The Gambia has announced it will ban female genital mutilation (FGM) after the Guardian launched a global campaign to end the practice. The president, Yahya Jammeh, said last night that the controversial surgical intervention would be outlawed. He said the ban would come into effect immediately, though it was not clear when the government would…
Category: Health
Hospitals in Malawi are expecting pregnant women to supply their own delivery kits – including unsterilised plastic sheets used during childbirth – amid a growing public health crisis aggravated by a budget squeeze. An amaBhungane investigation revealed the widespread use of private delivery kits, which are seen as exposing mothers and newborns to postnatal infection….
Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, according to a new policy statement from the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP). The statement, published in the online journal Pediatrics on Monday, urged paediatricians and politicians to collaborate to protect children from climate-related threats. Such threats include natural disasters, heat stress, lower air quality,…
Bacon, ham and sausages rank alongside cigarettes as a major cause of cancer, the World Health Organisation has said, placing cured and processed meats in the same category as asbestos, alcohol, arsenic and tobacco. The report from the WHO’s cancer arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), said there is enough evidence to…
Oprah Winfrey is such a fan of Weight Watchers that she has just bought 10% of the company. “I believe in the programme so much I decided to invest in the company and partner in its evolution,” the talkshow host turned billionaire businesswoman said on Monday as she announced the deal, which includes personal endorsements…
Abuse is rife across all levels of South African society. Therapist Sue Hickey and Philippa Sklaar, a survivor of abusive relationships, recently published a book – When Loving Him Hurts – in which the stories of middle- and upper-class South African women who are emotionally abused by their partners are told. This is an edited…
Donations for victims of sexual abuse in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, have been pouring in after the Mail & Guardian’s article on women and child rape last week. The story, “Diepsloot: Where men think it’s their right to rape”, highlighted the work of the Green Door, a Diepsloot-based organisation counselling women and children and providing…
Take a guess at what the most common cancer in South Africa is — breast cancer, maybe? Nope, sorry. Breast cancer gets a lot of publicity (especially round about now) but actually it’s skin cancer. I came across some statistics published by the Cancer Association of South Africa in 2010 (I can’t find more recent…
One in 30 women in sub-Saharan Africa will develop cervical cancer, despite it being the most preventable form of female cancer in the world, according to World Health Organisation statistics. Cervical cancer, which the Medical Research Council says is the most common cancer among South African women, is caused by the sexually-transmitted human papilloma virus…
A long flight is a good opportunity to catch up on some chick flicks that get poor support in my predominantly male house. I left on the long haul to Europe in good nick — checked-up, checked-out and ready to fly. So I thought. I discovered that the trouble with travel is the current selection…
Children who will be born into poverty need to be enrolled in child support programmes while they are still in the womb, a representative from a Ugandan child support programme told the Psychosocial Support Forum in Zimbabwe on Tuesday. “Lessons learnt from previous projects revealed a need to enrol children into this project right from…
Lesley and John Brown had been trying to conceive for nine years. The failures took their toll: Lesley became depressed, and at one point suggested that John find a “normal woman”. Eventually, she was referred to Patrick Steptoe, a gynaecologist at Oldham General Hospital in Greater Manchester, Britain. He offered Lesley an experimental treatment he…
“Reaching the desired area, The blade hesitates, quivering, Then slicing slowly, meticulously Into the soft, awaiting flesh. The wound gapes, Smiling at how it has relaxed the skin.” This was the poem I wrote when I was your age, going through something like what you are going through now. I know it feels like nobody…
There’s a factor in economics — when assessing the economic impact of an intervention or event — called the multiplier. The concept is a pretty straightforward one, even if there are a thousand different ways to quantify it in different contexts: The effect of a cash injection or rates change, for example, is not only…
“Your skin is ageing, every second counts!” Adverts like these are causing panic, mostly among women who feel they are losing the battle against the laws of the universe. Fortunately, cosmetic companies around the world are entering the realms of science on their behalf. Not only have they discovered how to defy gravity, but they…