HEALTH - The African Mirror

Sep

15

2020

Young people living on Harare’s streets provide glimpses into life under COVID-19 lockdown

COVID-19

LORRAINE VAN BLERK, Professor, University of Dundee JANINE HUNTER, Researcher, University of Dundee WAYNE SHAND, Honorary research fellow, University of Manchester THE lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, has had drastic effects on children and young people who live on the streets of many African cities. Their lives, even in “normal” times, are marked by ongoing hardship and tenacity. We work on a project called “Growing up on the Streets” in three African cities: Accra, Ghana; Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Harare, Zimbabwe. The aim is to provide insights into their daily lives…

Sep

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Why Sierra Leone needs to focus on cardiovascular health

HEALTH

MARIA ODLAND, Research Fellow Global Health, University of Birmingham JUSTINE INA DAVIES, Professor of Global Health, Institute for Applied Research, University of Birmingham CARDIOVASCULAR diseases and their risk factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, are major causes of death and disability globally. Noncommunicable diseases such as these arise mainly from lifestyle transitions towards a high-calorie diet and low-activity living. These conditions were previously regarded as a problem for high-income countries. But low- and middle-income countries have followed the same trend. Now more than three quarters of deaths due to cardiovascular disease are in low- and middle-income countries. Despite…

Sep

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Libyan medics already faced war, now the pandemic is surging there too

COVID-19

AS the pandemic started to rage through Libya last month, medics working in the war-ravaged country's few functioning hospitals faced their nightmare scenario - a surge in cases and dwindling resources. Hamza Abdulrahman Jelwal, 35, a supervising nurse at a quarantine centre in the coastal city of Misrata, has not seen his family since Libya's lockdown began in March. He has also not been paid. He tested positive for the coronavirus in August and was quarantined in the same facility. As soon as he got better, he got up and went back to work. "We work 12 hours a day.…

Sep

14

2020

By The African Mirror

AstraZeneca resumes UK trials of COVID-19 vaccine halted by patient illness

COVID-19

MICHAEL HOLDEN ASTRAZENECA has resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development, after getting the green light from safety watchdogs, the company has announced. The late-stage trials of the experimental vaccine, developed with researchers from the University of Oxford, were suspended this week after an illness in a study subject in Britain, casting doubts on an early rollout. "On 6 September, the standard review process triggered a voluntary pause to vaccination across all global trials to allow review of safety data by independent committees, and international regulators," AstraZeneca said. It added that safety…

Sep

12

2020

By The African Mirror

Vaccine confidence volatile, vulnerable to misinformation, global study finds

COVID-19

KATE KELLAND POLITICAL polarisation and online misinformation are threatening vaccination programmes worldwide, with public trust volatile and varying widely between countries, according to a global vaccine confidence study. The study, which maps trends in vaccine confidence across 149 countries between 2015 and 2019, found that scepticism about the safety of vaccines tended to grow alongside political instability and religious extremism. "It is vital with new and emerging disease threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that we regularly monitor public attitudes," said Heidi Larson, a professor at the London school of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who led the research. "Perceptions about…

Sep

11

2020

By The African Mirror

Uganda says to re-open airport and resume international flights on October 1

COVID-19

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA UGANDA has announced that it would reopen its sole international airport to commercial flights on October 1, more than five months after its closure as a measure to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in the East African nation. The move is the latest in a series of steps by the government of President Yoweri Museveni to gradually lift one of Africa's tightest lockdowns and rejuvenate the economy, badly hurt by the shutdown. "We're preparing to open for resumption of flights on October 1," spokesman for the country's state-run Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Vianney Lugya, said of…

Sep

11

2020

By The African Mirror

WHO says $700 million raised so far for COVID-19 vaccines initiative for poor

COVID-19

INTERNATIONAL donors have raised $700 million - less than half the target - to purchase future coronavirus vaccines for poor countries in a global initiative to ensure eventual vaccines do not go only to rich countries, a World Health Organization official has said. The COVAX Advanced Market Commitment has an initial target of $2 billion to buy the vaccines. "Up to today, what has been mobilised so far is $700 million ... So there is a great deal of work to be done to diversify the possible sources of funding," Matshidiso Moeti, Africa regional director for the WHO, told an…

Sep

11

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID robocop: the droid that reminds you to wear your mask

COVID-19

ENGINEERS have developed a robot that can detect whether people are wearing a mask to guard against COVID-19 and, if not, politely remind them to put one on. The feature is an upgrade of Pepper, a 120 cm (47 inch) high robot with human-like features that is already in operation in some countries welcoming visitors to shops, exhibitions and other public spaces. Pepper's camera scans the faces of people approaching it, and if it detects the lower half of their face is uncovered, it pronounces the phrase: "You have to always wear a mask properly." If it sees that the…

Sep

11

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigerian doctors suspend strike to allow government time to meet demands

COVID-19

CAMILLUS EBOH NIGERIAN resident doctors have suspended a strike to allow the government time to meet its demands over pay and working conditions amid the spread of the coronavirus, the head of the doctors' union said. The National Association of Resident Doctors resolved to suspend the strike "to give the government time to address our demands," said Aliyu Sokomba, president of the union, in a WhatsApp message to Reuters. The strike began on Monday, and included 16,000 resident doctors out of a total of 42,000 doctors in the country, including those who worked in COVID-19 treatment centres, he had said…

Sep

10

2020

By The African Mirror

South African volunteers on AstraZeneca vaccine trial say not alarmed by pause

COVID-19

SOUTH African volunteers on AstraZeneca’s experimental coronavirus vaccine trial said they were not worried to hear the trial had been paused after a participant fell ill and they hoped to be part of a potential solution to the pandemic. The vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, has been described by the World Health Organization as probably the world’s leading candidate and the most advanced in terms of development. Some 2,000 volunteers in South Africa are taking part in the trial which was paused globally on Tuesday after an unexplained illness in a participant. An independent committee will review safety…