the Public health community of South Africa

Deadly lead recycling industry cripples Senegal's city neighbourhood

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:55:00 +0200

In the Dakar suburb of Thiaroye/Mer earlier this year 22 children died from lead poisoning over a three month period and in June a further 31 children were found to have potentially lethal levels of lead in their blood. Read full story... | Send to a friend

Donated blood safer than ever

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:41:00 +0200

Not a single case of transmission of HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C by blood transfusion has been detected since South African National Blood Service (SANBS) introduced the most sensitive test in October 2005 to test every unit of donated blood. Read full story... | Send to a friend

BENIN: Sunshine + plastic bottle = clean water

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:42:00 +0200

The government of Benin aims to dramatically increase the percentage of Beninese who can access drinking water by 2015 and one organisation, the Regional Centre for Water and Sanitation (CREPA) hopes to close the gap with a simple solution requiring little more than sunshine and a plastic bottle. Read full story... | Send to a friend

Britons increasingly failing to see gaining weight as cause for concern

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:30:00 +0200

Public health measures to persuade people to watch their weight seem to falling on deaf ears in the UK. Read full story... | Send to a friend

Community-directed interventions improve primary health care

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:08:00 +0200

A recently-published, three-year, multi-country study demonstrates how community delivery of underutilized health interventions in an integrated manner can dramatically improve access to vital drugs and preventive treatments, particularly for malaria, in remote African communities. Read full story... | Send to a friend

Smoking bans reduce heart attack admissions

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:11:00 +0200

On the anniversary of Britain's smoking ban, admissions to hospital for heart attack is down. Read full story... | Send to a friend

Safe drinking water and better sanitation the key to lowering disease burden

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:11:00 +0200

Access to safe drinking water and better sanitation could lower disease burden by 9%, according to a WHO report. Read full story... | Send to a friend

LESOTHO: Children dial 800 22 345 for help

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:09:00 +0200

In the two months since the government of Lesotho launched the county's first national child helpline, almost 500 orphans and vulnerable children have picked up the phone to demand assistance and an ear. Read full story... | Send to a friend

Killer kickbacks - corruption in water sector affects millions

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:31:00 +0200

Corruption is one of the main causes of a global crisis that deprives more than a billion people of access to safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion of access to sanitation systems, according to a new report by Transparency International. Read full story... | Send to a friend

Ethiopia: Rising food prices hit HIV-positive people

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:31:00 +0200

Whenever Bellatu Bakane goes to her local market in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, she can't help but feel frustrated. Read full story... | Send to a friend