How a pig heart was transplanted into man

Surgeons prepare genetically engineered pig heart for transplant.

The first transplant of a pig heart genetically modified for acceptance into human bodies raises hopes for a new solution to donor organ shortages.

| Arua City News | For the first time, a human has been given a transplant of a pig’s heart. David Bennett, 57, had the operation in Baltimore, Maryland, on Jan.07 using a heart that had been genetically modified to boost the chances of acceptance in a human body.

The donated heart came from a pig developed by US firm Revivicor. In total, the animal had 10 genes modified. Four of those were inactivated, including one that causes an aggressive immune response and one that would otherwise cause the pig’s heart to continue growing after transplant into a human body.

To further increase the chances of acceptance, the donor pig had six human genes inserted into its genome and Bennett is taking immune-suppressing medications. As this story went to press, Bennett was coping well with the new heart, but hadn’t yet been taken off a heart-lung bypass machine supporting its function. His medical team told The New York Times that the animal heart was doing most of the work and that, so far, the heart “looks normal”.

“This is a great step forward – you can compare it with the first landing on the moon,” says Joachim Denner at the Free University of Berlin.

Transplants from other animals, known as xenotransplantation, have long been seen as a way to save the lives of the thousands of people who die each year while waiting for an organ transplant. The chief concern is whether our immune systems will accept such transplants, as organ rejection can happen even between carefully immunologically matched human donors and recipients.

Many research groups have been trying for years to modify animals so their organs provoke less of an immune reaction, and have had success transplanting them into primates such as baboons.

These first days are a critical test, although immune rejection could take weeks or longer to develop, says Denner, who has been involved in primate research using Revivicor’s pig organs, but has no financial connection to the firm. “We have to be cautious. We have to wait and see,” he says.

Bennett was approved to have the risky procedure as he was too sick to go on the waiting list to get a human heart. If he is successfully taken off the bypass machine and continues to stay well, it could open the door to such transplants for a growing pool of other people. It could also lead to pig-to-human transplants of kidneys, livers and lungs in future.

There have been fears that virus genes naturally found in pig DNA could cross to humans, but these have faded after successful transplants of pig pancreas cells into people with diabetes. No such problems have arisen with transplants of whole pig organs into primates either. Still, it is likely that Bennett’s doctors are closely monitoring him to check for this possibility, says Anthony Warrens at Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved in the work.

“This is a very early experiment and will not translate into clinical practice within a short period of time,” he says. “If it works, it could be a small number of years away.”

If this procedure succeeds, providing the organs to offer it more widely in future shouldn’t be a major obstacle. Pigs have about eight piglets in each litter and can start breeding before they are a year old, although they would need to be farmed in special hygienic conditions.

A spokesperson for NHS Blood and Transplant in the UK said in a statement: “We have been watching this particular field of research for many years. However, there is still some way to go before transplants of this kind become an everyday reality.”

Get Rid of poor money habits in 2022

 They say old habits die hard, but when it comes to money, it's crucial to get rid of those practices that set you back financially.

Whenever you are making a financial decision or lifestyle choice, ask yourself how it is going to advance your financial goals.

Undertake self-evaluation and determine those poor money habits that you need to get rid of. 

Some of the most common are outlined below.

1. Lack of a plan is the genesis of all the issues that go wrong in our lives. If you lack focus, you can easily lead a life minus a plan, hoping for miracles or one deal to sort your finances.

As a fresh start in the New Year, consider adopting a new habit of planning. For example, January is the school season and lots of people are scrambling to put together not only fees but school requirements. This pressure can be avoided with prior planning and saving for childcare and education.

The need to plan applies to all the expenses and investments you plan to undertake throughout the year. More so, you have 11 months to plan for the next festive season. To avoid the January blues that you may be currently experiencing, start planning and saving for festive season expenses today. That way, when it comes to the end of the year activities, you have resources at your disposal to decide whether to invest or finance that holiday you have been looking forward to.

2. For parents, one such habit to drop is not engaging in honest money conversation with your household, especially your children. Depending on the age group, provide information on money in line with their level of comprehension. You can choose to have a structured way of unveiling the conversation about money.

For example, you often get demands to purchase stuff for your children. However, instead of telling them that you do not have money and then moments later, you reach out for your wallet and make a transaction, provide an explanation.

