Recently, an African researcher I met expressed her frustration about how American “kids” with little or no experience come all the time to “advise” her government on what to do about health. I have seen this myself, but her rant really hit a nerve. For the want of a…
A dozen countries across Africa and the Americas are experiencing an alarming uptick in resistance to 2 crucial HIV drugs: efavirenz and nevirapine, according to a WHO report that suggests countries switch to the drug dolutegravir, which is less prone to resistance.
Intro to the Series An estimated 1 in 10,000 people are born with hemophilia, a blood disorder caused by a lack of proteins needed to stop bleeding. While those in developed countries have access to treatment that allows them to lead normal lives, that is not the case for…
Genetically modified crops are a divisive issue and have been met with uneven uptake within Africa and across the globe, according to Matthew Schnurr, a fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study.
A growing elderly population in sub-Saharan Africa points to improved health care but presents a new quandary: coverage for elders. Regional life expectancy rose by 20 years since 1960, guaranteeing a growing elderly population requiring unique care. Rural clinics and…
The world holds an estimated 7.5 billion+ people today; by 2100, that number is expected to rise to 11 billion, with the fastest growth in Africa and Asia. In June, the UN will publish new projections.
The recent wave of genomics research has scientists flocking to Africa to collect data, and African scientists are angling to keep more of that data on home soil, and ensure it benefits Africans. Not many African institutions have the equipment to manage large genomic data…
Daily exposure to contaminated water, poor sanitation and parasites is not keeping allergies and asthma at bay in Africa, defying the "hygiene hypothesis" that exposure breeds immune response, found researchers at Egypt’s Ain Shams University. The limited data available…
Spreading from one Cambodian town, the rise of drug-resistant malaria strains has the world on high alert. For decades, the farms and villages around the town of Pailin have been the breeding grounds for drug-resistant malaria, first beating off chloroquine, then…
A below-the-radar opioid crisis is brewing in Africa as Tramadol pain pills flood the market. Tramadol offers a cheap and easily-accessible high similar to heroin. A key source of inexpensive pain relief in the developing world, the WHO has avoided regulating the drug.
