Health Archives - Page 2 of 5

24/01/202306/07/2023

Ugandans to benefit from Pfizer’s expanded access to medicines and vaccines

Pfizer, a leading global pharmaceutical company, has announced that it has significantly expanded its commitment to offer the full portfolio of medicines and vaccines to lower-income countries through its An Accord for a Healthier World initiative.

Uganda is proud to be among the five initial launch countries where Pfizer is working closely with the government and local health experts to identify how the Accord can most effectively support national health goals and impact patient lives in our country.

This transformative initiative is focused on greatly reducing health inequities that exist between many lower-income countries like Uganda and the rest of the world. Since its launch in May 2022, Pfizer has committed to providing access to all its patented medicines and vaccines available in the U.S. or European Union on a not-for-profit basis.

This means that Ugandans will have access to a broader and more immediate scope of consistent, high-quality products that can help improve the health and well-being of our citizens.

Pfizer has listened and understood the specific health needs of Uganda to identify how the Accord can most effectively support our national health goals.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Pfizer has provided professional healthcare education and training to support the delivery of the medicines and vaccines, and in November, Pfizer deployed its first Global Health Team to Uganda to help identify opportunities for long-term supply chain optimization.

This expansion of Pfizer’s product offering, combined with continued efforts to help address the barriers that limit or prevent access, will help us achieve and even expedite our vision of a world where all Ugandans have access to the medicines and vaccines they need to live longer and healthier lives.

23/01/202323/01/2023

Understanding Kidney Stones: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis And Prevention

Kidney stones are a common and often painful problem that affects around 500,000 people each year. While they can be quite painful, understanding their causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and prevention can help you to avoid them.

Today, we discuss the causes and symptoms of kidney stones, how they are diagnosed, and how you can prevent them. So, whether you are already dealing with kidney stones or want to avoid them in the future, this post will provide you with the information you need.

A urine sample in a transparent tube, with greenish white stones visible inside

Preventing And Detecting Kidney Stones

Over 500,000 people visit emergency rooms for kidney stone problems every year.

Kidney stones are hard, mineral-based objects that can form inside the kidneys. They’re common and can affect any part of the urinary tract, including the bladder and urethra. In fact, over 500,000 people visit emergency rooms every year for kidney stone problems. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent and detect kidney stones before they become a problem.

The most common cause of kidney stones is diet – eating too many foods that contain minerals and salts can lead to their formation. Excess body weight is also a major factor in their development. Certain medical conditions – such as high blood pressure – can also increase your chances of developing kidney stones. Other factors that may contribute to their formation include supplements and medications, as well as drinking too much alcohol or caffeine.

Symptoms of kidney stones may include sharp pains in different parts of your body (backside, lower abdomen or groin), feeling a constant need to urinate, pain while urinating, cloudy or bad-tasting urine, and blood in the urine (hematuria). If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s important to see a doctor immediately for diagnosis and treatment options.

Some diagnostic tests used to detect kidney stone presence include blood testing; x ray or ultrasound scans; analysis of past Stones passed through straining urine samples collected over 24 hours; and sometimes even a CT scan or MRI scan. The goal is to find out which type of stone you have so that the best treatment plan can be put in place. Treatment options may include surgery if necessary plus various types of medication such as diuretics or calcium supplements. It’s important to follow all treatment recommendations carefully so that you avoid any further problems with your kidneys!

All In All

Kidney stones are a painful but common problem that can affect anyone. Understanding the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and prevention of kidney stones can help you avoid or manage them if you already have them. Eating a healthy diet with plenty of fluids, avoiding excess minerals and salts in your diet, maintaining a healthy body weight, and avoiding supplements and medications that may increase your chances of developing kidney stones are all important steps to take. If you experience any symptoms associated with kidney stones, make sure to seek medical attention so that they can be properly diagnosed and treated.

12/01/202306/07/2023

Morocco Boosts Healthcare Access for All with 32 Million Enrolled in Insurance

The Kingdom of Morocco has announced that it has enrolled 32 million beneficiaries in health insurance as part of an integrated and inclusive social protection program in the country. In November 2021, the Moroccan government pledged to introduce medical coverage to three million people as part of the country’s new regulations on pensions and the Compulsory Health Insurance scheme.

The social protection program seeks to attract new investments in health infrastructure, improve the business climate, and accelerate economic recovery by restructuring the supply of health care and providing training to human capital. Moroccan Head of Government H.E. Mr. Aziz Akhannouch said, “The number of Moroccans working in the unregulated economy and free trades, who have access to social benefits including health coverage went from 7.8 million to 23.2 million in 2022.”

