Stories about Health from January, 2011
Venezuela: Cholera Cases on the Rise
During a wedding held in the Dominican Republic, a group of Venezuelans were diagnosed with symptoms of cholera after eating contaminated food. What were initially 13 cases has increased rapidly within a few days; the most recent reports speak of 135 people treated for cholera.
Cuba: Second Arrest for Fariñas
On learning that Guillermo Fariñas was arrested for a second time in less than 24 hours, Uncommon Sense says: “Nothing is unusual about what is happening…what is unusual is for the police to move so aggressively against someone with Fariñas’ profile, someone whose arrest will get at least a few...
South Africa: Honor Madiba with your actions
Mike Stopforth calls on South Africans to honour Nelson Mandela with their actions: “Soon, Nelson Mandela will die. As I write this post traditional and social media channels are rife with rumours of his ill health and deteriorating state.”
North Koreans Reportedly Consume the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Infected Cattle.
Reports have come out from NGO groups that North Korea, as well as South Korea, may hit hard by the foot-and-mouth disease. A more gruesome report[ko] came out from Open Radio for North Korea, a radio station founded and runs by North Korean defectors, that starving North Koreans are eating the infected cattle.
India: Storytelling Program with Kids at Hospitals
Uday Foundation reports that every Saturday its volunteers and friends visit various hospitals in Delhi, India for storytelling to the kids admitted there to cheer them up.
Wanted: More Babies Needed in Singapore
Singapore’s total fertility rate has decreased to an all-time low at 1.16 percent. To increase population, the government proposes to increase the number of foreign workers and residents in the prosperous city state. Here are some reactions from the blogosphere
Cuba: Old Age in Cuba
“Hands shaking with Parkinson’s offer sugary snacks at bus stops, wrinkled faces offer razor blades for only five pesos”: Generation Y says that the system the elderly helped to build “cannot provide them with a dignified old age.”
Brazil: Chief of Police assaults man on a wheelchair
A physically disabled lawyer was assaulted and threatened with a gun by a chief of police in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, after having complained that the officer had left his car in a reserved parking lot for the disabled, reports [pt] Renato Rovai.
Armenia: Not so spiritual remedies abroad
Unzipped comments on news that the spiritual leader of Armenia, Catholicos Garegin II, has undergone medical treatment in the U.S. However, the blog concludes, traveling abroad for a simple procedure might seem more like a damning indictment of the Armenian medical system.
Haiti: What About Aristide?
Wadner Pierre wonders how come exiled dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier has been granted a diplomatic passport to return to Haiti while the country's former democratically elected President has not been extended the same privilege.
Guinea-Bissau: Construction Works meet Public Health
Guineense, from the blog Made in Bissau [pt], shares two videos from construction works taking place in the main avenue of Guinea Bissau's capital, while describing the poor respiratory conditions of the ones who pass by due to the dirt on the air.
Singapore: Using social media to promote clean toilets
The Restroom Association Singapore uses various social media tools like twitter, youtube, and facebook to promote cleaner public toilets in Singapore.
South Korea: During Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak, A Female Official Died of Fatigue
A female official who handled quarantine work has died of fatigue, South Korea's citizen media, Wiki Tree reported today[ko]. As the country faced its worst foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the workload for quarantine workers has greatly increased lately.
Indonesia: Addressing the suicide problem
Rob Baiton blogs about the alarming rise in suicide rates in Indonesia.
North Korea: Drugs Rampant, Even Among Teens
North Korean insiders and defectors have testified that drugs are widespread in North Korea. Most recent reports told that drugs are popular gifts among teens and even ordinary middle-class citizens are frequently abusing them.
Macedonia: Anti-Abortion Campaign
Feministik writes about a new anti-abortion campaign launched by the Macedonian government.
Floods Continue to Devastate Australia
Devastating floods on both the East and West coasts of Australia have caused a war of words over water as well as some high quality online crowdsourcing by our national broadcaster. There has been a series of online spaces to share flood experiences.
Lebanon: Fighting Drugs
Salmanonline posts an article (Ar) about drugs addiction among the Lebanese youth. He discusses the role played by some political parties and other specialized organizations to combat its widespread.
Cape Verde: Alcoholism and the Youth
Margarida Fontes, in the blog Os Momentos [The Moments, pt], quotes an interview to the former Minister of Health, Manuel Faustino, where he states that one of the major public health problems of Cape Verde, especially among the youth, is alcoholism and that “the problem should be addressed with aggressive...
Chile: Bloggers Discuss Therapeutic Abortion
Chilean bloggers are discussing a proposal to decriminalize therapeutic abortions, a procedure banned in 1989 that would allow the termination of a pregnancy if the mother is carrying a nonviable fetus or her life is at risk.
Guyana: More Than Abstinence
“The sooner we recognize that our teens are having sex, the sooner we can start acting like conscientious parents”: The Guyana Groove thinks that “where abstinence alone teaching has failed…learning about sexuality from parents is the answer.”
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