Populations around the world are ageing due to increased life expectancy and falling fertility. These shifts have been driven by improved healthcare, better infrastructure and medical innovations. But why do so many people struggle to see this as a good thing? The WHO’s recent World report on ageing and health recasts the “problem”. Rather than pointing the finger at older people and […]
The World Health Organisation is currently vaccinating 116 million African children against the preventable disease, polio. This week, 190,000 vaccinators are on the ground tackling the last remaining stronghold of polio across West and Central Africa. All children under the age of five in countries including Chad, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra […]
Seasickness is an occupational hazard when you are taking to the wave-swept ocean in a seven-metre long rowing boat. That’s exactly what Jack Faulkner and I are planning to do in the next few weeks, crossing the Indian ocean in about three months from Western Australia to Mauritius. Our Doctors Adrift adventure will hopefully raise […]
We know that today 2.5 billion people around the world have poor vision with no access to a means of correcting it and it’s been my long-term goal to bring that number down to zero. Poor eyesight may not be a deadly disease – so it’s low down on the priority list as a health […]
In recent years, the introduction of new medicines and treatments has exponentially increased the ability to handle and treat major diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 1975 and 2000, the world consumption of pharmaceutical products increased drastically from US$ 70 billion to US$ 317 billion, with a consumption of medicines per capita […]
Human parvovirus 4, ‘PARV4’, is a tiny, robust DNA virus. In the decade since it was first reported – the result of a trawling expedition by a North American virology group who went hunting for this unknown trophy [1] – we have uncovered enough to make certain robust statements, but also plenty to perplex and […]
If you visit Malawi, in south-east Africa, you will find a warm, sunny climate and a welcoming, friendly people who are largely based in rural town and communities north and south of Lilongwe, our capital. We love simple things in life like good nsima, which we get after farming the land and fishing in our […]
Read More… from Pioneering mobile health (mHealth) in Africa: a nurses perspective from Malawi
Is hepatitis B infection a problem that will gradually fizzle out over time? On initial reflection, it is easy to think it might be. We have a cheap, safe and effective vaccine, and a choice of antiviral drugs that can successfully suppress the virus. We can also intervene reliably to prevent transmission from mothers to […]
The Hope of Universal Health Coverage for People in Developing Countries. What would you do if you were detained in a hospital for not paying the bill? A month ago I met Sanaa, a 34-year-old leukemic patient who was brought to our ward by her relatives. Sanaa was detained in a private hospital for 14 […]
Handing (Back) Over the Pen: Afghan Women’s Experiences of Gender Based Violence (GBV) Violence and trauma refer to experiences, rather than inherent pathological processes, which can cause significant physical and mental health consequences and present ethical challenges for health care professionals and humanitarian actors. Violence against women, or gender based violence, are collective violent acts […]