September 09, 2022
Africa: Monkeypox May Cause Neurological Damage, Including Inflammation of the Brain - New Study
Monkeypox's effect on the skin - the disfiguring rashes - and the flu-like symptoms have been well described, but few have investigated the neurological and psychiatric problems… Read more »
September 11, 2022
Nigeria: Ovarian Condition That Can Cause Missed Menstrual Periods and Infertility Is Going Undetected
Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common gynaecological endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. It affects between 4% and 20% of women globally and is influenced by… Read more »
September 09, 2022
South Africa: 5 Essential Reads On Migrant Access to Healthcare in South Africa
The hostility against foreign nationals that has been displayed outside some of South Africa's hospitals is not new or isolated. South Africa is home to about 2 million immigrants,… Read more »
September 06, 2022
Africa: What Is Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease?
As a new parent, I've become acutely aware of every person in the vicinity of my daughter who has the slightest sniffle or looks vaguely unwell. Read more »
September 05, 2022
Botswana: HIV Patients Get Adequate Treatment - But One Group Is Slipping Through the Cracks
HIV remains a major public health challenge globally. Around 38 million people are estimated to be living with the infection. Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of the HIV… Read more »
Africa: 5 Virus Families That Could Cause the Next Pandemic, According to the Experts
The CSIRO has delivered a comprehensive report on how we should prepare for future pandemics. Read more »
Southern Africa: How Migrants Who Move Between Zimbabwe and South Africa Access Healthcare in Border Towns
Zimbabwe and South Africa share a 225 km common border. There is only one official border crossing, at Beitbridge. An estimated 15,000 migrants and refugees from Zimbabwe and other… Read more »
Africa: The PPE Used Throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Getting Tangled Up in Wildlife
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, masking has been one of the key public health measures put in place to combat the disease. Since March 2020, billions of disposable surgical masks… Read more »
September 04, 2022
Africa: Better Covid Vaccines Are On the Way. What Do They Do? And What Technology Might We See in Future?
Regulators in Australia and the United States last week approved Omicron-specific boosters, following approval in the United Kingdom in mid-August. Read more »
September 02, 2022
Zimbabwe: Health System Is in Intensive Care - How It Got There
Health systems are, at their core, meant to promote, restore or maintain health. Their objective is to improve the length and quality of citizens' life from the cradle to the… Read more »
September 04, 2022
South Africa: Only Elite Benefits From Black Economic Empowerment - and Covid-19 Proved It
More than two decades ago the South African government put in place a policy designed to redress racial imbalances in the country's economy. But, as I suggest in a recent paper,… Read more »
September 01, 2022
Africa: Will Omicron-Specific Booster Shots Be More Effective At Combating Covid-19? 5 Questions Answered
On Aug. 31, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of updated COVID-19 booster shots that are specifically tailored to combat the two most recent and contagious… Read more »
August 31, 2022
Nigeria: Waste Pickers in Lagos Tell Their Stories About a Dangerous Existence
Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, with a population of more than 15 million, generates an estimated 12,000 metric tonnes of waste daily, which comes to about 4.3 million tonnes of… Read more »
Africa: Long Covid - How Researchers Zero in On Self-Targeted Immune Attacks That May Lurk Behind It
For almost three years, scientists have raced to understand the immune responses in patients who develop severe COVID-19, with an enormous effort aimed at defining where healthy… Read more »
August 30, 2022
South Africa: Migrants in South Africa Have Access to Healthcare - Why It's Kicking Up a Storm
A political storm has erupted in South Africa after a video went viral showing the health minister for the Limpopo province - which borders Zimbabwe - berating a Zimbabwean woman… Read more »
August 29, 2022
South Africa: Covid Was a Setback for Indigenous Languages - Lecturers On What Went Wrong
South African indigenous languages are among those at risk of a serious decline due to the increasing use of digital technologies. By some estimates only 5% of the world's… Read more »
August 24, 2022
Africa: Got Allergies? You Could Be At Lower Risk of Catching Covid
To respond effectively to COVID, it's been important to understand who may be at higher risk of contracting the virus and developing more severe disease. Read more »
Africa: Misinformation Is Common to Covid-19 and HIV/Aids Pandemics - With Deadly Consequences
Since health officials confirmed the first COVID-19 cases, misinformation has spread just as quickly as the virus. Social media may have made the amount, variety and speed of… Read more »
August 23, 2022
Africa: Long Covid - Why It's So Hard to Tell How Many People Get It
In the weeks and months after a COVID infection, some people develop a variety of symptoms, commonly referred to as long COVID. Fatigue is the most common, affecting a little over… Read more »
Tanzania: TB Patients Have a Lower Quality of Life Than People Who Haven't Had the Disease
Numerous researchers have documented the quality of life and mental health of specific population groups. Examples include people living with HIV, the elderly, students, men who… Read more »
Africa: Did an Accidental 'Blood Plague' in World of Warcraft Help Scientists Model Covid Better? The Results Are In
Way before COVID, in 2005 the World of Warcraft game developers accidentally introduced an extremely virulent highly contagious disease into this game which then spread to infect… Read more »
August 22, 2022
Uganda: Efforts to Address Vitamin A Deficiency Miss the Mark
Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness. It also increases the risk of death from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea. There are… Read more »
August 19, 2022
Africa: Summer Colds - This May Explain Why So Many Have Suffered Them This Year
Most of us associate colds and the flu with colder weather. But that doesn't mean you can't still catch a cold during the summer. Some viruses are even more common in summer than… Read more »
Africa: How African Countries Coordinated the Response to Covid-19 - Lessons for Public Health
The COVID-19 pandemic spread much slower on the African continent than in the rest of the world, contrary to predictions. Read more »
August 18, 2022
Africa: How a Bike Accident Changed Me, By a Philosopher of Hope
Cycling once made me feel free unlike anything else. I loved the sensation of slicing through the air, flying past pedestrians and cars stalled in traffic. Where I live (in… Read more »