Unplugging Africa from Malaria Sockect 2019; Uganda in spotlight

How to hike malaria elimination program impact; Uganda in spotlight

   By Tonny Abet

Credit: topnews.in

Malaria is an active contributor to the deceleration of economic growth in Africa, the leading cause of death and suffering among infants, pregnant mothers and general populants of the Africa continent . Ranking 6th in the world among the highly malaria burdened countries, Uganda contributes up to 4% of global malaria deaths annually.  Billions of shillings are spent yearly to manage malaria. Last year 2018 alone, Uganda spent 500 billion UGX in comabating the disease with some results to showcase. However, the annual deaths from malaria remain unacceptably high despite the huge billions being spent to propel the nobel war.

The next question is, how differently can the government of Uganda and development partners approach the malaria elimination drive with better success?

I am sharing three (3) profound strategies which hinge on communucation and public engagement.


1. Prioritize educating the public on the need for early diagnosis and treatment, these are very essential in quick and complete recovery of the patients. The radio talkshows should not wane off on this important area, the art, prints and social media are useful tools that can bring out the above.


2. Involving the community in designing the campaign/outreach strategies. People are changing daily, from colour preference through shifts in taste bud to the meeting point  choices, we can only be up to date when we randomly select from the local community, a team to sit in strategy development. Often, the government officials the development partners work with are prone to suggest their convenient strategies which may not be the effective bullet at that time or true reflection of the dynamic community needs.


3. Focus on educating young children to embrace and adopt by heart sleeping under mosqyito nets. The reality is better, in 2017, I did a research with Makerere University School of Public health interviewing people across the country on the use of mosquito nets, it is true that very few adults in Uganda sleep under mosquito nets that are distributed however, they are always keen to see their children sleep under the insecticide treated mosquito net. Now, it is important that as these children grow up, they don't view sleeping under mosquito net as a form of force/rule by their parents but they should be aided to view sleeping under these bed nets as a scientifically proven and generationally fit way to save yourslelf, health and money from the voracious disease called malaria. The children should be clearly illustrated to the hostility of malaria to their community, and the importance of their active involvement through sleeping under treated msquito bed nets to stop the suffering from their community for good among adoption of other strategies to end malaria in Uganda. This shall be cost effectively done through school health clubs and arts. To me this last point is not only very sustainable but also very effective in closely hitting the 2030 goal on malaria elimination!

What can make you develop Breast Cancer

The Top 4 Lucrative Crops for 2019 -Uganda Farmer

The Top 4 Lucrative Crops for 2019 -Uganda Farmer

 By Tonny Abet 

1. Passion Fruits

Not labour and capital intensive. An acre of passion fruits will require an investment capital of about Shs4.9m. This cost will cover seedlings, manure/fertilizers (compost manure, cow dung, CAN and NPK), labour and pests and diseases management.

If you don’t have a water source, you may need to construct a water tank to harvest run off water. A tank with capacity to accommodate 50,000 litres of water will cost you a minimum of Shs1.5m.

An acre will accommodate 750 seedlings or less depending on the fertility of your soil and consequently spacing. The local purple variety starts flowering as early as three months and peaks at seven months.

A farmer can harvest the fruits for one and half years (72 weeks). Under good agronomic practices, a farmer can harvest a minimum of two bags per week.

This means a farmer can harvest 144 bags in 72 weeks or more. At an average farm gate price of Shs150, 000 per bag, a farmer will bank a gross profit of over Shs21m.

It is important to note that prices can go as high as Shs400, 000 per bag. If the 144 bags are sold at Shs200, 000 per bag, a framer will earn Shs28.8m. What a return on investment!

2. Pumpkins

Pumpkin farming isn’t labour and capital intensive. With an investment capital of about Shs1m, a farmer can earn over Shs6.7m.

This is because an acre will accommodate 450 pumpkin plants since spacing is 10ft*10ft (3 metres) apart. Considering the fact that one pumpkin plant can produce a minimum of 10 pumpkins, 450 plants will give you 4,500 pumpkins and if each is sold at the current farm gate price of Shs1,500, you will earn Shs6.75m in a space of about seven month.

