From MNHC, NCDs to prevention of infectious diseases and plantibodies:  meeting challenges of our times.
James K Tumwine
College of Health Sciences, Makerere University and Editor in Chief African Health Sciences.

Cite as: Tumwine JK. From MNHC, NCDs to prevention of infectious diseases and plantibodies: meeting challenges of our times. Afri Health  In this June 2016 issue of AHS, we have four main  themes: maternal newborn and child health (MNHC);  non communicable diseases (NCDs); prevention of infectious diseases; and plants in health and diseases including pioneering work on plantibodies! MNHC: Ugandan authors report on health facility based  neonatal care in limited resource settings, using Mulago
Hospital Special Care Baby Unit as a case study.

They  report unacceptably high levels of neonatal mortality  with prematurity and its complications being the major  culprits. They call for a rethink of the management of  hypothermia and respiratory distress. The next articles  focus on platelet counts as predictors of paediatric mortality; ENT problems in Nigeria; trends in congenital  heart disease; NCDs in children in Ghana5 and deficiencies of vitamin A and iron in rural communities in Nigeria.

Authors from Kenya report a randomised controlled  trial comparing weight adjusted dose versus fixed dose  prophylactic phenylephrine infusion on maintaining systolic blood pressure during caesarean section under spinal  anaesthesia