Documentary: "Fire in the Blood"Fire in the Blood tells the story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments aggressively blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for the countries of Africa and the global south in the years after 1996 – causing ten million or more unnecessary deaths – and the improbable group of people who decided to fight back.
Shot on four continents and including contributions from global figures such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu and Joseph Stiglitz, Fire in the Blood is the never-before-told true story of the remarkable coalition which came together to stop 'the Crime of the Century' and save millions of lives in the process. For a review and more information, see this article from Global Policy. |
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Report: US Health Ranks Below 16 Other Wealthy CountriesFrom NPR's Shots: It's no news that the U.S. has lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality than most high-income countries. But a new report says Americans are actually less healthy across their entire life spans than citizens of 16 other wealthy nations. And the gap is steadily widening.
Find out what's causing the disparity - and the surprising major factor that has nothing to do with disease. |
"People with seemingly everything going for them still live shorter lives and have higher disease rates than people in other countries." |
Aging and Loneliness
As people are living longer, many more elderly around the world are living alone. Two recent reports highlight the problems of loneliness and the related problems of dementia.
Britain's Loneliness EpidemicFrom The Guardian: People in Britain are living longer, and increasingly, spending their last years alone.
Many experts now believe we could be facing a loneliness epidemic. The number of people who describe themselves as sometimes lonely has shot up by 20%, while "10% of everyone over 65 is chronically lonely." |
Dutch study finds loneliness, not living alone, can lead to dementia
A recent study from Amsterdam found that participants who reported feeling lonely — regardless of how many friends and family surrounded them — were more likely to experience dementia than those who lived on their own.
This article from Time outlines the study, as well as other health-related issues caused by loneliness. |
How long will we live - and how well?What's the average lifespan for women in France ... or men in Australia?
Look at this interactive world map to find out how long people are living in any part of the world - and how many of those years will be healthy. |
Traditional Medicines of a Costa Rican Tribe Get A Modern Media MakeoverFrom NPR's Shots: When the Terraba tribe in Costa Rica rallied to oppose a hydroelectric dam they feared would destroy their land and their centuries-old culture, the indigenous community took a modern approach.
They linked up with journalism students at Elon University in North Carolina, who built a website describing the tribe's way of life, including how it makes use of medicinal plants. |
Mental Health in Times of Conflict: Civilians and Aid Workers
In times of conflict, both civilians and aid workers are under enormous stress, and often take extraordinary measures just to survive. However, the mental health effects of living under these conditions has seldom been formally studied. This month, we look at two recent studies from Colombia and Uganda that examine the mental health of both civilians and aid workers in conflict situations.
Mental Health Care during Conflict: The Case of Colombia
A recent study examined the mental health of civilians who live in active conflict areas in Colombia. Although there have been previous studies published about people who have experienced armed conflict in the past, there are very few studies that have addressed mental health issues of people who are living in active conflict zones.
This article in Neuroanthropology highlights some surprising findings of the study - including the fact that there are other daily issues that cause worse hardship than the fighting itself. |
Humanitarian aid workers in Uganda show signs of stress, depression, and burnout
From Science Daily: The latest research points to the high risk for mental health problems among staff working in humanitarian organizations in northern Uganda, due in large part to their work environment.
A new study by researchers at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health examined the mental health of 376 Ugandan workers at 21 humanitarian aid agencies and found that a significant number of the staff at these organizations experienced high levels of symptoms for depression (68%), anxiety disorders (53%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (26%), respectively. Read more about the study here. |