It’s boom time in Ghana right now. The country’s economy soared by 14% in 2011 thanks to new oil receipts—earning it a listing as the world’s fastest growing economy. This prosperity is a mixed blessing say the locals. Rents in the capital city Accra are approaching London levels—$2000 a month for an apartment in a […]
Category: Global health
Estrella Lasry: Responding to malaria: a view from the ground
Yesterday was World Malaria Day, a day that for me is filled with contradictions. There are many reasons to feel encouraged. Globally the number of malaria deaths is dropping, thanks to progress on several fronts over the past decade: better prevention strategies, including widespread distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets; rapid, easy-to-use diagnostics; and more effective […]
Gabriel Scally: The flying doctors service of East Africa and Sylvia Pankhurst
The Flying Doctors Service of East Africa sounds like an echo from a romantic, and bygone age. But its formation in 1957 was the first step in the creation of a major African health development organisation that has been given the World Federation of Public Health Associations’ Institutional Award at the 13th World Congress of […]
Andrew Moscrop: Neonatal intensive care, Pakistan
There are five sick babies and only four incubators in the neonatal intensive care unit. What do I do? The infants who get the incubators and the ventilation equipment may survive because of it; the child who does not will probably die because of the omission. What would you do? Five tiny hearts flutter desperately […]
Veena S Rao: India’s 2012 budget-a paradigm shift in addressing India’s undernutrition
The Indian finance minister’s 2012 budget speech marks a significant moment for the much awaited, much required, paradigm shift in the government’s approach to reduce undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency, the indicators of which are fast qualifying India as the malnutrition capital of the world (despite 8% economic growth). It is now clear that high growth […]
Ivan Gayton on geeks and primitive fieldworkers: a tale of two cultures
As a project manager for MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders), a medical emergency humanitarian agency, I attended this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, in the company of a friend and collaborator from Google who is involved in crisis mapping. We gave a presentation on some mapping work we had done […]
Rachel ter Horst: The tomorrow of neglected tropical diseases
Four acts in 90 minutes. A tight script that does not leave time for clapping. Nine men in dark suits and one woman on stage. That one woman is Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO. One of the men is Bill Gates. The stage is Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), an event convened […]
Mit Philips on the ICASA conference: donor retreat and its consequences for patients and communities
The 2011 International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) conference in Addis Ababa was an experience in contradictions. Presentations about promising new strategies created by scientific breakthroughs, and successful field experiences, even in some of Africa’s most disadvantaged communities, contrasted with growing fears that this optimism rests on empty promises and that […]
Mary Robinson: Protecting all women against cervical cancer – a question of justice
Every two minutes a woman dies of cervical cancer. Not surprisingly, 90 percent of these deaths occur in the poorest countries where women often do not have access to screening tests and treatment, or they are simply too expensive. Because of the lack of these services, vaccines against the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes 70 percent […]
Maya Tickell-Painter: Where is health being included in the UN climate change negotiations?
Recently, you heard from Johnny Meldrum about why health professionals should care about climate change, and their role in the climate change negotiations. More than ever before, health professionals were present and engaging with the UN climate talks in Durban. During this conference there has been: a health summit, 6 official side events, two health-related […]