• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Health Issues in Africa

Health Issues in Africa

  • Health Issues in Africa
  • Our News
  • News Feed
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Non Communicable Diseases

A third of the world have not had a single COVID-19 vaccination; the latest health stories from around the world

April 26, 2022 By Lalita Panicker Leave a Comment

Vials containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine sit on a table in preparation for vaccinations at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Jan. 4, 2021. As part of the DoD strategy for prioritizing, distributing and administering the COVID-19 vaccine, those providing direct medical care and emergency services will be prioritized to receive the vaccine at units based in Japan, including Kadena AB. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Anna Nolte) Photographer: Airman 1st Class Anna NoltePost-production: Zacharie Grossen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Moderna offered indemnity concept.
Photographer: Airman 1st Class Anna NoltePost-production: Zacharie Grossen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Sixteen months since the COVID-19 vaccination drive began and a third of the world’s population hasn’t yet received a single dose of the vaccine. A shocking 83 percent of all Africans are in the same boat, said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30 March.

Meanwhile last week the total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide had risen to 509,418,071 and the total deaths 6,217,596

The total vaccine doses administered stood at 11,236,923,250.

///

Despite its low vaccination rate, Africa is experiencing its longest-running decline in COVID-19 infections since the onset of the pandemic.

This is according to the WHO (Africa), which said weekly cases have fallen for the past 16 weeks, while deaths have dropped for the past eight.

Infections– largely due to the Omicron-driven fourth pandemic wave – have tanked from a peak of over 308 000 cases weekly at the start of the year to less than 20 000 in the week ending on April 10.

This low level of infection has not been seen since April 2020 in the early stages of the pandemic in Africa.

https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/weekly-COVID-cases-continue-to-fall-in-africa-843641f6-c571-43d1-8dd0-3d0704b7ce3c

And in sharp contrast, the world’s tightest lockdown in China’s largest city has failed to contain a COVID-19 spurt. With the lockdown into its fourth week, Shanghai had 51 deaths on Sunday, not alarming by many standards elsewhere but anathema to the “zero COVID” fanatics running the country.

Chinese internet users rallied to outwit government censors on a video documenting weeks of lockdown in Shanghai, flooding social media feeds as frustration continued to escalate over strict COVID-zero rules. The six-minute video titled “The Sound of April” was posted on Friday and soon got censored as it went viral. Chinese WeChat users then uploaded the film from different accounts and in various forms including upside-down and mirrored versions until late night, as newly-uploaded clips were also removed. The film, on a slowly-moving frame of overhead shots of the city in black-and-white, spliced in sound clips from government press briefings, voice call recordings seeking medical help and information transparency, hungry and frustrated residents chanting in unison for government rations, and chats between neighbours and ordinary people helping each other out.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-23/china-web-users-race-to-post-censored-video-on-lockdown-troubles

Meanwhile, onward to China’s capital Beijing where the “zero zealots” have begun frantically locking down suburban clusters even as cases mount.

//////

A Japanese Health Ministry committee said last Monday that it has approved Novavax Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine, setting the stage for full approval of the country’s fourth shot for the coronavirus, according to a Reuters report.

The Japanese government has agreed to purchase 150 million doses of Novavax’s recombinant-protein vaccine, which is to be manufactured domestically by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

Most of Japan’s COVID vaccinations have been carried out with the mRNA types made by Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc. Astrazeneca Plc’s shot has also been approved, but most domestically produced supplies have not been used in Japan and instead donated overseas.

////

The rapid development of vaccines against COVID-19 has been a triumph of science, with more than half the world’s population inoculated since vaccines first became available in late 2020. But that triumph has not been shared equally around the world, with only 15 percent of people in low-income countries receiving even a single vaccine dose by late March 2022. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/972385?uac=398271FG&faf=1&sso=true&impID=4182547&src=mkm_ret_220424_mscpmrk_COVID-ous_int)

One reason for this imbalance is that the mRNA vaccines that have been so successful in wealthy nations are novel, expensive and technologically challenging to produce. Only a few companies have the expertise to manufacture them and high-income countries have hoarded more than 70 percent of doses.

