Archive for category: Health

Information and stories on health topics.

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MRSA Needs to Be a Global Concern

MRSA
On October 11th, a third player on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team was diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a deadly bacterial infection known as MRSA or staph. According to Buddy Creech, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, many people carry MRSA on their skin. It is easier for football players to contract it because of the skin to skin contact and open wounds endured by tackles and hits. It is also common to contract it in crowded environments, such as hospitals.

Two out of every one hundred people carry MRSA.  The bacteria lives on people’s skin and the inside of their noses.  People who have healthy immune systems can fight off the infection with the use of specific antibiotics given out at hospitals. However, for those with weak immune systems, this infection could lead to boils, toxic shock syndrome, septic problems, heart valve problems and even death.

The most important thing when dealing with this bacteria is to sterilize everything during the treatment process. It is not unusual for people staying in hospitals to contract MRSA if the equipment they are surrounded by were not properly sanitized.

The MRSA outbreak in the NFL is a problem for global health. If it is a problem in the U.S., there is no telling how much a concern it could become in developing countries.  If this outbreak were to occur in a developing country, it is unlikely that they would have the sterilization equipment necessary to prevent it from spreading. The treatment also requires very specific antibiotics that not many countries have quick access to.

MRSA has already begun to grow as a global epidemic. In Asia, the prevalence of MRSA has grown from 17 percent in 1986 to 40 percent in 2000. In Africa, the presence of MRSA has ranged from 5 percent to 45 percent. MRSA has also been found in Europe, Australia and South America.

– Olivia Hadreas

Sources: UT Southwestern, CDC, Medical News Today, ABC News
Photo: ESPN

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Imprisoned for Miscarrying?

Imprisoned for Miscarrying
Last month in El Salvador, a judge sentenced 19 year-old Glenda Xiomara Cruz to prison for 10 years. Her crime? Miscarrying.

In October of 2012, Xiomara, experiencing excruciating abdominal pain and bleeding, sought medical treatment at a public hospital. Unaware that she was even pregnant, as she’d experienced no weight gain and a pregnancy test had come back negative, doctors told her she’d lost a baby. Four days later, the teenager had been reported by the hospital to the police for suspected abortion and charged with aggravated murder. A year later, she’s been sentenced to ten years in prison by a judge who told her “she should have saved her baby’s life.”

Xiomara’s unfortunate fate is the result of El Salvador’s strict abortion law. The law is so strict, in fact, that since 1998 abortions have been completely banned without any exception, even in cases of rape, fetal deformity, or if the mother’s life is at risk.

Twenty-eight year-old Maria Teresa Rivera’s story parallels Xiomara’s and further illustrates the tragic consequences of such a harsh law. Last year, she too sought medical treatment for bleeding and abdominal pain and was reported to authorities by the hospital after suffering a miscarriage. Teresa was sentenced to 40 years in prison for aggravated murder. A textile worker and her family’s main provider, going to jail meant leaving her eight year-old son in extreme poverty.

A study done by the Citizens’ Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion supports the statement that this law overwhelmingly affects those living in poverty. The study found that, since 2000, more than 200 women have been reported to the police on abortion charges — the vast majority of these women were poor, unmarried and with little education. Comparatively, not a single woman has been reported from the richer private healthcare sector — where abortions are believed to be performed regularly.

More than unfairly imprisoning women and tearing apart families, the law also has devastating consequences for women’s health. Bessy Ramirez of San Salvador enunciates one of the numerous harmful effects of the law: “I would be terrified to go a public hospital as there is no benefit of doubt given to young women, we are presumed guilty and jailed.” For poor women, however, public hospitals represent their only medical treatment option.

In addition to deterring women from seeking medical treatment, the law likely also has a role in boosting the occurrences of suicide. Health Ministry figures from 2011 identify suicide as the most common cause of death for 10-19 year-old girls; half of these girls were pregnant. Further, because it is illegal for women to terminate pregnancies even in cases where the mother’s health is threatened, the inability to treat pregnancy complications is the third most common cause of maternal mortality.

