NAIROBI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan Ministry of Health on Friday launched a national cancer control strategic plan to guide the prevention and control of the non-communicable disease.

Susan Nakhumicha, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Health, said the 2023-2028 cancer control strategy will ensure the country tame a disease that is to blame for straining public health systems and negatively impacting economic growth.

"My ministry in this new plan will also prioritize improving public awareness and knowledge on cancer as well as strengthening the health system to better address the burden of the disease right from the community level," Nakhumicha said during the launch of the plan in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

She said the government has prioritized public awareness of cancer and its risk factors while fighting stigma, myths, and misconceptions that have contributed to the low uptake of cancer screening services.

Abdourahmane Diallo, World Health Organization country representative to Kenya, revealed that about one-third of deaths from cancer are due to lifestyle activities such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, low fruit and vegetable intake, and lack of physical activity.

Diallo said cancer-causing infections, such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis, are responsible for approximately 30 percent of cancer cases in low- and lower-middle-income countries. He stressed that partnerships are capable of promoting healthy lifestyles, preventing cancer, and putting measures in place for early detection of the disease.

According to Patrick Amoth, acting director general for health in the Ministry of Health, cancer is the third leading cause of death in Kenya after infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases.

He said going by the current trends, it is projected that there will be an estimated 58,000 new cancer cases in Kenya in the year 2028, rising to an estimated 95,217 cases by 2040 due to population growth, increased life expectancy, urbanization, and an increase in risk factors for cancer. - Xinhua

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni dismissed rumors of his death as a result of the COVID-19 virus, saying he is on his fifth day of the infection and is feeling much better. 

“Greetings. It is now day 5 of my corona-status. Last night, I slept very well up to the 10th hour of the night,” the president stated on his official Twitter account on Sunday night.

“Initially, on Wednesday, there was also some mild muscle soreness, typical of the usual flu,” he stated, adding that the muscle soreness has now gone, besides feeling better from the throat infection.

Rumors circulated on the social media platform in recent days that Museveni had been transferred to intensive care and later died owing to COVID-19 complications.

However, in the Twitter message, he dismissed all such rumors, stating that he is currently in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 and following the country's standard operating procedures (SOPs).

On June 7, the president tested positive for the virus, and the next day he took a "forced leave" from his office.

“However, we carried out corona tests today and they were still positive. We shall wait for a few more days and check again. I remain in self-isolation at Nakasero. Again, I advise all of you to get fully vaccinated against corona and the elderly should get the boosters,” he added.

The World Health Organization deemed COVID-19 to be no longer a global health emergency last month but cautioned that the virus will continue to mutate. - Hamza Kyeyune, Anadolu Agency

Bujumbura – Burundi’s health authorities today launched the country’s first national polio vaccination campaign since 2011, targeting nearly 3 million children under seven years of age following the first alerts of circulating poliovirus type 2 in more than three decades.

Supported by World Health Organization and other Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, the country has prepared more than 3.7 million doses of nOPV2 vaccine for administration over the next four days. The action is in response to 13 detections of circulating variant poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) reported so far in 2023.

Three cases were confirmed in March, including a four-year-old boy in Isale district in western Burundi who had never been vaccinated against polio, and two other children who were his contacts. Additionally, five samples from environmental surveillance of wastewater confirmed the presence of circulating poliovirus type 2.

“The detection of the virus continues to constitute a national public health emergency, and subsequent vaccination rounds can be expected to follow in the coming months in order to protect Burundi’s children,” said Dr Sylvie Nzeyimana, Burundi’s Minister of Health.

WHO supports health authorities in reaching every last child with vaccination against preventable diseases. In Burundi WHO has supported the training of more than 12 000 vaccinators and conducted over 700 sessions for training of trainers at all levels, from community to national level.

Dr Désiré Nolna, Burundi’s country coordinator for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, stressed the need to implement quality campaigns in a timely manner, while fully operationalizing a consistent environmental surveillance system to enable early detection and adequate sample collection.

Further epidemiological investigations is ongoing, including risk assessments to determine the extent of the outbreak.

WHO experts in the field are also supporting Burundi with additional sample collection to further bolster polio surveillance, while assessing the possibility of opening new environmental surveillance sites for early detection of silently circulating poliovirus.

Circulating poliovirus type 2 is the most prevalent form of polio in Africa, accounting for most of polio outbreaks in the region, with more than 400 cases reported in 14 countries in 2022. Circulating poliovirus type 2 infection can occur when the weakened strain of the virus contained in the oral polio vaccine circulates among under-immunized populations for long periods. - World Health Organization