Efforts to ramp up production of mRNA vaccines in middle- and low-income countries are now underway, including in some African countries. But mRNA is fragile and tricky to handle, requiring some vaccines to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures. This adds to the complexity of vaccine manufacture and to the challenges in distribution in remote areas. Vaccines that use genetically modified viruses to introduce coronavirus proteins, like the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, are also relatively new and technically challenging to produce.

A better option is to turn to more traditional vaccine technologies that don’t require as much new infrastructure, says Maria Elena Bottazzi, a vaccine researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Bottazzi co-authored a look at Covid-19 vaccines that use more accessible technologies in the 2022 Annual Review of Medicine. Such vaccines deliver whole, inactivated viruses or fragments of viral protein to stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies, and they can be more than 90 percent effective at preventing disease, just like the mRNA vaccines.

Unlike mRNA technology, factories already exist in many middle- and low-income countries to produce these older types of vaccines, which include the familiar hepatitis A and B and polio vaccines. Such shots also tend to cost less than the new mRNA vaccines: a few dollars a dose, compared to more than $10 per dose. In partnership with the Indian company Biological E, Bottazzi and her Baylor colleague and co-author Peter Hotez have developed one such COVID-19 vaccine, Corbevax, using protein fragments, which is now licensed for use in India and Botswana.

///

A long-delayed assessment of the health effects of formaldehyde has concluded that the widely used chemical poses a greater cancer risk than had been estimated, which could lead to greater regulation. Most people are exposed to formaldehyde in airborne emissions from the glue in treated plywood and particle board used in buildings. A draft assessment 12 years ago by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that linked formaldehyde exposure to an increased risk of leukaemia and other cancers drew objections from members of the US Congress and industry representatives, who maintain that products containing formaldehyde are safe. The new draft, released last week, finds a higher risk of myeloid leukaemia. In an unusual step, it will be reviewed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which 11 years ago criticized EPA for not clearly presenting its methods in the earlier assessment. If the agency formally classifies formaldehyde as a carcinogen, EPA could tighten restrictions on its use under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-nyet-russia-oyster-restoration-and-harassment-field-sites?utm_source=sfmc

///

Doctors and scientists have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool that can accurately predict how likely tumours are to grow back in cancer patients after they have undergone treatment. www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/23/cancer-ai-tool-predicts-tumour-regrowth?

The breakthrough, described as “exciting” by clinical oncologists, could revolutionise the surveillance of patients. While treatment advances in recent years have boosted survival chances, there remains a risk that the disease might come back.

Monitoring patients after treatment is vital to ensuring any cancer recurrence is acted on urgently. Currently, however, doctors tend to have to rely on traditional methods, including ones focused on the original amount and spread of cancer, to predict how a patient might fare in future.

Now a world-first study by the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Imperial College London has identified a model using machine-learning – a type of AI – that can predict the risk of cancer coming back, and do it better than existing methods.

“This is an important step forward in being able to use AI to understand which patients are at highest risk of cancer recurrence, and to detect this relapse sooner so that re-treatment can be more effective,” said Dr Richard Lee, a consultant physician in respiratory medicine and early diagnosis at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

Lee, the chief investigator of the OCTAPUS-AI study, told the Guardian it could prove vital in not only improving outcomes for cancer patients, but alleviating their fears, with relapse “a key source of anxiety” for many. “We hope to push boundaries to improve the care of cancer patients, to help them live longer, and reduce the impact the disease has on their lives.”

////

Lalita Panicker is Consulting Editor, Views, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Mark World Sleep Day 2022 by prioritising quality sleep

March 18, 2022 By admin Leave a Comment

18 March 2022 marks the 15th annual World Sleep Day. This year’s theme is Quality Sleep, Sound Mind, Happy World. Quality sleep may not solve global problems, but it can revitalise your world by boosting your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. That’s what I want to talk about today — the importance of sleep. I know you’ve probably heard or read about this before, but have you ever wondered how something as mundane as sleep could be so fundamental to our health? More importantly, what’s keeping you from reaping the incredible health and wellness benefits of quality sleep?

