Stories about Health from October, 2006
Uganda: birth control with plastic beads
Jackfruity writes about the use of beads for birth control in Uganda, “Last week Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni introduced a system of birth control called Moon Beads. Designed to help women track their menstrual cycles and, by doing so, avoid sex when fertile, the beads are part of a...
D.R of Congo: challenges of building a hospital
The Congolese-born basketball star, Dikembe Mutombo, talking about his experience building a hospital in his home country: “The big question was: Why do you want to be the first one to do it? What motivate you to build this hospital and what is behind this hospital?,” via Dizolele.
Nigeria: Tribute Fela Kuti
Felabration, similar to Felaversation, is a series of posts about Nigeria's Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti: Felabration, Fela's pictures that speak thousands words, Afrobeat Academy, Spirits of Fire Dance, Gen X Afrobeaters, and Felabration is About Aids Awareness.
Reunion: Diagonale des Fous
LSZ Blog describes (Fr) La Diagonale des Fous, [Diagonal of the Crazies] an annual hike across the local volcano. He explains that every year “they assemble in a small town in the southeast of the island, with the obsessive idea of reaching the other side of the island as fast...
Reunion: Still Smoking
Pierrot Dupuy laments (Fr) that despite a tactical 30 cent increase in cigarette prices, cigarette consumption in Reunion has not decreased. He concludes: “Since the stated goal of the hike was to lower consumption, we have to admit that the powers that be have failed.”
France, Togo: No Smoking
France-based Togolese blogger Kangni Alem writes (Fr): “France is going to progressively completely forbid tobacco smoking in public places. Thank God. To say I had no problem with public smoking would be a lie.” Tony, a commentator to the blog responds (Fr): ” In Africa smokers will continue to have...
China: Let your photos do the talking
While dealing with blocked pages and filter-trigger keywords can get pretty annoying on the wrong side of the internet, for bloggers in China who want some discussion on, say, the highest-level corruption crackdown in ten years, there are always ways to beat the system. This time it just happens that...
Zimbabwe: Smuggled DVD brings union protest beatings to light
This video reached me late last night via Ethan Zuckerman. At nearly ten minutes, it's longer than the other videos we've put up, but I strongly recommend you watch this. It includes footage of the Zimbabwean police and security intelligence services breaking up a peaceful demonstration by members of the...
Reunion: Chikungunya Plagiarism
Scientist blogger LSZ Blog complains (Fr) about the widespread non-attributed reproduction of litteral portions of an article he recently posted on his blog about chikungunya fever. His unattributed work has appeared on other websites but also in an article by Reunion colleagues in a scientific print publication. He has written...
Arabisc: Ramadan, War, Freedom and Other Issues
With all Muslim countries marking the Holy Month of Ramadan, UAE blogger Bin Kerishan, wonders why people fast. كل العبادات تسبب للانسان الاما و معاناه كالحج و الصلاه و الصيام و الاخير من اقساها و اكثرها ضررا على صحته.. لماذا لا يكون الطقس الديني مسليا؟ كالذهاب لملاقاة الاصدقاء في المقهى...
Romania: A Visit to a Pharmacy
Csikszereda Musings describes what a visit to a Romanian pharmacy feels like.
Ukraine: Help Sought to Save an Ailing Teen
Petro Rondiak and his wife Ola are looking for ways to save a 14-year-old Ukrainian girl diagnosed with leukemia: “It is clear that Tania will not get the required treatment in Ukraine. Ola and I are looking for a western hospital (USA? Germany?) to provide pro bono medical care for...
Africa: Association for African Medicinal Plant Standards
Good news for the future of African traditional medicine: The Economist reports on the launching of Association for African Medicinal Plants Standards (AAMPS), via Timbuktu Chronicles.
Cuba: The dengue problem
The video above appeared on YouTube on September 29, 2006, with no accompanying information but the tags “cuba” and “dengue“. Linked earlier this week by The Real Cuba, it appears to support what blogger Marc Masferrer wrote last Friday: Everyone in Havana and other cities has seen the clouds of...
India: Dengue and Chikungunya
The Mosquitoe menace in India continues, posing greater risk to public health says Sepia Mutiny. “In recent weeks, what is fast looking like an epidemic of dengue fever has been spreading in different parts of India. Delhi is over 600 reported cases, with 16 fatalities; Kerala has over 700 cases;...
Zimbabwe: cultural innovation
Proud Dzambukira sees cultural innovation in the midst of political and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe: “Some might find it easy to condemn the recent move in Zimbabwe to pull “witch doctors” closer into the mainstream by allowing them to grant sick notes to ailing workers. The move follows legislation passed...
Tajikistan: Workers or Slaves
Vadim reports on the use of child labor in cotton harvesting in Tajikistan.
Philippines: Dengue outbreak in some provinces
Next to malaria, dengue is an important tropical infectious disease which has claimed many lives in the Philippines. The Department of Health identified the dengue hotspots in the country: Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Central Visayas. The government also issued an advisory on the symptoms of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever: “Dengue...
Bulgaria: Tripoli Six Update
Declan Butler posts an update on the Tripoli Six case and links to blogs involved in the campaign to free five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor facing execution in Libya.
South Africa: health minister should be prosecuted
The Nervous Voter would like to know when the South African Health Minister, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, is going to jail for her “garlic can save your life (from Aids) nonsense”. The Nervous Voter writes, “What we need is a good class-action lawsuit from the families of AIDS victims against the...
Latest Voices From Swahili Blogosphere
The big question in Swahili blogosphere remains: who deserves government assistance and how should the Tanzania ‘s government assist financially all eligible higher education candidates? Recently, sudents at the University of Dar-Es-Salaam held public demonstrations to protest against their colleagues who were dropped from the Higher Learning Students Loan Board...
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