All you need to get best results is apply manure before planting, apply a foliar fertilizer and manage pests and diseases well. It is important to note that a pumpkin can go up to Shs2, 0000

3. Cabbages

This is another vegetable crop that can mint you clean cash when grown during the off season. An acre can accommodate between 19,000 and 40,000 cabbages depending on the variety grown and consequently spacing.

Going by the average farm gate price of Shs700, a farmer can earn between Shs21m and Shs10.5m assuming he harvests 30,000 and 15,000 sizeable cabbages respectively.

An acre requires an investment of about Shs2m. For a farmer to get the best results, he must apply best agronomic practicess.

4. Onion

Although the onion has played second fiddle to conventionally cultivated crops, it might just be the next big thing in 2019. It is a goldmine waiting to be exploited. It can answer your perennial cash difficulties since its commercial potential is enormous. A net of onions weighing between 13-14kg fetches Sh35000 on average or Sh2500 per kg. With proper management a hectare of land can fetch between 14 to 17 tonne. Do the calculation. To obtain even higher returns you can use F1 varieties which have a harvest potential of up to 23 tonnes in a hectare. Most of these varieties only take three months to maturity which makes it possible to cultivate the crop for up to three times in a year. This is in contrast to other crops which can only be cultivated once or twice in a year. These should be your favourite profitable crops, as they all enjoy strong demand year after year, yet can be grown by anyone who has, or can learn a few basic gardening skills.

SCIENCE JOURNAL AFRICA: SCIENTISTS UNVEIL THE HIDDEN DRIVING CAUSE OF BREA...

SCIENCE JOURNAL AFRICA: SCIENTISTS UNVEIL THE HIDDEN DRIVING CAUSE OF BREA...: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in women worldwide and breast cancer rates are increasing rapidly. A compelling...

HOW TO PREVENT BREAST CANCER

By  Abet Tonny

Long before they get their first pimple, budding breasts remind them they're women in training. Some men love them, a few hate them. "We want them to grow bigger, we wish they'd stop growing, we wonder why this one is smaller/bigger/rounder/flatter than the other, why men are staring at them—and why they're not".

No matter how conflicted women may be, breasts are part of female identity, which may be why, for most of them, having breast cancer is the biggest fear. They are more afraid of it than  of heart disease, which is 10 times more likely to be what sends them to the great beyond.

ALSO SEE>>>>WHY EATING GNUTS EXTENDS YOUR LIFESPAN -MAASTRICHT UNIVERSITY SCIENTISTS

All in all, how can you prevent/avoid falling victim of this life-sapping ailment? Well, it is exactly what we shall be exploring in the next 3 minutes with Siteman  doctor.

1. Keep Weight in Check

It’s easy to tune out because it gets said so often, but maintaining a

healthy weight is an important goal for everyone. Being overweight can increase the risk of many different cancers, including breast cancer, especially after menopause.

2. Be Physically Active

Exercise is as close to a silver bullet for good health as there is, and women who are physically active for at least 30 minutes a day have a lower risk of breast cancer. Regular exercise is also one of the best ways to help keep weight in check.

3. Eat Your Fruits & Vegetables – and Avoid Too Much Alcohol

A healthy diet can help lower the risk of breast cancer.  Try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and keep alcohol at moderate levels or lower (a drink a day or under).  While moderate drinking can be good for the heart in older adults, even low levels of intake can increase the risk of breast cancer.  If you don’t drink, don’t feel you need to start. If you drink moderately, there’s likely no reason to stop. But, if you drink more, you should cut down or quit.

4. Don’t Smoke

Smokers and non-smokers alike know how unhealthy smoking is.  On top of lowering quality of life and increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and at least 15 cancers – including breast cancer – it also causes smelly breath, bad teeth, and wrinkles. Now that’s motivation to stay smoke-free or work to get smoke-free.

