Nigerian authorities have declared a national emergency and activated response operations to control the spread of a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 50 people. The Nigerian Center for Disease Control, or NCDC, said Tuesday that its decision to activate the National Cholera Emergency Operation center followed a risk assessment conducted by authorities last … Read more
The World Health Organization (WHO) says there are more than 3 million drug- and alcohol-related deaths annually, most of which are among men. A report released Tuesday says 2.6 million people (2 million of them men) die from something related to alcohol consumption across the globe each year. Some 600,000 deaths are attributed to psychoactive … Read more
New York — The situation in the Gaza Strip remains catastrophic and there is a high and sustained risk of famine across all of Gaza as long as the Israel-Hamas war continues and humanitarian access is restricted, a United Nations-backed food security report concluded Tuesday. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, found that … Read more
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared gun violence a public health crisis on Tuesday, calling for greater gun control, including the banning of assault rifles. Murthy issued the first Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence to address his concerns. The advisory highlights strategies to reduce firearm deaths, such as implementing universal background checks for … Read more
Monday marks two full years since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. In that time, access to the process across the United States has shifted dramatically, with large parts of the country effectively banning the procedure, while others have passed laws to safeguard it. Dozens of abortion clinics across multiple states … Read more
Dakar, Senegal — Senegal said Monday it had implemented voluntary COVID-19 screening tests and reimposed the wearing of masks at Dakar’s international airport for returning pilgrims fearing the virus was linked to the deaths of some Mecca pilgrims. Dakar suspects that a number of the some 1,300 deaths — according to a Saudi tally — … Read more
Cairo — More than 1,000 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as the faithful faced extreme high temperatures at Islamic holy sites in the desert kingdom, officials said Sunday. More than half of the fatalities were people from Egypt, according to two officials in Cairo. Egypt revoked the licenses of 16 … Read more
BUSHBUCKRIDGE, South Africa — The walls of Shadrack Mashabane’s hut in the rural South African town of Bushbuckridge are covered with traditional fabrics, with a small window the only source of light. What stands out among the herbs and medicines in glass bottles is a white box containing an HIV testing kit. Mashabane is one … Read more
MADRID — Things are looking up for the Iberian lynx. Just over two decades ago, the pointy-eared wild cat was on the brink of extinction, but as of Thursday the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it’s no longer an endangered species. Successful conservation efforts mean that the animal, native to Spain and Portugal, … Read more
MWINGI, Kenya — Esther Kangali felt a sharp pain while on her mother’s farm in eastern Kenya. She looked down and saw a large snake coiling around her left leg. She screamed, and her mother came running. Kangali was rushed to a nearby health center, but it lacked antivenom to treat the snake’s bite. A … Read more
