Author: Gloria Addo

A clinical trial conducted in South Africa and Uganda found that a new pre-exposure prophylaxis drug (PrEP) provides young women between the ages of 16 and 25 with complete protection against HIV infection. The New England Journal of Medicine published a confirmation of the study, which indicated that positive findings resulted in an earlier-than-expected conclusion of the experiment. UNAIDS reported 1.3 million new HIV infections globally last year, falling short of the 2025 target and the goal of ending AIDS by 2030. This development raises the prospect of an extremely effective HIV preventive tool with great potential. For a young…

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is preparing to introduce a free health screening program for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly hypertension and diabetes, to combat its high mortality rates in Ghana. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which include cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory conditions, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, pose serious international public health issues. Every year, around the world, NCDs claim the lives of 17 million people before they reach the age of 70, and it is possible to prevent 86 percent of these deaths. However, NCDs accounted for 41 million of the 55 million fatalities in 2019, accounting for 74% of deaths…

UNICEF in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has launched a project to improve healthcare in HIV Services for possible mother-to-child transmission cases. The project dubbed Point of Care Test, is the use of a technology to significantly reduce turnaround times for HIV test results in babies, enhancing their chances of survival and reducing maternal anxiety. Speaking on the project, Chief of Health & Nutrition -UNICEF Ghana, Emmanuel Dewiz, stated that the idea is innovative as it allows infected babies to be treated as soon as possible thereby increasing their chances of surviving. “The Point of Care Test initiative…

Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has announced intentions to implement paternity leave as part of labor reforms under the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s proposed Labour Bill for 2024. Male employees may request paternity leave within three months of the wife’s or surrogate’s childbirth or following the adoption of a child under one year old. To qualify, male employees must provide proof of birth or adoption to their employer. Upon approval, the employer is required to grant a minimum of five days of paternity leave, effective from the specified date in the application. However, a worker cannot be…

A team of researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science, Imperial College London, and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore have discovered a possible drug that can increase lifespan by 20–25% after conducting an experiment in mice. In preclinical research, the group discovered that as people aged, their organs released higher amounts of the interleukin-11 (IL-11) protein, which encouraged the build-up of fat in the liver and belly and decreased muscle mass and strength two characteristics that are significant in the aging in humans. Professor Stuart Cook and his associates tested this theory by injecting 37 mice with a medication…

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has begun the 2024 Mass Drug Administration (MDA) Campaign against Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, and Lymphatic Filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, in the disease-endemic districts across the country. The initiative aimed at combating these neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2030 is targeted at 5.8 million and 440,000 individuals aged 5 years and older, excluding pregnant women, in 77 Onchocerciasis endemic districts and 3 Lymphatic Filariasis endemic districts across the country. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, the Director-General of the Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, revealed that the main strategy for controlling and…

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is cautioning the general public to be on the lookout for a new disease called Dengue Fever after the confirmation of nine cases in the Eastern Region. This emergency call came after suspected cases of Malaria did not respond to antimalarial treatment leading to further investigation. Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) confirmed the samples sent from patients exhibiting acute febrile illnesses as Dengue Fever cases. In view of this, healthcare professionals have urged the use of caution and adherence to guidelines for monitoring cases related to dengue fever in individuals who exhibit an…

The first Hepatitis C virus self-test, the OraQuick HCV, made by OraSure Technologies, has been prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO). This product, meant for laypeople, is an extension of the pre-qualified OraQuick® HCV Rapid Antibody Test developed by OraSure Technologies. It comes in a single kit with all the items needed to perform a self-test. Hepatitis C, an inflammation of the liver is caused by the hepatitis C virus. This virus causes acute and chronic hepatitis, with severity ranging from a minor disease. Dr. Meg Doherty, WHO Director of the Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Programmes, stated…

In an effort to protect public health, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) is calling on the Federal Government to ban the open sale of drugs in marketplaces. Mr. Chris Oisakede, Chairman of the PSN, emphasized that the availability of drugs in open markets contributes to the increasing drug abuse among youths. In his appeal, he stated, “I am concerned at the devastating effects of drug abuse on youths, but the ease with which drugs are available in the open market is worrisome.” Oisakede urged the government to implement a structured redistribution system that would encourage prescription-only sales to curb drug…

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have found in a recent study that tampons may be bad for women’s health because they contain dangerous metals. Several tampon brands were examined for lead, zinc, arsenic, and cadmium metal content during the research process. All of the tampons included lead and zinc, with zinc having the greatest concentration at 52,000 ng/g (nanogram per gram), as reported by the research. “Any amount of lead that may leak out of a tampon and enter the systemic circulation could have a detrimental effect on health. There is no safe level of exposure to lead.…