DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — The smell of burning garbage wafted into Ester Kayombo’s bedroom, jolting her awake with the fear that her house was on fire. Nearby, heaps of rubbish were burning at the Pugu Kinyamwezi dumpsite, sending plumes of smoke billowing across the neighbourhood. Kayombo, a mother of three, feared for her three-year-old […] Continue reading ->
A polio-free Africa is within reach, but only if we make it a priority. Ending the disease will not only protect our children, but it will also strengthen our health systems and safeguard us against future threats. The Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, with several cases of polio lurking in the shadows, remains an instructive […] Continue reading ->
As the mandate of Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus approaches its expiration in August 2027, the high-stakes manoeuvring for the next Director-General (DG) of the World Health Organization (WHO) has intensified in the halls of Geneva and capital cities worldwide. While the official call for nominations is expected in April 2026 and no candidate has formally […] Continue reading ->
Africa is continuing to make progress in meeting its Universal Health Coverage (UHC) targets (part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals). Countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia are two examples of African countries making exemplary progress. Kenya, Ghana and South Africa are also among those making significant progress towards realising this dream. However, there is […] Continue reading ->
GEITA, Tanzania —The first time 78-year-old Hadija Kisanji got lost on her way home, neighbors found her sitting under a baobab tree, staring blankly at the dusty road. When they asked where she was going, she whispered, “I think I live nearby.” That was three years ago. Today, Kisanji barely remembers her own name. She’s […] Continue reading ->
A sod-turning ceremony in Mombasa, Kenya, on Tuesday marked the launch of the East African Programme on Oxygen Access (EAPOA), which aims to massively boost access to medical oxygen in the region. Unitaid is investing $22 million in support for Kenyan manufacturers Hewatele and Synergy, and Tanzania Oxygen Limited to set up Africa’s first liquid […] Continue reading ->
Pregnant women with disabilities in Malawi face a myriad of challenges, despite several policies and an Act stipulating the need to respect disability rights, including in health service provision. BLANTYRE, Malawi – When Lynes Manduwa miscarried, nurses in the gynaecology ward at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) ganged up and confronted her husband. “They confronted […] Continue reading ->
Fourteen months into its devastating civil war, one-half of Sudan’s 25.6 million population faces levels of food security ranked as “crisis,” emergency, or “catastrophic,” according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. The IPC analysis of Gaza also found that a “high and sustained risk” of famine persists across the entire occupied […] Continue reading ->
The World Bank’s decision to suspend new public loans to Uganda after the country passed its Anti-Homosexuality Act in March should serve as a warning to other countries contemplating passing similar discriminatory laws, according to human rights activists. “Other countries considering similarly discriminatory laws should take notice of the World Bank’s decision and the negative […] Continue reading ->
The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called on Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni not to promulgate the Anti-Homosexuality Act his country’s Parliament passed on Tuesday night. Describing the Act as “probably among the worst of its kind in the world”, Türk said that, “if signed into law by the president, it […] Continue reading ->