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Young (and occasionally less young) researchers, mostly from LMICs, present their views on global health issues.
“Epidemics are like signposts from which the statesman of stature can read that a disturbance has occurred in the development of his nation—that not even careless politics can overlook.” — Rudolf Virchow (1848) More than 75 years after Bhore committee recommendations for a comprehensive health planning and development in India and decade...
What a week this was. In case I wouldn’t have noticed, on Friday 14th the mayor of the privileged town I live in (Antwerp) warned against “the identification of young Muslims, 14-15-16 years old, with a certain frustration – youngsters who now receive those images, unfiltered through social media and with one-sided interpretation”. I didn...
The devastating second wave of COVID-19 has severely overstrained and pushed India’s public health system to the limit, breaking horrifying world records in terms of daily cases, with the country accounting now for nearly half of the total reported cases worldwide. The death toll is immense, and media show heart-rending visuals of people cryi...
On 20 April 2021, one of the authors of this blog, Shehnaz, organised the Sheiham-Sefularo Memorial Lecture on Health Equity on behalf of the Wits School of Public Health. Dr Nobuhle Judy Dlamini, Chancellor of Wits, delivered the keynote address entitled COVID-19 and the social determinants of health inequalities: reflections on ethical leaders...
Today, April 30, 2021, the University of São Paulo – the (virtual) host of the 4th Planetary Health Annual Meeting (PHAM), and the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA) will launch the São Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health. The first of its kind, the São Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health outlines actions necessary to achieve the Great Tra...
Last year, when Labour Day rolled around at the height of summer, I wrote about how we were witnessing one of the most horrific migrations of workers across India, and the draconian, despairing changes that were taking place in labour policies. While that was largely the result of apathetic and hasty policy decisions and political one-upmanship,...
In March 2020, the government enforced a lockdown to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Cape Town, South Africa. However, in this divided city, historically under-resourced areas lack access to basic water and sanitation amenities, secure food sources, and the ability to isolate upon exposure to the virus. In a unique, informal, and rapid response...
Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRD) are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Just to give you an idea: in 2015, 3·2 million people died from one of the key CRDs, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Many of them occur in sub-Saharan African countries and other LMICs, and figures are on the rise. In addition, CRDs are ...
We are writing from the following places: Azania, The traditional lands of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, which includes the Ojibwa, the Odawa, and the Potawatomie, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron peoples, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 17...