COUNTY governments have signed an agreement with the Rotary Club to eradicate the spread of polio by 2018. The two are expected to roll out nationwide campaigns to increase the scope of vaccinations.   Dubbed 'This Close', the campaign is expected to boost government efforts of vaccinating children, while mopping out high risk counties. The initiative was launched at Laico Regency Hotel, Nairobi, yesterday.   Rotary Club of Nairobi.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 12th August 2014

Shelter Afrique the Pan-African Housing Financier has advanced a US$8 million [KSH704M] loan to the Kenya Medical Association for the construction of 160 housing units in Mombasa for exclusive sale to members of the association. The loan which follows the approval by the Shelter Afrique board in March 2014 sees Shelter Afrique partner with the KMA yet again having already jointly financed two of the KMA’s housing projects. Signing the.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

 All pregnant, HIV positive women will go onto lifelong antiretroviral treatment from January 2015, Kenya Health Minister. In addition, people with HIV will start treatment when their CD4 count, which measures immunity, drops to 500 not 350 as at present. Currently, pregnant HIV-positive women with a CD4 count over 350 only receive ARVs during pregnancy and breastfeeding to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. In September.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

 Why the Mass Distribution of Nets in Uganda is a success story so far? The Ministry of Health in Uganda and its financing partners, have succeeded in distributing Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets to 98% of its districts. This is one of the most costly, most ambitious and most cost effective moves in Health Care and as regards Malaria prevention. Its goal is to achieve what is termed as Universal Coverage to curb the mortality and morbidity.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 8th August 2014

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) (http://www.aslm.org) have joined with global partners to launch the Diagnostics Access Initiative which calls for improving laboratory capacity to ensure that all people living with HIV can be linked to effective, high-quality HIV treatment services.Partners in the initiative include UNAIDS, the World Health Organization (WHO), the.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 6th September 2014

 While Kenya has made tremendous progress recently by reducing child mortality and getting more children into school, new data published today suggest that raising the quality of public education and health services is essential to build on these gains. Otherwise, far too many children will attend school without learning enough and too many patients leave clinics without the right treatment.   Service Delivery Indicators.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 6th August 2014

 The Medicines Control Council (MCC) has granted humanitarian group Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) access to a cheaper drug to treat extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).   The MCC's decision is the conclusion of a three-year battle for MSF and comes a few weeks after the MSF lodged a high court case against the MCC. This followed the regulatory body's failure to convene a statutory committee to allow MSF to appeal the.... Read more »

Posted on : Saturday , 6th September 2014

 Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health has Monday launched the universal health for all campaign in Nairobi and noted challenges to realize the vision.   According to James Macharia, it is a daunting task to achieve universal health coverage in developing countries such as Kenya due to financial constraints and the over-reliance on direct payments at the time people need care.   “Kenyan people do not have the.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 31st July 2014

 A new genetic test for tuberculosis (TB) could dramatically improve the accuracy of diagnoses of infected children in developing countries, although a simple diagnostic kit could be some way off. The research, published last month (1 May) in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined the DNA of more than 2,800 children admitted to hospitals in Kenya, Malawi and South Africa with TB symptoms. It identified specific gene sequences that.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 30th July 2014

Mumbai-based drugmaker Cipla Ltd is acquiring 51 per cent stake in a UAE-based pharmaceutical company which has manufacturing and distribution business in Yemen for $21 million. “Given the recent preference to local manufacturing, this secures the company’s presence in a fast growing market,” the company said in a stock exchange announcement. At present Cipla has over 200 products in Yemen market. The company will pay $21.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014