Writing
Tracking viruses and building the science to understand them
When suspected cases of mpox, viral haemorrhagic fevers, rabies and other viral diseases emerge in Cameroon, samples arrive at my laboratory at the Centre Pasteur du Cameroun in Yaoundé. I test them and report the results to the Ministry of Public Health. But my work does not end with diagnosis. I want to understand where viruses come from, how they spread and why some remain hidden.
I came to document conservation. I found organised crime
When I arrived in Cameroon more than 20 years ago, I thought I was coming to write a conservation story. In light of Jane Goodall’s warning that great apes could disappear within decades if the bushmeat trade continued unchecked. I expected to document a crisis and point readers towards organisations working to protect wildlife. Instead, I walked into a criminal economy. Chimpanzee meat was sold openly in markets.
To Bridge the Hepatitis B Diagnosis Gap in Africa, Innovation Must Go Beyond Digital To Bridge the Hepatitis B Diagnos
The World Health Organization aims to eliminate hepatitis B as a public health threat by 2030, but millions of people remain undiagnosed, particularly in resource-limited settings. In this News & Perspectives article, JMIR Correspondent Sharon Muzaki reports on why nondigital approaches are still vital complements to the digital innovations reshaping hepatitis B diagnosis
Building a Malaria Intelligence System for Real-Time Prediction and Data-Driven Intervention Planning
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to face the highest malaria burden worldwide, accounting for 95% of malaria cases and deaths according to the World Health Organization. In this News and Perspectives article, JMIR Correspondent Sharon Muzaki reports on a new artificial intelligence system in sub-Saharan Africa that could help improve public health responses to the disease.
Diversity brings us together
At IsraAID, we have the privilege of working with and getting to know so many diverse communities. At IsraAID Uganda, recognizing and supporting diversity is a key element of our work. Within the South Sudanese refugee community in Uganda, dozens of different tribes are represented. Each one has their own cultural heritage, dance, customs, and even language.
What bats in Uganda are still telling us
I study bats across Uganda to understand the diversity of small mammals and the parasites they carry. Tracing how these parasites circulate in wildlife populations can offer clues to how diseases emerge.
A low-cost rotavirus test could save childrens’ lives in Nigeria
In hospitals across Nigeria and much of sub-Saharan Africa, children with severe diarrhea arrive daily. Clinicians act quickly to prevent dehydration and eventual death, though they aren’t always successful. And in most cases, no test confirms the underlying cause, leaving treatment decisions to be made without a clear diagnosis.
Africa launches historic malaria vaccine rollout amid funding uncertainty
As life-saving immunisation campaigns push ahead, health leaders call for local ownership and global solidarity after US funding cuts to Gavi.
Growing waste, rising risks: Masese dumpsite threatens Jinja communities
At Masese dumpsite in Jinja, waste sustains livelihoods while quietly endangering lives. As the site exceeds its capacity, women and nearby residents face mounting health risks amid gaps in urban waste management.
Mapping the risk of deadly zoonotic disease.
Scientists analyse decades of data to map the potential of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Sub-Saharan Africa
From kitchen cures to the laboratory
Thilivhali Emmanuel Tshikalange traces his journey from childhood remedies in rural Limpopo to leading research that validates traditional healers’ plant-based treatments
Building Africa’s next generation of vaccine scientists
Through virtual simulations and practical training, a Nigeria-based initiative is equipping African researchers with the skills to design, test, and manufacture the continent’s own vaccines.
I am helping to tackle Uganda’s measles outbreak
Prossy Namuwulya, a molecular scientist, is at the heart of surveillance, analysis and data sharing.
Climate Change: How recurring floods, landslides have affected Elgon Sub-region
For some time now, different parts of Uganda have been experiencing flash floods and landslides. Even when the problem is widespread, parts of Bugisu and Sebei have been the most affected
Toxic water, unequal impact: The gendered toll of industrial pollutionange: How recurring floods, landslides have affected Elgon Sub-region
In Uganda, the discharge of industrial waste into the River Nile has created a public health crisis, particularly affecting women's urogenital health. Historically overlooked, these health risks underscore significant environmental injustice and call for urgent intervention.
Can robots learn African culture?
I am trying to make robots behave respectfully in African cultural settings, a problem that many engineers rarely think about. I work in the robotics lab at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU-Africa) in Kigali, Rwanda. I grew up in a rural community in Ethiopia and did not encounter electricity until I was nine years old.
At dusk in Kenya’s caves, scientists study the hidden lives of bats
As the afternoon fades at the Three Sisters Caves in Kenya’s Kwale county, David Wechuli’s team begins setting up nearly invisible nets along the hillsides in the coastal forest. “When dusk arrives, bats begin pouring out of the caves,” Wechuli says. “Some fly straight into the nets. We quickly remove them, carefully untangling each bat before taking morphometric measurements such as body size, weight and wing length.”
How Uganda’s Youth Coffee Growers Are Planting a Greener and Stronger Future
On a warm morning in Kiggwa village, in the central Ugandan district of Mityana, 31-year-old Herbert Ssekyanzi stands next to a young coffee tree. The smell of dry maize stalks is in the air as he gently spreads mulch around the roots. Only a year ago, his garden was a mix of struggling crops, but now it shows the effort Herbert has put into improving the soil and caring for his coffee plants.
Can gene therapy transform sickle cell survival in Africa?
Long neglected in global research and funding priorities, sickle cell disease is now at the centre of a wave of gene-based innovation. Science is proving that a cure is possible. Less certain is whether those advances can reach the patients who need them most. An inherited blood disorder that causes severe anaemia, organ damage and recurrent pain crises, sickle cell disease requires lifelong management.
Ebola outbreak draws attention to longstanding virus spillover risks in western Uganda
KAMPALA — In the hills and trading centers of western Uganda, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities are racing to limit the spread of Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a rare species of Ebola for which there is currently no vaccine or cure. The number of suspected cases in the DRC is fast approaching 1,000, with Uganda reporting seven cases, as of May 25. The first cluster of cases of the ongoing outbreak was detected in early May in Ituri province in the DRC, which shares a border with Uganda.