to prevent the...
Egypt persecutes Christian pig farmers in the name of swine flu

Egypt persecutes Christian pig farmers in the name of swine flu

Following the world wide Swine flu scare, Egyptian police officers were deployed to a slum in Cairo, with a mandate to slaughter every swine....
Swine flu: Africa spared from A/H1N1?

Swine flu: Africa spared from A/H1N1?

African countries are not yet affected by swine flu virus, the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Africa confirmed Thursday that...
Swine flu in Southern Africa and a Zero preparedness

Swine flu in Southern Africa and a Zero preparedness

The potential international health disaster posed by the emergence of the swine flu has got Africa intellectualising its capacity to handle an eventual pandemic....
Swine flu: All eyes on an unprepared South Africa

Swine flu: All eyes on an unprepared South Africa

South Africa, the country with the most resources in Africa, has two suspected cases of swine flu, but does not have adequate supplies of...
Nigeria tackles swine flu and environmental issues

Nigeria tackles swine flu and environmental issues

The Nigerian government has emphasized its willingness to safeguard the country from both the swine influenza pandemic and environmental hazards. Regarding the pandemic threat,...
South African swine flu cases: “No need to panick”

South African swine flu cases: “No need to panick”

South Africa says it suspects two cases of swine flu, however, health authorities have said they are confident that SA will be able to...
Swine flu alert: Can Africa cope with a pandemic?

Swine flu alert: Can Africa cope with a pandemic?

The swine flu virus appeared Saturday in Mexico and has already killed nearly 150 people. The spread is fast and dangerous. Only three days...
Zambia: Withdrawing 5800 health licences to save lives?

Zambia: Withdrawing 5800 health licences to save lives?

Zambian authorities could be forced to de-register more than 5,800 health practitioners, including medical doctors as they have not renewed their 2009 practicing certificates. Medical...
Cigarette smoke harmful to kids and kills one out of two…

Cigarette smoke harmful to kids and kills one out of two…

Exposing children to cigarette smoke could put them at serious risk of nicotine addiction, without ever having smoked a cigarette themselves. A recent Canadian...
Zambia records falling rates in HIV related deaths

Zambia records falling rates in HIV related deaths

More than 1,200 people died from AIDS-related diseases in Zambia last year while more than 38,700 other people were diagnosed with the virus which...
Sexy campaigns for gay men in South Africa

Sexy campaigns for gay men in South Africa

Dance music pumps from large speakers while a half dozen shirtless young men serve drinks at a bar bathed in pink light. It is...
South African children to get expensive new vaccine

South African children to get expensive new vaccine

South Africa is set to become the first country in Africa to provide its children with a life-saving vaccine that experts say could prevent...
Disturbing UNICEF report: 4m children died in 28 days

Disturbing UNICEF report: 4m children died in 28 days

The State of the World’s Children, is the title of a just released UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund) annual report on maternal and...
A promising vaccine against malaria in the offing

A promising vaccine against malaria in the offing

A candidate vaccine against malaria has recently undergone two promising clinical studies. The first produced a 65% drop in the number of infections and...
New distressing cholera figures released in Zimbabwe

New distressing cholera figures released in Zimbabwe

The World Health Organasation has released shock cholera figures of about 47,000 Zimbabweans having contracted the disease. The World Health Organasation has released...
Unaids releases briefs to better protect youth from HIV

Unaids releases briefs to better protect youth from HIV

Unaids developed several briefs to help countries better fight the Aids epidemic among young people. The briefs are to be officially launched this Thursday...
Student deaths caused by botulism in Uganda confirmed

Student deaths caused by botulism in Uganda confirmed

A poisonous bacterial infection known as Botulism has broken out in Uganda, the US-based Centre for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed after tests done on...
New meningitis vaccine provides long-term immunity

New meningitis vaccine provides long-term immunity

25 health ministers of African countries affected every year by epidemics of meningitis will soon be able to count on an highly promising candidate...
Fear of cancer as fake cigarettes hit Nigerian market

Fear of cancer as fake cigarettes hit Nigerian market

Fake and possibly harmful cigarettes are set to be released into the Nigerian market unless relevant government regulatory and monitoring agencies swing into immediate...
US company GE embarks on a multi million healthcare project in Africa

US company GE embarks on a multi million healthcare project in Africa

US engineering firm, General Electric (GE), has announced plans to upgrade healthcare facilities in 10 African states. Under the project, the company has targeted...
Incense use and cancer

Incense use and cancer

A new study into the risks associated with indoor pollution draws some worrying conclusions. This time the pollutant in question is incense. According to...
Africa capable of research and development of drugs

Africa capable of research and development of drugs

African-based researchers and institutions have the capacity to develop new drugs and diagnostic tools for diseases affecting Africans, but are hampered by a lack...
The origin of AIDS

The origin of AIDS

All of the attempts to date the origin of AIDS prior to 1960 are essentially propoganda inspired by funding from the U.S. National Institutes...
Mysterious disease from Zambia claiming lives in South Africa

Mysterious disease from Zambia claiming lives in South Africa

A mysterious disease with symptoms of flu, bleeding and vomiting suspected to have originated from Zambia has claimed four lives in South Africa. The Zambian...
AIDS, an avatar of colonialism …

AIDS, an avatar of colonialism …

A study, recently published in the British science magazine, Nature, has developed a new hypothesis concerning the spread of the AIDS virus. Colonisation and...
Dying women in Nigeria become a big concern

Dying women in Nigeria become a big concern

According to the United Nations report, Nigeria has not done enough in the last four years to better the health indices of women. The UN...