Africa: WHO Urges Scale Up of Newborn Screening to Improve Early Detection and Care of Birth Defects

Africa: WHO Urges Scale Up of Newborn Screening to Improve Early Detection and Care of Birth Defects

The World Health Organization (WHO) today calls on countries to expand newborn screening for birth defects, highlighting how early detection and treatment can save lives and reduce lifelong disability for millions of children. A new WHO report, Strengthening capacity for newborn screening, diagnosis and management of birth defects, identifies newborn screening as an important opportunity…

Read More
Africa: Ebola, Hantavirus, Diphtheria – How Distrust in Health Care Is Fuelling Multiple Outbreaks Across the Globe

Africa: Ebola, Hantavirus, Diphtheria – How Distrust in Health Care Is Fuelling Multiple Outbreaks Across the Globe

The first half of 2026 has been marked by three different disease outbreaks: Ebola, hantavirus and, in Australia, diphtheria. Each has exposed vulnerabilities in how we detect, communicate and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Each of these outbreaks has its unique challenges. But a common thread has been distrust in health care or a lack…

Read More
Africa: WHO Urges Scale Up of Newborn Screening to Improve Early Detection and Care of Birth Defects

Africa: South Africa’s Mia Healthcare Raises $920k for Mobile Dental Care

South African e-health startup Mia Healthcare Technologies raised ZAR15 million, or about $920,000, to expand access to affordable dental and orthodontic care. The funding came from the Vumela Fund, which is managed by Edge Growth. Mia Healthcare said the investment will support its next phase of growth, including a wider national footprint, stronger manufacturing capacity…

Read More
Africa: WHO Urges Scale Up of Newborn Screening to Improve Early Detection and Care of Birth Defects

Africa: Experts, Patients Demand Better Psoriasis Care At First-Ever Africa Forum

People living with a skin condition known as psoriatic disease in Africa are calling for greater inclusion in decisions about their treatment, amid growing concern over the high cost and limited access to care across the continent. Underscoring the scale of the issue, Ingvar Ágúst Ingvarsson, President of the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA),…

Read More
Africa: WHO Urges Scale Up of Newborn Screening to Improve Early Detection and Care of Birth Defects

Africa: Seventy-Ninth World Health Assembly Honours Global Champions Advancing Primary Health Care

Today, the World Health Assembly recognized individuals and institutions whose contributions to global health have gone far beyond the call of duty. Six laureates representing diverse backgrounds and contexts were honoured by the President of the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly, Dr Víctor Elias Atallah Lajam of Dominican Republic, together with representatives of the foundations that…

Read More
Africa: WHO Urges Scale Up of Newborn Screening to Improve Early Detection and Care of Birth Defects

Africa: Why Humanitarians Should Care About Dirty Money

Oslo — “All illicit financial flows are immoral, with deeply negative effects on people and planet.” As humanitarians scramble for cash, high-profile calls for “innovative finance” are proliferating – often with the intention of tapping the private sector to further aid policy objectives. A new report, however, takes an arguably more effective approach, highlighting the…

Read More
Africa: WHO Urges Scale Up of Newborn Screening to Improve Early Detection and Care of Birth Defects

Africa: World Parkinson’s Day – Parkinson’s Africa Seeks Urgent Awareness, Care, Policy Support

On this year’s World Parkinson’s Day, Parkinson’s Africa has called for urgent strengthening of awareness, early diagnosis and inclusive care for persons living with Parkinson’s disease. The event brought together caregivers, health advocates and partners, who expressed concern over rising misconceptions, stigma and gaps in healthcare delivery across Nigeria and the continent. Speaking at the…

Read More
HBO’s ‘The Pitt’ nails how hospital cyberattacks create chaos, endanger patients and disrupt critical care

HBO’s ‘The Pitt’ nails how hospital cyberattacks create chaos, endanger patients and disrupt critical care

The Pitt follows Dr Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (played by Noah Wyle) and his colleagues through a single 15-hour clinical shift, divided into one-hour episodes. Image credit: HBO Max/Twitter Now in its second season, which premiered on Jan. 8, 2026, the show follows Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (played by Noah Wyle) and his colleagues through a…

Read More
Transforming patient care with a unified health record

Transforming patient care with a unified health record

Janice Naidoo, Founder, Medi Diary. Patient health records across both the public and private healthcare sector still often rely on physical folders locked in facility filing rooms, not in a patient’s hand or on a secure digital platform. When patients move between clinics, provinces, specialists and healthcare facilities, their records don’t follow, forcing each new…

Read More