Category: Opinion
Why everyone has fewer children today than ever before
Child survival. The dramatic improvement in child survival globally has brought babies per woman to as low as 2.2 in Bangladesh; 2.3 in India and 3.97 in Ethiopia. These are not anomalies. This is the norm. Furthermore, in cities, such as the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, the number of babies per woman is less ...
SERIES: Part 5 – Conclusions on Causes and Consequences of Rising Obesity Levels in the UK
I’m back! And this is the fifth and final edition of my ‘Obesity in the UK‘ series: Conclusions on Causes and Consequences of Rising Obesity Levels in the United Kingdom. Throughout this series, we have explored causes and consequences; physiological, behavioral, economic and social. All references are available upon request. So, here’s my sum up: A ...
The “Thinker’s” Guide to becoming a useful citizen of the world.
So this is going to be a very different kind of post. (New month, new me! Right?) I’m going to share some of my ideas about global citizenship; and how I feel about navigating life in both a sensory, intentional and intellectual way. Let’s hope I don’t ruffle too many feathers. But then again, that ...
Learning from Macron : Why simplified and antiquated assumptions about the world are a direct threat to public health
I went back and watched the French president’s full speech at this month’s G20 meeting in Hamburg, in the original language, in an attempt to gain an understanding of the point he was trying to make. Aware that the noise of the ‘soundbite’ media can often drown a well-intentioned message. I also listened to the ...
Challenges Facing the South African Pharmaceutical Industry
I am a firm and unapologetic believer that the partnership of NGOs, national and international health governance with the pharmaceutical industry, rather than its exclusion, is vital to the effective treatment of disease globally.
On Booze, Babies and Birth defects:
A brief commentary on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders _____________________________________________________ Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) are a group of disorders of global concern. Entirely attributed to prenatal alcohol exposure, affected individuals suffer a lifetime of physical, psychological and social consequences. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), has a global prevalence of 2.89 per 1000 live births, with some ...
Seven lessons I learned from Professor Hans Rosling: A Tribute
Last week we lost one of the greatest statisticians of our time. A clinician who informed scholars and audiences world over; and a researcher whose work on economic development and global health changed the way we view our world. Personally, too, I have lost a role model, Dr Hans Rosling of the Karolinska Institute. Nonetheless, ...
Rethinking Rabies: A Breakthrough in Management? – My comments on the literature
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic disease of global concern, resulting in over 55 000 deaths annually. Whilst standard post-exposure treatments are estimated to prevent hundreds of thousands of fatalities, these are not without shortcomings. Recent immunological research into novel treatments has revealed promising results. Published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, the research paper this article comments on has been described as groundbreaking. (I dare say, most notably by those enchanted by the spell of the [magical] monoclonal antibody: still one of the coolest cocktail party topics in immunology.)
Coming soon: Rethinking Rabies. A Breakthrough in Management?
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic disease of global concern, resulting in over 55 000 deaths annually. Whilst standard post-exposure treatments are estimated to prevent hundreds of thousands of fatalities, these are not without shortcomings. Recent immunological research into novel treatments has revealed promising results. More on this later this week. For now, have a stellar ...
Global Health Conversations 
Life Cycle Management: An ‘Insider’s’ guide on how to make your drug last FOREVER $$$
A CASE STUDY In the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, there is a critical point in dealing with your novel agent when it becomes vital to have a clear and cohesive strategy as to how to manage and optimize the life of said drug, agent or device! Namely, ahead of introduction to the market. So, just ...
By chonye on 27 February 2019