The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is still common in 28 African countries. The way of performing the practice, the
age at which the practice takes place and the reasons to perform the practice differ widely. Similarities are often seen within certain
ethnic groups rather than within countries. Last year Andrea Solnes Miltenburg spent three months in the Edna Adan Maternity
and Teaching Hospital (EAMTH) in Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland. There, she investigated the decision making process of
women to continue the practice of FGM.
Why has smallpox been eradicated successfully? What is the reason that eradication of yaws, malaria and yellow fever failed? And what can be learned from previous eradication and elimination programmes?
Rik Viergever, Katrina Perehudoff, Maaike Esselink, Dorota Sienkiewicz and Bindiya Mohabier Panday Download PDF
This Global Medicine’s Neglected Disease is leishmaniasis, also known as Orient boil, kala-azar or sandfly disease. It is a tropical disease, caused by intracellular protozoan parasites transmitted by the sandfly, often resulting in horrible disfigurements or even death.
An estimated 26 million Europeans are diagnosed with cancer each year. A recent Impact Assessment commissioned by the European Parliament estimates that one percent – annually 26 000 cases – could be attributed to pesticides in our environment. And for some cancers this percentage could be even higher. Pesticides are also a leading culprit in other diseases including Parkinson’s disease. The association is so common that Parkinson’s disease is now recognized as an occupational disease by a French health insurance agency.
In the past decades, more money was allocated to research on medication against baldness than to serious and life threatening diseases in developing countries. 1 393 new drugs were approved between 1975 and 1999; only one percent was specifically indicated for tropical diseases. In 1986, the global expenses for health related research were 30 billion USD. Less than 10% of this money served the health problems of developing countries, where over 90% of the world’s population lives. The Global Forum on Health Research described this statistical finding the 10/90 gap. A blaming call followed towards the pharmaceutical companies concerning the little research on tropical diseases.
Zimbabwe is facing one of the biggest health crises it has ever known: a cholera outbreak of biblical proportions. Cholera, caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae, is easily treatable and preventable. The magnitude of this epidemic demonstrates the collapse of the health system, caused by the political breakdown in Zimbabwe. This article reviews the extent of the cholera outbreak, the role of politics in this outbreak and how the Zimbabwean government is handling this epidemic.
Despite significant investments, HIV continues to outpace global response, and development of an effective vaccine remains one of the greatest scientific and public health imperatives facing the world today. In the following editions, Global Medicine in collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) will pay special attention to the development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine. In this first episode IAVI presents their work.
I’m on my way to visit a traditional shrine in Ghana, West-Africa. The village I arrive at is a bustling African hotspot. Women in brightly coloured dresses balance enormous bowls of food on their heads; men are playing checkers; people are sitting on the streets, talking, negotiating, cooking or doing nothing. There's loud music on every side of the street. I can smell the familiar mix of charcoal and sweat which reaches my nose by a hot breeze, while the daylight is its typical African yellowish-blue. I mean: how could I not love this?
Does substance abuse induce TB? / More dengue due to climate change / Malaria vaccine: promising developments / Sudan expels NGOs / UNICEF: report on the state of the world's children
Besides the well known medical professions as physician, medical specialist or researcher, there are a lot more interesting career possibilities in (global) health care. With these short interviews we want to introduce different, interesting, sometimes unknown, professions to you. In this edition an interview with Henk Schalling, coordinator of Parasitological research at the Royal Tropical institute in Amsterdam, and Prof Louise Gunning, chairman of the executive board of the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam.Â
Global Medicine 6
 
