In Brief

Nov 29, 2005

<b>Blood appeal<br>MBARARA</b> – The public relations manager of Uganda blood transfusion service (UBTS), Paul Kaggwa, has said although the organisation collected 122,686 units of blood in the last financial year, there is still a national demand of 144,000 units.

Blood appeal
MBARARA
– The public relations manager of Uganda blood transfusion service (UBTS), Paul Kaggwa, has said although the organisation collected 122,686 units of blood in the last financial year, there is still a national demand of 144,000 units. He made the appeal recently during a UBTS senior officers’ workshop. The workshop was organised by the Academic Institute of International Development of Transfusion Medicine, Sanquin (Latin for blood) consultancy services and collaborating centre, Gloningen and the Netherlands.


Yellow Award
LUWEERO
– St Luke’s Namaliga health centre III has been awarded a Yellow Star by the ministry of health in recognition of its achievement of 35 basic standards of health care services. State minister for health, Capt Mike Mukula, who presided over the award ceremony, said the health centre had consistently been scoring high on the 35 basic standards of health care service, which called for the award. The star system was initiated by the ministry of health in 2001 to improve the quality of services and maintain basic standards of health service delivery.


Mentally ill
KAMPALA
– A report from BasicNeeds, an international NGO, recently said over 1.5 million Ugandans (6%), of the population, are mentally ill. A total of 20-30% of the people who visit hospitals complain of mental sicknesses. Irene Among of BasicNeeds called on the Government to ban neurotic drugs that are said to cause mental illness. She called for health workers to be equipped with knowledge and skills to improve the ability to identify and manage mental illness.


Malaria drug
TURKEY – A Turkish drug company is considering launching a new malaria drug called Dimilin by April 2006 as an alternative chemical to be used by the Government in fighting deadly mosquitoes, an official from Chemtura Drug Company, has said.
Serdest Rasa, the market development manager of Eastern Asia and Middle East said Dimilin has been recommended by the World Health Organisation for public health use worldwide. Dimilin is a liquid drug for outdoor use to kill mosquitoes.
It is used in sewerage lagoons and septic tanks. It could be used as an alternative to DDT.
Ends

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