He commented on the increase in the number of individuals working in the unregulated economy who are registered under the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) during a monthly session at the House of Councillors, the upper house of the Parliament of Morocco. Mr. Akhannouch observed that the number of citizens who gained access to health coverage (AMO) stood at 9.4 million in the past year, stating that the government has implemented patient-centered care access to care aimed at reducing health inequities.

“The increase in the number of citizens with access to healthcare echoes the rise in the number of filings the CNSS received for healthcare-related reimbursements,” the Head of Government highlighted. He explained that the number of filings from individuals in the unregulated economy sector exceeded 640,000 in 2022 while noting that 53,400 of the total filings were issued last December.

“In 2022, the National Social Security Fund opened 47 additional local agencies, launched 45 mobile agencies, and created 8,000 communication centers to register new workers,” he said. Billionaire Akhannouch pointed out that CNSS has opened new agencies to facilitate access to its services as well as to boost access to healthcare coverage, adding that the Fund built a network of 2,000 points for workers to file for healthcare-related reimbursement files.

Meanwhile, the Moroccan government has plans underway to increase the number of health professionals to more than 90,000 by 2025 from the current 68,000. The country aims to the quota of 24 health professionals for every 10,000 inhabitants by the same deadline of 2025, and 45 health professionals for every 10,000 inhabitants by 2030.

In July 2022, Head of Government of the Kingdom of Morocco signed a framework agreement on the implementation of a program aimed at boosting the number of health professionals by 2030. “Reaching this goal requires doubling the number of medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry graduates, as well as tripling the number of nursing and health technology graduates by 2025,” Akhannouch added. He confirmed that under the framework agreement, the government will open three faculties of medicine and pharmacy as well as three university hospitals in Errachidia, Beni Mellal, and Guelmim.

02/12/202205/12/2022

Uganda; 100,000 new Asthamic cases reported annually for the past three years

UGANDA – According to research conducted by the Makerere University Lung Institute, two out of every ten young people between the ages of 12 and 15 exhibit symptoms of asthma, a respiratory health condition that usually shows symptoms including coughing, wheezing, and difficulty in breathing.

Since 2018, the institution has examined 895 secondary school students within Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono districts. Of those, 177 were found to have asthmatic symptoms.

Graph showing the number of students with asthmatic symptoms

Dr. Rebecca Nantanda, a consultant pediatrician and lung specialist who oversaw the study’s execution, said that the majority of people who tested positive for asthma were ignorant despite exhibiting symptoms in 33.9% of cases.

64 of the students exhibited significant symptoms, but none of their assessments were correct, and several of them were receiving care for other conditions.

The institute had previously analyzed children and adults to discover how prevalent the illness was, but data on youths had been lacking.

According to recent data, merely less than half of persons in this age range who were aware of their condition had it under control, with few episodes and a reduced need for treatment.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) was informed of these findings, and officials confirmed that medical professionals lacked sufficient training mostly in asthmatic diagnosis.

Asthma diagnosis is still done by health professionals using what they learned in medical school, according to Dr. Frank Mugabe, the Principal Medical Officer in charge of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) at the Ministry of Health. This is true despite evolving methods of diagnosis and treatment.

In agreement with the survey’s findings, he claims that more people are developing asthma, as evidenced by the fact that over 100,000 new cases have been reported annually for the past three years, according to their statistics.

He states that they registered 133,000 instances in 2020 and 124,000 in 2021 as a result of COVID-19-related limitations. He asserts that as of the end of October this year, there had been 106,000 instances reported, and he anticipates that they may top the numbers from the year 2020.

All age groups had the greatest prevalence of asthma in Kampala, West Nile, and South Western Uganda. Mugabe explains this by pointing to significant levels of air pollution.

Five more nations, including Malawi, South Africa, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, participated in the same research, Achieving Control of Asthma in Children in Africa (ACACIA).

20/11/202207/02/2023

Strengthening Uganda’s Health Promotion: The Road Ahead

Similar to the anthrax outbreaks, the coronavirus pandemic, and most recently, the Ebola epidemic in Uganda, partnerships have been essential in preventing these circumstances from adversely influencing the health of other Ugandans through health promotion.

30/10/202231/10/2022

Exchange of vital health data across platforms and regions to manage the worldwide spread of infectious illnesses

According to an exclusive analysis from the BroadReach Group, the benefit of exchanging crucial health data across platforms and geographies to manage the worldwide spread of infectious illnesses as travel grows following the COVID-19 pandemic is emphasized.

The Broadband Group identifies three essential international standards that establish worldwide best practices for the protection of general personal information and personal health information.

“The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the USA and the private sector-led HITRUST Alliance,” revealed the advisory firm.

The BroadReach Group hosted a webinar to address competing goals in light of October’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, focusing on how smart policies, considerate frameworks, and underpinning technology may support both data privacy and data sharing.

