Last week I went to an interview with a writer who I’d never heard of. And now I can’t stop thinking about her, which of her books I should read, and the link between George Bush and female circumcision. The talk was part of PEN International’s Free the Word! festival at the South Bank in […]
What we’re reading: 23 April 2010
In the BMJ editorial office, we often come across interesting articles, blogs, and web pages. We thought we would share these with you. Some are medical, some techie, and some just general. Trish Groves, deputy editor writes: The eruption of the Icelandic volcano and the chaos it caused have thrown up some great stuff on […]
Emily Spry: The free health care initiative in Sierra Leone
It is now less than one week until the launch of the free health care initiative in Sierra Leone when, as regular readers will know, government health facilities, such as my own dear Children’s Hospital, will be required to provide free healthcare to children under five, pregnant and breast-feeding women. The big day is Tuesday […]
Vaibhav Gupta on starting medical school
It was like going to a black tie event, except some people were in shorts and some dressed casually, with only a few holding up the proclaimed dress code (some didn’t even know why they were there, which explains the flip-flops). This is what going to medical school was like. Having just arrived in the […]
Richard Smith: A day in village India
“The village is the real India,” said an Indian friend, echoing Gandhi and the continuing belief of many Indian intellectuals. “What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow mindedness, and communalism [putting your own ethnic group ahead of society],” said Bhimrao Ambedkar, who drafted the Indian constitution and was the […]
Tessa Richards on volcanic ash disrupting the conference circuit
Iceland’s unpronounceable volcano has much to answer for. The economic impact of its ash cloud has been immense and its growing. Thousands of airline passengers are still stranded. Quiet skies may be a treat and politicians’ Dunkerque gestures a diversion, but lives are being disrupted, and attendance at international medical conferences decimated….. […]
Siddhartha Yadav: Sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in South Asia
Last week I participated in the “Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Workshop” organised by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) in Bangalore, India. We had gathered there to formulate a set of guidelines and protocols for adolescent reproductive health services specific to Asia. […]
Joe Collier on medicines, manifestos and choice on 6 May
For those who follow elections closely, party manifestos are compulsory reading. In some policy areas they set out very specific intentions, in others they offer an overall feel, and in yet others there is a veil of silence. The manifestos of the three main UK parties, as they relate to the future provision of medicines, […]
Domhnall MacAuley on Dubai writing and education workshops
One of the last arrivals before the Icelandic volcanic dust closed European airspace, planes were parked bumper to bumper on the tarmac with thousands crowded into the airport terminal. As part of the BMJ outreach and partnership programme, I had just arrived back from Dubai where, together with Jenny Lewis and Mark Tracey, we shared […]
Vidhya Alakason scrutinises US healthcare legislation
The champagne glasses have been put away in Washington DC . It is now time for the hard work of implementing the pages of provisions included in the health reform bill that was passed by Congress last month. While the media coverage has rightly focused on the historic extension of health insurance to cover most of […]