Sleep does more than recharge the battery you gradually run down throughout the day. Here are some science-backed facts I’d love to share with you about the importance of sleep.

What is quality sleep?

Let’s first understand what quality sleep means and why we need sleep in the first place.

The question of why we sleep is a difficult one to answer. Scientists have tackled this question from many different angles. For instance, researchers have looked at the effects of sleep deprivation in humans and other animals, recorded neuron activities in slumbering brains, closely observed sleep patterns in different organisms and studied sleeping disorders to decipher the mysteries of sleep.

Sadly, sleep is a complex and challenging subject to study, and decades of sleep research have only raised more questions. But the numerous studies have so far immensely expanded our understanding of sleep and yielded some robust theories explaining why we sleep, including:

  • the evolutionary theory
  • inactivity theory
  • energy conservation theory
  • brain plasticity theory

In a nutshell, sleep quality measures how well you sleep. It’s different from sleep satisfaction and quantity but closely related to both. Four interrelated elements determine the quality of sleep:

  • sleep latency – the time it takes to fall asleep
  • sleep-waking – the frequency of waking up in the night
  • wakefulness – the amount of time you stay awake when you should be sleeping
  • sleep efficiency – how much time you spend sleeping while in bed (expressed as a ratio or percentage)

These factors combine into the overall sense of satisfaction, rejuvenation and restfulness you get from sleep. Poor-quality sleep could mean you take too long to fall asleep, wake up too often after falling asleep or stay up too long after sleep interruptions. All these can negatively affect your circadian rhythm, sleep cycles and sleep quantity, resulting in sleep that does you more harm than good.

The importance of quality sleep

Getting quality sleep is like hitting a big refresh button. Your body and brain regulate and check your metabolism, energy levels, mood, mental functions, hormonal balances and immune system activities while you sleep.

The brain remains curiously active when asleep, and some brain functions have been observed exclusively during certain stages of sleep. Scientists believe these are responsible for memory consolidation — how the brain links waking sensory experiences to learn and form new memories. Neurological studies also suggest a correlation between quality sleep and pain and anxiety relief. Ultimately, the physiology of quality sleep improves your mental, physical and emotional wellbeing in the following ways:

  • sharpens the brain through improved cognition, memory, reaction time, concentration and problem-solving abilities
  • enhances fine motor skills, muscular endurance, balance and coordination
  • maintains cardiovascular health
  • regulates metabolism, which in turn checks weight gain, blood sugar levels and energy reserves
  • boosts your overall mood

Another way to understand the importance of quality sleep is to look at the effects of sleep deprivation. Several studies link poor sleep to depression, impaired immune functions, social and emotional indifference, low cognitive performance and high risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Most of the effects of poor sleep are bidirectional. For instance, if you’re stressed during the day and don’t get quality sleep at night, you’ll wake up even more stressed, creating a positive feedback loop that may eventually lead to wild mood swings, behavioural disorders and even depression.

Why are we not getting quality sleep?

According to the Philips Global Sleep Survey, most people agree that sleep is a crucial contributor to mental and physical wellbeing, citing better mood, memory and performance after a good night’s sleep. However, barely half of the respondents said they were satisfied with their sleep.

Image source: Philips Global Sleep Survey 2020

So, it’s not that we don’t appreciate the importance of sleep; we somehow can’t seem to get enough of it. The demands of modern lifestyles (juggling work, family, personal and social life) can get in the way of some quality shuteye. But I could argue that sleep disorders and poor sleep hygiene are the main reasons we’re not getting the much-needed quality sleep. Hear me out.

About sleep disorders

Twenty percent of adults in the UK have trouble falling asleep every night. In the US, sleep disorders affect as many as 70 million individuals.

Sleep experts have identified over 80 diagnosable sleep disorders. However, most are treatable or manageable with suitable mediation or behavioural therapy. The five most common sleep disorders are:

Sleep apnoea

Nearly a billion people worldwide suffer from sleep apnoea, yet most cases go undiagnosed. Sleep apnoea happens when breathing is interrupted during sleep, causing a person to wake up suddenly. 

