July 18, 2023
South Africa: Malnutrition in South Africa - How One Community Wants Resources to Be Spent
South Africa has persistently high rates of hunger and malnutrition among mothers and children. More than a quarter - 27% - of children under five are stunted and 61% of children… Read more »
July 11, 2023
Africa: Weight Loss - Why You Don't Just Lose Fat When You're On a Diet
When you go on a diet, you don't just lose fat - you lose muscle too. This can have many repercussions - not only on your fitness and strength, but on your metabolism. Read more »
July 12, 2023
Africa: Strep Throat Can Easily Be Confused With Throat Infections Caused By Viruses - Here Are a Few Ways to Know the Difference
"My sore throats, you know, are always worse than anybody's." Read more »
July 13, 2023
Africa: Fungal Infections in the Brain Aren't Just the Stuff of Movies - Africa Grapples With a Deadly Epidemic
In the 2023 American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of Us, humans are plunged towards extinction as a fungal infection of the brain zombie-fies most of the… Read more »
July 05, 2023
Africa: Poverty Is Linked to Poorer Brain Development - But Reading Can Help Counteract It
Early childhood is a critical period for brain development, which is important for boosting cognition and mental wellbeing. Good brain health at this age is directly linked to… Read more »
Africa: New Research Shows How Covid-19 Affects Younger Children and Those From Deprived Areas
At the heights of the pandemic, particularly since 2021, many children and teenagers admitted to hospital had COVID. However, it was never clear what proportion of them were in… Read more »
July 04, 2023
Africa: Vaccine Hesitancy Is One of Greatest Threats to Global Health - And the Pandemic Made It Worse
The COVID pandemic has disrupted many areas of routine healthcare including, importantly, childhood vaccination. Read more »
July 03, 2023
Africa: Covid Vaccination in Pregnancy Greatly Reduces Risk of Severe Illness and Death - And Protects Babies
From the early days of the pandemic, it has been evident that a COVID-19 infection in pregnancy can be serious. Hundreds of studies from around the world have consistently shown… Read more »
June 29, 2023
South Africa: Intermittent Fasting Could Help Protect the Brain From Age-Related Diseases Like Alzheimer's
As the world population has grown older, Alzheimer's disease has become increasingly common. Alzheimer's disease is the most prevalent form of dementia. Dementia is a term used to… Read more »
South Africa: National Health Insurance Bill Has Noble Aims but Leaves Too Much Uncertain - It Needs More Work
South Africa's National Health Insurance (NHI) bill has passed the first hurdle towards becoming law, getting the country closer to its vision of achieving universal access to… Read more »
June 28, 2023
Africa: Every 2 Seconds in the World a Baby Is Born Prematurely - Report Identifies Biggest Challenges for Their Survival
Globally, about one baby in 10 is born too soon - that's around one baby every two seconds. A full term pregnancy is around nine months or 37 weeks. Babies born before this mark… Read more »
June 27, 2023
Africa: Covid-19 Hurt Kids' Math Learning More Than Reading and Writing - With the Biggest Setbacks in Fall 2020
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Read more »
South Africa: Cholera - Vaccines Can Stop the Spread, but the Biggest Deterrent Is Clean Water
South Africa has experienced outbreaks of cholera since January. The worst was in May in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, where nearly 30 people died. Cholera is a bacterial… Read more »
June 26, 2023
Tanzania: Baby Deaths in Tanzania - Being Born in a City No Longer Increases Their Chances of Survival
Five million children under five years old died in 2021. Of these, nearly half occurred within the first month - a time of high vulnerability. Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest… Read more »
June 25, 2023
Africa: Children's Movement Affects Health and Development but Research Is Lacking in Africa - Here's Why
Children's health and development depend on how much time they spend doing physical activity, being sedentary and sleeping. Read more »
June 23, 2023
Africa: Dirty Tea Towels Are Breeding Grounds for Harmful Bacteria - Here's How to Clean Them Properly
Kitchens can harbour all sorts of germs and bacteria. These can arrive via humans, pets, uncooked food or even plants, meaning that a high proportion of foodborne infections are… Read more »
June 22, 2023
Africa: Human Organs for Transplant - 5 Steps Africa Must Take to Improve the Supply Chain
Medical science has made tremendous advancements over the past 70 years. One of these is the transplant of human organs from one person to another. The first transplant - a kidney… Read more »
June 19, 2023
Nigeria: Health Workers and Absenteeism - Study Shows How Personal and Political Relationships Protect Offenders
Absenteeism of health workers contributes to poor quality of care. A study in Uganda, for example, showed that it reduced the likelihood of people using primary health centres by… Read more »
June 15, 2023
South Africa: Measles and Whooping Cough Outbreaks in South Africa - a Sign of Low Vaccination Coverage, Experts Warn
The concentrated global effort to use vaccination as a public health intervention began in 1974. Since then, vaccination has changed our lives. Worldwide, in the decades 2000-2020,… Read more »
June 14, 2023
Africa: Why Does My Back Get So Sore When I'm Sick? the Connection Between Immunity and Pain
Have you ever wondered why your back aches when you're down with the flu or a cold? Or COVID? Read more »
Africa: What If China Really Did Develop Covid As a Bioweapon? Here Are the Issues Involved
China is facing renewed allegations that the COVID-19 outbreak was caused by a leak from one of their laboratories - and that this research is connected to biowarfare. Read more »
South Africa: Water Quality in South Africa - Reports Show What Needs to Be Fixed, and At What Cost
The citizens of Hammanskraal, a small town north of South Africa's capital, Tshwane, have been dealing with the deaths of 23 residents from cholera since 23 May 2023. Tests to find… Read more »
June 12, 2023
Africa: Long Covid - Effects On Fatigue and Quality of Life Can Be Comparable to Some Cancers - New Research
As of March 2023, the Office for National Statistics estimated that 1.7 million people in the UK were living with self-reported long COVID. This refers to symptoms, including… Read more »
South Africa: HIV Care for Migrant Women in South Africa - the Gaps and 5 Steps Towards Offering Better Services
Around 8.45 million people in South Africa live with HIV - an estimated 13.9% of the population. Of South African women aged 15-49, approximately 24% are HIV positive. Read more »
June 09, 2023
South Africa: Should I Get the Flu Vaccine? South African Experts Say Yes - Here's Why
The winter months are synonymous with the flu in South Africa. Similar to other countries in the southern hemisphere, South Africa has an annual influenza season stretching from… Read more »