Author: alphyjuma

Malnutrition-deficiencies, excesses,or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and nutrients- remains a challenge in Uganda with over 250, 000 children still suffering from severe acute malnutrition. According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), malnutrition threatens to destroy a generation of children in Uganda. More than one third of all young children amongst whom 2.4 million are stunted. Insufficient food at the household level coupled with parents’ ignorance is one of the factors fueling the rising cases of malnutrition among children in Uganda. The Ministry of Health report from the routine Health Management Information System indicates that…

By Namale Shahista Although Uganda has a law that dictates that antibiotics should only be sold with a prescription, most pharmacies do not implement this. A study carried out in Uganda found that about 41% of all antibiotic sales in community pharmacies were over the counter, that is without a prescription. “At its root is a flawed profit model for the distribution of drugs — many pharmacy owners are more interested in increasing sales than withholding antibiotics from a patient that doesn’t actually need them. And many people would rather go straight to the pharmacy than spend additional money and…

This video describes how Kenya’s Linda mama, a free health insurance program for pregnant women is working to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths in Bungoma county. Click Link for Audio

Health Insurance Helping to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Kenya This video describes how Kenya’s Linda mama, a free health insurance program for pregnant women is working to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths in Bungoma county.

By Sharon Atieno “We had received a one year-four-month-old baby who had been referred from Garissa. She was extremely sick on arrival. Though she had meningitis, inflammation of the lining of the brain, the prolonged hospitalization had caused the infection to spread from the brain to the whole body, resulting in septic shock (infection of the blood),” narrates Dr. Merab Odongo, physician with experience in critical care, Mater Misericodiae Hospital. Dr. Odongo says that by conducting an antimicrobial sensitivity testing (AST) on some fluid samples they had acquired from the baby, they were able to identify the bacteria and treat the infection.…

Alors que les séquelles de la pandémie du Covid-19 tendent à diminuer, la place de la nouvelle technologie pour révolutionner le secteur médical au Rwanda se dessine. Le gouvernement et les professionnels de la santé en attestent par la diminution considérable des cas du paludisme grâce à ces start-up en matière de la santé. Ils ont aussi comblé le gap laissé par le nombre insuffisant de médecins docteurs par rapport à la population qui se rend au dispensaire. Plusieurs patients affirment avoir été servis et guéris alors que consultés à distance notamment par téléphone. Nyirahabimana Solange, 55 ans, paysane, habite…

By Aimable Twahirwa; When Clarisse Mukashyaka fell ill with malaria her family tried treating her by buying a low-cost drug from the local pharmacy but her condition worsened. She became bedridden and fell unconscious; she was taken to the district hospital at Kabgayi, a few miles away from their home in Muhanga, a district in Southern Rwanda. “I felt like I was dying during my attempted treatment at home using drugs from the local pharmacy. I only started regaining energy and full consciousness after [coming to] the hospital.” Mukashyaka said. Little did she know that the anti-malarial drug administered to…

What you need to know: Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials. Antibiotic resistance is a subset of AMR, that applies specifically to bacteria that become resistant to antibiotic  Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents challenges for global public health and is impacted by both human, poultry and animal antimicrobial usage.  Ineffective antimicrobial agents endanger the effectiveness of many interventions in modern medicine.A case in point is that most treatment of common infections and for elective surgeries and transplantations and cancer treatment are not possible with AMR. Widespread AMR left unattended compromises the…

By Samwel Doe Ouma On 6Th October 2021, Dr John Kariuki, a Veterinary Surgeon, Assistant Director of Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries, Kenya sustained a ‘suspected hip bone fracture’ following an accidental slip and fall in his bathroom. He was rushed to a nearby clinic where upon examination informed that he had sustained a complete fracture of the femoral head which remained stuck in the pelvic socket as elucidated by a CT scan. He told Health Business that this diagnosis was according to a subsequent consultation with an orthopedic surgeon (OS1) in the first hospital (H1). A…

By Francine Andrew Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is among the biggest challenges facing tuberculosis (TB) treatment in Rwanda and other African countries. MDR-TB occurs when TB causing organism resists treatment. This resistance is often as a consequence of either improper treatment plans such as the case of using witchcraft or failure to ensure that patients complete their treatment. Some people used to mistake TB for poisons or witchcrafts and didn’t go to hospitals to get treated. By the time they were found they were already too sick and some even died. To deal with MDR- TB, one of the initiatives being…