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 …
Read More »Modern life, bad habits: Africa faces deadly new illnesses
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | When Rose Kariuki first felt a lump on her left breast, the spectre of cancer — a disease she had only heard of on television — was the last thing on her mind. “To me, cancer was nowhere near us. It was shocking, I feared …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »What vaccines does your child really need?
With new vaccines coming at increasing prices, parents are facing tough choices The numbers of children receiving vaccinations in Uganda is up and the government’s recent move to pass a law criminalising anti-immunisation sentiments appears to be partly behind the surge. The increasing popularity of vaccination has experts like Dr. …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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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