To avoid this confusion, it is important that you explain to them that you do not have money to take care of their current need because you are currently spending according to a budget. This means that they have to forego this current item until you can afford it. This is the time when you can introduce to the children the concept of saving for an item that will be purchased later.

3. Another habit that sets us back financially is not tracking our money. You cannot get a handle on your finances if you have no idea where your money goes. This has not worked the previous year, so this time round; make it a point to keep a record of all your transactions. This will allow you to track what’s excess and be in a position to rectify any anomalies.

4. You also need to urgently get rid of not having savings. It is impossible to grow assets and achieve financial independence if you lack a savings habit. Most of us convince ourselves that we will save when we earn more. This is a falsehood that needs to be cut short if you aspire to grow your income. Instead, you have to use what you have today, even if it means starting with sh10,000 that you set aside consistently until it accumulates. Once you get the hang of it, you can set steeper savings targets with concrete goals, including one of investing what has been accumulated.

Alternatively, if you want to accumulate savings at a faster rate, you have to look for like-minded individuals and collectively save. However, this group/individuals must be formalised with rules and procedures to minimise misunderstandings and at the same time, the savings must be kept in a regulated financial institution.

5. The notion that every financial issue will be sorted by borrowing from someone or an institution is one that you need to shed this time round. Typically, people do not bother saving because they believe that someone will always be their emergency fund. It is important that you start taking responsibility for your bad money choices and not expect that someone else will sort out your financial mess. This should start with being deliberate about how you make financial decisions. If you lack information, be humble and seek independent personal finance advisory services.

Financial education is a lifelong endeavour with something new to learn at every point in your life cycle. At the same time, if you have borrowed from someone that you believe has more resources than you, it is good practice to pay them back as opposed to playing hide and seek and not picking or returning their calls. If you need more grace period, it is courteous to request it.

Remember, if you do not treat money well and be responsible for your action, it will remain a 'visitor'

All in all, as you make grand plans with your life, driven by the New Year’s euphoria to make a fresh start, its advisable to be deliberate about how you manage your personal finances. Get rid of any poor money habits that get in the way of achieving your financial goals.

How your business can take off

As the year begins, it marks an important milestone for business owners and entrepreneurs. Here is a list of things to do for your business to hit the ground runnung this year.

REVIEW YOUR YEAR

Review your plans: Look at your planned numbers (revenue, profit margins, trends, and lessons learned). Avoid having to re-learn the lessons by tracking evidence of what worked, what didn’t and why.

Carry out a 360 assessment of your business, including the performance of your employees, finances and clientele. Critically analyse the position of the business vis-à-vis what was planned.

REVIEW YOUR BOOKKEEPING

Take an honest look at how much your business realised within the year versus how much you spent. Pay attention to whether all necessary books

were posted and the accuracy levels. Ensure traceability of the worthiness of your business this month. The last thing you want to do is to start a new year without knowing what your finances look like!

REFOCUS

Make a list of everything that you spend time doing. This should include work-related tasks, activities, goals, etc.

Identify anything that you no longer enjoy doing or that might be distracting you from working towards your bigger goals.

There’s a difference between working towards something worthwhile and simply wanting to complete something. Figure out the activities, which are most important and rewarding.

This will enable you to focus on the important things in your business.

REVIEW RESOURCES

This includes human resources, tools and equipment, as well as finances. Match your observations with actions as you refocus to begin the year. Fit talents to activities, eliminate or punish those who caused losses

and reward those who put the business at the helm of success.

Identify training/mentorship needs. Review whether the available tools and equipment will help you achieve your intended goals, or if you need

to purchase new ones, or make necessary repairs. Consider if financial performance allows expansion and act as required.

GET INFORMED

Are there any new laws that are taking effect, how best have you prepared for them, is there anything new that you think may impact your business? Be compliant to avoid penalties.

Understudy the environment and look out for anything that may disrupt your prospect strategy.

REVIEW YOUR GOALS

Think about what you want your business to achieve.

Be SMART, set goals rather than making resolutions, especially in business, there is a difference between a goal and a resolution. Resolutions are things you keep, goals are things you attain.

Build your strategy with your team and mentors: Once you have goals for your business, get your team on board. Schedule a planning and strategy meeting with your employees to create the plans you need to reach those goals.

Research carried out by Margaret Nakakande a business development professional in Kampala, Uganda

How to overcome trade barriers this Year

 By Daniel Karibwije

The beginning of the year brings new opportunities. A fresh year is hear and with the fanfare and Christmas spending dimming away, we need to get back to productive tasks and activities.

