IPS Inter Press Service - Preventable Deseases AfricaIPS, civil society's leading news agency, is an independent voice from the South and for development, delving into globalisation for the stories underneath.HEALTH-AFRICA: UNICEF Reports Five Million Child Deaths Every Year- (Found June 29, 2008 ) CAPE TOWN, May 30 (IPS) - When four-year-old Alice Were suddenly developed a fever, her mother Miriam took her to the local medicine woman close to her house in Kangemi, a poor, cramped settlement on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Two days later, Alice was unconscious. Her frantic mother rushed to hospital with the child in her arms. But it was too late. Alice died of malaria.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42593 HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Suffer the Little Children- (Found June 29, 2008 ) GRAHAMSTOWN, May 26 (IPS) - Located high in the Drakensburg Mountains of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, Sterkspruit is a picturesque rural area that includes several tribal villages. In the midst of this natural beauty, however, a tragedy has been unfolding over recent months.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42517 MOZAMBIQUE: Officials Master Floods - But Battle To Contain Diseases That Follow- (Found June 29, 2008 ) GRAHAMSTOWN, May 2 (IPS) - More people have died of cholera following recent floods in Mozambique than the number of those who perished in the rising floodwaters. Most rivers in central and northern Mozambique burst their banks after heavy rains in December, January and February, and as a result of Cyclone Jokwe -- which hit in early March.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42207 Q&A: Circumcision an "Opportunity To Take Great Strides Forward" Against HIV- (Found June 29, 2008 ) JOHANNESBURG, Apr 30 (IPS) - Results from trials in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda in 2006 showed that male circumcision reduced the transmission of HIV from women to men by up to 60 percent. On the basis of these results, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIVAIDS and the World Health Organisation have recommended that countries encourage men to be circumcised.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42189 HEALTH-TANZANIA: A Hazardous Route to the Cradle- (Found June 29, 2008 ) DAR ES SALAAM, Apr 25 (IPS) - Tatu Shabani Tumbo&39s first born was diagnosed with strength-sapping anaemia, and died a toddler. Doctors had no medical explanation for the sudden death of her second child at age one. She then tried to get pregnant a third time, initially without success.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42128 DEVELOPMENT-MALAWI: Water Utility Over-Stretched and Under-Maintained- (Found June 29, 2008 ) BLANTYRE, Mar 29 (IPS) - Long known as a peaceful and quiet city, especially at night, Blantyre is steadily losing its reputation for tranquility. Residents now find themselves waking up to the hustle and bustle of women carrying metal and plastic buckets as they move around the city most nights and early mornings in search of water.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41785 HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Too Few Trained Personnel. Too Much Aluminium- (Found June 29, 2008 ) GRAHAMSTOWN, Feb 22 (IPS) - The precarious state of water distribution in Grahamstown, a city in the south-east of South Africa, was highlighted again this month when taps ran dry for almost two days (Feb. 8 and 9) in a large section of the city. Grahamstown&39s reticulation system has failed residents several times over the last fourteen months in terms of water quality and reliability of supplies.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41316 POLITICS: Bush Bids Farewell to Africa- (Found June 29, 2008 ) WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (IPS) - In an attempt to polish his image and advance U.S. interests in the twilight of his presidency, George W. Bush is visiting Africa.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41224 Q&A: "Vitamin A and Zinc Should Be an Essential Part of Malaria Control Strategies"- (Found June 29, 2008 ) TORONTO, Feb 13 (IPS) - Malaria continues to cut a swathe through Africa, which accounts for most cases of the disease and the majority of malaria-related deaths. Globally, more than a million people die from malaria each year. In the case of children, this translates into a death every 30 seconds, according to the World Health Organisation.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41188 |