Tag: africa

Businesses Fail when they Fail to Support Women Interests

Healthtimes

By Professor Myriam Sidibe Amid predictions of Africa’s growth and the potential of its youth, one inconvenient statistic tells a different story. Africa has the highest rate of femicide worldwide [2.9 victims per 100,000 in 2023] – around 22,000 women and girls are killed every year by an intimate partner or family member. I spend a lot of time tackling this inexcusable epidemic through the organisations, brands and companies I work with. This week I am at the United Nations General Assembly in New York trying to keep this overlooked…

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Africa Lags Behind in Mental Health Spending, Allocating Less Than 10 Cents Per Person

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere At a time when African Governments are seized with the scourge of drug and substance misuse, Zimbabwe included, they are spending less than US$0.10 per capita on mental health, compared to more than US$50 in other regions of the world. Government expenditure per capita refers to the total government spending divided by the total population, representing the average amount of public money spent per person in a country. This stark underinvestment was highlighted in the World Mental Health Atlas 2024, released earlier this month by the World…

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Breakthrough Study Finds African Children with Severe Malaria Showing Partial Resistance to Leading Malaria Drug

Michael Gwarisa

By Staff Reporter A new study from Uganda provides the first evidence to date that resistance to a lifesaving malaria drug may be emerging in the group of patients that accounts for most of the world’s malaria deaths: young African children suffering from serious infections. The study, presented today at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), documented partial resistance to the malaria drug artemisinin in 11 of 100 children, ages 6 months to…

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Single Dose Oral Cholera Vaccine Strategy Bears Fruit On the African Continent

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa Following indications of Global Shortages of the Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV), the International Coordinating Group (ICG), the body which manages emergency supplies of vaccines announced a temporary suspension of the standard two-dose vaccination regimen in cholera outbreak response campaigns, using instead a single-dose approach. Despite fears from countries currently battling Cholera, the one-dose strategy has proven to be effective in responding to outbreaks, even though evidence on the exact duration of protection is limited, and protection appears to be much lower in children.  With a two-dose regimen,…

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Fragile Health Systems Expose Africa To Untold Climate Change Disasters Says AMREF

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa For a long time, discourse on climate change has revolved around the effects of Climate Change on the environment in particular air pollution, an issue most prevalent in the Global North. Very little focus was being given to the impact of climate change on the health and well-being of the human population. However, for the first time in many years, African health Ministers and their counterparts from around the world converged in Dubai for the COP28 where they delivered a strong message regarding the impact climate change…

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Africa must rope in private sector in funding HIV Programs

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere WITH the discourse on funding for HIV programs being dominated by the Government and donor partners, a leading Malawian researcher says involving players is critical through innovative means such as taxes and levies. While countries such as Zimbabwe came up with the innovative AIDS levy, it has been an envy of many African countries. Professor Ann Maureen Phoya while addressing the media at an ICASA press conference Wednesday said the private sector should be roped in the HIV response financing. “We also need to raise money through…

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Alcohol abuse and under nutrition increasing TB mortality and morbidity in Africa

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere AFRICA must also address the issue of undernourishment to prevent mortality in TB patients, a tuberculosis World Health Organization Africa regional office official  has said. Head of the Green Light Committee for TB at WHO Afro Dr Jean-Louis Abena told delegates during a session at the ICASA conference that the issue of undernutrition and alcohol use disorder are proving to be a thorn in the flesh for the continent. “But this year, undernutrition becomes one of the most contributing factor that make people become ill in TB. And…

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Zim revises One Health AMR Action Plan

Kuda Pembere

By Kuda Pembere Zimbabwe has completed its revised edition of the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) One Health Action Plan, the Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said. With assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC), the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Development, as well as the Ministry of Environment spearheaded the process which began in May this year. In addition to helping to build evidence-based policies…

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ICRC Concerned By Effects Of Food Crises In Africa

Michael Gwarisa

THE International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRC) has scalped efforts to avert to devastating effects of food security in Africa where 146 million people1 are suffering from acute food insecurity (IPC 3 and above) and require urgent humanitarian assistance. By Staff Reporter In a statement, Patrick Youssef, the Regional Director, Africa ICRC and Mohammed Omer Mukhier Regional Director, Africa IFRC said, “At a time of intense global humanitarian need and competing demands, Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing one of the most alarming food crises in decades. 146 million people1…

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Strive Masiyiwa Blows Top Over Vaccine Apartheid…As Africa Battles Third Wave Without Vaccines

Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWEAN business mogul and African Union special envoy, Dr Strive Masiyiwa has taken a swipe at the COVAX facility’s for sidelining Africa and failing to deliver the 700 million vaccine doses to the continent as was initially agreed early this year. By Michael Gwarisa COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organization (WHO). However, according to Dr Masiyiwa, the facility has not been…

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