The December -January consumer spending is now in decline mode and 'back-to-reality' has set in.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to plan and forecast for this year.

Two key challenges that SMEs in Uganda and the rest of the world battle with are: How to meet technical requirements in international markets and overcome technical barriers to trade, the most frequent obstacles to it.

SMEs need to research on the requirements of the product they have specialised in. Is it beef exports? Exports of dairy products or fish?

Products have different requirements and standards depending on the market you are targeting. Do not assume that the requirements to export cocoa in the EU are similar to the US. Do not fear or tire of asking questions and seeking answers, rather than losing money in fines or damages.

INFORMATION IS KING

According to the International Trade Centre (ITC), SMEs need to seek information, conform to requirements and demonstrate compliance in a cost-effective manner.

They have to research more about the product standards by visiting the Uganda National Bureau of Standards website as a starting point. Thereafter, a physical visit with a sample is recommended. The centre that checks for coffee quality is the Uganda Coffee Development Authority quality office at the Uganda Manufacturer’s Association (UMA) in Lugogo, Kampala.

Join a joint WhatsApp group on coffee or fish or whichever product you are focused on this year. There is always new knowledge out there that will land on the prepared mind.

Those who seek knowledge will find it.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

In developing countries, such as Uganda, technical requirements might change and not reach SMEs in time compared to big players on the market.

Registering membership with trade support institutions both private and public sector is key. The packaging standards for a product can change and companies will need to adjust production systems and costs to match new market requirements.

Whereas in Uganda we are comfortable with plastic packaging, some markets will insist on glass packaging for certain food products. Without a plan, this will definitely increase the cost of production for a company exporting to this market.

With countries adopting eco-friendly supply chains and increased consumer consciousness, plastics are being slowly phased out for certain food packaging. Biodegradable and earth-friendly packaging is marketable.

CAPACITY BUILDING, ADVISORY

Be on the lookout for training opportunities in your area of interest. There are a number of trainings available in the market today and skilling is top on the agenda for institutions, such as the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), with funding available on a co-sharing basis.

Private companies should take advantage of such opportunities that also allow them to source trainers abroad and fund their trip to conduct a training in Uganda to a group of producers and manufacturers.

PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS

Join and register membership with a variety of trade support institutions, such as PSFU, UMA and business support organisations. Let those emails keep coming in from a variety of sources. Knowledge is power, do not be left behind this year. By signing up for membership, you keep receiving industry-related information to your inbox, some of which might be life-saving for your company.

Partnerships and networks open market opportunities when you least expect, building the company-profile and credibility.

I wish you a happy 2022 full of export success and open doors of opportunity.

The Writer is an export trade specialist

Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID-AF)

USMID Roads Projects

Period: November 2019 – October 2021

Partners: World Bank, Government of Uganda

Project Type: Infrastructure Develpoment

After the successful implementation of the first phase of the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) Program, Government, has received additional financing to the tune of US$ 360 million from the World Bank/IDA to implement the second phase of the Program (USMID Additional Financing-USMID-AF) for 5 years starting in fiscal year 2018/19.

USMID-AF will maintain the development objective of “Enhancing Institutional Capacity of Selected Local Governments” BUT the geographical coverage of the Program will extend to Eight additional municipal local governments of Kitgum, Kamuli, Mubende, Kasese, Busia, Ntungamo, Apac and Lugazi and also introduce support to 8 districts of Adjumani, Moyo, Yumbe, Arua, Isingiro, Kiryandongo, Kamwenge and Lamwo, that have faced a high influx of refugees to strengthen these LGs’ abilities to cope with the recent and future refugee influx in Uganda and to deliver critical infrastructure to host communities/local governments. The program will deepen impact and results in terms of institutional strengthening, planning and financial management, infrastructure provision and local economic development. USMID-AF draws a lot of lessons from the implementation of the first phase of USMID.

The Ministry and the Program Support Team has prepared an Operational Manual for USMID-AF in order to guide the participating Municipal and District Local Governments in the implementation of the Program.

Improvements to the operational manual have been drawn from lessons learned from implementing the first phase of USMID and the manual includes the performance assessment tool that will be used for verifying program performance at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Municipal and District Local Governments level by the Independent Verification Agent (IVA) among others.

