africa-related stories

Protect yourself from cardiovascular disease by walking lots

by Martha Edwards Aug 29th 2008 3:06PM

Healthy Places, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness

Over at Science Daily, they've been talking about a group of nomadic cattle farmers in Africa called the Masai. What's so interesting about them? They eat a diet high in fats, and yet their rates of cardiovascular disease are way down, they have low average body weights and their blood lipid profiles are generally healthy. What's their secret? Walking.

We're not talking about mega-fast speed walking here -- just some low-level strolling ... and lots of it. In fact, the Masai are believed to walk about 20 km a day -- that's about 12.5 km.

OK, so walking that much every day isn't an option for many of us, but getting in our 10,000 steps a day and eating a balanced meal are things we can -- and should -- do to keep our chances of cardiovascular disease down.

(via Mark's Daily Apple)

Source

Comments (1)

Many still lack HIV treatment

by Maggie Vink Jun 2nd 2008 12:30PM

Celebs & Entertainment

Email More

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) exists. It's designed to help those living with HIV. Yet a recent report revealed that only 31% of HIV positive people in low to middle income countries are receiving the necessary treatment.

Efforts by organizations such has the World Health Organization, UN Aids, and UNICEF have made a dent in the problem. In fact, an extra 950,000 people received treatment last year. But the agencies' goal was to have three million on ART by the end of 2005; that number has still not been reached.

The lacking distribution of ART is largely because of funding, but other factors create barriers as well. The poor health care systems in underdeveloped countries and untrained staffing also inhibit progress. In addition, up to 20% of people in highly infected countries are unaware that they carry the virus.

There is something you can do to help. Have you gone RED yet? Simply purchase services and products that are labeled (Product) RED and a portion of the proceeds will be put toward HIV medication distribution and other AIDS-related charities.

(Product) RED(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Source

Comments (0)

African government forced to choose which diseases it can afford to treat

by Chris Sparling Jan 15th 2008 8:56PM

HealthWatch, Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment

Email More

The African country of Rwanda continues to experience an increase in the number of deaths arising from communicable and non-communicable diseases, with cancer being one of the major killers in the latter category.

While battling such communicable diseases as malaria, tuberculosis, and leprosy, the Rwandan government and citizens have for the past 12 years also struggled against the rising rate of cancer deaths. Doing so with such a scarcity of resources, the government has been able to lower the number of reported communicable disease related deaths, but this has come at the expense of a marked development in the number of non-communicable diseases and associated deaths. Sadly, these statistics are also representative of the continent on the whole.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the continent of Africa saw 530,000 new cases of cancer in 2002 alone. This number is expected to rise to approximately 804,000 new cases by the year 2020. During that same year, 2002, there were a reported 412,000 deaths stemming from cancer related illnesses reported in Africa, a number that may rise to as high as 626,000 by the year 2020.

It's extremely sad to think that one of the major reasons why non-communicable disease in Africa are on the rise because an economic choice had to be made.

Source

Comments (0)

Laura Bush tours Africa to support AIDS/HIV programs

by Rigel Celeste Jul 5th 2007 4:29PM

Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment

Email More

Last week First lady Laura Bush toured through several different nations in Africa in an attempt to draw more attention to the $2.5 million dollar Global Business Coalition and its programs that are helping to fight HIV and AIDS, along with other ailments like malaria. 50% funded by U.S. corporations like Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and the NBA it's just a small part of what the U.S. is doing to help. Congress has allocated as much as $15 billion dollars for fighting diseases abroad, and may as much as double that in upcoming years.

Education and awareness is key, and Americans seem more than willing to help. Laura Bush was quoted as saying "I think all of the programs we'll see that are supported by U.S. taxpayers are a good example of what Americans are really like."

Source

Comments (0)

Curvy models all the rage in Africa

by Lauren Greschner May 11th 2007 9:25AM

Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment

Email More

Throughout much of history the standards of beauty have been determined strictly by economics; namely anything that signals wealth is equated with attractiveness. In the mid-to late-20th century, that ideal changed as more and more workers moved indoors. Having a tan meant that you had enough money to take time off and head outdoors for recreation.

Apparently a similar pattern can currently be illustrated by the types of models getting work with a modeling agency in Ghana. While naturally skinny girls are being sent to work on catwalks in Europe where being thin is a necessity for a successful career, they don't get work at home. The women strutting their stuff there boast some serious curves. In Africa, it's a sad fact that the vast majority of residents suffer from malnutrition and many are literally starving. Having some meat on your bones signifies that you've got enough money to eat well.

So maybe the next time you find yourself feeling envious of a beautiful but bony model (or actress) think about the reasons behind why ultra-thin it is in and decide whether or not it's worth buying into.

Source

Comments (0)

New malaria drug offers new hope in Africa

by Bethany Sanders Mar 6th 2007 2:00PM

Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products

Email More

A new drug is set to bring new hope to families across Africa, hopefully cutting malaria deaths dramatically. Malaria sickens 500 million people each year and takes the lives of 1 million of those, most of them children. But the new drug, developed by drug manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis in conjunction with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, eliminates a few of the hurdles of treating this disease.

The drug, known as ASAQ, is not patented, meaning it can be manufactured by anyone. This decision also makes the drug much more affordable. It's been formulated in different doses for children, to make administration more precise and efficient. The drug, in combination with pesticide treated bed nets, is a major weapon in the war on malaria, one of the top killers in Africa.

More new drugs are on their way, and it's a good thing. Though ASAQ is the lowest priced, most available drug to date, and though it will be offered at cost to areas struggling with malaria, as well as humanitarian organizations, it's cost still puts it out of reach for many.

Source

Comments (0)

Circumcision could save African lives

by Brian White Dec 26th 2006 11:50PM

Healthy Habits, Diet & Weight Loss

Email More

The AIDS epidemic could be severely impacted -- in a positive way -- by the practice of male circumcision according to a new study. The study stated that circumcision has been shown to decrease the chances of contracting HIV -- and it could save billions of dollars in AIDS-hit Africa.

Circumcision has shown that the chances of HIV infection can be cut by as much as 60%. Is circumcision a good AIDS-fighting strategy? "I would say we're making two points -- it's an effective strategy and it's cost effective," said one of the lead researchers on the study.

I would have to agree.

Source

Comments (1)