Amnesty International’s El Salvador expert Esther Major calls the abortion law “cruel and discriminatory” saying that “women and girls end up in prison for being unwilling, or simply tragically unable, to carry the pregnancy to term. It makes seeking hospital treatment for complications during pregnancy, including a miscarriage, a dangerous lottery.” Unfortunately, as in innumerable other instances, it’s a lottery women in poverty are most likely to lose.

– Kelley Calkins

Sources: BCC, Slate

Photo: Vice

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UN Women and the Fight for Equality

UN Women is an organization that was created in July 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly. The organization’s full name is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women; its mission is to promote gender equality throughout the world and champion women from all walks of life.

Many women in the world face discrimination in the workplace, and receive fewer opportunities when it comes to career and educational advancement. UN Women sees this kind of gender discrimination happening all over the world, and makes it a part of its agenda to ensure that women have basic and equal human rights. Women are often denied access to health care, and even worse, they lack the political voice to change such conditions because of their stark under-representation in governmental decision making.

One of the major issues on the UN Women’s agenda is the end to violence against women. In a 2013 global review, published by the World Health Organization, it was reported that 35 percent of women in the world have experienced some kind of violence from an intimate partner. UN Women also focuses on the different aspects that are associated with violence against women: sex trafficking, child brides, rape, and sexual harassment in the work or education place.

Partnering with government agencies is an effective way that UN Women is able to take action against the various forms of discrimination against women. UN Women channels its efforts on implementing laws that will help protect women against threats like violence. It also advocates for policies that will open up more economic opportunities for women.

The wage gap between men and women is something that UN Women takes very seriously and seeks to bring to a close by implementing policies that argue for fairness in the workplace. A large part of the organization’s mission to empower women comes from its dedication to spread awareness in response to the AIDS epidemic. Women make up 54 percent of all people living in the world with HIV. UN Women has made it a job to spread awareness on the factors connected to the spread of HIV/AIDS. With the help of its partners, and resources UN Women has been able to broadcast the voice of women living with AIDS and it takes steps to help prevent the spread of the disease.

UN Women is gaining momentum and acquiring more support. Actress, Nicole Kidman, showed her support for the organization during an acceptance speech at the Variety Magazine Power of Women Awards event. Kidman encouraged her audience to see the desperate need for women’s equality in the world.

– Chante Owens

Sources: UN Women, Daily Mail

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Yehu Microfinance

Founded in 1998 under the name Yehu Enterprises Support Services (YESS), Yehu has always had a strong focus on low income rural entrepreneurs and women of Kenya. The company’s dedication to providing the aforementioned population with specially targeted products and services allows their customers to improve their economic position.

The most significant trait that sets Yehu apart is their commitment to responsiveness. The company receives feedback from their clients using surveys, focus groups, complaint resolutions, and market research. From these endeavors, employees are able to draw conclusions regarding what their customers want. Yehu believes that “access to responsive and sustainable financial services helps accelerate their clients’ ability to move up the economic ladder and improve their lives.”

The aforementioned dedication to customer satisfaction is clearly portrayed in their products and services. One of the products Yehu offers is known as the Maji ni Uhai (which means “water is life). The Maji ni Uhai allows the customer to choose from water tanks, water connectors, and fresh water wells. It involves “durable water tanks (both underground and storage tanks), piping, water harvesting infrastructure, water pans, and plumbing works.” This product is meant to provide clients with an uninterrupted sustainable supply of clean water for domestic and commercial use.

Among its other services, Yehu offers the following: Business Loans, Elimu Loans (school fees), Mabati Loans (home improvements and clean water harvesting), Emergency Loans (covers finances in case of an emergency or death), Poultry Loans, Meat Goat Loans, Sikukuu Loans (religious unemployment, covers costs of housing and food), and Top Up Loans (an additional amount given to clients with existing business loans to mitigate unforeseen business challenges). In all of these situations, Yehu values flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs.

According to the World Health Organization, there are only two registered medical professionals for every 1,000 patients in Kenya. A recent economic survey showed that only 19 public health officials and 18 doctors are available per 100,000 Kenyans. Those who have health insurance have the option to receive better care at a private health facility and have a much better chance of survival. However, few Kenyans can afford insurance for their families, much less themselves.