“The webinar covered the importance of health data ownership, data protection vs data sharing, and data residency, including personal ownership of health data, and public and private organizations’ challenges and responsibilities in keeping it safe and secure,” the Group announced in a release.

Dr. Farley R. Cleghorn, global head of health practice at Palladium Group, and Dr. Justin Maeda, principal regional collaborating centers (RCC) coordinator at the Africa Center for Disease Control (CDC), participated in the discussion as Ruan Viljoen, chief technology officer at BroadReach Group, served as its moderator.

“Health data is the most sensitive personal data we can store and warrants an even stricter duty of care. We should not put individuals in a position where they should have to trade their privacy in order to receive good healthcare,” said Viljoen.

The leaders also acknowledged that governments are the guardians of their citizens’ human rights and as a result, have the primary duty for protecting their citizens’ data, even if they recognized that the problem is complicated and that a multi-sectoral solution is required.

“Individuals need to take control of their health data. You should assume you have a right to that information, that you can control your information, and that you can use it for your own benefit,” highlighted Dr. Cleghorn.

They stressed that, at a time when cyber-security has grown increasingly crucial in healthcare as assaults escalate, governments might safeguard their citizens by disaggregating patients’ health data to make it impersonal and unrecognizable to third parties.

“Attackers are quite patient and look around – recent studies show that it takes organisations an average of 271 days before they detect that they have been breached, and another 70-odd days to rectify the situation,” highlighted the Chief Technology Officer.

He outlined how cyberattacks impair service delivery, which is harmful in the healthcare industry, and cause reputational and financial damage. He also said that it can take some time for a business to go back to normal.

29/10/202231/10/2022

1400 healthcare workers to get Ebola preparation and response training from WHO and Kenya

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Kenya’s Ministry of Health will train roughly 1,400 healthcare professionals on how to be ready for an Ebola epidemic.

In a news statement, the ministry stated that as Uganda works to control the present epidemic, the Ebola response actions are a part of continuous efforts to protect against a potential importation of the deadly Ebola virus illness into the nation.

“The training, that kicked off this week, has seen 75 health workers drawn from the national level and Nairobi County receive essential information and techniques required to deal with the disease,” said the Ministry of Health.

The agency said that the training was connected in series to the county and sub-county levels in the 20 counties most vulnerable to the importation of EVD and that the health professionals had received training on readiness and reaction.

The training session comes in response to a notice issued by the Kenyan ministry to all counties nationwide and worries expressed by Ugandan health officials over an increase in confirmed Ebola cases to 109 with 30 fatalities.

“Ebola virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness in humans caused by the Ebola virus. The virus is normally found in animals but spread from animals to human beings and occurs when there is interaction between the infected animals and healthy humans,” the statement said.

Furthermore, a recent notice sent by the Ugandan government to Kenya is in accordance with East African Community Health standards on an epidemic of the illness discovered in Ngabano hamlet of Madudu Sub County in Central Uganda.

The Ministry of Health further warned that human-to-human transmission of Ebola happens through direct or indirect contact with bodily fluids including as blood, sweat, urine, sperm, vaginal secretions, diarrhea, and vomitus from an infected individual.

As a result, the Kenyan government has advised all county governments to be watchful and increase monitoring, particularly around borders.

“Screen at risk populations including travellers, truck drivers, bush meat handlers and healthcare workers as well as sensitize the community to identify suspected cases,” the ministry urged county administrations.

Additionally, county governments have been advised to mobilize fast-reaction teams to assist with case identification and prompt reporting.

They were also asked to engage key stakeholders to start preventative, readiness, and response efforts, as well as to educate healthcare personnel on infection, prevention and control measures, case management, and sample management.

28/10/202231/10/2022

Six months COVID-19 control transition plan launched by ACT-Accelerator

The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator has initiated a six-month initiative focused on vaccinating high-risk groups, providing new treatment options, enhancing testing, and assuring long-term access to COVID-19 tools.

The strategy was created in response to the fact that numerous conversations are presently taking place concerning modifications that need to be done to strengthen the global health architecture for pandemic preparation and response (PPR) based on the world’s experience with COVID-19.

More than 1.6 billion vaccinations have now been given to Advance Market Commitment nations via the ACT-Accelerator, with 75% of the COVAX vaccines going to low-income nations.

Additionally, a media release states that low and middle-income countries (LMICs) have received more than 145 million tests, 40 million treatment courses, and personal protective equipment totaling US$2 billion.

Another notable accomplishment of the effort is the agreement on voluntary licensing for oral antivirals and the halving of the cost of quick diagnostics.

The modifications to the ACT- Accelerator’s organizational structure and operational procedures, which take into account the COVID-19 virus and pandemic’s dynamic nature, will guarantee that nations continue to have access to COVID-19 tools over the long term and in the case of disease outbreaks.

