Health

Brazzaville, 21 June 2017 – For the first time, WHO’s Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) is convening a meeting of global leaders and thinkers to explore Africa’s healthcare priorities and challenges and find new ways to achieve better health for all. The Africa Health Forum will take place in Kigali, Rwanda on 27 and 28 June 2017.

Organised under the theme: “Putting People First: The Road to Universal Health Coverage in Africa”, the event will provide a platform to forge new partnerships for delivering Universal Health Coverage (UHC), a mechanism for improving access to quality, affordable healthcare for all, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said that the Forum provides a unique opportunity for its partners. “Health is at the heart of the SDGs, and is critical for better quality of life. WHO AFRO is committed to working with countries and partners to attain the highest possible level of health for Africa’s people. This forum will help pave the way to attain UHC across the continent. We are convinced that together, we can do more to save lives and achieve a prosperous and sustainable future for all.”

Experts from a wide range of backgrounds will speak at the WHO Africa Health Forum, including academics, government representatives, the private sector and youth organisations.

Themes to be covered at the two-day event will include:

• Health financing;
• Health security;
• Health research, innovation and data;
• UHC and the private sector in Africa;
• Old enemies such as HIV and the rise of new threats such as non-communicable diseases.

 

There will also be special sessions on e-health in Africa and the health of young people in the healthcare debate.

To register to attend the event, please visit africahealthforum.afro.who.int

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Rita Akana

21.Jun.2017

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JOHANNESBURG — Among the people socializing in a tavern in Alexandra township in Johannesburg is Karabo Sathekge, who asked that VOA not give her real name. She is a slight, attractive 19-year-old in a veil of an orange dress, defying the winter chill.

Sathekge often meets one of her partners here. He is more than twice her age.

Sathekge explains that sex with older men is sometimes "rough," and always without a condom.

South Africa has almost 7 million people living with HIV and manages the globe's largest antiretroviral program, keeping about 4 million people alive with the drugs. At the South African National AIDS Conference in Durban this week, specialists voiced their concern about the spiking rates of infections among young women, a trend reflected throughout the continent.

"What does it tell you about the lack of knowledge about HIV, 20, 30 years into the HIV epidemic?" said Mark Heywood, the director of the Section 27 social justice movement. "We have seen, shockingly, a decline in knowledge of HIV amongst young people. It is like we have taken our foot off the accelerator, in certain respects."

Heywood says more than 200 young women, ages 15 to 24, are infected with HIV each day in South Africa.

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Rita Akana

18.Jun.2017

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The Nkululu neighbourhood has witnessed a one of a kind incident on Tuesday when two kids 3 and 6 years old died mysteriously. The cause of death is unknown but it is highly suspected that the yogurt they consumed which was given by a neighbor was the root cause of their untimely death.

A neighbor whose name we got as Carole quoted that “these children were very healthy and showed no sign of sickness this morning but we are surprised to see that the cold hands of death could so sudden take away the lives of these innocent kids”

The neighbor in question who gave them the yogurt is currently in custody and the forces of law and order are investigating the veracity of the claims while the corps of the two kids have been taken to the Nkululu district hospital mortuary.

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Ivo Nsame

01.Jun.2017

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The Minister of Public Health Andre Mama Fouda, is expected today 29 May 2017 at the Douala General hospital, the Laquintinie hospital and the  Gynaecology, obstetrics and pedriatic hospital.

This is filed in a document which he signed, notifying the aforementioned hospitals that he will be visiting them.

In the communique, the Minister said, the media and other authorities will not be allowed access to the meetings he is to chair.

This comes at a time when health personnel especially those of the Litoral Region,  have been protesting and demanding government improvement in their working conditions.

Minister Andre Mama Fouda's objective is to put an end to the strike which started in March. He did not disclose the topics they will be discussing about.

While other striking health professionals still maintain their position to keep on with the protests, some strike leaders who have been transferred to other areas of the country, resumed work yesterday Sunday 28 May.

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Rita Akana

29.May.2017

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An international humanitarian Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Mercy Ships, has pledged to rescue some 1,400 destitute patients suffering from varied diseases in the West Region, who have repeatedly been turned away by officials of Government hospitals in the Region as they yearn for medical attention.

Moved by a pathetic incident in which one of the patients was denied medical healthcare because he could not afford the bills, given his chronic state, a Cameroonian who is based in the diaspora, invited the NGO to Cameroon to organise a medical campaign in the Region in order to enable the health organisation select patients whose conditions were precarious, and offer free surgery.  

During the campaign, over 1,400 serious medical cases were dictated ranging from; chronic ulcers, congenital abnormalities, bone contractures, huge tumours, clubfoot, malformations, amongst others.
Mercy Ships is based in Texas, USA and was founded by Donald Stephens in 1978, with a mission to improve access to healthcare in developing African countries. 

With its slogan; “Bringing Hope and Healing”, Mercy Ships lays emphasis on surgery, healthcare and development.

So far, it has operated in more than 50 developing nations and about 18 developed countries.
According to the official who solicited the help of the international NGO, “the free medical surgeries will safe many Cameroonians from Government neglects.

To him, “in some countries, the Government prioritise the health of its citizens, but in our own country which is very rich in terms of natural resources, even if patients manage to come to the hospital, they are turn away by uncaring medical personnel in Government hospitals,” he said.
Denizens from all the nooks and crannies in the Region with complicated medical problems and malformations, have been flooding the healthcare campaign of Mercy Ship and the NGO has agreed to stay in Cameroon from August 2017 to June 2018.
“We have seen very pathetic cases here, just as we will find in other parts of Cameroon. This is a very special occasion, thanks to the NGO, Mercy Ships, our patients will be taken care of. It is our wish that all goes well and we can only accompany our patients with prayers and express our gratitude to Mercy Ships for the golden opportunity given to the sick,” West Governor, Awa Fonka intimated. 

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Abeh Valery

26.May.2017

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Rita Akana

21.May.2017

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