By Sunday Elijah,

West Africa marked a medical milestone this year as the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja performed its first open-heart surgery and delivered the region’s first Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for lung cancer.

The CABG procedure represents the hospital’s first complex cardiac surgery, adding to its early record of pacemaker insertions, coronary angiographies, and percutaneous coronary interventions. The SBRT case, conducted on an elderly patient with a localized lung tumor, is the first in West Africa and demonstrates the hospital’s ability to deliver high-precision cancer treatment without surgery.

The hospital, a multi-specialty facility developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with King’s College Hospital London, currently has 170 beds and plans to expand to 500. Its facilities include a stem cell laboratory, three catheterisation labs, and advanced imaging equipment.

Medical experts say such procedures could reduce the US$6–10 billion Africans spend annually seeking treatment abroad and help retain specialized medical professionals within the region. AMCE is also preparing to perform more complex cardiovascular surgeries, including valve repairs and replacements.

The hospital’s early achievements position it as one of the few centers in Africa capable of providing fully integrated cardiac and oncology care under a single roof, combining diagnostics, interventional procedures, surgery, and radiation therapy.

In Mbandaka, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Equateur province, the past few months have tested the resolve of health workers at the Mama wa Elikya centre. As cases of mpox — formerly known as monkeypox– rose steadily, carers worked under the constant shadow of fear and uncertainty, dreading each new admission to their wards.

Among them was Monique Mulo Itala, a registered nurse and mother of five, who found herself on the front line of a fast-moving epidemic. For the 50-year-old, the crisis brought a daily struggle between professional duty and the fear of carrying the virus home.

“I was afraid to enter the isolation site,” she recalls. “Even with my protective clothing, I was apprehensive about administering treatment or putting patients on an infusion. When I got home, I was tormented. I feared infecting my family, so I asked them to stay away from me.”

On 14 August 2024, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, following a sharp surge in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Between January and November 2024, the country recorded 8,517 suspected cases, 1,439 confirmed infections and 417 deaths.

Equateur province emerged as one of the hardest-hit regions. Over the same period, it reported 1,262 confirmed cases of mpox and 374 deaths, accounting for 36 percent of the national toll.

“We received a large number of cases — 198 in all,” Monique explains. “We were worried because some patients could be infected without showing obvious symptoms. Despite this, we continued to isolate patients, provide care and advise them on hygiene and prevention, while waiting for vaccines.”

Help arrived through a coordinated international response. Between January and July 2025, the African Development Bank and the WHO partnered with the Congolese government to strengthen the fight against mpox in Equateur province. The intervention was carried out under the  Emergency Assistance Project to Combat Simian Smallpox (MPOX) (https://apo-opa.co/4qbIs3u), financed by a $1 million grant from the Bank’s Special Relief Fund.

The intervention targeted the most vulnerable groups: frontline health workers, high-risk populations, children, veterinarians, hunters and game traders. It focused on four key areas: early diagnosis, vaccination, infection prevention and control, and multi-sectoral coordination.

This collective effort yielded swift results. By October 2025, all newly identified suspected cases had received rapid laboratory confirmation, appropriate treatment and systematic vaccination of contacts. This integrated approach led to a sharp drop in new infections and a significant reduction in deaths. Confirmed mpox cases in Equateur province have fallen by 60 percent, with only 14 deaths so far in 2025, compared with 417 during the same period in 2024.

For Monique, the change has been profound: “We were relieved when the vaccines arrived,” she says. “They enabled us to protect ourselves and our families. We’re no longer afraid to see our patients because our bodies have developed antibodies against mpox.”

More than 1,406 people have been vaccinated in Equateur province, including 3,718 front-line staff.

Beyond health facilities, outreach teams fanned out across villages and urban neighbourhoods to inform, reassure and protect communities. More than a million people have been reached, helping to dispel rumours and encourage preventive behaviour.

The response also improved the health system itself. Three laboratories in Mbandaka, Ingende and Bikoro were equipped and upgraded to strengthen detection. Thousands of prevention kits have been distributed, and 4,800 GeneXpert cartridges have been deployed to accelerate diagnosis.

“Our centre has received infection prevention and control kits, as well as vaccines to immunise children who had missed earlier vaccinations,” Monique notes. “Out of 100 children identified in our records and traced in the community, we vaccinated 88. The others had left the area at the time of the intervention.”

Today, Equateur province has emerged more resilient, with better-equipped facilities, better-trained staff and communities better prepared for future epidemics. The province is not only celebrating the decline of the mpox virus, but also paying tribute to the community’s solidarity and determination that made it possible.

For Monique and many others, fear has given way to hope. “We’re telling the community that they need to be vaccinated to protect themselves, that they should be proud to be vaccinated. To vaccinate is to protect yourself. To vaccinate is to love.”

Source: APO

By Vyona Adhiambo,

Kenya is mourning the sudden death of former Lugari Member of Parliament Cyrus Shakhalaga Jirongo, who was killed in a road accident in the early hours of Saturday, December 13, 2025. The crash occurred on the Nairobi–Nakuru highway, one of Kenya’s main transport routes, near Karai in the town of Naivasha, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) northwest of the capital, Nairobi. Jirongo was 64 years old.

According to police reports, Jirongo was behind the wheel of his own vehicle when it was involved in a head-on collision with a passenger bus. The impact was severe. He sustained fatal injuries and died instantly at the scene. Several passengers aboard the bus were injured and rushed to nearby hospitals, some in serious condition. Authorities have launched investigations to establish the exact circumstances that led to the crash.

News of Jirongo’s death spread quickly, triggering an outpouring of grief and tributes from across the country and beyond. President William Ruto described him as a fearless and influential political voice whose ideas helped shape national conversations for decades. Fellow politicians, community leaders, and residents of Western Kenya remembered him as a hands-on leader deeply invested in local development and public service.

Yet beyond the sorrow of one prominent life lost, the tragedy has once again cast a harsh spotlight on Kenya’s road safety crisis. The Nairobi–Nakuru highway—one of the country’s most vital transport corridors—carries heavy commercial and passenger traffic daily. Its narrow lanes, worn surfaces, and lack of consistent median barriers have long made it a danger zone. Head-on collisions, often catastrophic, are all too common.

Road safety advocates argue that many of these deaths are preventable. Calls have intensified for expanded highways, proper lane separation, and modern safety barriers, measures experts say could dramatically reduce fatalities. Drivers’ associations also continue to raise concerns about reckless driving, fatigue among long-distance drivers, and inadequate enforcement of traffic laws.

The incident further underscores the uphill task facing institutions such as the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). While regulations on speed limits, vehicle inspections, and driver conduct exist, enforcement remains uneven—particularly on long-haul routes. As a result, road accidents continue to claim thousands of lives each year, reflecting a broader public safety challenge not only in Kenya, but across Africa.

Jirongo rose to national prominence in the 1990s, serving two terms as Lugari MP. Known for his outspoken nature and willingness to challenge the status quo, he was a familiar figure in political debates and constituency development initiatives. His abrupt passing closes a significant chapter in Kenya’s political story.

As the nation mourns, many Kenyans are urging leaders to turn grief into action. Civil society groups, transport experts, and ordinary citizens are calling for urgent reforms, stronger enforcement, and sustained investment in safer roads. For them, Jirongo’s death is not just a personal or political loss—it is another stark reminder of the risks faced daily by commuters on Africa’s highways, and the lives that could still be saved if safety is treated as a national priority.