The strategy specifies how international health organizations, the government, civic society, and other partners will work together to support nations with long-term COVID-19 control through the ACT-Accelerator.

A list of tasks that will be maintained, changed, retired, or kept on standby is also included in the plan. The transition plan supports ACT-A organizations as they advance their COVID-19 finance, implementation, and mainstreaming initiatives.

The activity of the ACT-A partners will concentrate on three main topics in the coming phase: Activities in R&D and market-shaping to guarantee a pipeline of new and enhanced goods Tools for COVID-19 and institutional arrangements for ongoing COVID access 19 immunizations, examinations, and treatments for all nations, including efforts on introducing new products in-country using oxygen (e.g., new oral antivirals).

In support of national and international goals, the strategy will also assure the protection of sensitive populations.

The proposal also calls for the creation of a new ACT-A Tracking and Monitoring Taskforce that will be co-chaired by senior government representatives from India and the United States and the reactivation of the Facilitation Council at the political level in the event of a serious disease outbreak.

Furthermore, the World Health Organization expressed alarm that the coronavirus is “running freely” and cautioned that the epidemic is “nowhere near ended,” noting fresh waves throughout the globe.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern that the number of cases was increasing and “adding to the strain on already overburdened health systems and health professionals.”

Tedros advised governments to use tried-and-true strategies like masking, better ventilation, and test-and-treat protocols in the face of escalating COVID transmission and hospitalization rates.

Positively, the recently introduced bivalent booster vaccines, which are effective against both the primary coronavirus strain and the currently circulating omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, may offer improved protection against infection and transmission as well as more durable protection against serious illness.

05/10/202207/10/2022

Uganda receives US$1.5 million from Japan, UNICEF to improve its health information systems

Uganda receives US$1.5 million (approximately UGX5,710,860,000) in financing from the Japanese government, which will be distributed via the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) to help upgrade its national health information system with the use of cutting-edge digital health technology.

The funds will be used by the Ugandan Ministry of Health to establish a digitized health information microplanning system to solve issues in the delivery of vaccination services and to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

A portion of the funds provided by UNICEF will also be utilized to implement a new health information system, which will assist in providing necessary vaccinations to children who are vaccinated insufficiently or not at all, as well as those who are targeted for COVID-19 vaccination.

1.3 million under-5 children in the trial districts of Kamuli, Kampala, Kamwenge, Lamwo, Mukono, Ntungamo, and Wakiso will benefit immensely from this innovation, as will 350 health care professionals and 60 Ministry of Health and Regional Referral Hospital officials.

UNICEF reports that a recent “zero-dose” assessment carried out in four metropolitan areas indicated that there is still a sizable percentage of children in Uganda that are either not vaccinated at all or are just partially immunized.

The funding will be applied to take advantage of cutting-edge digital technologies to enhance the provision of healthcare in the nation, including helping medical professionals organize their COVID-19 vaccine inventory and prepare for vaccination supply.

The initiative will be carried out in collaboration between UNICEF, the Ugandan Ministry of Health, the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization, the Health Information Management Division, and the Community Health Department.

“Once the digital monitoring system is implemented, the Ministry of Health and partners will be able to increase the quality of services and coverage to reach the unimmunized and under-immunized wherever they are,” the United Nations agency stated.

Dr. Munir Safieldin, the UNICEF representative in Uganda, underlined the need for timely data collection to increase vaccination coverage, particularly through more precise estimations of the number and location of the target group at the grassroots level.

By the end of 2024, the project’s objectives must be accomplished. On a national basis, the effort will also help 10 million children under the age of five and 21 million vaccinated children between the ages of 12 and 18 who will get the COVID-19 vaccine.

26/09/202226/09/2022

Rise in Ebola infections and fatalities in Uganda

According to data from the Ministry of Health, the number of confirmed Ebola cases in Uganda has increased to 16, while the death toll from the disease has risen to four.

Apart from the four confirmed deaths, 17 other fatalities are likely Ebola cases, according to Ministry of Health Spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona. Uganda, has 16 confirmed cases of the Ebola virus, with an additional 18 cases being considered likely instances of infection, he continued.

Currently, the epidemic has reached three districts in central Uganda. Mubende has already banned large public gatherings and placed limitations on non-essential travel.

According to Ainebyoona, “Cases recorded beyond Mubende include three in Kyegegwa and one in Kassanda but all connected to the index case in Mubende.” He also noted that “there are no verified cases in Kampala.”

The Uganda Virus Research Institute is analyzing samples from suspected cases, according to health authorities.

The ministry urged locals to follow preventative measures and report any suspected instances to authorities or nearby medical facilities.