Author: Gloria Addo

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is anticipating that Ghanaians will be able to benefit from a free annual medical check-up under a projected universal health coverage plan set to be achieved before 2030. At the core of NHIA’s strategy is the introduction of preventive healthcare measures, which will soon be assimilated into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) claim package. Under this initiative, every Ghanaian who signs up for the program will get the chance to have an annual check-up on their birthday, with the goal of detecting and treating noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension early on. This…

Genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes will shortly be introduced in Kenya by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and Imperial College London in an effort to prevent the development of an invasive species that transfers malaria. According to Kemri researchers, their goal is to restrict the spread of malaria by utilizing genetic techniques, particularly gene drive. In a lab, the Centers for Disease Control creates genetically modified mosquitoes that are equipped with two genes: one that limits the ability of female mosquito offspring to reach adulthood, and the other that identifies the insects when they lay eggs in the wild. GM…

The National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) has lamented the increasing number of mother-to-child HIV transmissions despite initiatives put in place to eliminate it, such as the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) program. The Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) is one of the interventions instituted by the NACP, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), and their partners to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to their babies. With this intervention, pregnant women would have to get tested for HIV at an Antenatal care service and those found positive would be put on medication to protect the baby from getting infected.           Programme Manager of…