Patients with sleep apnoea are classified in one of three categories:

  1. obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) – results from blocked airways when muscles in the throat relax
  2. central sleep apnoea – occurs when neurological signals fail to maintain the normal breathing rhythm
  3. complex sleep apnoea syndrome – a combination of both OSA and central sleep apnoea

In addition to the implication of sleep deprivation, sleep apnoea causes other problems, including snoring, night terrors, restlessness, sleep fragmentation, night sweats and morning headaches. If left unchecked, sleep apnoea can even exacerbate or increase the risk of cardiovascular illnesses.

Insomnia

Insomnia refers to difficulty in falling and staying asleep. Acute insomnia is short-term and often caused by sudden interruptions in daily routines, such as travelling. Chronic insomnia is more problematic and may well have a biological aetiology.

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)

RLS is characterised by an irresistible urge to move the legs, which typically starts in the evening or during sleep. People with RLS may have a hard time falling and staying asleep. It’s unclear what causes this condition, but researchers suspect it has to do with the neurotransmissions responsible for controlling muscle movement.

REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD)

RBD is a condition in which a person acts out their dreams with vocal sounds and sudden (usually violent) movements when asleep. When dreaming, people with RBD lack the paralysing nerve pathways that prevent muscle activation. This condition is distracting and can even be dangerous.

Narcolepsy

People with narcolepsy struggle to stay awake for long periods regardless of where they are or what they’re doing. Type 1 narcolepsy is accompanied by a sudden loss of muscle tone (cataplexy). The exact cause of narcolepsy is unknown, but patients with Type 1 narcolepsy exhibit low levels of hypocretin, a neurochemical that regulates wakefulness.

Poor sleep hygiene

Sleeping disorders are not solely to blame for poor sleep quality. Our everyday habits play a role in how well we sleep too. 

Bad sleeping habits can contribute to poor sleep. Here’s what might be keeping you from getting the most out of a good night’s sleep

  • uncomfortable bedroom atmosphere
  • spending too much time in bed
  • taking stimulants (coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.) just before bed
  • irregular betimes
  • inactive or sedentary waking hours
  • noise
  • lengthy or frequent daytime naps
  • taking your smartphone, laptop or tablet to bed (without a blue light filter)
  • not prioritising sleep

Sleeping well requires some discipline to break all the bad habits that keep you up at night and embrace the routines and practices that help you sleep better.

Final word

Sleep is a vital self-care component that’s just as important as dieting, exercising or practising mindfulness. How you sleep directly impacts the quality of your life since it very well determines your everyday mood, performance, energy levels, social interactions and mental state. The slogan “Quality Sleep, Sound Mind, Happy World” perfectly fits today’s fast-paced world.

What should I do if I can’t sleep? It’s crucially up to you to take control of your sleep quality by observing proper sleep hygiene. If that doesn’t work, it could mean you have an undiagnosed sleeping disorder, which is nothing to be ashamed about. With the right sleep coaching, treatment, or medication, you can still claim your daily beauty sleep. Quality sleep is genuinely an easy ticket to healthy, happy living.

New COVID-19 variant emerges; the latest health stories from around the world

December 21, 2021 By Lalita Panicker Leave a Comment

Image credit: 罗 宏志 / 123rf

As we stagger towards 2022, the words of that old Carpenters’ song come back suddenly: “Its yesterday once more!” Unlike that song, this is a nightmare, not nostalgia. COVID-19 devastated the world back in 2020 when vaccines were a faint glimmer at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. The vaccines arrived at the threshold of 2021, slowing down the pace and impact of the disease considerably. Now at the doorstep of 2022 its almost as if the vaccines didn’t exist thanks to COVID-19’s new avatar, the ancient “Greek variant” Omicron, sidestepping the jab and ignoring past bouts with the virus. It’s 2020 once more!

