Hope Mafaranga

Kabarole Siamese twins who had been admitted at Mulago hospital have died. Mulago hospital spokesperson, Enock Kusasira, says the twins died last night after their situation worsened. The pair admitted last week was sharing the heart and the liver. Francis and Robert were admitted at the hospital's Special care Unit in ward 5B. The male babies weighed 4.3kg. This was a fourth pair of Siamese twins admitted at the hospital including the two pairs from Ngora and Kabarole districts which passed on.

Fifty-eight journalists from 30 African and Arab countries graduated from the SjCOOP Program of the World Federation of Science Journalists, Wednesday 10 th October 2012, in Jordan. Following their last encounter with the experienced science journalist who has been their mentor for the last two years, the ‘mentees’ – one of them now editor-in-chief of his newspaper, another now working for the main TV station in her country, and several having published articles in the most prestigious scientific journals – received their certificate from the World Federation of Science Journalists. “It has really been two years of great learning and sharing”, said Hope Mafaranga from Uganda. The class of 2012 is the second group of African and Arab science journalists to successfully complete the SjCOOP training program. In a first phase, from 2006 to 2009, SjCOOP graduated 32 science journalists from Africa and the Arab World. SjCOOP mentees typically begin by revising the ten lessons of the WFSJ

Africa’s first long-term study finds legume trees planted alongside maize, combined with less fertilizer, is best solution for Africa’s most important food crop Inserting rows of “fertilizer trees” into maize fields, known as agroforestry, can help farmers across sub-Saharan Africa cope with the impacts of drought and degraded soils, according to a 12-year-long study by researchers at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). The study, Can Integration of Legume Trees Increase Yield Stability in Rainfed Maize Cropping Systems in Southern Africa?, by Gudeta Sileshi, Legesse Kassa Debusho and Festus Akinnifesi, was published in this month’s issue of Agronomy Journal of the Soil Science Society of America. Three coordinated experiments, begun in 1991 in Malawi and Zambia, found that farms that mix nitrogen-fixing trees and maize have consistent and relatively high yields year after year. In Malawi, the highest average maize yield was found in fields that combined both fertilizer tree

Global Fund results show broad gains against HIV The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced new results on Monday ( 23. 07.2012)   that show a significant increase in treatment of HIV and in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The results show that 3.6 million people living with HIV are now receiving anti-retroviral treatment under programs backed by the Global Fund, an increase of 600,000 since the end of 2010 Overall, 8.7 million lives have been saved by programs supported by the Global Fund since the organization was formed in 2002. The results include data through June, 2012. The success in expanding treatment for HIV in developing countries has been achieved by effective efforts by health workers in countries with a high disease burden, the commitment of donors, and reduction in the cost of drugs, among other factors. A year’s supply of first-line anti-retroviral drugs costs today less than $100 per person for the least expe

President Yoweri Museveni has challenged leaders especially those from developing countries to re dedicate themselves to the social- economic transformation of their people and to addressing their reproductive health needs. He urged them to empower women in all aspects saying all stake holders must be on board as women do not only give life but they are the backbone of the economies of the developing world. The President said the government of Uganda is committed to ensuring that all women are enabled to exercise their family planning choices and to strengthen service delivery and the reproductive health systems in the country. President Museveni who is accompanied by the First Lady Hon.Janet Museveni was last evening delivering his key-note address at the London Summit on Family Planning hosted by the British Prime Minister David Cameron and co-sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and United Nations Fund for Population Activity-(UNFPA). He told participants

President Yoweri Museveni has called on the people of South Sudan not to be like the Biblical children of Israel who were about to back-track to Egypt when faced with challenges. “You should stand firm and make sure that judgment is attained. Be strong, the modern world doesn’t have a place for the weak hearted”, he said. The President who was the Chief Guest at the celebrations to mark the first Anniversary of Independence of South Sudan called for a peaceful deal based on justice to resolve the conflict between Sudan and South Sudan. He urged President Salva Kiir to strike a deal with the Khartoum government that will benefit everybody. “I don’t care who is right or who is wrong but make a deal based on justice and a deal that will not create problems in the future”, he counseled. He decried the suppression of black people by greedy politicians. “In the world, the voice of black people is not heard; otherwise the suffering of the black people of South Sudan would not have gone on f

