Ugandan mHealth initiative increases 'promiscuity'

KAMPALA, 17 June 2013 (IRIN) - A mobile phone-based health programme designed to improve access to sexual health information and boost safe sex in rural central Uganda had the opposite effect, according to the findings of a Yale University study published in May. full report

Lack of access, rains hinder aid to Jonglei IDPs

JUBA, 17 June 2013 (IRIN) - Tens of thousands of people have been cut off from water, food and medical care in South Sudan's Jonglei State, after fleeing violence between rebels and the government in Pibor County. They now face escalated risks as the rainy season starts, but aid agencies say the government has denied humanitarian access to these populations. full report

Uganda running out of ARVs, HIV test kits

KAMPALA, 12 June 2013 (IRIN) - Uganda has run out of most antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), HIV testing kits, drugs to treat opportunistic infections and several crucial diagnostic tools for HIV care, according to a recent Ministry of Health stock status report. full report

Calls for AU, UN to take action in Sudan’s Blue Nile State

NAIROBI, 12 June 2013 (IRIN) - The UN and the African Union must step forward and take decisive action to stop Sudan from committing war crimes against civilians in Blue Nile State, says a new Amnesty International report, dismissed as “false” by Khartoum. full report

Hunger drives hunt for gold in South Sudan's east

NANAKANAK, 10 June 2013 (IRIN) - Around 60,000 people are thought to be mining gold in South Sudan, using the bare hands they once used to harvest crops. In the new nation's east, where poor rains have caused widespread hunger, women, children and the elderly have joined the hordes of people seeking their fortune through this back-breaking labour. full report

Uganda grapples with critical blood shortage

KAMPALA, 7 June 2013 (IRIN) - Uganda is struggling to resolve a countrywide shortage of blood caused by interruptions in the supply of blood donor kits and testing reagents. full report

Despite decade of innovation, much left to do on neglected tropical diseases

NAIROBI, 6 June 2013 (IRIN) - Ten years ago, the main treatment for kala azar - a disease that kills up to 40,000 people every year - was a 30-day course of injections, a difficult undertaking both for patients and for the poorly equipped health centres in the remote areas where many cases of the disease occur. Today, combination therapy has cut the treatment period to 17 days in some affected areas, but scientists and health officials continue to work towards developing a simple pill that would replace painful injections and further ease treatment. full report

Tanzanian farmers displaced by mining live like refugees*

GEITA, 3 June 2013 (IRIN) - On the outskirts of the northern Tanzanian town of Geita sits a cluster of makeshift tents constructed from plastic sheeting and bits of wood and metal. The area, which resembles a refugee camp and is known by residents as Sophiatown - or colloquially, Darfur - is inhabited by farming families who were displaced in 2007 to make way for one of the country's largest gold mines. full report

Analysis: AU prepares its shock troops

JOHANNESBURG, 31 May 2013 (IRIN) - A newly sanctioned African Union (AU) force for quick deployment in conflicts such as in Mali is being promoted as a stop-gap measure ahead of the planned formation of the “rapid deployment capability” (RDC) African Standby Force (ASF). full report