In my first week in Calais, the appeal to prevent French authorities beginning evictions from the “Jungle” was denied. Very few had hoped for a reprieve, instead discussion was focused on the “whens” and “hows.” Tension was growing. French authorities have said that there are 1000 people in the southern part of the camp, however, […]
Category: Global health
David Payne: How disease outbreaks drive digital innovation
To what extent do disasters and disease outbreaks drive developments in digital health? And as the WHO and other national and global health agencies get to grips with the Zika virus outbreak, what lessons can be learned from the 2014 Ebola epidemic? John Edmunds, Dean of the Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health at the […]
Gaurav Sharma: Where do women seek family planning, antenatal, and maternity care in low and middle income countries?
A series of papers entitled “Who cares for women?” was launched at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on Wednesday 13 January 2016. The objective: to provide the most up-to-date and extensive analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys across 57 low and middle income countries, focused on the provision of family planning, antenatal […]
Charline Bradshaw: The Calais crisis and grassroots movement
There are an estimated 6000 men, women, and children living in a disused refuge site in Northern France. A recent census revealed that there are around 423 unaccompanied minors among those living in a collection of tents and wooden structures. They are a small proportion of the estimated one million refugees who have entered Europe […]
What, if anything, does the EuroHealth Consumer Index actually tell us?
Since 2005, the Health Consumer Powerhouse has produced its annual EuroHealth Consumer Index, ranking European health systems according to their performance on a host of indicators around (i) patient rights and information, (ii) accessibility, (iii) outcomes, (iv) range and reach of services, (v) prevention and (vi) pharmaceuticals. In its most recent iteration, the United Kingdom […]
Andrew McDonald Johnston: Ebola resilience in Sierra Leone
On the 14 January 2016 a new case of Ebola virus disease infection was confirmed in Sierra Leone, only hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the Ebola epidemic was over. This was deeply disappointing, but had been anticipated by the organisations involved in the Ebola response. We know that Ebola sometimes persists […]
Aeesha NJ Malik: Improving children’s eye health in Pakistan
1.5 million children in Pakistan are blind. Many from eye diseases which are preventable and treatable. Often children don’t know they have a vision problem because they assume they see the way everyone around them sees. However childhood visual impairment or blindness has a huge impact—its effects last a lifetime and affect not just the […]
Luqmaan Malik: Inside Zaatari—Jordan’s largest refugee camp
“Thank you for remembering us and being here.” These were the grateful words of a Syrian man who had migrated to Jordan in the wake of the conflict in Syria. I was volunteering in Jordan with an American medical charity (Salaam Cultural Museum), which specialises in medical relief missions to help Syrian refugees who need […]
Merrilyn Walton: Sexism in medicine in Australia
Australian women, it seems, have had enough. Last week, politicians, a cricketer, and a specialist medical college apologized for sexist comments. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) recently got into trouble for planning a debate called Membership Before Maternity Leave: Should Every Registrar Have a Mirena to be discussed at […]
Jørn Olsen et al: The future of birth cohorts
The origins of some common chronic diseases lie early in life, often before birth. This observation, championed by David Barker, has spurred several countries to start national pregnancy or birth cohorts in order to identify early determinants of chronic diseases. [1] Some efforts have been successful, for example in Norway, Denmark, and Japan there have been exciting early […]