HealthCare
How to Fight COVID-19 in Africa’s Informal Settlements
Sourced from eNCA. The COVID-19 pandemic has cost hundreds of thousands of lives in the world’s richest cities but poses an even greater threat to cities in the developing world. There are now more than 150,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across Africa, in all 54 countries, with South Africa and Egypt the worst affected. One of the most pressing concerns for Africa is that over half the population (excluding in North Africa) live in overcrowded informal settlements. In these areas where several people have to share one badly ventilated room, diseases such as COVID-19 spread fast and it is impossible to practice physical distancing whether in homes or outside. Other preventative measures are equally challenging. Only a third of households in Africa have access to basic handwashing facili...
African Union Forms Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing on the Continent
The Commissioner for Social Affairs, Amira Elfadil Mohammed, today rolled out the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT) at the African Union Commission headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In his message to participants in the rollout event, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, says that “We have set four goals for PACT: to scale-up testing for COVID-19, to continue training healthcare workers on the continent, to establish a platform for pooled procurement at Africa CDC, and to deploy one million community workers who will help trace contacts of confirmed cases. PACT is a vital component of the continental response to COVID-19 and it is the key to ensuring that we unlock our economies in a safe manner.” Anchored on the African Union Joint Con...
Telenor, Sony and Ericsson Join Forces to Develop Smart IoT Healthcare Devices
Sourced from Getty Images. Ericsson, Sony and Telenor have announced that they are teaming up to make it easy to connect people and things with intelligent tracking and monitoring solutions. Ranging from cargo to IoT healthcare devices for patients, tracking increases mobility and improves reliability and efficiency. Using Telenor’s network, Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator for global connectivity, and Sony Network Communications Europe’s smart IoT services, the three partners are collaborating to enhance real-time location and tracking solutions for different sectors. Ericsson IoT Accelerator is the Ericsson’s IoT connectivity and device management platform, providing enterprises with a unified solution that manages IoT operations of any scale, using worldwide mobile network infrastructure. Mor...
E-Health Framework in Development for South Africa
South Africa’s healthcare organisations are currently on a journey to providing comprehensive and accessible healthcare services to all its citizens, in both the private and public healthcare ecosystems. However, the finalisation of legislation and standards that govern this sector has not been without challenges. The aim is to ensure that South Africa’s healthcare organisations – like their counterparts across the globe – comply with legislations and adhere to standards that support the transformation of the healthcare ecosystem. This through information and technology with various benchmarking and standards frameworks has resulted in the creation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, aimed at achieving specific strategic objectives in the delivery of healthcare. As an adjunct to t...
Lagos conducts assessment to revitalise 329 primary healthcare
As part of efforts geared towards the revitalisation of Primary Healthcare, the Lagos State Government has carried out a comprehensive assessment of no fewer than 329 Primary healthcare centres in the State. Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, who disclosed this today at the Ministerial Press Briefing to commemorate Governor Sanwo-Olu’s first year in office, noted that the assessment focused on the level of functionality and geographical positioning system of the PHCs to identify gaps for service improvement efforts. Abayomi explained that the comprehensive assessment was carried out in collaboration with two non-governmental organisations, namely: Health Assist and PharmAccess Foundation, to improve the quality of service delivery at Primary Healthcare Centres across the State. T...
New IoT System Could Detect Future Virus Outbreaks
Sourced from Getty Images. IoT sensors that monitor body temperature in real-time and are implemented at a large scale could provide geolocation data that would allow potential quarantine areas to be rapidly identified. Through this, the idea is to shut down emerging viruses before a pandemic could take hold. IoT security firm WISeKey says it is working on such a solution. “Using the network of billions of interconnected smart IoT sensors, we can detect the spread of viruses by combining the anonymized digital identity with the behaviour of a person,” the firm says in a press release. Importantly, the company claims its solution can be fully secured and trusted. A question of privacy /* custom css */ .tdi_3_c05.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_c05.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 a...
Hydroxychloroquine Trials for COVID-19 Suspended by WHO
Sourced from Getty Images. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it is pausing clinical trials on the use of the controversial malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, to treat patients with COVID-19. This was one of four experimental treatments being investigated by the organization and has been under intense scrutiny for some time after it was championed by tech mogul Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump. “The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity trial while the safety data is reviewed by the data safety monitoring board,” says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, during a press briefing. This “Solidarity trial” is the WHO’s global investigation into experimental treatments for COVID-19 – including hyd...
Nike To Donate 140,000 Air Zoom Pulse Sneakers To Healthcare Workers
Source: NIKE / NIke The fashion industry continues to step up during this health crisis. Nike has committed to support the true heroes that continue to fight this Coronavirus head on. Source: NIKE / NIke On Monday, May 4 the apparel giant announced they will be providing essential employees added comfort via their signature sneakers. According to a formal press release Nike will partner with nonprofit Good360 in the United States and local organizations across Europe to donate more than 140,000 pieces of footwear, apparel and equipment globally. The Oregon based brand used the talents of several athletes including Joshua Buatsi, Cristina Chirichella, Amandine Henry, Sabrina Ionescu, Anni Espar Llaquet, Ja Morant, Joc Pederson, Casey Short and Nafi Thiam to thank healthcare workers virtuall...
