· May, 2012

Stories about Health from May, 2012

Lesotho: Touching Tiny Lives

  17 May 2012

Touching Tiny Lives works to mitigate the effect of HIV/AIDS on the most vulnerable infants and children under age five by supporting their health, nutritional, developmental, and emotional needs in Lesotho.

Mozambique: “Who wants to give birth here?”

  15 May 2012

Knight International Journalism Fellow Mercedes Sayagues published a video (with versions in English and Portuguese) which takes viewers on a sad tour of maternity clinics in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. The province has the highest maternal mortality rate in Mozambique.

Brazil: ‘Hands That Cure, Words That Heal’

  15 May 2012

With their herbs, gestures, prayers and comforting words, folk healing is an important element of Brazilian culture. Although some people believe that traditional healing art is disappearing, folk healers from two Brazilian cities have just had their activities recognised by pioneering laws.

Egypt: Historical Arabic Manuscripts Put Online

Egypt's Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Wellcome Library and King’s College London Digital Humanities Department have recently launched the Wellcome Arabic Manuscript Cataloguing Partnership (WAMCP). The manuscripts collection comprises around 1000 manuscript books and fragments relating to the history of medicine. All content is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Greece: HIV-Positive Sex Workers Brutally Exposed Online

  12 May 2012

A multitude of reactions came after the Greek police uploaded photos and personal data of HIV-positive sex workers to a website. NGOs and hundreds of netizens, condemned through social media, those responsible for this campaign, as well as mainstream media for their biased coverage.

South Korea: Continuing Mad Cow Controversy Over US Beef Imports

  12 May 2012

Since last week, South Korea has seen continuing protests against importing beef from the United States after mad cow disease broke out in California. Korean government dispatched its inspection team to the US to quell the public anger incited by the government's unkept promise to halt the beef import immediately when the disease was detected. However, the inspection team's lack of control over the investigation process and the biased member selection process further deepened South Korean's distrust of the government.

Argentina Approves Death with Dignity Law

  11 May 2012

After a long debate in the Argentine Senate, the Death with Dignity project was converted into law with wide-ranging support. On Twitter the hashtag #Muertedigna (death with dignity) became a local trending topic after news broke out about the new law. There have been many different opinions.

Cuba: Remembering the Dissidents

  11 May 2012

This week, members of the Cuban diaspora have been blogging about two main things: the one-year anniversary of the death of dissident Juan Wilfredo Soto, and the re-arrest of human rights activist Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia.

Bolivia: Protests Sweep Across the Country

  10 May 2012

A wave of protests are sweeping across Bolivia, affecting at least six of the largest regions of the country. Although conflicts are not initially linked to each other, they have generated a climate of political instability, raising challenging questions for the government of Evo Morales. Netizens share videos, reports, and reactions to these protests.

Trinidad & Tobago: Three Score and Ten

  9 May 2012

Two Trinidadian bloggers - one living on island and the other a member of the diaspora - have come to the difficult realisation that their parents are growing old. In this post, they discuss the issue of ageism while sharing their mixed emotions and fears…

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