Soapy plants can improve hand hygiene: southern Africa has plenty
ShutterstockGood hygiene practices such as disinfecting surfaces and regularly washing hands with soap and running water are important in preventing all infections.The cost of commercial sanitisers and...
View ArticleLessons from the DRC’s 10th Ebola epidemic: the people may know best
The large public health apparatus assembled to fight Ebola created more problems. Alexis Huguet/AFP via Getty ImagesThe tenth Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was declared...
View ArticleUltra-processed foods: global analysis shows they aren't well sign-posted
Getty imagesStraightforward guidance about ultra-processed foods is rare in national dietary guidelines. Only seven countries refer to “ultra-processed foods” explicitly. They are Belgium, Brazil,...
View ArticleWhat South Africa has learnt about COVID and what the next steps could be
Vaccination rates in South Africa are sub-optimal. Emmanuel Croset/AFP via Getty ImagesAfter around two years of hyper vigilance and restrictions, pandemic fatigue is beginning to set in. Globally,...
View ArticleCOVID-19 self-testing: it's time developing countries took the leap
COVID self-testing is widespread in developed countries. George Frey/Getty ImagesLaboratory testing plays a critical role for diagnosis of COVID-19. It’s the cornerstone of the global public health...
View ArticleWhy some South Africans who are willing to be vaccinated still haven't had...
There are large inequalities between those who have been vaccinated and those who have not.Luca Sola/AFP via Getty ImagesSouth Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa set a target to get 70% of the...
View ArticleHow trying to copy a COVID vaccine changes the outlook for African countries
Afrigen, a biotechnology company based in Cape Town, South Africa, is developing Africa's first proprietary COVID-19 vaccine. Kristin Palitza/picture alliance via Getty ImagesThe World Health...
View ArticleHow young Nigerians' distrust of political leaders fuels COVID misinformation
Social media is popular among young Nigerians. Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty ImagesEver since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global public health emergency in January 2020, there’s...
View ArticleSouth African doctors call for law reform, fearing a harsh penalty if...
ShutterstockIn November 2021 the South African Medico-Legal Association joined other with leading healthcare organisations in South Africa in urging the government to review the culpable homicide law...
View ArticleWords about mental health need to align with people's understanding of well...
Flourishing as a concept involves what it means to live a good life. Sunshine Seeds/ShutterstockIn South Africa, English is only the sixth most common language spoken within households. But it’s...
View ArticleGod and illness: for some South Africans, there's more to healing than medicine
Alexander Joe/AFP via Getty ImagesFor many people, familiarity breeds trust. Hospitals and clinics can be places of mistrust or uncertainty, in part because they are outside people’s daily lives....
View ArticleLike COVID, TB is a pandemic and must be treated as an emergency
Operating in crisis mode for COVID-19, TB, or any other health catastrophe is difficult to sustain.Seyllou/AFP via Getty ImagesIn 1993, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared tuberculosis (TB) a...
View ArticleLeçons tirées de la 10ème épidémie de la maladie à virus Ebola en RDC: la...
GettyImagesAlexis Huguet/AFP via Getty ImagesLe 1er août 2018, la 10e épidémie de la Maladie à Virus Ebola (MVE) a été déclarée en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) dans la Province du Nord-Kivu....
View ArticleNew COVID data: South Africa has arrived at the recovery stage of the pandemic
People wait to be vaccinated against COVID-19.Luca Sola/AFP via Getty ImagesA recently published South African study set out to determine sero-positivity against SARS-CoV-2 before the fourth wave of...
View ArticleYoung Africans, sexual health and social media: which messages work, which don't
Getty imagesThe increasing use of social media, particularly in African countries, offers several opportunities to promote messages about sexual health behaviours among young adults on the continent....
View ArticleTracking symptoms of respiratory diseases online can give a picture of...
Reporting disease symptoms via online platforms has worked successfully around the world. ShutterstockRespiratory diseases are highly infectious and cause a significant health burden. Disease...
View ArticleSome malaria parasites are evading detection tests, causing an urgent threat...
Diagnostic is a crucial step in the fight against malaria.ShutterstockMalaria is an old disease. Yet it continues to have devastating impacts on poor people, especially in Africa. To fight the disease,...
View ArticleOmicron doesn't need its own custom COVID vaccine: here's why
ShutterstockThe Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was discovered in South Africa and emerged in November 2021. Scientists have already learned a lot about Omicron. One of the key questions that...
View ArticleWhy South Africa should introduce mandatory labelling for fast foods
ShutterstockNutrition-related chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases, remain a serious health issue. In the near future, these diseases are likely to become...
View ArticleWins, missteps and lessons: African experts reflect on two years of COVID...
A mural along Haile Selassie avenue in Nairobi, Kenya.Boniface Muthoni/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesOn 11 March 2020, just months after the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was first identified in...
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