The beginning of the school year is both anticipated and bemoaned by students around the world, but most students will never have to worry about being let in the front door. This is not the case for HIV-positive children in some communities, where stigmatization and fear can keep them from going to school. HIV stigmatization is widespread, especially among people who do not understand how the virus is transmitted. Fear…
Childhood malnutrition: Another reason to advocate for reducing tobacco use
It is now common knowledge that smoking is a major contributor to poor health, particularly with respect to respiratory and cardiovascular health. Now there is also evidence that smoking affects health in another, more subtle way — by contributing to childhood malnutrition. In a study published in the October 2009 issue of Economic Development and Cultural Change, two researchers from Tufts University, Steven Block of the Fletcher School of International…
Continue reading “Childhood malnutrition: Another reason to advocate for reducing tobacco use”
Eradicating malaria: Don’t dismiss DDT
[Editor’s note: This is a guest post written by Danielle Brown.] “There is more money put into baldness drugs than into malaria,” said Bill Gates at the annual Technology, Entertainment, Design conference. To underscore his point Gates released a jar full of mosquitoes into the crowd, stating, “there is no reason that only poor people should have this experience [malaria].” He quickly assured the audience that those particular mosquitoes were…
Promoting infant male circumcision to reduce transmission of HIV: A flawed policy for the US
[Editor’s note: This is a guest post written by Sarah Bundick.] On August 23, the New York Times reported that the CDC may recommend infant male circumcision as an HIV-prevention strategy. This article was followed by an editorial in the Boston Globe on August 26. The editorial states that infant male circumcision “makes sense [as a tactic] against a virus that infects more than 50,000 Americans each year” and that…
Innovative low-tech health systems save women’s lives
A number of non-traditional practices are arising in poor and developing communities to fight high maternal mortality rates. One example that has taken hold in many African countries is the use of non-physician clinicians (NPCs) – health care providers who are not licensed physicians but who still provide substantial medical care. The retention rate of these types of practitioners tends to be higher, and the cost of training and deployment…
Continue reading “Innovative low-tech health systems save women’s lives”