Thankfully, Yehu noticed this devastating problem and stepped up to the plate with the introduction of a brand new loan–the Afya Imara (“strong health”) loan. Boasting no HIV/AIDS exclusion, this loan allows Yehu members to purchase a combined in-patient and out-patient family insurance policy for $140 per year. To ensure the loan’s accessibility to the rural population, the company has offered them as low as 2 percent below market rate.

Another unique facet of Yehu’s business is how their credit officers operate. Eighty percent of clients live in the remote coastal villages of Kenya. Credit officers travel on foot or on motorbike in order to meet with clients weekly or bi-weekly. This distance would often be deemed a huge problem in regards to loan disbursement, but Yehu quickly figured out a solution.

All disbursements and deposits are made through “a network of local banks and post office outlets.” This prevents distance from becoming an issue and strongly displays Yehu’s commitment to accessibility and responsiveness.

– Samantha Davis

Sources: KIVA, Yehu
Photo: Joseph Hill

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Cancer Crisis in Iraq

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The war in Iraq is finally over – new leadership is in place and the country has begun to rebuild. But the effects of the Iraq War continue to have a deadly impact. Contamination from depleted uranium used in U.S. munitions has resulted in an increase of cancer and birth complications throughout the region.

Toxic waste, as well as radiation from U.S. bombings, still linger in the war-ravaged nation.  Chris Busby, author of “Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ration in Fallujah, Iraq 2005-2009,” says Iraq’s medical records show “the highest rate of genetic damage in any population ever studied.”

There has been a startlingly rise in premature births, infertility and congenital birth defects. Doctors report children born with tumors, deformities, multiple limbs and underdeveloped nervous systems.  Mothers sometimes do not survive through the delivery process due to unexpected complications.  Most babies born with these extreme abnormalities do not survive. Dr. Alani, who has been studying the effects of radiation in Iraq, reports that 14.7 percent of all babies born in Fallujah have birth defects.  In post-atomic bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the birth defect rate was about 2 percent.

Exposure to lead and mercury during the 1991 bombings and the 2003 invasion have also led to increased cancer rates.  Busby reports that childhood cancer in Fallujah, Iraq is 12 times higher since the heavy bombing started around 2004.  Basra University reports that leukemia in children has increased by 22 percent, and the number of patients with breast cancer has increased 19 percent since the 2004 invasion.  Cancer is now the leading cause of death in southern Iraq, according to a report published by the Basra University Medical College.

So far, the United States has refused to acknowledge the damage caused by its chemical weapons. No compensation or assistance has been provided for Iraq, similar to refusals to clean up Agent Orange after the Vietnam War.

The medical impact of war will not go away any time soon.  When depleted uranium bombs explode, they produce a fine dust containing uranium.  The uranium is absorbed by plants, contaminating the food and water supply. To make matters worse, Iraq’s infamous sandstorms can also  stir up the uranium, making the contaminants airborne. It will be 4,000 years before the depleted uranium will decay to a safe level.

– Stephanie Lamm

Sources: Al Jazeera, Fire Dog Lake
Photo: Inter Press Service

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Surge: Pioneer of Clean Water Around the World

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Surge is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that focuses on providing people with clean and safe drinking water. According to Chicagonow.com, Surge has given around 67,000 people access to clean water in countries such as Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Cambodia.

In addition, Surge focuses on improving people’s health in countries where fatal waterborne diseases such as cholera are common. In order to fund further projects, the organization has decided to host a nationwide event that focuses on collecting funds for the cause.

In addition, Surge provides other ways people can get involved with clean water initiatives. People as young as eight years old can get involved in Surge’s educational awareness program. According to surgeforwater.org, these educational programs reach up to thousands of people each year. Additionally, the “Just for Kids Initiative partners with local organizations in order to educate and empower youth” involved in the program.

In places such as Bangladesh, Surge has provided new water sanitation systems. In the district of Gazipur, more than half of the households were given access to clean water. Today, more than 56,000 households depend on Surge’s aid.