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster than the Delta variant and is causing infections in people already vaccinated or who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan added it would be “unwise” to conclude from early evidence that Omicron was a milder variant that previous ones.

Less than a month after it was identified, Omicron has spread twice as fast in South Africa as the highly infectious Delta variant. In Britain, where nearly 70% of the population is fully vaccinated, officials have estimated that 200,000 people are becoming infected every day. 

In Denmark, Omicron cases are doubling roughly every two days. Early data from the United States suggest that around 120,000 new Covid cases are being reported every day, a 40 percent increase from two weeks ago. 

Breakthrough infections are common. This week, Denmark reported that three-quarters of its Omicron cases occurred in people who had received two vaccine doses.

A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defence against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant, according to a New York Times report (www.nytimes.com/2021/12/19/health/omicron-vaccines-efficacy.html)

All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world.

The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and vaccines manufactured in China and Russia — do little to nothing to stop the spread of Omicron, early research shows. And because most countries have built their inoculation programs around these vaccines, the gap could have a profound impact on the course of the pandemic. 

If Omicron spreads rapidly and infects huge swathes of the population at once, it could still affect enough people to overwhelm health care systems, some of which are already struggling to manage a surge of Delta cases.

Despite very high vaccination rates, Denmark with 5 million people is now seeing more than 6,000 cases a day, roughly twice the number seen during the highest previous peak. Neighbouring Norway, which has about the same population, is now projecting more than 100,000 cases a day in a matter of weeks, unless people drastically reduce social contacts.

Omicron has been reported in 89 countries so far, and is spreading very fast, the World Health Organization said on Saturday. The number of cases is doubling in 1.5-3 days. 

Cases have been spreading like “lightning” across Europe, in the words of the French Prime Minister, prompting governments to tighten travel restrictions and impose new curfews, causing frustration and triggering protests in places. 

In India where over 100 cases of Omicron have been reported across 11 States, vaccination rates are behind target, and mask usage has drastically declined. While 87% of the adult population have got one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, only 56% have got both. With less than two weeks left for the year to end, the Indian government is far from achieving its target of vaccinating the entire adult population by year-end.

In just  a couple of weeks Omicron has become the predominant variant in several countries, including Britain, Denmark, Norway and parts of southern Africa, according to The Economist (www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2021/12/17/what-the-spread-of-omicron-means-for-the-world?). A spread this rapid leaves no doubt that Omicron will soon replace Delta, the variant that currently causes most COVID cases globally. Scientists from Imperial College in London explained what this means for the world in a pair of studies published on December 16th. 

The first study rounded up data on Omicron’s spread in Britain. It found that each infection tends to produce at least three more. That is similar to the speed at which covid was spreading in Europe in the pandemic’s first wave in early 2020, before vaccines were available or countermeasures imposed. At this rate, cases are doubling every two days.

The researchers found that in Britain a two-dose course of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine was, at most, 20% effective against infection by Omicron. Having had covid in the past was also of little help, conferring only 19% protection—far less than the 85% against Delta found in other studies. 

Boosters, however, can make a big difference. A third jab using Pfizer’s vaccine after an initial course of the AstraZeneca or Pfizer jab was between 55% and 80% effective against infection by Omicron. These results were the basis of the second study by the Imperial College team and their colleagues at several other institutes. In that study, they estimated how the layers of immunity in various countries—from previous COVID waves and vaccination—will stand up to Omicron. That analysis relies on estimates as to how protective the jabs might be against severe disease and how protection from boosters might wane over time. These estimates come with a lot of uncertainty because, for now, they are derived from data on how levels of antibodies in the blood correlate with protection from covid. The researchers reckon that after 60 days, boosters may be 80-86% effective against severe covid (and need for hospital admission) in an Omicron wave. That is encouragingly high but lower than the 97% efficacy for Delta. The researchers then used the data on Omicron’s transmission and national immunological profiles to estimate the number of cases and hospital admissions that countries might expect when Omicron spreads. They conclude that Omicron is likely to stretch hospitals in all countries, with peak deaths and hospital admissions similar to those in previous waves, if no restrictions to slow down its spread are put in place. This conclusion stands even if the severity of disease caused by Omicron is one-third the severity of Delta.

