Poindexter Sama and Jessica McDiarmid FREETOWN, Jun 16 2011 (IPS) – Bubble-wrapped pills are scattered across the crude table in a busy market beside crumpled boxes of lubricant, paracetamol and anti-fungal powder. Regulators say many of the drugs sold on the informal markets in Sierra Leone are fake or substandard, posing a huge risk to…

Jillian Kestler-D’Amours JAFFA, Jul 2 2011 (IPS) – Medication and pillboxes fill two white bookcases, lining the wall behind a volunteer Israeli doctor. He talks to a patient in Hebrew about the man s medical condition, as another man is examined behind a curtain that divides the small office. In the next room, at least…

Sudeshna Sarkar KATHMANDU, Aug 9 2011 (IPS) – When Binita Lamichhane got married she was troubled by her husband s bloodshot eyes. What happened to your eyes? the 18-year-old bride asked. Smoke, came the answer. Women in Nepal s plains make improved cooking stoves as a means of livelihood. Credit: Hari Gopal Gorkhali/IPS Nakul Lamichhane,…

Sana Altaf SRINAGAR, Sep 13 2011 (IPS) – When the sole Community Care Centre in Jammu and Kashmir providing medical and psychosocial services to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) closed down for lack of patients it was a sure sign that the north Indian state had beaten back dire forecasts. There were few people coming…

Apostolis Fotiadis ATHENS, Nov 1 2011 (IPS) – Harsh austerity measures and a struggling economy have given birth to the new poor in Athens, a term used to describe those suffering the impacts of social exclusion and rapidly shrinking civic welfare institutions. Demonstrations against austerity measures in Athens in May 2010. Credit: Nikos Pilos/IPS Plunging…

Isaiah Esipisu GARISSA, Kenya, Dec 19 2011 (IPS) – The Garissa Maternal Shelter in North Eastern Province, Kenya is the only such facility in an area with the country s highest maternal mortality rate. At 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births, it is almost double the country s average. A pregnant woman in Kenya s…

MARSEILLE, Feb 13 2012 (IPS) – Following numerous warnings issued by geologists, health scientists and environmental experts throughout the United States, Europe is now well aware of the high ecological and health risks associated with the exploitation of shale gas fields. Shale gas extraction releases high amounts of methane, which contributes significantly to global warming.…

Mario Queiroz LISBON, Mar 19 2012 (IPS) – This winter the mortality rate in Portugal has grown alarmingly, to a level far higher than the seasonal averages of previous years. And the brunt of the death toll is being borne by low-income elderly people. The General Directorate of Health (DGS) reported that 11,600 people died…

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 28 2012 (IPS) – Human development and biodiversity will not be the only focus of the Rio+20 Earth Summit in June, for which representatives of hundreds of states and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) will gather to discuss sustainable development. The delegates will also deal with the wellbeing of farm animals and sustainable…

Tobacco corporations threaten public health with lawsuits against anti-tobacco legislation. Credit: Fried Dough/ CC by 2.0 UNITED NATIONS, Jun 2 2012 (IPS) – Lawsuits from major tobacco corporations challenging anti-tobacco policies all over the world underscore the ever greater need for a global crackdown on tobacco use, for the sake of both public health and…