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Why eradicating polio everywhere has been so hard to crack
Nigerian children receiving the polio vaccine in Lagos. EPAPolio is a disease that struck fear into the hearts of parents just a generation ago.Poliomyelitis, known as polio, is a viral illness which...
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DIY medical tests: why some are safer than others
False positive results have raised questions about home pregnancy tests.flickr/RebeccaRecent media reports revealed that digital home pregnancy tests being sold at leading pharmacies in South Africa...
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Mental health genetics: African solutions for African challenges
There are concerns that Africa may be excluded from advances in genetic brain research brain.ShutterstockOver the past two decades, mental health research has advanced markedly. But most mental health...
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Novel approach brings African scientists closer to a malaria vaccine
Scientists analysing data at the South-South Malaria Research Partnership project laboratory in Kenya. Flora Mutere-OkukuMalaria is still a major problem in Africa. There are over 200 million clinical...
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It's time to go back to basics in the fight against childhood pneumonia
X-ray of the lungs in a 5-year-old child who has pneumonia. ShutterstockPneumonia is a respiratory infection that affects the lungs. The viruses and bacteria that cause the disease are spread through...
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Why, even with more access to toilets, women in a Kenyan slum avoid them
New toilet blocks in Mathare Valley informal settlement in Nairobi.Samantha WinterAbout 2.3 billion people around the world lack access to basic toilets. This leads to poor sanitation and about 280,000...
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Fight against malaria needs combination of innovative science and communities
Bed nets treated with insecticide have been effective in fighting malaria in Africa.ShutterstockCurrent strategies to prevent malaria using bed nets and insecticides protect millions of people from...
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Lifestyle diseases could scupper Africa's rising life expectancy
The life expectancy improvements in sub-Saharan Africa vary between men and women.ShutterstockPeople in sub-Saharan Africa are now living longer than ever before. A child born in the region today is...
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Ghana's newspapers do a fairly good job reporting mental health issues
Ghana's newspapers are largely doing a good job when it comes to mental health reporting.Francisco Anzola/Flickr, CC BY-NDIf you want to know how a country views mental illness, take a look at the way...
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Self-testing: a potentially powerful tool for fighting HIV
The theme for World Aids Day is "know your status". EPAIn recent years, more emphasis has been placed on testing for HIV. The idea behind this drive is that if people know their status, they’ll be able...
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Liver transplant from HIV+ living donor to negative recipient: the unanswered...
More than a year after a groundbreaking liver transplant doctors still can't say if the recipient is HIV-positive or not.ShutterstockA lifesaving partial liver transplant from an HIV-infected mother to...
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Babies born to mums with HIV face higher risks even though they're HIV negative
The largest number of HIV-exposed but uninfected children are in South Africa.ShutterstockOne of the most remarkable public health successes of the last decade in southern Africa has been the reduction...
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Overcoming the real -- and perceived -- barriers to HIV testing
The WHO recommends testing for HIV every 6 to 12 months.ShutterstockThere was a time when HIV was untreatable, heavily stigmatised, and the benefits of testing weren’t as clear as they are now. But...
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Kenya's Marie Stopes ban may drive more women to unsafe abortions
Restrictive laws mean that women resort to unsafe meansjbdodane/FlickrThe Kenyan Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board has stopped the NGO Marie Stopes International from performing abortions in...
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Here's how much kids need to move, play and sleep in their early years
It's important for kids to move and play.Monkey Business Images/ShutterstockMost of us would agree that we want to encourage children to be physically active, get enough sleep, and keep their screen...
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What puts children in Ethiopia more at risk of being injured
The leading causes of child injury in Ethiopia are road traffic crashes, burns, and drownings.Ikpro/ShutterstockChildren in poorer countries are far more at risk of death and disability from injuries...
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To achieve universal healthcare, Kenya must invest more in its nurses
At about 21 million strong, nurses make up half of the world’s health workforce. SIM USA/ShutterstockNurses in Kenya are threatening to strike, protesting that the government had failed to increase...
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Ebola in the DRC: expert sets out critical lessons learnt in Liberia
Since 2014 the Ebola outbreak in Liberia killed over 4,800 people.UNMEER/FlickrEbola in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) has now spread to urban areas. The Conversation Africa’s Moina Spooner spoke...
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Unpacking pain: what causes it and why it's hard to measure
There’s a significant variation in pain sensitivity and tolerance.ShutterstockPain is difficult to measure. Unlike using a thermometer to measure body temperature, a blood test to measure blood...
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Why Ebola is proving hard to beat in the DRC
Ebola is a dreadful disease and is one of the deadliest infections known to medical science.ShutterstockNearly this time exactly two years ago I wrote about the latest positive results showing – for...
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