Africa: Enhancing Polio Detection With Advanced Sequencing Technology

[ad_1] Brazzaville — The African region, declared free of indigenous wild poliovirus in August 2020, faces an urgent threat: the intense transmission of type 2 variant poliovirus (cVDPV2). This year alone, 290 poliovirus detections have been reported in 23 African countries. As countries ramp up vaccination efforts to protect children against the virus, one of the most critical components of the response is early and accurate detection. To enhance the effort, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO […]

October 24, 2024

Africa

Africa: IMF Isn’t Doing Enough to Support Africa – Billions Could Be Made Available Through Special Drawing Rights

[ad_1] At the 2021 UN Climate Summit, Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley called for more and better use of special drawing rights (SDRs), the International Monetary Fund's reserve asset. The special drawing right is an international reserve asset created by the IMF. It is not a currency - its value is based on a basket of five currencies, the biggest chunk of which is the US dollar, followed by the euro. It is a potential claim on the freely usable […]

October 24, 2024

Africa

Africa: ‘Condoms Are Sex Toys’ – Centering Pleasure to Save Lives

[ad_1] When you think of prevention in sexual health, what comes to mind? Most of us would think about risk, danger, and disease. But what if we changed that narrative to focus on pleasure? That is what Anne Philpott has been championing for the last two decades. It all started when she had a realization at an AIDS conference in Barcelona 20 years ago that the discussions were mostly about risk and disease, with little talk about the real reason […]

October 23, 2024

News

South Africa: Siya and Rachel Kolisi End Their Marriage – South African News Briefs – October 23, 2024

[ad_1] Springbok Rugby Player Siya Kolisi and Wife Rachel Announce Separation Siya Kolisi, a prominent Springbok rugby player, and his wife Rachel have jointly announced their decision to end their marriage, reports IOL. In their official social media platforms, they said the decision was made with "love, respect, and mutual understanding" as they believe it is the best way forward. "Although our relationship as a couple is changing, we remain close friends and committed co-parents, ensuring our children continue […]

October 23, 2024

Africa

Africa: Breast Cancer – Why It’s Difficult to Treat and What New Approaches Are On the Horizon

[ad_1] Breast cancer is the number one cancer among women: more than 2 million cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2022. It is also particularly challenging to treat. Physiologist Anna-Mart Engelbrecht, who heads the Cancer Research Group at Stellenbosch University, explains why this is so and how precision medicine could help. How do tumours work? Normally, cell growth, cell division and cell death are tightly regulated processes. But mutations in a cell's DNA can disrupt this regulation, leading to abnormal cell […]

October 23, 2024

Entertainment

Africa: Some People Love to Scare Themselves in an Already Scary World – Here’s the Psychology of Why

[ad_1] Fall for me as a teenager meant football games, homecoming dresses - and haunted houses. My friends organized group trips to the local fairground, where barn sheds were turned into halls of horror, and masked men nipped at our ankles with (chainless) chainsaws as we waited in line, anticipating deeper frights to come once we were inside. I'm not the only one who loves a good scare. Halloween attractions company America Haunts estimates Americans are spending upward of US$500 […]

October 22, 2024

Africa

Africa: Include Girls’ Voices in Making of Maternal Health Laws

[ad_1] African Girls Face Barriers to Prenatal, Intrapartum, and Post-Natal Care Girls in Africa face significant challenges ensuring that they enjoy the highest attainable standard of their sexual and reproductive health. They experience barriers to accessing relevant sexual health education as well as adequate maternal healthcare during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. Following the conclusion of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)'s 44th Ordinary Session on October 12, and as the conversation around […]

October 22, 2024

Africa

Africa: Egypt Is Certified Malaria-Free By WHO

[ad_1] The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Egypt as malaria-free, marking a significant public health milestone for a country with more than 100 million inhabitants. The achievement follows a nearly 100-year effort by the Egyptian government and people to end a disease that has been present in the country since ancient times. "Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that plagued pharaohs now belongs to its history and not its future," said Dr Tedros Adhanom […]

October 21, 2024

Africa

Africa: Health Activists Picket Against High Cost of Nutritious Food On World Food Day

[ad_1] On World Food Day, activists from PHM South Africa held a picket, protesting soaring prices of healthy food On World Food Day, October 16, the People's Health Movement (PHM) South Africa organized a picket in front of the National Parliament to protest the high cost of healthy and nutritious food in the country. While the South African Constitution guarantees the right to food, PHM South Africa argued that only the wealthy can afford healthy meals today. "The soaring prices […]

October 21, 2024

Health and Medicine