Africa has the highest rate of suicide in the world, and the lowest per capita spending on mental health – with critical shortages, in particular, of community health workers and facilities that could help prevent many mental health conditions from becoming even more severe. Two recent high-profile suicides in Tanzania have cast a stark spotlight […] Continue reading ->
One in five children now live in parts of the world that are experiencing double the number of extremely heat days per year, as compared to six decades ago, according to a new analysis by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The analysis comparing average temperatures during the 1960s to the period 2020-2024, highlights a […] Continue reading ->
The recent CARICOM summit of Caribbean leaders has endorsed a new Afro-Caribbean Health and Development (HeDPAC) initiative aimed at stimulating South-South collaboration on resilient health systems, health worker capacity building, and local medicines and vaccines manufacture. The formal CARICOM Communiqué at the close of the Summit in Grenada invited its 15 member states and five […] Continue reading ->
Without urgent humanitarian assistance, tens of thousands of people in Sudan may die of famine in coming weeks, UN officials warned during a Geneva press briefing Tuesday. Their calls for a ceasefire to enable humanitarian assistance to flow more freely came on the eve of peace talks scheduled to take place in Geneva with the […] Continue reading ->
“Words must now be matched with deeds,” Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said after the official declaration. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has officially declared the surging mpox outbreak a “public health emergency of continental security” – the first time it has made such a declaration on its own. […] Continue reading ->
Nearly a year after new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk promised a fresh start for abortion rights, following his election victory in October 2023, reform efforts have stalled as campaign promises collide with the realities of coalition politics in a divided Poland. Poland is amongst only four countries worldwide to have restricted abortion rights in […] Continue reading ->
Humans are ingesting and inhaling more microplastics than at any time in recorded history, a Cornell University study revealed. The research shows microplastic consumption has risen sixfold globally since 1990, with Asian, African, and American countries all experiencing increases. People in China and the United States are among those consuming record levels of tiny plastic […] Continue reading ->
By the time they turn 20 years old, nearly a quarter (24%) of adolescent girls who have been in a relationship will have experienced physical or sexual violence from their intimate partner, according to a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) published Monday found. Even though the prevalence of violence among teenagers largely parallels […] Continue reading ->
Fifteen-year-old Mathias Ofoke is one of four children in his family born with type 1 diabetes. Whenever his symptoms worsened, he was taken to the nearest primary healthcare (PHC) center where he was repeatedly treated for malaria. It wasn’t until February, when a non-governmental organization (NGO), Abby Cares Foundation, organized a clinical outreach at Ezza […] Continue reading ->
After experiencing the distress of caring for a loved one with advanced cervical cancer, Edna Maloya vowed to take proactive measures to ensure that her family and friends would be protected. “I was my cousin’s caregiver. I can’t take chances with cervical cancer,” says Maloya, who lives in Blantyre, Malawi’s second largest city. She happily […] Continue reading ->