· May, 2008

Stories about Health from May, 2008

Bahrain: The Ideal Woman

From Bahrain, The Girl with No Face says she will go through a surgical procedure to help her reduce weight and adds: “I’ve given up that one day someone will love me for me. I have to mold into the ideal woman. The ‘ideal’ woman that has no fat on...

Global Agenda for Lusophone Africa

  23 May 2008

“The past, present and future of Africa will be debated for two days in Lisbon during the II International Congress of Lusophone Africa. Organized by the University of Lusophone Humanities and Technology, the event's theme is ‘Global Agenda for Lusophone Africa’ and it will be attended by a range of...

Kuwait: Sad for Hadeel

Kuwait blogger Rawan mourns the death of Saudi blogger Hadeel - and writes [Ar]: “I don't know why I cried a lot over a person I never knew. Why did I tell my mother and brother and a lot more people about her? Why I did not sleep and continued...

Lebanon: Psycological traumas

“Many Lebanese, myself included, argue that this technically short conflict did far more psychological damage than the 34 day 2006 war. Civil wars are much harder psychologically than wars with ‘the other’,” concludes Charles Malik, who wrote anecdotes of the psychological effect of the conflicts in Lebanon.

Russia: Oleg Kozlovsky Update

Political activist Oleg Kozlovsky blogs about his release from jail: “I look a little worse for wear because I refused to eat while in prison as a way of protesting against the obviously illegal nature of my arrest and trial.” LJ user ivansim reported (RUS) that Kozlovsky was hospitalized shortly...

Trinidad & Tobago: Emergency 101

  20 May 2008

A fatal road accident along Trinidad's North Coast leads KnowProSE.com to comment: “Emergency medicine infrastructure and preventative measures are not a priority, it seems. It seems a victim of economic triage…does the Government of Trinidad and Tobago value the lives of citizens and visitors, much less the quality of life?”

Armenia: HIV Awareness

Armenia and Me reports and posts photographs from Sunday's annual HIV Awareness event held in Yerevan. The blog says that over 60 Red Cross youth volunteers marched through the center of the capital with candles. The event ended by creating an illuminated HIV ribbon by one of the city's most...

Videos: Creativity in facing the water crisis

  20 May 2008

With two very recent natural disasters in mind: the cyclone in Myanmar and the Earthquake in Sichuan, China, the topic of getting pure and drinkable water to needy populations has come back into the conversation. Following, several videos which propose different solutions to supply clean water or at least make it easier for people to have a healthful liquid to drink.

Egypt: Sad for Hadeel

Zeinobia, from Egypt, mourns the death of Saudi blogger Hadeel and asks: “I do not know why I feel sad. Is it because Hadeel was young like me , she had just celebrated her 25th Birthday ?? !! Or because she is a blogger like [me] ?? Or because she...

Arabeyes: Mourning for Hadeel

Saudi blogger Hadeel El Hadeef passed away exactly a month after her 25th birthday. Bloggers from around the region come together to mourn the death and celebrate the life of the blogger, whose contributions and humanity will continue to remain a living legacy on the world wide web.

Jordan: Families not able to Eat

Joladies from Jordan writes about a poor woman, she met at a hospital, who told her nine children haven't eaten meat since last year. She comments: “When we watch all the money that is flowing round Jordan it just seems so awful that families are not able to eat.”

Japan: Earthquake aid starts healing process

  18 May 2008

The largest ever dispatch of aid to China from Japan took place last week when Japanese rescue teams were dispatched to Chongqing. Thanks expressed by Chinese in bulletin boards made it back to articles on the Japanese-language Internet and sparked hopeful reactions among many bloggers, some finding a common understanding in a shared history of earthquake disasters.

Japan: A surge of suicides

  18 May 2008

Over the past few weeks, the Japanese media have been extensively reporting suicide cases associated with the use of hydrogen sulfide gas, providing detailed description of ingredients and methods used. The recent media reporting has been so sensationalized that the Japan Suicide Prevention Association requested that media organizations be more careful with their reporting. The phenomenon has stirred up conversation among Japanese bloggers.

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Juhie Bhatia
Juhie Bhatia is the Global Health editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.