The call comes as the country joins the rest of the world to commemorate the disaster risk reduction week ending today.

Speaking to journalists today the state minister for disaster preparedness and refugees Musa Ecweru says it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure the risks related to disasters are reduced.

He cites the communities of Bulambuli that have started digging water channels to divert water and are also engaged in tree planting.

He says the celebrations were taken to Mbale to increase the community’s awareness since it has recently been most affected with floods and landslides.

The week has been running since the 8^th – 12^th Oct under the theme “women and girls the invisible force of resilience”.

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Shift workers who get too little sleep at the wrong time of the day may be increasing their risk of getting diabetes and obesity.

According to researchers in American Universities, this is because during night sugar levels in blood increases.

Therefore shift workers who stay awake at night are much more likely to progress to full-on diabetes than day workers.

Night workers often have a hard time of sleeping during the day. Therefore they can face both circadian (body clock) disruptions working at night and disturbed sleep during de day.

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Women who take certain ulcer drugs have a small increased risk of hip fractures in later life, latest research suggests.

A study published in the British medical journal found a link between long-term use of proton pump inhibitors and bone fractures in smokers. Protons are used to treat heartburn, reflux and ulcers.

The research tracked almost 80,000 nurses in the US aged between 30 to 55 years. They were followed up in later life to see how many of them had developed hip fractures after the menopause.

The researchers found out that smokers or ex-smokers taking proton pump inhibitors had 50% increased risk of hip fracture compared with women not taking medication.

Walakira Nyanzi

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Is cow milk safe for babies aged below six (6) months? According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Uganda’s ministry of Health (M.O.H), children below 6 months should be fed exclusively on breast milk of their mothers.

This is because breast milk contains all the essential nutrients required for optimal growth and development.

Scientists say that cow milk has some complications and these include: an infant’s digestive system can’t digest some of the components of cow milk, the mouth and the intestines may get inflamed, resulting in diarrhea.

 Besides the above, a baby’s kidneys are not developed enough to handle high protein, causing them to overwork, thus putting the infant at risk of suffering from kidney failure.

If cow milk is not properly boiled, the baby is at a risk of infection. It can also cause stunted growth, constipation, and malnutrition, where the baby is not very thin, but has swollen feet, face and abdomen.

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bone cancer can be fatal

However not all bone tumours are cancerous. Bone tenderness sometimes is due to weakness. Non-specific symptoms of bone cancer are fever, unintentional weight loss, fatigue and anaemia!

Bone cancer affects children and adults alike. It is caused by a problem with the cells responsible for making bones. The major type of bone cancer is osteo sarcoma which is the commonest. It mostly affects males between 10-25 years and is often very aggressive with a risk of spreading to the lungs.

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Benefits of making morning exercises: It increases fat-burning capabilities and the metabolic rate during and after exercise.

Help to increase the HDL (good cholesterol), building cardiovascular endurance and this can help you to reduce risk of plaque build up and it reduces of developing heart diseases.

It can reduce risk of colon cancer, controls blood sugar, and improves bone density and reduces a risk of osteoporosis.

Exercise is critically important in reaching weight loss goals and keeping fitness no matter your age, weight, physical limitations or current level of activity, virtually everyone can exercise. It benefits you physically, mentally and psychologically.

Dear our readers now put the time to incorporate exercise into your life, and reap the benefits.

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Human Rights Defenders Tulip Award: Nominations are now being accepted for the Human Rights Defenders Tulip award.

Anyone can nominate a candidate for the human rights defenders award.

The award, an initiative of the Dutch Government, will be presented by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs on 9 November.

The Human Rights Defenders Tulip is an expression of appreciation intended to acknowledge persons who have shown exceptional moral courage in protecting and promoting the rights of fellow citizens.

Only individuals can be nominated for the award; organisations are not eligible for consideration.

They should be human rights defenders who work full-time to promote or protect human rights.

They should have faced or be at risk of facing negative personal consequences as a result of their work.

The individual nominees are activists who could benefit from the recognition and visibility associated with winning the award.

The winner receives an official commemorative statuette, the Human Rights Defenders Tulip, and an individual cash award of EUR 10,000.

He or she also has the opportunity to submit a proposal for a project to the value of up to EUR 100,000, to be used to intensify the winner’s work as a human rights defender.

Deadline: 23rd August.

For more information and application , visit: Human Rights Defenders Tulip Award Website

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Front Line Fellowship for Human Rights Defenders: Each year Front Line recruits two human rights defenders at risk to take part in a 6 month fellowship and training program.

The locations could include Dublin, Brussels etc.

Selected participants work on a specific project related to the international protection of human rights defenders as well as engage in a range of training appropriate to their needs.

Such training could include: security training, security of information management and electronic communications, international human rights mechanisms, English language, financial management and fundraising.

The human rights defender would also be involved in promoting work for the protection of human rights defenders to relevant audiences in Ireland through talks, involvement in human rights education and media work.

Applicants should submit a letter addressing the following topics:

• the candidate’s experience as a human rights defender and details of their current role;
• details of any threats, harassment, detention, ill-treatment or other negative consequences faced as a result of the candidate’s human rights work;
• a proposal of a project to work on and topics the candidate would particularly like to study as part of the fellowship;
• how the candidate’s participation in the fellowship would contribute to the strengthened protection of human rights defenders internationally.

Successful applicants will receive an honorarium of €850 per month for six months together with the use of a single room in a shared apartment in Dublin.

Applications comprising a cover letter and CV should be sent to Andrew Anderson, Deputy Director, by email to recruit[at]frontlinedefenders.org or by post to: Front Line, 81 Main St. Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

For further details, and application materials, contact: Front Line Fellowship for Human Rights Defenders

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Pumpkins are rich in carotene; an antioxidant helps to detoxify the body. They also provides energy to vulnerable groups of people such as babies, the sick, pregnant women and old people because of the calories they contain.

The consumer gains 24 calories. For the best results, pumpkins should be steamed because food retains nutrients when steamed.

Pumpkin also contains antioxidant cld CAROTENOID and BETE-CRYPTOXANTHIN. This helps to lower the risk of lunge cancer in smokers; they are also good for weight management because they don’t contain fat.

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James Kafeero, an oncologist at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago Hospital (Uganda) says that risk factors that lead people to contract leukemia are as follows. Having relatives or being in company of people who have or have had leukemia, people with underlying genetic disorders such as downs’ syndrome, previous exposure to ionizing radiations like X-rays and an atomic/nuclear reaction exposure expose one to leukemia.

Kafeero says that other risk factors that may lead to leukemia are previous exposure to chemotherapy regimens, insecticides and herbicides containing benzene compounds.

He says that the control strategy of leukemia is early diagnosis and treatment because most leukemia cases are curable. The treatment of leukemia varies from supportive treatment to chemotherapy and surgery according to Dr. Kafeero. But the best treatment recommended is supportive treatment, for instance blood transfusion, good nutrition and treatment of infections.

Leukemia drugs are given (chemotherapy) to patients with leukemia in different phases in order to prevent recurrence of the disease. The treatment of leukemia lasts for about three months. When it comes to surgery, it involves doing a bone marrow transplant. The treatment of leukemia is quiet expensive.

By Walakira Nyanzi

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