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At least 865 records · Page 48Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Tanzania marks 10 years of progress in safe motherhood.

The 19th anniversary of the Safe Motherhood Initiative was marked in Tanzania this year. In addition to special celebrations, the anniversary was also marked by the launching of a campaign to eliminate female genital mutilation. The celebrations, which lasted several weeks, were inaugurated by a statement from the Minister of Health, Dr. Aaron Chiduo. The events included the showing of video films on sexual and reproductive health in 7 primary and 8 secondary schools, as well as public showings. Traditional birth attendants and nurse-midwives in one district were shown the safe motherhood film "Why did Mrs. X die?" Panel discussions on safe motherhood were broadcast on the radio in both English and Swahili. Posters and leaflets were distributed on various aspects of reproductive health. A press conference with representatives of the Tanzanian Ministry of Women's Affairs and Ministry of Health, together with representatives of WHO and UNICEF, focused on safe motherhood and female genital mutilation. The meeting attracted 100 journalists. The celebrations ended with a day of traditional dances and songs to mark the 10th anniversary of safe motherhood. A statement from the Minister of Health stressed that female genital mutilation "has no religious or scientific value" and needs to be stopped. The practice has been officially banned in Tanzania since the 1970s but is still prevalent in certain regions of the country.

Africa↗
PubMed2004

A sero-epidemiological survey of blood parasites in cattle in the north-eastern Free State, South Africa.

A survey to determine the incidence of parasites in cattle (n = 386) was conducted in the north eastern Free State between August 1999 and July 2000. Giemsa-stained blood smears were negative for blood parasites. A total of 94% of the cattle were sero-positive for Babesia bigemina by indirect fluorescent antibody test while 87% were sero-positive for Anaplasma by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The observation of negative blood smears but high incidence of positive serological results for Anaplasma and Babesia for the same group of cattle indicates that this area is endemic for these diseases but with a stable disease situation. All the animals were sero-negative for B. bovis and this is probably because the tick vector (Boophilus microplus) which transmits the disease is not present in the Free State Province. Two tick species belonging to the family ixodidae were found on cattle, namely Boophilus decoloratus and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi. In the present study significant differences in seasonal burdens of B. decoloratus occurred, with the highest infestations recorded from February to June. The presence of R. evertsi evertsi throughout the year without any or with small fluctuations in winter months was observed, with a peak from February to May.

Anaplasma↗
PubMed1998

Prevalence of occupational lung disease in a random sample of former mineworkers, Libode District, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Gold mineworkers in South Africa are exposed to high levels of silica dust as a result of which they are at risk of developing silicosis, which is a compensable disease. The incidence of tuberculosis is also high. METHODS: To determine the prevalence of occupational lung disease and the previous compensation history in former migrant mineworkers, a study was undertaken in a random sample of men living in Libode, a rural district of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Two hundred thirty-eight ex-mineworkers were examined according to a protocol that included chest radiography and spirometry. Chest radiographs were read into the International Labour Organisation (ILO) classification for pneumoconioses by two readers. RESULTS: The mean age was 52.8 years, and the mean length of service was 12.15 years. The prevalence of pneumoconiosis (> or = ILO 1/0) was 22% and 36% (variation by reader). For both readers, a significant association between length of service and pneumoconiosis and between pneumoconiosis and reduction in FVC and FEV was found. Twenty-four percent of study subjects were eligible for compensation. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of previously undiagnosed, uncompensated pneumoconiosis in the study group. As a result of the failure to diagnose and compensate occupational lung disease, the social and economic burden of such disease is being borne by individuals, households, and the migrant labor-sending communities as a whole.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Forests vanish as population expands.

Madagascar's forests have been reduced to a narrowing strip along the eastern escarpment. Of the original forest cover of 11.2 million hectares, only 7.6 million remained in 1950. Today this has been halved to 3.8 million hectares--which means the habitat for the island's unique wildlife has been halved, in just 40 years. Every year some 3% of the remaining forest is cleared, almost all of that to provide land for populations expanding at 3.2% a year. The story of 1 village, Ambodiaviavy, near Ranomafana, shows the process at work. 50 years ago the whole area was dense forest. 8 families, 32 people in all, came here in 1947, after French colonials burned down their old village. At first the new settlers farmed only the valley bottoms, easily irrigated by the stream running down from the hilltops. There was no shortage of land. Each family took as much as they were capable of working. Over the next 43 years, the village population swelled 10 times over, to 320, and the number of families grew to 36. Natural growth was supplemented by immigration from the overcrowded plateau, where all cultivable land was occupied. The valley bottom lands had filled up completely by the 1950s. New couples started to clear forest on the sloping valley sides. They moved gradually uphill until today, they are 2/3 of the way to the hilltops. There was a parallel decline in the size of each family's paddy holding--also fueled by population growth. When children marry, parents have to subdivide their own land and give them a plot. So holding in the irrigated valley bottoms have dwindled. Today only a few are big enough to feed a family. The more children in a family, the smaller their share as adults will be. The village chief lives in a small mud hut, looking out over a valley he once owned entirely. Since then he has had 10 children, and given parcels away to each. Though he is the wealthiest man in the village in cattle, his son are among the poorest. They 1/2 a hectare of paddy each. They moved from prosperity to pauperdom in a single generation.

Africa↗