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Health
As Africa’s role in the global economy continues to garner prominence, it’s imperative for the continent to seal the gaping hole in its power supply.
Lack of universal power access remains a major roadblock that has retrogressed industrialization and socio-economic development. Statistics from the World Bank indicate that Africa remains the least electrified region in the world, with 568 million people lacking access to electricity.
The Bretton Woods institution, further notes that the Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of the global population without electricity, jumped to 77 per cent in 2020 from 71 per cent in 2018, whilst most regions saw declines in their share of access deficits. It has become a Hobson’s choice for African governments to prioritize the power sector, which is the epicenter of industrialization, working towards Goal 7 of the UN SDGs; which advocates for universal access to affordable, reliable and modern electricity services.
Currently, Africa’s power is …
Even though the EU delegates admitted that; “We recognised, everybody, does, that there is an unbearable vaccination gap that has to be closed … between Africa and Europe,” the diplomats still said no vaccine patent waiver for Africa.
Also, despite scientists warning of the possibility of new Covid variants developing in Africa and the fact that just 5 per cent of Africa has been inoculated, the EU still said no to easing vaccine access to Africa.
The African Union (AU) had expected some sought of EU backing for targeted and time-limited Trips Waiver on vaccines. Trips stand for: Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual-Property Rights and a waiver would have made it affordable for Africa to produce the vaccines in Africa.…
According to SOS Children’s Villages, 3.2 million children under the age of five die every year because of hunger and drought in Africa. In other words, more than half the children who die of hunger-related causes come from the continent.
In the same breath, he said that there has also been inconsistency in the flow of funds to UNICEF to support humanitarian response.
UNICEF said more than 255,000 children received treatment for severe wasting in Somalia last year. On Tuesday, January 2022, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the widespread drought in the Horn of Africa has severely affected the country the most, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency in November.…
The British High Commission has announced a new programme that will allow unemployed Kenyan nurses to work in the United Kingdom, as part of a new scheme requested by the Government of Kenya and launched by President Kenyatta on July 29 during his visit to London.
The British High Commission says Kenyan health professionals and health managers who are out of work are eligible of working in the UK, before returning to work in Kenya’s health sector.
According to the Commission, the special arrangement for Kenyan nurses to work the UK was part of a request by Kenya to capitalize in those qualified but unemployed health workers in Kenya.
The exact numbers of those who will go to the UK – and the process for visas – will however be confirmed in the next three months, according to the Commission.
Kenya embracing new ways of doing business
UK Health Secretary, …
Kenya has received a coronavirus vaccine donation from the United kingdom, following the meeting between President Uhuru Kenyatta and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this week.
The East African nation received 410, 000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine Saturday, as part of the 817, 000 doses that Kenyatta secured during his three-day visit of London earlier this week.
The remaining doses which were donated through the COVAX facility is expected to arrive in the country in the coming days ahead.
The arrival of the vaccines come days after President Uhuru Kenyatta urged the global community to heighten efforts in promoting equity in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
Speaking to Sky News in London, President Kenyatta underscored that the world can only be save if everybody gets to be vaccinated against the virus.
He noted that Kenya is ready to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccines but regretted that the only …
The EAC bloc should urgently work to attract international investors and embark on joint regional investments in the vaccine manufacturing industry for quick economic recovery.
This is according to East African Business Council Chairman Nicholas Nesbitt who is calling for a coordinated approach on COVID-19 measures to spur EAC economic recovery and growth.
Nesbitt noted that joint EAC investment offers a larger pool of capital resources, expertise and market.
At the same time, EAC’s board has directed the EABC Secretariat to champion advocacy on the adoption of open skies and one network area to reduce the cost of doing business in the region.
The board said that open skies attract regional tourism and improve consolidation of EAC exports to overseas markets such as horticulture.
According to the board, open skies are also critical in supporting the resilience and recovery of tourism, hospitality and transport sectors, which were highly impacted by …
Johnson & Johnson has recalled five of its aerosol sunscreen products.
The firm announced on Wednesday that it would like to voluntarily recall all lots of five EUTROGENA® and AVEENO® aerosol sunscreen product lines to the consumer level.
“Internal testing identified low levels of benzene in some samples of the products. Consumers should stop using the affected products and follow the instructions set forth below.” The healthcare giant said in a statement.
What Benzene really is
According to an information kit from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), benzene is a chemical that is a colourless or light yellow liquid at room temperature. It has a sweet odour and is highly flammable.
CDC says that direct exposure of the eyes, skin, or lungs to benzene could cause tissue injury and irritation however, presenting with these signs and symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person has …
The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) says it has stepped up plans to guarantee quality medical products and technologies supply to more than 8,000 facilities in the national public health care system, with a floating of two competitive tenders for pharmaceutical products.
In a statement, KEMSA says the newly floated tenders are open for local manufacturers and related suppliers, including youth, women and persons with disability-owned enterprises, which can participate under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) program, among other supplier categories.
Kenyan and international bidders seeking to supply Health Products and Technologies (HPTs) under a two-year framework model converged at the College of Insurance, Nairobi, Monday for a pre-bid conference.
The move comes at a time when the Authority is trying to regain trust and revamp its public image following the questionable and inflated Sh7.8 billion Covid-19 supplies tenders in which billions might have been misappropriated or stolen.…
Kenya’s Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has recently signed a new cooperation agreement with Cuban Minister of Public Health, Dr. Jose Angel Portal Miranda. The agreement is expected to ensure that 101 Cuban specialists travel to Kenya as part of a medical exchange programme.
Kenya’s healthcare system was devolved into the county governments from the national one after the promulgation of the new constitution in August 2010. The country is now divided into 47 counties under 47 governors.
The process of devolution is one of the main pillars of this constitution, which partly means that the public decision-making process and a significant part of implementation fall under regional leadership. So when it comes to healthcare, the county governors are essentially responsible for decision-making as well as controlling resources within their county jurisdictions with regard to the health sector.
What’s ailing Kenya’s healthcare system?
A report by Africa Health Business shows …
