HEALTH - The African Mirror

Oct

12

2024

Kenya is overhauling its national healthcare scheme after 58 years – what would make the transition less painful

HEALTH

KENYA’S pursuit of universal health coverage has evolved over three decades through incremental reforms. But by far the boldest step taken so far was in 2022 when the government embarked on an overhaul of the healthcare system under President William Ruto’s economic transformation agenda. The new Social Health Insurance Fund – implemented across the country from October 2024 – replaces the 58-year-old National Health Insurance Fund and aims to provide all Kenyans with quality healthcare. Under the Social Health Insurance Act, passed in 2023, the new scheme mandates health coverage for all. It is backed up with regulations requiring the…

Oct

11

2024

By CAROLINE GLUCK

Counselling offers Afghan women a safe space to share their mental health struggles

HEALTH

AT a health clinic in the eastern suburb of Kabul, Razia, 26, is paying a farewell visit to her psychosocial counsellor, Farzana Amini. For the past few months, she has been seeking Farzana’s help for depression, after quitting her teaching job and withdrawing from friends and family.  Today, she says, she feels like a different person. “My life has changed since coming here for help,” she says. “I’m so grateful.  Before, I was hopeless and desperate to a point where I wanted my life to be over. I couldn’t share my problems with anyone else before.”      Psychosocial counselling services like…

Oct

09

2024

By FRANCISCA MUTAPI

When medicines don’t work: eliminating neglected tropical diseases will reduce drug resistance – a win for all

HEALTH

A major health challenge of our time is when drugs no longer work to treat infections. This happens when the agents that cause infections – they may be bacteria, viruses or fungi – become resistant to the drugs. Antimicrobials are a broad range of medications that act on microbes – like bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasites. Antibiotics, for instance, are one type of antimicrobial working against bacteria. Resistance to antimicrobial drugs therefore makes it difficult to treat and prevent a wide range of infections. Antibiotic resistance compromises public health programmes, such as TB treatments. It can also compromise other medical…

Oct

08

2024

By YVONNE PRINCE; GLENDA MARY DAVISON and TANDI MATSHA-ERASMUS

Smokers have a higher level of harmful bacteria in the mouth – new study

HEALTH

A recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 8 million people die annually from smoking-related complications. Despite efforts by governments and various organisations to create awareness about the dangers, around 1.3 billion people still use some form of tobacco and 80% of them live in low to middle-income countries. There is no safe level of smoking. Even second-hand smoke can lead to serious complications such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. The mouth (oral cavity) is the first port of entry to the rest of the body and is home to a complex and diverse community of microorganisms,…

Oct

05

2024

By GEMMA WARE

HIV prevention: why a new injectable drug could be such a breakthrough – podcast

HEALTH

A new drug to prevent HIV infection is showing hugely promising results in clinical trials when injected every six months. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to South African HIV doctor and scientist Linda-Gail Bekker about her involvement in one of the trials for lenacapavir and why she thinks it could be so groundbreaking. Thanks to advancements in prevention and treatment, global HIV infection rates have dramatically declined in recent years. But HIV still affects over 38 million people around the world. Today, women are disproportionately affected by HIV, with young women at the highest risk.…

Sep

28

2024

By SUSAN GOLDSTEIN and HAROON SALOOJEE

South Africa has a good childhood vaccination system – what’s stopping it from being great

HEALTH

THE two public health interventions that have had the greatest impact on the world’s health are clean water and vaccines. Professors Susan Goldstein and Haroon Saloojee assess South Africa’s child vaccination programme. Why are childhood vaccinations so important? What are some essential ones? A recent study published in The Lancet estimated that since 1974, 154 million lives have been saved by immunisation, most of them children. A 2016 study of low- and middle-income countries found that for every dollar invested in vaccines, the return on investment was estimated to be US$44, considering broader social and economic benefits. Childhood vaccines are…

Sep

11

2024

By BONIFACE OYUGI

Kenya’s new social health insurance fund wants to improve care for mothers and babies: but it faces challenges

HEALTH

KENYA has made strides in maternal and child health over the past decade. Preventable complications related to pregnancy still result in about 5,000 maternal deaths annually, however. I am a health economist and health policy specialist and co-author of a study of the Kenyan health system to evaluate the state of maternal care in the country. This is important because the new Social Health Insurance Fund is being implemented across the country and we need to understand the limitations of the current system in order to move forward. Background In 2017 the government expanded a free maternity policy to all…

Sep

06

2024

By SARAH LOUGHRAN and KEN KARIPIDIS

Mobile phones are not linked to brain cancer, according to a major review of 28 years of research

HEALTH

A systematic review into the potential health effects from radio wave exposure has shown mobile phones are not linked to brain cancer. The review was commissioned by the World Health Organization and is published today in the journal Environment International. Mobile phones are often held against the head during use. And they emit radio waves, a type of non-ionising radiation. These two factors are largely why the idea mobile phones might cause brain cancer emerged in the first place. The possibility that mobile phones might cause cancer has been a long-standing concern. Mobile phones – and wireless tech more broadly…

Sep

05

2024

By PATIENCE AFULANI and LINNET ONGERI

Burnout and bias can lead to poor care during childbirth – we created a project in Kenya that helps health workers

HEALTH

AN estimated 800 women die every day across the world as a result of pregnancy-related complications. Most deaths (95%) occur in low- and middle-income countries. Two-thirds are in sub-Saharan Africa. For every woman who dies, about 20 others suffer from various pregnancy-related complications. Roughly three-quarters of these deaths result from complications during labour, delivery and the first 24 hours after delivery. High-quality care during childbirth is critical for preventing maternal and newborn deaths. While a growing number of women are giving birth in health facilities in sub-Saharan African countries like Ghana and Kenya, there are still significant gaps in equity…

Sep

03

2024

By NADIA ADJOA SAM-AGUDU

Mpox in the DRC: children are at high risk – health expert explains why

HEALTH

THE World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that children, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems are at higher risk from the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Reports confirm that children under five account for 39% of all cases in the country, and babies as young as two weeks are being diagnosed with this viral illness. Nadia Adjoa Sam-Agudu, an expert in paediatric infectious diseases, explains how mpox can be dangerous for children and what must be done to protect them. Why is the DRC outbreak affecting children so badly? Because of conflict, political instability and…