The General Manager of Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Gabriel Jaramillo, has told a gathering of finance and health ministers that the financing institution offers outstanding value for money by effectively treating and preventing the spread of disease. In a speech to a Conference of Ministers of Finance and Health by Harmonization for Health in Africa (HHA), Mr. Jaramillo said the changing economic climate had forced the Global Fund to change its operations to make grants more strategic, improve efficiency and become more effective overall. The Global Fund will invest US$8 billion over the coming 20 months, US$5 billion of it in Africa. Mr. Jaramillo said that with productivity gains and more co-investment by countries that receive grants, there is a tremendous opportunity. “As a former banker, I know a good deal when I see one,” said Mr. Jaramillo. “There is no better deal that investing to prevent these diseases.” Jaramillo urged the ministers not to fear the i

In another attempt to resolve the simmering tensions over land in Kayunga district and growing divisions among local leaders over the matter, President Yoweri Museveni met district leaders and later held a rally for bibanja and landlords to address the issue. President Yoweri Museveni who met leaders from the lowest councils to the district leadership at Nakyesa Primary school urged them to educate the people about the law governing land issues especially about bona fide occupants and illegal occupants. He said the disagreements among the leaders focus on the same issue but interpreted differently. “People being evicted illegally from their land and land disputes in the district are rampant. It is my job to inform you about the improved laws that govern land in Uganda. I want to get to the truth of the matter,” he said. The President later held a rally at Kayonza Primary school were victims of land evictions and some landlords gave their testimonies on matter. The President ple

One day in 1992, a professional teacher Evas Kamasaka returned home to try farming.   She left her teaching job to concentrate on farming after realizing that it was the only way she would attain riches. Kamasaka says that she started growing, trees, matooke, ground nuts, greens, cassava, beans, sweet potatoes and millet for home consumption. But her biggest and main enterprise was tree planting which she proudly says has made her go to the bank smiling. Kamasaka who has planted 40 acres of eucalyptus trees, says that she used to sell each tree at shs 50,000 but later realized that she was being cheated and making loses and decided to be cutting her own timbers. She says that trees are one of the most profitable enterprises Ugandans should engage in, urging that it’s not labour intensive and besides money earning they also contribute to rain making. She explains that when she cuts her timber, she gets 120 timber   from one tree and sells each at sh 3600. Kamasaka earned

A first study to investigate in detail the effects of disasters on crop diversity and its recovery has been concluded with a combined agronomic observations of looking at the seeds’ colour, size, pattern, and shape with biotechnology tools to determine the seeds’ genetic makeup. Seeds of local crop varieties included in relief-seed packages distributed to small-scale farmers after natural calamities if indigenous agricultural diversity is to rebound faster. Agricultural relief efforts also capitalized on existing social networks to distribute seeds more effectively and efficiently. These are among the findings of a recent study looking into the loss and subsequent recovery of cowpea diversity in Mozambique after massive flooding, followed by severe drought, hit most of the country about 11 years ago. After natural disasters such as floods and drought that often wipe-out their crops, farmers usually receive relief seed packages to help them recover and restore their food security and s

Many people in African still die of diseases which can be treated using African herbal medicine. Clovis Kabaseke, a horticulture expert in Fort Portal town in western Uganda says that among the herbals that people have been using is for inflammation, fever and Malaria treatment. Kabaseke says that Artemisia annua has traditionally been used in many herbal remedies such as a bitter, a febrifuge, as an anti-malarial and as an antibiotic. He explains that traditional African medicine is a holistic discipline involving extensive use of indigenous herbalism combined with aspects of African spirituality.   “Traditional medicinal remedies are made from the leaves. This anemophilous species has only a light pollen count during hay fever season,” he noted. Hay fever season usually happens in from July to November in Kabarole district, western Uganda according to Kabaseke. Artemisinin is a plant natural product produced by Artemisia annua and the active ingredient in the most e