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Tag: Health & Environment

Africa Featured World 

Plants on Lunar Soil

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , ,
Scientists have for the first-time grown plants on lunar surface material known as regolith which had been collected 50 years before by Apollo astronauts. Researchers used three of those samples to experiment. This comes just at the beginning of the Artemis era and the return of astronauts to the moon. During the research, scientists grew Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant in… Read More
Africa East Africa World 

New strain of gonorrhoea detected in Kenya’s Nairobi

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , , ,
Researchers from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) have detected a new strain of gonorrhoea. They say the new strain of the sexually transmitted disease is resistant to standard antibiotics and is circulating in the capital, Nairobi. The researchers say the new strain is popular especially among female sex workers in the city. Over 350 sex workers from one clinic… Read More
Africa China Ghana West Africa World 

Ghana to screen China arrivals for Covid-19

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , , ,
Ghana has imposed travel restrictions on passengers from China over coronavirus concerns. The restriction which will take effect on Friday follows China’s decision to drop its Covid-19 controls in December last year. Ghanaian authorities said passengers from China will be tested at the airport for free and must also present a negative test result 48 hours before arrival. Ghanaian authorities issue… Read More
Africa World 

Global deaths from Malaria stabilize

Elwin Mandowa, , , , ,
– – The World Health Organization has said that malaria cases and deaths remained stable last year, after a worrying rise during the first year of the Covid pandemic. The WHO has however warned of new challenges including mosquito resistance to insecticides and parasite resistance to drugs used to treat malaria. Ninety-five per cent of all malaria cases are in… Read More
Africa Ghana Human Rights West Africa World 

Ghana: Chaining people with mental health conditions persists

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , , ,
– – Ghana’s government has taken inadequate steps to end the chaining and inhumane treatment of people with real or perceived mental health conditions – psychosocial disabilities – in faith-based and traditional healing centers despite a 2017 ban on such treatment, Human Rights Watch said today. A decade after the adoption of the 2012 Mental Health Act, which establishes a… Read More
Africa World 

Opinion: How will economic downturn affect health investment in the Africa?

Elwin Mandowa, , , , ,
– – At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was primed for a substantial increase in health and biotech spending and investment. Governments and the private sector alike promised to dedicate funding so that they would be adequately prepared for the next pandemic if or when it came. Over the course of 2020 and 2021, those promises appeared… Read More
Africa World 

Climate summit opens in Egypt as Africa pushes for gas exploitation

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , ,
– – This year’s climate change summit – COP 27- has opened in Egypt as world leaders discuss solutions to the impact of climate change. The summit for the first time is debating whether richer nations should provide financial support to help developing countries combat the effects of climate change. But African countries are themselves pushing for the exploitation of… Read More
Africa World 

Climate-related health crisis worsens in the greater horn of Africa

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , ,
– – New analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO) has found that the number of reported disease outbreaks and climate-related health emergencies in the greater Horn Africa have reached their highest-ever level this century, deepening a health crisis in a region where 47 million people are already facing acute hunger. Most parts of the region are battling the worst… Read More
Africa World 

The priority actions needed to limit global warming

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , ,
– – Despite positive progress at COP26, current country pledges and commitments, even if fully implemented, still do not put the world on trajectory to limit global warming to 1.5°C. If the world is to have even a 50% chance of meeting that objective, COP27 must act as a catalyst to turn broad national commitments into secific actions and pave… Read More
Africa World 

WHO switches to one dose of cholera vaccine as outbreaks surge

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , ,
– – The World Health Organization is moving to replace its standard two-dose vaccination regimen for cholera with a single dose due to vaccine shortages and rising outbreaks worldwide. The one-dose strategy is effective as a response to cholera outbreaks but the duration of protection is limited and appears to be much lower in children, the agency said. Countries like… Read More