South Africa: Thirty Years of Rural Health Research - South Africa's Agincourt Studies Offer Unique Insights

In 1992 a group of academics from the University of the Witwatersrand introduced a health and socio-demographic surveillance system in remote, rural South Africa to track and… Read more »

Cape Verde: Cape Verde Is the Third African Country to Eliminate Malaria - Here's How

Cape Verde has been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization. Read more »

Africa: Certain Indoor Air Pollutants Can Be Absorbed Through the Skin - Here's What You Need to Know

Even though most of us will spend a majority of our lives indoors, that doesn't mean we aren't still exposed to air pollution. Indoor air contains a wide array of pollutants… Read more »

Africa: Neglected Tropical Diseases Persist in the World's Poorest Places

It's sobering to reflect that "neglected tropical diseases" are referred to as "neglected" because they persist in the poorest, most marginalised communities even after being wiped… Read more »

Kenya: Healthcare Workers Abuse a Third of Young Mums From Informal Settlements - Study

Adolescent pregnancy is a global public health concern: in 2022, about 13% of girls and young women gave birth before the age of 18. Read more »

Africa: One in Twenty People Has No Sense of Smell - Here's How They Might Get It Back

During the pandemic, a lost sense of smell was quickly identified as one of the key symptoms of COVID. Nearly four years later, one in five people in the UK is living with a… Read more »

Africa: What Happens to Your Liver When You Quit Alcohol

According to Greek mythology, Zeus punished Prometheus for giving fire to humans. He chained Prometheus up and set an eagle to feast on his liver. Each night, the liver grew back… Read more »

Africa: The Emergence of Jn.1 Is an Evolutionary 'Step Change' in the Covid Pandemic. Why Is This Significant?

Since it was detected in August 2023, the JN.1 variant of COVID has spread widely. It has become dominant in Australia and around the world, driving the biggest COVID wave seen in… Read more »

Africa: First Polar Bear to Die of Bird Flu - What Are the Implications?

Climate change is a threat to polar bear's survival. Now they have a new deadly challenge facing them: bird flu. It was recently confirmed that a polar bear from northern Alaska… Read more »

Africa: How to Maintain a Healthy Gut Microbiome in 2024

We all know by now that the pillars of a healthy lifestyle are regular exercise, eating enough fruit and vegetables, a good night's sleep and staying hydrated. All of these things… Read more »

Africa: Measles Is the Most Infectious Disease Known to Science - Adults Should Consider Getting Another MMR Vaccine

Imagine a disease more infectious than any other known to medical science, that would kill 2.6 million young children every year and leave millions more with deafness and even… Read more »

Africa: Health, Safety Compromised for People Living With Long Covid and Intimate Partner Violence

What happens when a person is experiencing long COVID and intimate partner violence at the same time? There has been no attention paid to this question anywhere in the world since… Read more »

Africa: Strep A Explainer - Why Invasive Cases Are Increasing, How It Spreads and What Symptoms to Look for

A jump in the number of people with serious illness caused by group A Streptococcus -- also referred to as Streptococcus pyogenes or Strep A -- has made headlines recently. There… Read more »

Africa: Five Books About the Covid Pandemic to Look Out for in 2024

Vi-fi, short for virus fiction, describes contemporary fiction that features the devastating events of world-changing outbreaks and epidemics. Rooted in science fiction, vi-fi… Read more »

Africa: How Long Does Immunity Last After a Covid Infection?

Nearly four years into the pandemic, Australia, like many other countries, is still seeing large numbers of COVID cases. Some 860,221 infections were recorded around the country in… Read more »

Africa: Good Lunchboxes - Here's How Parents Can Prepare Healthy Food and Keep Costs Down

Heading back to school is a time of great anticipation for many families, but it is not without challenges. One of the big challenges is preparing healthy, easy, affordable and… Read more »

Africa: Excessive Social Media Use During the Covid-19 Pandemic Exacerbated Adolescent Mental Health Challenges

How does time spent online, and especially social media, affect the brains and behaviours of children and youth? Read more »

Africa: Students Do Better and Schools Are More Stable When Teachers Get Mental Health Support

When it comes to mental health at school, typically the focus is on helping students, especially as they emerge from the pandemic with heightened levels of anxiety, stress and… Read more »

Africa: Ultra-Processed Foods - Here's What the Evidence Actually Says About Them

The perils of ultra-processed foods received widespread coverage in recent months - thanks in no small part to the publication and promotion of TV presenter and doctor of virology… Read more »

Africa: Caffeine - Here's How Quitting Can Benefit Your Health

Caffeine is the most consumed psychoactive compound in the world. Even if you don't drink coffee or tea, you probably still regularly consume caffeine since it's found in… Read more »

South Africa: Jobs in South Africa - the Labour Market Is Recovering From Covid - but Unskilled and Less Educated People Are Still Being Left Behind

For more than three decades the South African economy has had very high rates of joblessness. The country's economy has been unable to create enough jobs for its growing army of… Read more »

Africa: The Shame and Pleasure of Masturbation - Poor Things Gets Girls' Early Sexual Feelings Right

This piece contains spoilers for Poor Things. Read more »

Africa: Covid Barely Gets a Mention These Days - Here's Why That's a Dangerous Situation

The United States experienced its second largest COVID wave of the pandemic in January 2024. For the year to December 2023, in England COVID rates peaked at around one in 24… Read more »

West Africa: Kush - What Is This Dangerous New West African Drug That Supposedly Contains Human Bones?

A new drug called kush is wreaking havoc in west Africa, particularly in Sierra Leone where it is estimated to kill around a dozen people each week and hospitalise thousands. Read more »

Africa: 60% of Continent's Food Based on Treasure Trove of Wheat, Rice and Maize, Neglected

African countries have become reliant on a few food items. Just 20 plant species now provide 90% of our food, with three - wheat, maize and rice - accounting for 60% of all… Read more »