Category: Blog

Impact of Ebola on health systems in West Africa

It is no surprise that the Ebola outbreak devastated many lives and communities in West Africa, but it’s been over a year since the Ebola outbreak made mainstream media headlines. That must mean the Ebola virus no longer poses a threat to the countries in West Africa, right? According to an article recently published in […]

Nigeria and its Unprecedented Food Crisis

Currently, Nigeria’s northern Borno State- the state that has been the most affected by Nigeria’s insurgency, Boko Haram- is facing an unprecedented food crisis. According to the UN, approximately 420,000 children suffer from severely acute malnutrition- the deadliest form of malnutrition- in the state, and as a result, child mortality rates have reached a devastating […]

Preperation for the next Ebola outbreak

December 2013 to April 2016 marked the largest epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in recent history, causing 28,000 incidences and nearly 11,000 deaths according to an article by The New England Journal of Medicine. Although the recent outbreak has supplied researchers much more insight about the disease, EVD still remains a volatile force in […]

Universal Healthcare: A possibility in Africa?

Global health is certainly a pressing issue and the fact that it is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) is testament to that. There are countless number of people who have dedicated themselves to fighting this challenge, and there are some great projects that are being implemented in the world over. Despite all this […]

Thailand’s Dangerous Sugar Addiction

According to an article from Thailand BusinessNews today, Thai people consume 26 teaspoons or 104 grams of sugar per day. This is 4 times the recommended amount, which is 6 spoonfuls per day. In fact, due to the high consumption of sugar, Thailand now is second place in overweight prevalence in Southeast Asia with Bangkokians […]

Social integration is necessary to reduce health disparities of Roma people in Europe

A traditionally migratory population originating in northern India, the Roma people make up a sizeable minority population in Eastern Europe countries including Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, and Macedonia. The Roma people preserve a strong sense of identity, culture, and language, but integration into their respective countries is an ongoing challenge. They have historically faced, and […]

The Changing Landscape of Infectious Disease

In the last century, we have come a long way in our ability to treat infectious diseases. The twentieth century saw the development of penicillin and other antibiotics, the invention of the polio vaccine, and the development of medications to manage HIV. In the early 2000s, many scientists turned toward seeking cures for non-communicable diseases […]

Mental Health in Refugee Populations

Refugees are up to 4.7 times more likely to develop mental health disorders than native populations in Europe. Moreover, the conditions under which refugees and asylum seekers arrive in the host country – often afflicted by illness and poor mental health – affect the terms and ease with which they pursue incorporation in their host […]

Failure of Antimalarials in Cambodia

With new mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika and Mayaro grabbing headlines, malaria gets little attention in 2016. In the last 15 years new cases have dropped 37% globally and global deaths have dropped by 60%1. Sri Lanka made the news in September as the most recent country to successfully eliminate malaria. But what perhaps is […]