Stories about Health from March, 2008
Czech Republic: Micro-Fee vs “Micro-Bribe”
The Economist‘s blog, Certain Ideas of Europe, reports from the Czech Republic on how “charging patients a small sum for visits to publicly funded doctors” has more or less eliminated “micro-bribing.”
Jamaica: Hope & HIV
“Behind the images of hedonism in Jamaica, the specter of AIDS has overshadowed the glitter and garish of the Tourist Board commercials,” writes Geoffrey Philp, as he blogs about Hope: Living and Loving with HIV – a multi-media reporting project which he says “is not just an extended essay with...
Israel: New Technology Will Improve Organ Transplants
Israeli biotech company Core Dynamics may have found a way to improve organ transplants. A new technique in cyropreservation will change the way organs are frozen and thawed, enhancing their viability until time of transplant. Israel Start-Up News has the details.
Jordan: Viagra Prescriptions
Jordanian Hareega, who is a doctor by profession, writes about the miracles of the magical blue pill -Viagra – and the changes it brought to some men's lives.
Burkina Faso: Home of black bags, baobabs and cute kids?
This roundup will begin with some old business. From Stephen Davis of Voice in the Desert: His book Sophie and the Albino Camel is up for the Norfolk Shorts shortlist of books under 150 pages. While he won’t know the outcome until April 16, he did expound on why he loves writing short fiction.
Kyrgyzstan: Rumors Around President
The Azamat Report says that Rumors about Kyrgyzstani president's death spread yesterday around Kyrgyzstan, becoming a #1 story on the Kyrgyz blogosphere. It is alleged also that he is undergoing medical treatment abroad, as he has not been in the country for nearly 4 weeks.
Poland: The Abortion Issue
The beatroot writes about the Council of Europe and the issue of “legal access to abortion” in Poland.
Maldives: Youth and Drugs
Power to the People from Maldives asks why youth in the country turns to drugs, and an interesting discussion follows in the comments space.
Albania: Leeches
Living in Shkoder writes about the medicinal use of leeches in Albania.
World Water Day Ripples Across Videos.
Every year since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, on March 22nd has been the World Water Day. In addition, this year it is the United Nation´s International Year of Sanitation and people from all over have started taking action through their video cameras, raising awareness at the importance of this finite resource.
Maldives: Living with contaminated groundwater
As the world observed World Water Day on March 22, issues concerning sanitation and access to safe water were discussed and debated in the media. This year’s theme for WWD is sanitation as 2008 is the International Year of Sanitation. Maldivian bloggers have brought water and sanitation issues to the...
Japan: Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant fuels debate
The village of Rokkasho, situated Aomori prefecture in the north of Japan's main island Honshū, hosts a nuclear facility for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, the first of its kind in Japan. While the scale of this reprocessing plant dwarfs standard nuclear plants, most Japanese citizens have up to recently known little to nothing of its existence. This has started to change recently with demonstrations held in various parts of the country by citizen groups. Bloggers have also picked up this debate, offering varying perspectives on the costs and benefits of the latest development of Japan's nuclear industry.
Egypt: Stop Drug Abuse Campaign Launched
"Stop Drugs.. Change your life" was the motto for a new controversial campaign initiated by Amr Khaled in Egypt and other different Arab countries, writes Eman AbdElRahman, who brings us the reactions of a former addict, who has been off heroin for a year.
Hong Kong: Too Clean?
After the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, the city is getting more and more hygienic, however, Diumanpark wondered if being too clean would reduce body resistance to virus and bacteria [zh].
Egypt: Another strike and many protests
Egyptian doctors and university faculty have joined the crowds and decided to protest against their low salaries, writes Eman AbdElRahman, who brings us the latest reactions to labour strikes from the Egyptian blogosphere.
Kyrgyzstan: Ban on alcohol and tobacco advertising
Ayan Dane writes that the Kyrgyz Parliament is initiating a law to ban alcohol and tobacco advertising, although the prospects of this draft law are uncertain as some deputies have business connected with selling alcohol and tobacco.
Republic of Congo: Campaign for health rights
Campaigning for health rights in the Republic of Congo: “Indigenous people in all areas of Congo Brazzaville live in precarious conditions and are subjected to discrimination and marginalisation, which prevents them from benefiting from all the rights recognised by international human rights instruments, particularly the right to health care and...
Japan: Mythical Body Worm
Edo from Pink Tentacle introduces a 16th Century medical book which explains body diseases with body worms and describes how to fight them with acupuncture and herbal remedies.
Congo-Brazzaville: AIDS and infrastructure
Réseau sida Afrique shares the story of a 22 year-old woman [Fr] in Congo-Brazzaville, dying of AIDS in the town of Makoua, 800km from the capital and the free medicine that could save her life.
Hong Kong: Flu Statistic
Chainsaw Riot blogs the statistic of flu over the past few years to show that the situation of flu is no worse than the past. However, the number of flu patients visiting public hospital has increased after the media reported about the sudden death of a girl with flu symptom...
Kazakhstan: Some Facts About Our Health
Adam posts some facts and figures about the condition of health of the Kazakhstani citizens today, including a couple of comparisons with other Central Asian countries and EU.
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