News

Uganda justifies brain drain

Judgment has been postponed indefinitely as a battle wages over the ‘export’ of health workers. A court ruling on the controversial “export” of nearly 300 Ugandan doctors to the Caribbean was postponed as the Ugandan government defended the move, bizarrely

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Number of Ebola victims understated

The end of the outbreak is in sight, but the high human and economic costs are yet to be tallied. Regional and world leaders have called on the international community to scale up their efforts to rebuild the nations devastated

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The twisted logic of biomorality

The negative effects of an obsessive pursuit of wellness reduces food to a form of medication. The Wellness Syndrome is a new book, published this year, that explores the growing trend of “wellness”: an increasingly obsessive pursuit of happiness. The

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No jobs but a real need for good medics

Uganda’s biggest public health threat is the drain of its medical brains to Trinidad and Tobago. Since his childhood days in northern Uganda, Geoffrey Orijabo wanted to be a nurse “because of the ignorance”. “I saw children and women dying

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Are carb cravings a red herring or is sugar addiction a thing?

Some experts say carbohydrates should be treated like drugs or alcohol, but the science isn’t clear-cut. When Kerry Hammerton was offered a chocolate chip muffin at a yoga function, her peers were astonished by her response. “I don’t eat sugar,”

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Vaginal gel won’t protect women against HIV

The search for an anti-HIV microbicide continues, after a new trial has refuted the results of a previous study that found one to be effective. A vaginal gel thought to reduce women’s chances of contracting HIV during sex has proven

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Excessive insulin is driving obesity, diabetes

Insulin resistance is caused by the body adjusting to the presence of too much insulin over extended periods and is one of the causes of obesity. “We are eating way too much, and far too often,” according to Dr Jason

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Drug users run the risk of harmful HIV transmissions

More harm reduction policies and programmes will help reduce dangers of practices such as sharing dirty needles and ‘flash blooding’. An increase in the use of injected drugs, such as heroin, is putting drug users at risk of contracting HIV

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New study holds hope for obese women to fall pregnant

Researchers have identified some of the reasons obese women struggle to conceive, and warn that their babies are likely to become overweight. Obese women can improve their odds of conceiving with the help of pharmaceuticals, a new study from the

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New vaccine set to greatly reduce prevalence of shingles

Most adults are at risk of contracting the painful viral infection – but until now only a few specialized medicines have been available to treat it. Nine out of ten adults are at risk of developing shingles, a viral infection

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