HEALTH - The African Mirror

Oct

26

2023

HIV-positive parents in Zimbabwe struggle to manage their children’s education – study shows how

HEALTH

OVER the past three decades, researchers have explored various aspects of the impact of the HIV pandemic. One focus area has been children who have lost their parents to AIDS. Less attention has been given to children who are raised by parents living with HIV. This group has become much bigger as more people have access to antiretroviral therapy and are therefore expected to raise their children. TATENDA ZINYEMBA, Researcher of Economics, Health, and Governance, United Nations University Our research in Zimbabwe looked at the effects the HIV status of parents had on their children’s education. In Zimbabwe, the current…

Oct

26

2023

By The African Mirror

Breakthroughs in medicine: top virologist on the two most important developments for Africa

HEALTH

THERE have been several important breakthroughs in medical science recently. CRISPR, mRNA, next-generation cancer treatments and game-changing vaccines are some of them. Oyewale Tomori, a virologist with decades-long involvement in managing diseases in Nigeria, gives his verdict on the most significant discoveries and what they mean for Africa. OYEWALE TOMORI, Fellow, Nigerian Academy of Science Are these extraordinary times for discoveries in medicine? Yes indeed, the world is living through extraordinary times, but not every part of the world has the luxury of these groundbreaking discoveries in medicine. Time stands extraordinarily still for some people in the world, in terms…

Oct

21

2023

By The African Mirror

Dengue fever kills hundreds in Burkina Faso as cases spike

HEALTH

BURKINA Faso's health ministry has declared a dengue fever epidemic amid the deadliest outbreak in years in which more than 200 people have died and new cases are rising sharply. There have been 50,478 suspected cases and 214 deaths of the mosquito-borne illness this year, the ministry said in a statement, mostly in the urban centres of the capital Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso. About 20% of the cases and deaths were recorded last week alone, it said. Dengue kills an estimated 20,000 people worldwide each year. Rates of the disease have risen eight-fold since 2000, driven largely by climate change,…

Oct

15

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Mauritian sea sponges offer a promising new cancer treatment – report

HEALTH

A recent study shows that sea sponges thriving in the waters of Mauritius harbour chemicals capable of eradicating liver cancer cells, according to reports in The Conversation and in The South African Journal of Science. "It could evolve into a less toxic therapeutic option against liver cancer," Mauritian co-researcher Rima Beesoo explainedin an article published in The Conversation about the study, emphasising the huge potential of this discovery. The original report, featured in The South African Journal of Science, underscored that the Neopetrosia exigua sponge, native to Mauritius waters, demonstrates a unique ability to target and eliminate liver cancer cells…

Oct

14

2023

By THUKU KARIUKI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Online innovation is changing how people view and access mental health support

HEALTH

WHEN Wambui Warui developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after losing her daughter to cancer, it took ages to get a diagnosis so she could receive care. “I would go from one doctor to another. I go to this hospital, they test me. They did the kidney, liver, all the internal organs. I move from there, go to another doctor… we do CT scans for my brain. There's nothing wrong. I go to another doctor, because every time I don't get an answer that I had already in me, I would look for another doctor,” Warui disclosed. Warui was finally diagnosed…

Oct

10

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO & MASBÉ NDENGAR, BIRD STORY AGENCY

This Burkinabe researcher wants his groundbreaking work to wipe out malaria, altogether

HEALTH

ON a busy morning in the Nagrin district of Ouagadougou. Balkissa Wangrawa, a Burkinabe community-based health volunteer, keenly scouts through residential blocks for possible mosquito breeding areas. He identifies a pool of stagnant shower water from an adjacent bathing area that allows water to flow into an open field. As he walks by, he gets a definite whiff of the unpleasant stench from stagnant wastewater and then he hears the buzzing of a swarm of mosquitoes. Wangrawa is one of some 15,000 healthcare workers and volunteers implementing Burkina Faso's latest government-led seasonal malaria prevention campaign (CPS+). The campaign involves the…

Oct

04

2023

By GABRIELLE TÉTRAULT-FARBER and LEROY LEO

WHO recommends malaria vaccine that will be rolled out next year

HEALTH

THE World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of a second malaria vaccine to curb the life-threatening disease spread to humans by some mosquitoes. "Almost exactly two years ago, WHO recommended the broad use of the world's first malaria vaccine called RTS,S," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva. "Today, it gives me great pleasure to announce that WHO is recommending a second vaccine called R21/Matrix-M to prevent malaria in children at risk of the disease." R21/Matrix-M, developed by Britain's University of Oxford, will become available by mid-2024, Tedros said, adding that doses would cost between $2…

Sep

27

2023

By The African Mirror

Suicide in Ghana: society expects men to be providers – new study explores this pressure

HEALTH

SUICIDE is a complex behaviour that is widely regarded as a significant public health issue across the globe. It is influenced by psychiatric, psychological, biological, social, cultural, economic and existential factors. In most countries, the rate of male suicides is between 3 and 7.5 times higher than that of females even though suicide ideation (thoughts) and attempts are more frequent for females. JOHNNY ANDOH-ARTHUR, Senior Lecturer, Psychology, University of Ghana The World Health Organization reported in 2020 that approximately 1,993 suicides occurred in Ghana annually. A report in Ghana on suicide attempt trends over four years also revealed that 707…

Sep

22

2023

By MAGDALENE MWANIKI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

This 24-year-old investor has come up with a healthcare solution for remote patients

HEALTH

IN 2019, Kenneth Njeru was a travel management expert who had started developing an interest in the stock market.While his interest in stocks and investment grew, he also discovered the potential of the medical sector as an investment opportunity. There was one big problem, however- no stocks were available to trade on his local stock market, the Nairobi Stock Exchange. So, a week before his 21st birthday, he registered a company. “I started with the end in mind, a company to (not) just do business in Nairobi or Kenya, but Africa,” explained Njeru. The healthcare sector’s macroeconomic factors made for…

Jul

07

2023

By The African Mirror

Nine new African countries to receive millions of malaria vaccines, GAVI says

HEALTH

GLOBAL vaccine alliance GAVI said 12 countries in Africa would receive 18 million doses of malaria vaccine over the next two years, expanding access to the shots to nine new countries in the region. Malaria remains one of the continent's deadliest diseases, killing nearly half a million children each year under the age of five. In 2021, Africa accounted for about 95% of global malaria cases and 96% of deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). "At least 28 African countries have expressed interest in receiving the RTS,S (malaria) vaccine," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media…