Africa: Brush Your Teeth! Bad Oral Hygiene Linked to Cancer, Heart Attacks and Renal Failure

It's normal to have bacteria in your mouth. But harmful bacteria have been linked to a host of health problems. Medical scientist Glenda Davison and microbiologist Yvonne Prince,… Read more »

South Africa: South African Men Are Much More Likely to Die From TB Than Women - Here's Why

Around the world, men are more likely to get TB and to die from it than women. Read more »

Southern Africa: Young People With Sexual, Gender Diversity At Higher Risk of Stopping HIV Treatment Because of Stigma, Harsh Laws

Ending the AIDS pandemic - particularly in eastern and southern Africa - cannot be achieved unless more resources are channelled to meet the needs of key vulnerable populations. Read more »

Africa: Your Unique Body Odor Could Identify Who You Are and Provide Insights Into Your Health - All From the Touch of a Hand

From the aroma of fresh-cut grass to the smell of a loved one, you encounter scents in every part of your life. Not only are you constantly surrounded by odor, you're also… Read more »

Africa: Nipah Virus Outbreak in India - What You Need to Know

There has been an outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus in Kerala, India. Five people have caught the virus, two of whom have died. Read more »

Africa: Racial Trauma Has Profound Mental Health Consequence - a Black Clinical Psychologist Offers 5 Ways to Heal

Since European expansion into the Americas, white people have demonized Black people and portrayed them as undesirable, violent and hypersexual. Originally, the intent of this… Read more »

Africa: Chatbots for Medical Advice - Three Ways to Avoid Misleading Information

We expect medical professionals to give us reliable information about ourselves and potential treatments so that we can make informed decisions about which (if any) medicine or… Read more »

Africa: Chronic Pelvic Pain Affects Up to 26 Percent of Women - Our Latest Research Brings Us Closer to Better Treating It

Chronic pelvic pain affects between 5% and 26% of women worldwide. It can be associated with conditions such as endometriosis (where tissue resembling the lining of the womb is… Read more »

Nigeria: Resistance to Antibiotics in Northern Nigeria - What Bacteria Are Prevalent, and Which Drugs Work Against Them

Antimicrobial resistance - the ability of microorganisms to resist drugs that have been developed to control them - is a severe problem in African countries. The continent has the… Read more »

Kenya: Kenya - Ongata Rongai Boom Town Destroyed Two Vital Rivers - New Study Flags a Major Health Risk

Over the past 10 years, Ongata Rongai, a satellite town on the edge of Kenya's capital, Nairobi, has experienced uncontrolled development and exponential population growth. Because… Read more »

Africa: How Evasive and Transmissible Is the Newest Omicron Offshoot, BA.2.86, That Causes Covid-19? 4 Questions Answered

The latest variant, or sublineage, of SARS-CoV-2 to emerge on the scene, BA.2.86, has public health experts on alert as COVID-19 hospitalizations begin to rise and the new variant… Read more »

Africa: CDC Greenlights Two Updated Covid-19 Vaccines, but How Will They Fare Against the Latest Variants? 5 Questions Answered

On Sept. 12, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the newly formulated COVID-19 vaccines for all Americans ages 6 months and up, hours after its expert… Read more »

Africa: Why Mothers and Babies Will Suffer More As Africa Grows Hotter

As Africa gets hotter, mothers and babies are most at risk. Why is this and what can be done about it? Matthew Chersich, a specialist in climate change and maternal health,… Read more »

South Africa: 'Motherhood Is Hard' - Young, HIV-Positive Moms Open Up About Regret and Anger

For any woman, pregnancy and giving birth are major life-changing experiences. Becoming a mother brings with it a range of emotions and, in many African cultures, positive emotions… Read more »

Africa: Finding a Live Brain Worm Is Rare. 4 Ways to Protect Yourself From More Common Parasites

News reports this morning describe how shocked doctors removed a live worm from a woman's brain in a Canberra hospital last year. The woman had previously been admitted to hospital… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Traditional Medicines Should Be Used in Modern Health Care

Traditional medicines are part of the cultural heritage of many Africans. About 80% of the African continent's population use these medicines for healthcare. Read more »

Nigeria: People With HIV Are Stigmatised - Study Shows Support From Family and Friends Is Crucial to Well-Being

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions most affected by HIV. In Nigeria alone, an estimated 1.8 million people are living with the virus. Read more »

South Africa: TB Research Shows a Good Diet Can Cut Infections By Nearly 50%

For centuries, we have known that tuberculosis is a social disease. It thrives on poverty and social factors such as malnutrition, poor housing, overcrowding, unsafe work… Read more »

Ghana: Accra's Most Vulnerable Residents Were Failed During Covid - the Government Didn't Understand Their Realities

Containment measures, such as the lockdowns introduced to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, had devastating consequences for vulnerable urban populations globally. Read more »

Africa: 'Dirty Red' - How Periods Have Been Stigmatised Through History to the Modern Day

About a year ago, at a friend's wedding, a fellow guest asked whether I knew that modern sanitary towels owe their origins to resourceful World War I field nurses who discovered… Read more »

Africa: The Orgasm Gap and Why Women Climax Less Than Men

Imagine a steamy sex scene involving a woman and a man from your favourite television show or movie. It's likely that both parties orgasm. But this doesn't reflect reality. Read more »

Africa: Can Coffee or a Nap Make Up for Sleep Deprivation? A Psychologist Explains Why There's No Substitute for Shut-Eye

There is no denying the importance of sleep. Everyone feels better after a good night of sleep, and lack of sleep can have profoundly negative effects on both the body and the… Read more »

Africa: How Genetically Modifying Mosquitoes Could Strengthen the World's War On Malaria

It's been 126 years since British medical doctor Sir Ronald Ross discovered that mosquitoes in the Anopheles family are primarily responsible for transmitting malaria parasites… Read more »

Nigeria: Nigerian Women Ensure They Get the Best Possible Healthcare By Managing Unequal Power Relations With Men

Nigeria is a patriarchal society. Authority is vested in men, who tend to exert power and control over women in various spheres of life. This has an impact on women's health and… Read more »

Ghana: National Health Insurance Users Often End Up Paying As Much As Those Who Don't Belong. So Why Join?

Health financing is a challenge any country has to deal with to provide good healthcare services. It's especially important for developing countries such as Ghana, where ability to… Read more »