Stories about Health from May, 2006
China: Pop psychology online
Pop psychology has reached China, or so says a Virtual China post from Jason Li in which fans of Chinese star search show Super Girl have their motivations analyzed.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Condoms in schools?
Twenty per cent of live births in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are to teenage mothers. So why, asks Abeni, is the minister of education “vehemently opposing the idea of condoms being distributed in schools. At least it deserves some thought rather than a blanket refusal.”
China: Blogger kills himself
Beijing-based author and China Life Shop blogger Shawn Matthews has committed suicide following several years combatting depression between Korea and China. More information from his close friend and No Problem blogger Jake here and Korea-based blogger Kevin here.
Botswana: Radio drama on HIV
Blogswana comments on” Makgabaneng Radio” which produces radio dramas on living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana and which is broadcast twice a week.
Botswana: Blogs for Bikes for AIDS
Kona Bike Town Africa is a new blog that blogs about the progress of a new design of Kona bikes especially made for health workers treating HIV/AIDS patients in Botswana.
Barbados: 20,000 cruise ship passengers?
Cruise ships will land whopping 20,000 passengers in Barbados on the day of the Cricket World Cup final in April 2007. “While this will obviously provide taxi drivers, shops, island vendors and restaurants with an considerable increase in business,” writes Linda Thompkins, “one also has to wonder if 20,000+ cruise...
Haiti: New Blog CollectifHaitideProvence
CollectifHaitideProvence [Haitian Collective of Provence, France] is the name of a new French and Creole language blog launched by a Haitian organization of the same name made up of nine organizations that seem to be based in either France, Haiti or both. Their first entry posted yesterday explains (Fr &...
Czech Republic: “The Great Czech MD Tussle”
Lemuel of Deleted by Tomorrow writes about and posts a video of an incident that took place during a Czech Dentist Association conference two weeks before the general election: Miroslav Macek, former minister from an opposition party (Civic Democratic), smacked David Rath, health minister from the governing party (Social Democratic),...
Belarus: A Band to Help Chernobyl Children
TOL's Belarus Blog reports that a band called Thievery Corporation has released a new single on iTunes: the proceeds of the downloads of the song will go to the Chernobyl Children’s Project International.
Trinidad and Tobago: HIV/AIDS memorial service
Elspeth at Now Is Wow describes an HIV/AIDS candlelight memorial service held in Arima in east Trinidad, and explains why unexpected strong winds may have put out the lights but didn't dim the message. “The thing is to not give up.”
St. Lucia, Grenada: Kweyol lesson and photos
Georgia Popplewell at Caribbean Free Radio is travelling in the Eastern Caribbean this week; she's struck by “conservative” St. Lucians’ frankness about condoms, and gets an impromptu Kweyol lesson from two women in Castries. She also posts some photos taken in St. Lucia yesterday, and some from Grenada the day...
Nigeria: UK & the NHS
African Shirts reports on the story of a Nigerian woman who fell ill in London and needed a new heart. Unfortuantely she was unable to receive free treatment under the National Health Service and died.
Africa: Clandestine Emigration
Seckasysteme would like to see (Fr) “a summit of West African heads of state so that clandestine emigration can be uprooted and so as to find a durable solution to the problem.” “Hundreds have died since the beginning of the year for having simply tried to escape misery,” continues the...
Nigeria: Airport failures
UnilagFaces comments on Nigeria's premier airport in Lagos and the lack of sanitary facilities.
This week in the African women’s blogsphere
As diverse as ever, African women have been writing about a range of issues. 14 May was Mother’s Day in some parts of the world and African women honoured the important women in their lives. Adaure congratulates all mothers and grandmothers and says her mother is the best anyone can...
India: Jarawas In Andaman Islands
Fractured Earth on the plight of the Jarawas in the Andaman Islands. “Some of you may be aware of the rapidly deteriorating situation of the Jarawa of the Andaman Islands. We are told that they number around 300. A new epidemic of measles has struck them, with children who were...
Botswana: Harvard AIDS partnership
The Nata Village Blog posts on the “Botswana Harvard AIDS Partnership” They are in Nata for two weeks to provide training on software and registering HIV patients.
Black Britian: mental illness
Soul on Ice discusses mental illness amongst Britains black population. Africans and African Caribbean have the highest incidence of mental illness despite their relatively low numbers in the wider population
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Tribute to Bosnian War Victim and Hero
Finding Karadzic pays a heartbreaking tribute to “a dedicated reader and contributor to this blog” who died on March 3 “as a direct result of the illness she was given by her inhumane captors in Bosnia a decade ago.”
Latvia, Estonia: Infant Mortality and Poverty
Estonia in the World Media (RUS) cites a Save the Children report on infant mortality, according to which there are four infant deaths per 1,000 births in Estonia and Lithuania, a pretty good indicator. All About Latvia writes about a woman who tried selling her 7-month-old daughter for $3,800 by...
Jamaica: Prostitution – to legalize or not to legalize?
A Jamaican businessman raises the question of whether prostitution should be legalized in Jamaica to help control the spread of HIV/AIDS, but Leon Robinson's not having any of it. “Legalizing prostitution may have the reverse effect,” says Leon, “making solicitation a more accepted practice. Plus it would further destroy the...