insert_link Health / Medical Namibia celebrates World Malaria Day World Malaria Day is being celebrated today under the theme, “Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world”. Despite significant progress in reducing the global burden of malaria between 2000 and 2015, progress has slowed in recent years, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. We contacted Dr Richard Kamwi, the Africa CDC Champion and Ambassador of the Elimination 8 Initiative to find out how Namibia is faring. today25 April, 2024
insert_link Environment Over 2.4 billion workers face climate-related health risks Bloomberg News reports that more than 2.4 billion workers — or 70% of the global workforce — are exposed to climate change-related health hazards. An International Labour Organisation’s report, published Monday, also estimates that 18,970 lives and 2.09 million disability-adjusted life years are lost annually to 22.87 million occupational injuries attributable to excessive heat. today24 April, 2024
insert_link Africa WHO approves new oral simplified cholera vaccine World Health Organization's has approved a new oral vaccine for cholera. The oral vaccine for cholera received prequalification by the WHO on 12 April 2024. The inactivated oral vaccine Euvichol-S has a similar efficacy to existing vaccines but a simplified formulation, allowing opportunities to rapidly increase production capacity. There were 473 000 cholera cases reported to WHO in 2022 -- double the number from 2021. Further increase of cases by 700 […] today22 April, 2024
insert_link Africa Researchers urgently call for action against the DRC’s new Mpox strain Scientists have identified a new strain of the mpox virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo that spreads rapidly among humans. The researchers are calling for swift action to avert another global mpox outbreak. The disease previously known as monkeypox was reported in several countries in Europe and North America in 2022. Chris Ocamringa has more from Kinshasa. today18 April, 2024
insert_link Health / Medical WHO warns that Hepatitis is killing thousands daily The World Health Organisation has warned that the number of daily deaths due to viral hepatitis infections is on the rise. It's the second deadliest infectious disease killing around 1.3 million people per year. today10 April, 2024
insert_link Health / Medical Namibia faces kidney disease challenge, high dialysis costs Today is World Kidney Day, a global initiative focused on increasing awareness of the vital role kidneys play in our health and reducing the prevalence and impact of kidney disease worldwide. We interviewed Dr. Glenda Kalunga, a local nephrologist, who has been testing for kidney disease at dialysis centers countrywide. Namibia has a total population of 3.02 million people and has more than 300 confirmed cases of chronic kidney failure […] today14 March, 2024
insert_link Health / Medical Global obesity rates double among adults, quadruple among children The number of obese people worldwide has surpassed one billion, according to global analysis. Research published by The Lancet journal shows 879 million adults and 159 million children were obese in 2022 - the most recent year included in the analysis. The data shows that globally, obesity rates among children and adolescents quadrupled from 1990 to 2022, while rates among adults more than doubled. The numbers, according to local Dietician […] today4 March, 2024
insert_link Africa Cholera vaccine push underway in southern Africa The World Health Organization has warned that cholera cases are increasing globally, and there’s been an unprecedented spike in Africa. Dr. Fiona Braka from WHO’s regional office in Brazzaville, Congo, said that eastern and southern Africa have been badly affected. In just the first four weeks of the year, 10 African countries reported more than 26,000 cases and 700 deaths. today7 February, 2024
insert_link Health / Medical Climate change behind Africa’s cholera increase The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has tied the worst outbreak of cholera in three years to climate change, saying adverse weather is raising the risk of this disease faster than in the rest of the world. That’s as floods in the Democratic Republic of Congo — and across southern Africa — stretch already fragile health systems. The increase in cases comes even as Africa is the region […] today1 February, 2024
