No image available
/ 3 June 2008

Lack of cooperation hinders malaria prevention

Sunburned expedition leaders fresh from a journey down the Zambezi River to call attention to malaria said on Tuesday that countries must work together to eliminate the disease. The Roll Back Malaria expedition followed the river through six countries in Southern Africa, delivering insecticide-treated nets and medication.

No image available
/ 22 May 2008

High lead levels in children near Xstrata mine

Forty-five children living in the Australian mining town of Mount Isa, where Xstrata produces 4% of the world’s lead, have unsafe blood lead levels above World Health Organisation standards. Xstrata and local and state governments are facing legal action from the parents of a six-year-old Mount Isa girl who has suffered injuries to her brain and nervous system.

No image available
/ 22 May 2008

China steps up fight to stave off disease

China stepped up the fight on Thursday to stave off disease among over five million earthquake homeless as it tried to boost morale with plans to bring the Olympic flame through the disaster zone. Ten days after the quake, China was faced with the challenge of how to reconstruct shattered communities after more than 74 000 people were confirmed dead or missing.

No image available
/ 19 May 2008

WHO: Food shortage, climate are key health threats

Insufficient food, climate change and pandemic flu are global crises that could unravel progress in public health, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) director general said on Monday. "These three critical events, these clear threats to international security, have the potential to undo much hard-won progress in public health," WHO director general Margaret Chan said.

No image available
/ 16 May 2008

New storm deepens misery in cyclone-hit Burma

Torrential tropical downpours lashed Burma’s Irrawaddy Delta on Friday, deepening the misery of an estimated 2,5-million destitute survivors of Cyclone Nargis and further hampering aid efforts. Burma state television raised its official death toll on Thursday to 43 328. Independent experts say the figures are probably far higher.