In 2021, I lost a close friend to tuberculosis (TB), the world’s most lethal infection. But I cannot say anything else about this friend, where I met him or when we became close. The stigma surrounding tuberculosis is too impenetrable and, unfortunately, it would not be fair to my friend’s family. Still, for me, his […] Continue reading ->
Shaka Brown was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in November 2023. “I was dropped off at the emergency room in Miami, Florida,” he recalled. “In September, I thought I’d caught the flu, but after weeks of night sweats, fainting spells, and losing my hearing in my left ear—and over 50 pounds—I knew something was wrong.” Brown […] Continue reading ->
Diets should be guided by four key principles, say the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) in a joint statement released this week. Their statement highlights the importance of adequate, balanced, moderate, and diverse food intake, and aims to clarify what exactly a healthy diet means. “With such prominence in the […] Continue reading ->
Global climate plans will cut emissions by just 2.6% by 2030, falling 40% short of what’s needed to keep a future within the Paris agreement’s 1.5C goal alive, according to a report released Monday by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The combined emissions cut by the national climate plans, known as […] Continue reading ->
Amid grim research showing global warming is happening faster than previously projected, scientists urged world leaders to move from talk to implementation of global agreements when they meet at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, next month. Up to 600 million people already live in uninhabitable places, said Professor Johan Rockström, while introducing the 10 New Insights […] Continue reading ->
Only 35 countries have submitted the national strategies required by the UN biodiversity treaty showing how they’ll meet its binding nature protection targets. While 33 of these plans recognise links between human health and biodiversity, they offer few specifics on implementation and policy, a Health Policy Watch analysis found. Negotiators in Cali aim to bridge […] Continue reading ->
MINYA GOVERNORATE, EGYPT – Nine-year-old Adam needs an insulin shot before meals, and seems unphased when his father checks his sugar levels with a finger pricking. He looks away when a small blood drop wells on the tip of his finger. Adam turns back to his plate of rice and stewed vegetables, continuing to ramble […] Continue reading ->
There is an urgent need for Africa to develop local manufacturing capabilities for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) so as to reduce reliance on imports, enhance healthcare outcomes, and stimulate economic growth. But innovative technologies and international partnerships can help stimulate African pharma growth, revolutionize API production, and ensure self-sufficiency across the continent in a post-pandemic […] Continue reading ->
Rwanda has recorded its 63rd Marburg case, while cases of children coinfected with both mpox and measles are rising in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to officials at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) weekly media briefing on Thursday. After 10 days of no new cases, a health worker who […] Continue reading ->
Global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions remain catastrophically off track, with current policies putting the world on course for a 3.1°C temperature rise by century’s end, the UN Environment Programme warned Thursday in its annual “Emissions Gap” report. To keep the 1.5°C target alive, nations must slash emissions by 42% by 2030 and 57% […] Continue reading ->