Additionally, the nonprofit has provided Cambodian people with a new water tank to people living in remote villages near the Mekong river. Due to Surge’s efforts more than 1,000 Cambodian children now have access to clean water.

This year, the Water Falls Gala will raise funds for clean water projects in places such as Haiti and the Dominican Republic. According to the official website, the event will be held at the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago’s West Loop.

All the proceeds will work towards building clean water systems in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The projects in these countries will bring clean water to thousands of people.

– Stephanie Olaya

Sources: Surge of Water, Chicago Now

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5 Books about Global Health and Development

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No matter what your political leanings may be, these books cannot help but convince readers of the importance of global development. As you read the anecdotes and arguments presented in these books, remember that only 1 percent of the U.S. budget goes to foreign aid – and change begins with you.

1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

After traveling and mountain-climbing in the Himalayas, Mortenson launched a mission to bring schools and education to children living in remote regions of central Asia. His moving book outlines the importance of local development projects targeted at education, capacity building and sustainability. Through Mortenson’s activism and writing, the Taliban’s hold has been reduced over previously unprotected and disempowered communities.

2. Partner to the Poor by Dr. Paul Farmer

World-renowned doctor, anthropologist and humanitarian Paul Farmer defines the term “structural violence” and explains its connection to global health in this gripping book. Farmer writes about the structural elements of political and social life that systematically undermine access to healthcare in rural Haitian, Rwandan and Peruvian communities. His arguments on political instability’s effect on population compel readers to see the vast impact of foreign policy and aid.

3. The Practice of International Health by Ananya Roy and Daniel Perlman

This book offers a series of personal accounts from physicians and humanitarians providing healthcare around the world. More so than other anecdotes, these stories provide a detailed picture of the logistical and cultural challenges international development projects face. However, rather than discouraging such projects, “The Practice of International Health” demonstrates how such barriers can be overcome in order to achieve remarkable success.

4. Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Journalists Kristoff and WuDunn cover a lot of ground in this entertaining and heartbreaking collection of stories. Similar to Mortenson’s work, “Half the Sky” emphasizes the importance of grassroots organizations, illuminating the tireless efforts of individuals in India, China, Afghanistan and Ethiopia on the behalf of women. In the book’s epilogue, Kristoff and WuDunn also provide an extensive list of nonprofits doing amazing work around the world, as well as easy steps for getting involved in female empowerment and global development.

5. Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus

Microfinance has both supporters and critics, but after reading this autobiography by the founder of the Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus, readers might find that their opinion has changed. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work in providing small-value loans to women in rural areas in order to promote economic growth among families and villages.

– Shelly Grimaldi

Sources: GoodReads, Banker to the Poor
Photo: Wishes 4 Life

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Hand Washing Can Save Millions of Lives

A mother’s typical question to a child, “did you wash your hands?” may have seemed like a pesky reminder when growing up, but research shows that hand-washing is one of the most important and live-saving habits that can be instilled in a society. Hand-washing with soap has been shown to reduce the incidence of diarrhea by almost one half and of acute respiratory infections by roughly one third.

Since hand-washing is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce deaths of children under five from diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia – possibly by up to 70% -, the global health soap brand Lifebuoy is teaming up with USAID to create a neonatal program designed to raise awareness of the link between newborn survival and hand washing with soap.

The program targets new mothers and birth attendants through antenatal clinics and health workers. The campaign also uses innovative videos to appeal to the mother’s maternal instinct by communicating the message “hand-washing helps your child survive.” Persuasive advocates such as the Indian actress Kajol also support the cause and help generate awareness of the importance of hand-washing, especially after having used the toilet or before preparing food.

Another initiative which aims to modify everyday behavior is the Global Scaling Up Hand-washing Project, supported by the World Bank in countries such as Peru, Senegal, Tanzania, and Vietnam. These interventions found that while will and motivation to change habits might be present, hand-washing is also dependent on the ease of access to both water and soap. In this way, the program has aimed to make changes in the way soap and water are accessed in households.

The initiative has also found that in countries such as Senegal, men can also play a critical part in the behavior-changing process. Since they are seen as the role-models or leaders of their households, future interventions will also incorporate campaigns that include or are aimed at men.

