Health

New guidelines to regulate mushrooming free medical camps Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | As early as 9am on Feb.09, people had started gathering at Centenary Park. It was yet another ‘free medical camp’. Organized by the Mulago hospital based College of Health Sciences, people would at this camp get free …

Paris, France | AFP | The risk of dying prematurely more than doubles for single fathers compared to single mothers or paired-up dads, according to a study of Canadian families published Thursday. “Our research highlights that single fathers have higher mortality, and demonstrates the need for public health policies to …

Paris, France | AFP | People who wolf down their food could lose weight simply by chewing longer and pausing between bites, study results suggested Tuesday. Research involving nearly 60,000 Japanese people showed a link between eating slower or faster, and losing or gaining weight. “Changes in eating speed can affect …

Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | Agnes Atiang was in line for a breast operation at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala when we spoke. Her story should have been one of double tragedy. Instead, it was one of hope. An X-ray at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital had revealed that the …

Male circumcision: Could it lead to a bad sex life? Kampala, Uganda | NIELS EBDRUP | Circumcised men have more difficulties reaching orgasm, and their female partners experience more vaginal pains and an inferior sex life, a new study shows. If a man is circumcised, he faces an increased risk of …

Miami, United States | AFP | In a bid to cut the population of disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitos, health officials in Miami are releasing millions of their brethren treated with a bacteria that makes them sterile. “Treat them carefully! You don’t want to hurt them,” said South Miami mayor Philip Stoddard …

Paris, France | AFP | Virtual reality-based therapy combined with standard treatment reduced paranoia and anxiety in people with psychotic disorders, scientists reported Friday. In clinical trials involving 116 patients in the Netherlands, virtual reality exercises led to less fraught social interactions, a team wrote in The Lancet Psychiatry. More …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The South African government will compensate the families of more than 100 mentally-ill patients who died from neglect after they were moved from hospital and placed into unlicenced health facilities. At least 144 psychiatric patients died from hunger and lack of care within months …

Paris, France | AFP | A common amino acid produced in the human body or absorbed from food can be suppressed to stop breast cancer spread in mice, researchers reported Wednesday. They hope the finding may yield a method to prevent cancer cells spreading from their origins in a woman’s …

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | The United Nations launched an appeal Wednesday for $17 million to rebuild essential health facilities for children in Iraq after a devastating three-year battle to expel the Islamic State group. The UN children’s fund, UNICEF, said next week’s reconstruction conference for Iraq to be staged …