////// 

A vaccine with a unique composition and production method worked in a large COVID-19 efficacy trial, its sponsor, Canada-based biotech company Medicago, announced in a press release last week. According to science.org (www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-bold-antitobacco-plan-updated-arctic-warming-rates-and-covid-19-infection-lab), the vaccine consists of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins that self-assemble into virus like particles (VLPs). Already used in vaccines against human papillomavirus and hepatitis B, VLPs in theory stimulate robust immune responses because of the orderly way they pack many copies of the viral proteins into a particle that resembles a virus. 

The vaccine had 71% efficacy against symptomatic disease in a 24,000-person trial in six countries, where many variants were circulating—although not Omicron. The company is now seeking authorisation in Canada and, pending success there, plans to submit data to U.S. and European regulators.

///////

New Zealand takes on tobacco

The government of New Zealand last week released an unprecedented proposal to outlaw sales of tobacco products to those turning 14, a prohibition that would last their lifetimes and gradually end sales entirely. The country’s Smokefree 2025 Action Plan would also make it the first in the world to only allow sales of low-nicotine smoked tobacco products. Authorities decided on bold action after modelling showed a diminishing effect of existing strategies, including high taxes and bans on public smoking. Parliamentary approval is expected next year, with the measures likely taking effect in 2023.

Doctors and other health experts in the country have welcomed the “world-leading” reforms, which will reduce access to tobacco and restrict nicotine levels in cigarettes.

However the crackdown has been met with mixed reactions with some warning that the move may create a black market for tobacco— something the health ministry’s official impact statement does acknowledge, noting “customs will need more resource to enforce border control”. 

/////

A Taiwanese researcher contracted SARS-CoV-2 while working with infected mice in a biosafety level 3 laboratory at the Genomics Research Center of Academia Sinica in Taipei, in the first known case of laboratory transmission of the virus. Authorities suspect the vaccinated researcher was infected via a mouse bite. The genomic sequence of the variant infecting the researcher matched that of the lab’s mice and not strains in the surrounding community, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center reported on 11 December. More than 800 potential contacts have tested negative, and Academia Sinica has promised an investigation and a review of the lab’s safety procedures. The incident is likely to bolster claims that a lab leak could have sparked the pandemic.

///////////

Late last month, India’s National Family Health Survey (NFHS), a periodic investigation of half a million households, announced a milestone: The country’s fertility rate had for the first time fallen below the widely accepted “replacement level” of 2.1 children per woman. Indian health officials say the task of defusing their population bomb is finally done.

However, according to science.org (www.science.org/content/article/india-defuses-its-population-bomb-fertility-falls-two-children-woman), India’s population growth is not over yet, however. Thanks to past high fertility rates, two-thirds of the population is under 35 years old, and a large cohort of people is now entering childbearing age. Even at replacement fertility rates, the children of these young people will continue to push up numbers, and India may exceed China as the world’s most populous nation as early as next year.

Still, India’s population is set to decline in about 3 decades, putting the country on the same track as a growing number of developing nations, such as its neighbour Bangladesh and Indonesia. India remains well behind China in falling fertility. In China, where the population may be at its peak, official figures put the fertility rate at 1.7 children per woman.

////////

Lalita Panicker is Consulting Editor, Views, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Cancer in Africa: The untold tale

August 28, 2021 By Nalla Akiloye Leave a Comment

Scenes from AMISOM’s work to promote breast cancer awareness in Somali. Image credit: AMISOM Public Information, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cancer in Africa is an increasing health issue, which must be handled effectively to limit rising incidences and fatality rates. It has been predicted that because of population increase and ageing, there would be a seventy percent influx of new cancer diagnoses by 2030.

