COVID-19 Archives - AFHEG Foundation

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.

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).

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.

08/08/202208/08/2022

Africans’ average lifespan has increased by 10 years

CONGO BRAZZAVILLE – According to the World Health Organization (WHO) evaluation reports, advances in the delivery of essential health services between 2000 and 2019 led to an average rise of 10 years in healthy life expectancy per person in the African region.

27/07/202227/07/2022

Special health report demonstrates COVID-19 resistance in South Africa through hybrid immunity.

ESWATINI – In a recent study, Vaccines and Infectious Analytics Research (VIDA) at the University of Witwatersrand identified potential advantages of hybrid immunity, which results from past COVID-19 infection and immunisation against coronavirus variants and subvariants.

19/07/202201/08/2022

Africa CDC calls for swift action in the wake of the recurrent epidemics in Africa

ZAMBIA – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has called for swift action on strengthening public health emergency operations in the wake of the increasing public health events and recurrent epidemics on the continent.