Stories about Health from December, 2008
Egypt: Inanities on Homosexuality
Sarah Carr, blogger and journalist addresses how a published feature titled “Honey, I’m homosexual” and online comments perpetuate myths about homosexuality and, in doing so, contributes to the culture of intolerance in Egyptian society.
Colombia: Pablo Escobar's Brother Makes Claim of AIDS Cure
Colombia's twitterers are buzzing about the television declaration of the cure and vaccine for AIDS that druglord Pablo Escobar's brother, Roberto states he has discovered. So far, the only available information regarding the claim can be seen on 6 month-old low quality videos of testimonies by people claiming to have...
Zimbabwe: On the cholera crisis
Sokwanele posted several pictures taken in Ruwa of raw sewage overflowing from manholes, causing residents in the area to fear for a cholera outbreak. Sokwanele says: “It’s a ticking time-bomb, and the residents know it, but can do nothing about it”. The Kubatana blog also comments on the current cholera...
Libya: Eid Al – Adha 2008
After a long hiatus, Libyan bloggers are back at work behind their keyboards, wishing each other a happy Eid, discussing the increasing prices and reflecting on Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca which Muslims perform. Fozia Mohamed tunes in to bring us the story.
Barbados: Dealing with HIV
Barbados Free Press questions why the island's HIV infection rate is 50% higher than in other regional territories.
Jamaica: National to be Awarded UN Prize
Abeng News Magazine is proud that Jamaican Dr. Carolyn Gomes “was recently announced as a recipient of the prestigious United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for 2008.”
Argentina: Patricia Pérez Candidate for Nobel Peace Prize
Patricia Pérez, an HIV positive woman living in Argentina is a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Network of Women Living with AIDS writes El Otro Género [es].
Bangladesh, India: Photos On Positive Lives
Renowned Bangladeshi photo journalist Shahidul Alam reviews the works of Dayanita Singh, an award winning Indian photographer. Her works were displayed at “Positive Lives”, an exhibition on people’s responses to HIV/AIDS.
Trinidad & Tobago: P of A
Trin finds the government's position on certain key issues implausible and asks: “Are exhausted people resorting to threats of violence to escape a sinking city or Trinbagonians dying from an imaginary dengue outbreak part of your vacuous plan of action for ‘nurturing a caring society'”?
Singapore: Medical treatment for AIDS victims
Everyday’s Life in a Snapshot from Singapore insists that government should subsidize the medical treatment of AIDS victims.
Barbados: HIV secrets
Barbados Free Press is outraged that the head of the Barbados Family Planning Association advocates not informing a woman about her husband's HIV-positive status. "[The FPA head] is a menace to the health of every woman on this island."
Haiti: clean water
Haiti Innovation posts detailed information about a campaign to improve access to clean water in Port-au-Prince. "Their approach is to provide cost effective tablet chlorinators and to build the capacity of community members to manage them."
Bahamas: medical accountability
At Bahama Pundit , Larry Smith outlines the labyrinthine twists and turns in a "landmark" case of medical accountability currently before the Bahamas Medical Council — "more than six years after the 42-year-old man who started it all died."
Belarus: Tanya Kazyra Returns Home
Tanya Kazyra, a participant in a summer program for children from Belarus’ Chernobyl-affected areas, has finally returned home, and now there is some hope that the governmental ban on travel outside the country for all “Chernobyl Children” might be lifted, Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog reports.
World Disability Day in South Asia
December 1st is observed around the world as AIDS Day and the occasion is largely publicized. Unlike the attention World AIDS Day receives, World Disability Day barely registers on the world media’s radar. Celebrated every year on December 3rd, World Disability Day honors the contribution made to our world by those with physical and mental handicap.
Armenia: Sex Education
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on reported changes to legislation concerning HIV/AIDS in Armenia. In particular, the blog notes, this looks likely to include mandatory sex education classes in Armenian schools.
Myanmar: Humanitarian aid for AIDS victims
Yu Yu Din writes that two cousins of hers have died of AIDS. She also notes that Myanmar is receiving very little humanitarian aid to treat people with AIDS.
New Zealand: Pro-choice and Pro-abortion
The Hand Mirror from New Zealand explains why being pro-choice is very different from being pro-abortion.
HIV & AIDS: Creative awareness raising campaigns
We bring you a Christian Church that raps in Spanish against Drugs and AIDS, correct male condom usage in El Salvador, a Peruvian campaign using modified Tarot cards to tell "clients" about their future regarding love and sexuality, a Venezuelan calendar that brings nude artists together against AIDS, an African network show about living with HIV/AIDS and an HIV+ Argentinean who shows through video what his life is like.
The Saudi Patient
Dubai Consumer Mirror pleads with Saudi bloggers to come to the aid of a Saudi girl, who was injured in an accident. Read more about her here.
Israel: Aids Day Reminder
Molly, from The Big Felalfel, in Israel, notes that World Aids Day serves as a reminder that there is still no cure for the disease.
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