Child Soldiers

Childhood innocence has been a common phrase used to describe a pure and true subject. However, in some developing countries where the political climate is unstable, children (under the age of 18) are stripped of their rights to innocence when forced into an armed faction, political group, or any other form of a combat organization regardless of whether there is a current ongoing armed conflict or not. It is important to note that the definition of child soldier applies to any position the child may hold (including cooks, messengers, porters, and spies) despite being directly involved in hostilities. The initiation process is brutal and inhumane; where children are forced to perform vile and violent acts against both their targets and upon one another.      

MERS Outbreak

The MERS coronavirus (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome) has been quickly spreading throughout the Middle East. This is a big problem because the disease is spreading around the time of Ramadan, when millions of Muslim pilgrims journey to Mecca. Since it is a contagious disease, large crowds will only increase the spread of disease. The WHO has set up an emergency committee regarding MERS to address the state of travel for pilgrims during Ramadan. They have determined that along with the cases that have turned fatal, there are also other cases that have been undetected. And as of right now, this is what the WHO is most concerned with.

The LifeStraw® Water Filtration System

The LifeStraw® Water Filtration System

Over 70% of Earth’s surface is covered in water, and although this seems like a lot, only 2.5% is considered freshwater. That means that <1% of the world's freshwater (~0.007% of all water on earth) is accessible for direct human uses. Earth’s freshwater supply is decreasing rapidly due to climate change. Many aquifers have been over-pumped and are not recharging as rapidly as in the past. Although the total fresh water supply has not been depleted, much has become polluted, salted, unsuitable or otherwise unavailable for drinking, and/or use in industry and agriculture. Low income nations are especially vulnerable to water scarcity; an estimated 884 million people in the world, 37% of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa, still use unimproved sources of drinking water.

Effects of Hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, and Tuberculosis on Motherhood and Breastfeeding

Infectious diseases pose a serious health risk for pregnant women and their infants because they are easily transmitted from the mother to the child. This process of passing the virus from mother to baby is called mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) or perinatal transmission.  Women infected with a communicable disease must take certain precautions to prevent transmitting it their child.  Some women do not experience symptoms of being infected so it vital that the mother is tested for a wide range of communicable diseases as part of her prenatal care—the sooner the mother is diagnosed and treated, the higher the chance the fetus will not become infected. 
Each disease requires unique preventative measures but treatment include vaccination for the mother as well as the child.  Some MTCT communicable diseases are so prevalent that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends as part of routine childhood immunizations, such as hepatitis B.

Why Do People Oppose Vaccinations?

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Vaccines have been celebrated for years as public health's most cost-effective intervention. With little investment, vaccines can be administered to protect against a wide variety of communicable disease, many of which are still raging problems, globally. The more people get vaccinated, the higher the herd immunity, and the safer the community is. To health officials, vaccines are a no-brainer. Yet there is a growing trend of concerned parents fighting back. What's the deal?

The Zapatistas' Autonomous Zapatista Health System: World Leaders in Global Health Look at Change from Below

It is known that poor and marginalized people all over the world suffer the most in terms of health inequities. Communities around the world are addressing this in different ways. In the Mexican state of Chiapas a group of indigenous people have taken matters into their own hands. The Zapatistas are most known for taking up arms against the Mexican government in 1994 but have since gotten recognition for their efforts in promoting health, education, and human rights in communities around the state.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

What are GMOs? 

All organisms have some sort of impurities or flaws that could be improved to make the organism more useful or stronger.  Genetically modified organisms are organisms that have had their DNA genetic makeup modified.  According to the World Health Organization genetically modified organisms are also known as “modern biotechnology” or “gene technology”. 

Effects of DDT

DDT Spray

Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, better known as DDT, was developed in the 1940s primarily to combat insect-borne diseases that were becoming rampant throughout many countries. Malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and the West Nile virus are just a few example of the types of diseases that can be spread by these infectious insects, mainly the mosquito. Because of DDT’s chemical composition it became a successful weapon in combating these prevalent diseases by practically eradicating most species of the mosquito. However DDT’s purpose began to shift towards that of an agricultural insecticide with over usage deteriorating farmland ecosystems. Subsequently, it was banned from the United States and eventually worldwide. Now the question to consider is whether DDT should again be implemented to combat the diseases in which current efforts have proved insufficient before they reach epidemic proportions.

Toxic Food Environment: How Our Surroundings Influence What We Eat

This article from the Harvard School of Public Health highlights the environmental conditions that impact obesity and provides links that facilitate a deeper understanding of this topic.

Enjoy!