Monday , February 10 2025

Tag Archives: health

Slum health is not urban health

By Alex Ezeh, Blessing Mberu and Tilahun Haregu Why we must distinguish between the two We live in an urban century. Already more than 50% of the global population lives in urban areas. The United Nations estimates that by 2030 five billion of the world’s population of eight billion will …

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Nigeria’s ‘plastic rice’ real but inedible

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Around 100 bags of “plastic rice” seized in Lagos have turned out to contain real but contaminated rice, authorities said Friday in Nigeria, where prices for the staple have rocketed. Tests on the rice have shown that the product is “not plastic but … contaminated …

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Pregnancy changes a woman’s brain: study

Paris, France | AFP |  Pregnancy causes “long-lasting” physical changes to a woman’s brain, with significant, but seemingly beneficial, grey matter loss in parts of the crucial organ, a study said. Some alterations lasted at least two years, they reported, but did not appear to erode memory or other mental …

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Dead China runner reveals marathon cheats

Beijing, China | AFP |  Thinking of competing in a marathon but put off by the distance? Easy. Pay someone to run it for you. The death of a runner in a half marathon in China’s southeastern city of Xiamen this month has highlighted an unexpected form of cheating. When …

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COMMENT: Universal health in Africa

COMMENT: By Matshidiso Moeti Ghana’s insurance scheme and Ethiopia’s a cadre of health-extension workers prove it is achievable Three years ago, a young boy in rural Guinea fell victim to the Ebola virus. An epidemic soon took hold of West Africa. By the time it was contained, it had killed …

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Government seeks 390bn for health services

As a way of improving the country’s ability to provide reproductive, maternal and child health services, the Ministry of Health has tabled before Parliament a proposal to borrow $110m (390bn) from the International Development Association, an arm of the World Bank. Dr Jane Aceng, Minister for Health while appearing before …

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Canada to ban asbestos by 2018

Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Once the world’s top producer of asbestos, Canada said Thursday it will ban the heat-resistant fibrous mineral that is woven into building and other materials but which has been found to cause cancer. In a statement, government ministers of health, science and the environment said …

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Lack of funds threatens malaria progress

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Global progress on controlling malaria risks stalling due to an “urgent need” for more funding, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its annual report on Tuesday. Overall, the number of new cases fell by 21 percent between 2010 and 2015, and mortality rates …

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