The program will be executed and coordinated by the MLHUD which is responsible for urban development. The institutional strengthening at the municipal Local Governments level will target technical, fiduciary (financial and procurement), Local Economic Development and environmental and social sustainability with a focus on the following seven thematic areas:

i. Improved linkage between Municipal Physical Development Plan, Five-year Development Plan and Budgeting;

ii. Increased municipal own source revenue (OSR);

iii. Improved procurement performance;

iv. Improved municipal Accounting and core financial management

v. Improved Execution/Implementation of infrastructure sub-projects for improved urban service delivery;

vi. Improved accountability and transparency (monitoring and communication); and

vii. Enhanced environmental and social sustainability (Environmental, social and resettlement due diligence).

Bodies of Hima cement factory fire lined up for DNA testing

Cement factory fire. Courtesy photo

Kasese, Uganda | Arua City News | The bodies of the fire victims at Hima Cement are lined up for DNA testing at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital-FRRH to identify the victims. On Saturday, fire broke out at the factory killing three people and injuring six others.

The bodies were first taken to Kasese Municipal Health Center III mortuary but medics, relatives and employees couldn’t positively identify them because they were severely burnt. Carol Kezabu, the Hima Cement Factory Public Relations Officer told URN on Monday that they have opted for DNA testing to positively identify the victims.

The bodies were evacuated to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital-FRRH where DNA testing will be conducted. Kezabu also says that other victims with severe injuries have also been evacuated to Kampala for better management.

“We are still working closely with all families to ensure we establish their right identities,” she said. Kezabu said that the company management spent the better part of Monday in a meeting to discuss the aftermath of the incident including resuming their operations.

On Sunday, the National Building Review Board-NBRB launched investigations into the fire outbreak to establish the exact cause. Flavia Bwire, the Executive Secretary at the National Building Review Board, said they had picked samples from the fire scene to aid their investigations.

ICT ministry seeks UGX70BN for Parish Development Model

  

Chris Baryomunsi appearing before the ICT committee chairedby Moses Magogo.

Kampala, Uganda | Arua City News | The Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology and National Guidance is seeking Shs70.6 billion to implement the Parish Development Model (PDM).

Cabinet approved the implementation of PDM as the delivery strategy for transitioning households out of the subsistence economy with effect from 01 July 2021.

The ICT ministry was charged with the responsibility of spearheading Pillar 5 (Community Data) of PDM which involves setting up the Parish Development Management Information System (PDMIS) to among others validate information on the beneficiaries, evaluate the livelihood and standards of living of people and tracking the progress and performance of the different pillars so as to report real time implementation of the programme.

While presenting the ICT sectoral Budget Framework Paper for 2022/23 before the ICT Committee, the Minister of ICT, Chris Baryomunsi justified the need for Shs70.6 billion saying it would go a long way to build a strong monitoring and evaluation system to measure the success of the programme.

“As we start the Parish Development Model, we have to collect data and information. We need to buy devices, particularly computers, to give parish chiefs and train them and other government leaders on how to collect information and feed it to the central database for monitoring,” Baryomunsi said.

He said that several government projects have failed because of a weak monitoring and evaluation system which makes it difficult to measure the impact of the intervention and ascertain its success.

“We are developing a digital dashboard which is going to be at the central level where at the glance, you can check on the many parishes on what has been done and where there are challenges. So if these parish leaders can feed in this information, then we can monitor at the central level,” he said adding that part of the money will be used to communicate and educate Ugandans on mindset change.

“We need citizens to have a patriotic sense of responsibility, but also most importantly, to have that mindset that makes them aware that they must work hard,” he said.

Muhammed Nsereko remained skeptical about the success of the PDM if the funding gap is not addressed. The Shs70.6 billion for PDM remains among the unfunded priorities.

“How is the ministry going to conduct data analytics when there is such a funding gap on data collection and even procurement of laptops? Won’t this be lip service? The success of this programme must be backed by data,” Nsereko said.

Barnabas Tinkasiimire, Buyaga West County MP urged the Ministry of ICT to race against time and move faster in setting up information systems to capture data and information considering that the programme is scheduled to be fully operational by March this year.

The digital transformation programme for Ministry of ICT and other sector agencies have a financing gap of Shs231.3 billion with Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) requiring Shs51.1 billion to upgrade the signet, while Vision Group requires Shs2.9 billion to revamp defunct vernacular papers as per the presidential directive and ICT Ministry seeks an additional Shs12.1 billion for communication and mindset change.