5. Breastfeed, If Possible

Breastfeeding for a total of one year or more (combined for all children) lowers the risk of breast cancer. It also has great health benefits for the child.

6. Avoid Birth Control Pills, Particularly After Age 35 or If You Smoke

Birth control pills have both risks and benefits. The younger a woman is, the lower the risks are. While women are taking birth control pills, they have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. This risk goes away quickly, though, after stopping the pill. The risk of stroke and heart attack is also increased while on the pill – particularly if a woman smokes. However, long-term use can also have important benefits, like lowering the risk of ovarian cancer, colon cancer and uterine cancer – not to mention unwanted pregnancy – so there’s also a lot in its favor. If you’re very concerned about breast cancer, avoiding birth control pills is one option to lower risk.

7. Avoid Post-Menopausal Hormones

Post-menopausal hormones shouldn’t be taken long term to prevent chronic diseases, like osteoporosis and heart disease. Studies show they have a mixed effect on health, increasing the risk of some diseases and lowering the risk of others, and both estrogenonly hormones and estrogen-plus-progestin hormones increase the risk of breast cancer. If women do take post-menopausal hormones, it should be for the shortest time possible. The best person to talk to about the risks and benefits of post-menopausal hormones is your doctor.

8. Tamoxifen and Raloxifene for Women at High Risk

Although not commonly thought of as a “healthy
behavior,” taking the prescription drugs tamoxifen
and raloxifene can significantly lower the risk of
breast cancer in woman at high risk of the disease.
Approved by the Drugs Authority for breast cancer prevention,
these powerful drugs can have side effects, so
they aren’t right for everyone. If you think you’re
at high risk, talk to your doctor to see if tamoxifen or raloxifene may be right for you.

WHY EATING GNUTS MAKES YOU LIVE LONGER

By  Abet Tonny

Tongue terrorizing terms like PIRACETAM, DHEA, and VINPOCETINE HYDRERGINE are no alien words to countless people today; for they refer to anti-aging drugs. SEETop Ten Life Extension Drugs. But first wait a minute, since when did ‘Aging’ eventually dive into befitting the brand of man-perils?

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In her May 2016 study release, Maastricht University Researchers looked at the Netherlands Cohort Study, a study that’s been running for nearly 30 years, to reach their conclusions. They tracked the nut-eating habits of more than 120,000 Dutch people between the ages

 of 55 and 69, analyzing portion size and how often nuts were ingested. The participants self-reported their daily consumption of nuts, peanuts and peanut butter.

The study found that eating this small serving of nuts every day reduced mortality by as much as 23 percent.

 At least 10g a day seems to be the ideal portion size for reaping this newly unearthed benefit.



 But how exactly is this life increment possible? Fine, extravagantly enriched with antioxidants, protein, fibre, essential fats, vitamins and minerals, nuts are some of the best evening grabs as you shoot back home.

 Eating about 10-30 grams (about the quantity that would fit into an egg shell) can do you this health magic. Peanuts contain high levels of multiple poly-phenolic antioxidants that prevent cancer development in the body. The most important polyphenolic antioxidant of greatest body health value is called Resveratol. The peanut is extremely rich in this Resveratol. 

Resveratol has overwhelming functions spanning from protecting your body from all forms of cancer, heart disease, viral and fungal infections to shielding you from the risk of stroke. 

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And finally, what exactly are the Peanuts? Well, peanut (groundnut) is an annual dicotyledonous herb that grows up to a foot above the ground. It is thought to have originated from Central America from where it would later spread to the rest of the world. One of the most grown food and commercial oil-seeds, groundnuts take approximately 120 days to build the miraculous life extending nuts in their fruit pods that patiently lie underground waiting to be uprooted and dried. Each plant often bear 10-15 fruit pods with 2-3 constrictions helplessly revealing the number of seeds/fruits in the pod. A recent study suggests that roasting or boiling the gnuts increase the availability of antioxidants (the major life extending substance) to the body for absorption.