– Nayomi Chibana
Feature Writer 

Sources: USAID, World Bank
Photo: Old Picture of the Day

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Malaria Deaths are Decreasing in Africa

Malaria Decline Africa Mosquito Bed Nets
Africa faces the world’s most dramatic public health crisis. Although polio is close to eradication, and more than half of African children have received the measles immunization, key public health issues continue throughout Africa.

Malaria is preventable and curable, yet it kills about 655,000 people worldwide every year. Malaria is transmitted through mosquitos infected with parasites, and it can also be passed to a growing fetus from an infected mother. Malaria causes fever, chills, muscle pain, and if not treated can result in death.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 91 percent of malaria-caused deaths occur in Africa. Moreover, 86 percent of malaria deaths globally are children. Malaria is a disease of poverty. The most vulnerable are children under five and pregnant women living in rural areas.

Malaria deaths decreased by 25 percent globally from 2000 to 2010. How was this achieved?

 

1. World Health Organization (WHO)

According to the WHO, 33 African countries have adopted artemisinin-based combination therapy as malaria treatment, which is the most effective antimalarial medicine. Other treatments include insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying, and intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy. In the WHO African region, malaria cases decreased by 50 percent between 2000 and 2008 due to these measures.

 

2. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

From 2000 to 2012, UNICEF provided over 120 million Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITNs). During this time, children sleeping under ITNs increased from 2 percent to 39 percent. As malaria-infected mosquitos bite at night, the regular use of ITNs can reduce child mortality by 20 percent.

 

3. The Global Fund

Through funding from the Global Fund, 310 million mosquito nets and 181 million cutting-edge antimalarial treatments have been distributed.

 

4.  The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI)

PMI is led by USAID under a U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator and jointly implemented with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). PMI is one of the largest donors for malaria. Its goal is to half malaria for 70 percent of the at risk sub-Saharan population. PMI has chosen 19 focus countries. In Tanzania, PMI efforts, through the malaria control scale-up, have reduced all-cause child mortality (ACCM) by 10 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Through all these efforts over a million lives have been saved. Still a child dies every minute from malaria.

Widespread malaria is an obstacle to the development and growth of affected African countries and communities. For every $1 invested in malaria commodities, a $40 return can be expected in the form of productivity from healthier, better educated more productive working communities.

 – Caressa Kruth

Sources: WHO, CDC About, WebMD, UNICEF, Forbes John Lechleiter, Forbes, CDC Resources
Photo: 

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Centipede Venom: The New Morphine

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According to Medicaldaily.com, centipedes are now known to treat medical pain more effectively than morphine. Although the number of opioid painkillers has increased during recent decades, doctors have been trying to find a less complicated alternative to treat pain.

Recently, doctors have discovered that centipedes might provide that alternative. Researchers have found that some components of centipedes’ venom can act as a potent painkiller. Although it is not classified as an opiate, the centipede’s venom is just as potent as morphine but has no side effects.

The morphine used in this type of alternative medicine comes from the Chinese redheaded centipede. The Chinese redheaded centipede “paralyzes its prey by injecting venom that blocks a voltage-gated sodium channel protein.” These proteins are responsible for having an imperative role in pain transmission. The venom thus blocks pain from the body.

During the testing process, researchers injected mice with massive amounts of the centipede’s venom. After the mice were infected with the venom, they were subjected to a series of tests. The tests touched upon different areas such as thermal, chemical, and acid testing.

The results showed that the venom was most similar during the thermal and acid testing, it acted better than morphine during chemical tests. In addition, the mice showed no side effects.

As a result, the venom is undergoing a series of trials with humans. These subjects either suffer from chronic ailments or pain. According to Medicaldaily.com venom immunotherapy was better at treating a person allergic to stings than EpiPens.

Other research has shown that this type of venom can help block the proteins responsible for inflammation, thus reducing pain for sufferers of arthritis. Conclusively, centipede venom can soon be considered an alternative to morphine or other opiates.

– Stephanie Olaya

Sources: Medical Daily, Medical News Today
Photo: Open Cage