The State Minister for National Guidance, Godfrey Kabbyanga Baluku beseeched the ICT Committee chaired by Eng. Moses Magogo to consider the sector’s budget shortfalls and avail funds for the same if the Ministry is to fully implement its digital transformation programme.

Shortage Of Vaccine Carriers Slows Polio Vaccination In Arua City

Polio Vaccination Health Care

There has been a drop in Vaccination against Polio worldwide

Arua, Uganda | Arua City News | Arua City Health officials have been forced to extend days for Polio vaccination over a shortage of vaccine carriers. The vaccination campaign targeting children aged below five years kicked off on Saturday in Arua.

However, the campaign has been hampered by inadequate carriers forcing health officials to conduct the campaign in two phases up to Wednesday.

Vaccine carriers are insulated containers where vaccines are kept cold during transportation.

According to Peter Aziku the Deputy Health Officer Arua City, they needed 890 cold boxes but they received 469. Aziku said they have decided to divide the health staff into two with the first one starting vaccination in the areas of Pajulu, Adumi, and Ayivuni all in Ayivu West while the second group of health workers will resume on Monday in the areas of Arua Hill, Oli Division, Oluko Dadamu, Manibe, and Aroi.

The health officials have also involved the cultural, religious, and local council leaders in addition to the VHTs to popularize the vaccination campaign.

Ismail Tuku the Prime Minister of Lugbara Cultural Institution said the government should consider sharing polio vaccines with the Neighboring DRC and South Sudan because of the eminent polio risk in these countries.

At least 270 health workers have been trained to roll out the vaccination against Polio for six days in Arua City.

A trace of the Poliovirus was discovered last year in a lagoon in Entebbe and as a result government through the Ministry of Health decided to roll out mass Vaccination for Children below five years.

Polio Pandemic hit Uganda hard in 1983 and left a trail of physical disability in many children who are now 30 years and above and since then vaccines have been rolled out to eliminate the disease.

A Litre Of Petrol Exceed Sh. 5,000- Government

KAMPALA CITY - The Ugandan government, through it's energy ministry, has said the price of petrol in the country should not exceed sh5,000 per litre.

"The cases of scarcity in districts such as Hoima will be addressed shortly with the ongoing replenishment of stocks," energy minister Ruth Nankabirwa said on Friday, January 14.

This is after reports emerged that a litre of petrol was selling at up to sh10,000, up from sh4,590, while that of diesel shot up as high as sh8,000 in Hoima city.

However, in Kampala, a litre of petrol was selling between sh4,700 and sh5,500.

Nankabirwa noted that Uganda is a net importer of petroleum products in a liberalized downstream petroleum market with an average current daily consumption of 6.5 million litres.

Uganda loads its products through the terminals located in Eldoret, Kisumu, Nairobi and Mombasa and supply is majorly through road transport.

The minister said that supply was normal, with trucks being cleared as usual and drivers were allowed to present negative coronavirus results from Kenya until January 1, 2022, when a directive was issued requiring all truck drivers to undergo testing at Malaba and Busia entry points.

"This resulted in a buildup of a queue of trucks as none were entering the country," Nankabirwa said in a letter.

She explained that following the failure to maintain replenishment of stocks and where trucks had spent 10 days in the queue, the turnaround time was affected and reduced stocks for petroleum products in the country.

"As of January 12, 2022, the ministry of health commenced free COVID-19 testing at the Busia and Malaba borders, and the trucks started moving and reduced stocks movement has started improving," she said.

The minister also noted that with the full reopening of economic activities, there has been an increase in uptake of petroleum products which saw a spike in consumption in the country that affected the 10-day stock levels.

"The very low replenishment based on the truck delays at the borders resulted in some stock out of petrol at some outlets," she stated.

Nankabirwa also said that Uganda's oil market companies have most of their trucks in the traffic between the Kenyan loading points and the borders and once cleared in a few days, supply and prices will return to normal.

"And there is no need for the public to panic," Nankabirwa added.

She urged speculators who are hoarding petroleum products and leading to an unnecessary spike in fuel prices to desist from this bad practice.

"The government (security and other authorities) is doing everything possible to prioritize the handling of petroleum products at the borders to ensure buildup in stock levels in the country," she said.