In Africa, this daunting condition has co-existed with newly found contagious diseases like COVID-19, Ebola, Malaria, and HIV/AIDS. Even though cancer mortality rates have exceeded malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS altogether, there is still a lack of dedication in Africa to battling cancer. Indeed, most emphasis is focused on infectious diseases, whereas several non-communicable diseases, like cancer, pose significant concerns. The rising cancer death rates in Africa are particularly because care is costly and there are inadequate resources. In the next two decades, cancer mortality rates in Africa are expected to outstrip the worldwide norm by thirty percent.  

Cancer is a genetic illness, which reacts with other risk factors to establish a person’s susceptibility – three of these corresponding risk variables highlight why African countries should prioritise cancer diagnosis and care. The first is about improved health care. According to World Bank data, Africans’ life expectancy has risen greater than the worldwide median and is presently estimated to be around 60 years across the region. As cancer diagnoses and death rates rise with ageing, these advancements in life expectancy consequently increase cancer incidences. The second is a result of Africa’s development and lifestyle changes. Some of the most notable changes include but are not limited to: rapid urbanisation, the introduction of new pollutants, unhealthy dietary modifications, and increased substance abuse. Research shows that these adjustments cause a heightened risk of cancer, as well as contact with carcinogens. 

Finally, Africa is home to a wide range of sub-populations and ethnicities, all of which are affected by various genetically linked cancers that impact various groups more than others. The most prevalent including breast, cervix, and prostate cancer. As other health hazards recede, these group-dependent cancer illnesses will be even more evident and wreak a greater toll on the healthcare systems in Africa.

South Africa: Mine Dumps Increase Asthma Risk

June 14, 2021 By Christopher Nial Leave a Comment

Studies in South Africa have revealed that living close to a mine or exposure to mine dust is a risk factor for asthma, as well as other respiratory and bronchial illnesses.

Mining is a major industry in South Africa, with materials such as gold and coal having helped to boost the country’s economy. However, there are some problems with the industry, among them, being the potential health hazards. In particular, mine dumps, when mines dump large amounts of crushed, sandy refuse, are a point of concern. Two studies by Vusumuzi Nkosi, Janine Wichmann, and Kuki Voyi published in 2014 and 2015 examined the effects mine dumps had on nearby communities and the prevalence of illnesses such as asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and respiratory diseases. One study looked at the health of adolescents, while the other examined the elderly.

Writing in The Conversation, Nkosi, Special Scientist in Public Health for the South African Medical Research Council, said that the researched showed “exposure to mine dust or living close to a mine is a risk factor for asthma.” It revealed that there was a higher prevalence of asthma symptoms in children compared to studies in cities such as Cape Town. Older people near mine dump sites were also more likely to show asthma symptoms compared to similar studies carried out in the US.

This issue is one that affects many in South Africa, with around 1.6 million people living on or next to mine dumps. These often poor and marginalized populations already face other issues in relation to poor health and access to healthcare. However, even taking other factors into account, the two studies still found a clear link between mine dumps and respiratory conditions. The growth of asthma rates in South Africa is putting pressure on the health system, making it imperative to look for solutions.

Nkosi suggests that the answer lies in long-term solutions for dust control. He says that research should be carried out to determine the determine and implement the best solutions. Previous attempts by mining companies to solve the problem have not been sufficient. For example, spraying mining dumps is often rendered useless when the water quickly dries up. Rehabilitating areas by growing grass, designed to catch the dust, only works until the dry season kills the grass. Nkosi offers the possibility of buffer zones between mining areas and settlements.

As populations close to mining areas continue to grow, asthma and other respiratory conditions could become a greater burden on the health system. It’s important to address this issue before it creates an even larger burden, contributing to that of non-communicable diseases in the country.

Asthma is not the only concern, either. Mine dump often contains toxic heavy metals and, in communities like those in Soweto, Johannesburg, it is killing plants and animals, as well as directly affecting people’s health. Both mining companies and the government need to take action to find solutions for the people living in these communities. However, some mining companies deny that there is a problem.

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Copyright © 2022

  • Health Issues in Africa
  • Our News
  • News Feed
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
 

Loading Comments...
 

    • Français
    • Português
    • العربية‏
    • Kiswahili
    • አማርኛ