In preparation for the upcoming International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP), members of the faith community are reaffirming their commitment to build the capacities of faith-based organizations in family planning advocacy. The ICFP Faith Subcommittee will hold a pre-conference on November 13 that will unpack tools and strategies that can be used to engage religious leaders, youth and…
The United States government recognizes that a healthy population is the foundation for a country’s social and economic development. Almost 20 years ago on January 28, 2003, while announcing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), then U.S. President George W. Bush said, “We must remember our calling, as a blessed country, to…
A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has discovered that edoxudine, an anti-herpes molecule discovered in the 60s, weakens the protective surface of Klebsiella bacteria and makes them easier to eliminate for immune cells. These results can be read in the journal PLOS ONE. Klebsiella pneumoniae causes many respiratory, intestinal and urinary tract infections.…
Each year, an estimated 1 million people, die from lead poisoning. Millions more, many of them children, are exposed to low levels of lead causing lifelong health problems, including anaemia, hypertension, immunotoxicity and toxicity to the reproductive organs. The neurological and behavioural effects of lead could be irreversible. “Lead exposure is especially dangerous to…
A new web app has been launched to make it super easy for journalists in Kenya and Uganda to find researchers for science stories. The Script Connect app is part of the Script science communication programme by SciDev.Net, funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation. It works like a ‘speed-dating’ app, linking journalists to scientists in…
To combat these deadly menaces, a professor in Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is researching a state of relaxation that is integral to both insects and humans alike. Clément Vinauger, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry, received a two-year $430,000 R21 grant from the National Institutes of Health to research the sleep habits…
Current pressures due to poor funding, staff shortages, and inadequate preparation mean that health systems around the world are unfit to cope with another pandemic, an international survey to assess the effects of COVID-19 on health and care workers has revealed. 49 percent of healthcare professionals surveyed in countries including the UK, US, Saudi Arabia,…
Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have developed a ground-breaking plastic film that can kill viruses that land on its surface with room light. The self-sterilising film is the first of its kind – it is low cost to produce, can be readily scaled and could be used for disposable aprons, tablecloths, and curtains in hospitals.…
The UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has today announced €1.2 million as a first grant to a digital payments company, MFS Africa, to promote the use of mobile remittances in marginal rural areas in five African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, The Gambia and Uganda. The two-year grant is funded by the European Union through…
New global and country-level estimates suggest that routinely wearing helmets and seat-belts, obeying speed limits and avoiding drunk-driving could save between 347,000 and 540,000 lives worldwide every year. In addition, improving post-crash emergency response, trauma care, and clinical interventions to control haemorrhage and early resuscitation could save up to 200,000 lives a year in low-…
