Emilio Godoy MEXICO CITY, Sep 9 2010 (IPS) – Ángel Valencia was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Mexico four years ago with a bipolar disorder. Today, after treatment, he is back in society and is an activist with the Washington-based organisation Disability Rights International. But Valencia s success story is an exception in this […]
Category: Wellness
Washington Debates PEPFAR Funding Ahead of Global Fund Meet
Peter Boaz WASHINGTON, Oct 2 2010 (IPS) – Global health advocates are strongly urging the Barack Obama administration to remain financially supportive of the fight against HIV/AIDS, amidst fears that economic prudence from the U.S. will reverse encouraging gains. On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs heard testimony from White House […]
Black Floridians Await Settlement on Toxic Contamination
Christiana Weidanz NEW YORK, Oct 28 2010 (IPS) – It is safe to say that the candidates running in Florida for the Nov. 2 congressional elections do not have a campaign stop planned for Tallevast. Residents there believe that they have been abandoned by the government. Most do not even know who their representative is […]
CUBA: Drag Queens and Volunteers Promote Safe Sex
Dalia Acosta HAVANA, Dec 2 2010 (IPS) – Margot Parapar gets plenty of laughs from the audience with this joke: Now the human body is divided into five parts: head, trunk, upper and lower limbs, and condom. Using his female stage name, Cuban drag queen, comedian and health promoter Oliver Alarcón includes HIV/AIDS prevention messages […]
MINING-PERU: Doe Run’s Latest Move
Milagros Salazar LIMA, Jan 15 2011 (IPS) – The U.S. mining and metallurgical company Doe Run has once again challenged the Peruvian government. The Renco Group, of which it is a subsidiary, notified the government of its plans to start an international arbitration process, invoking the free trade agreement between this South American country and […]
Lawsuit Filed Against BP Compensation Czar
Dahr Jamail TAMPA, Florida, Mar 1 2011 (IPS) – A first-of-its-kind lawsuit alleging gross negligence and fraud has been filed in a Florida state court against Kenneth Feinberg, the administrator of the 20-billion-dollar compensation fund for victims of BP s Gulf oil spill, and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF). Attorney Brian Donovan of the […]
ZIMBABWE: Fighting Past Fear to Treat TB
BULAWAYO, Mar 24 2011 (IPS) – In the dusty streets of Bulawayo’s densely populated townships, Susan Nkiwane is making house calls today. She is one of a group of twelve women who form a fragile web of support for TB sufferers in her community. Waiting for TB treatment. Credit: Gary Hampton/World Lung Foundation The conditions […]
OP-ED: Still no Escape from Killer Chernobyl
Analysis by Peter Custers LEIDEN, the Netherlands, Apr 25 2011 (IPS) – The accident could have served as a wake-up call to the whole of humanity. Twenty-five years ago, on Apr. 26 1986, disaster struck at the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear complex in the Ukrainian state of the former Soviet Union. The accident […]
CHINA: HIV Patients Find Treatment but Face Discrimination
Gordon Ross BEIJING, May 30 2011 (IPS) – Despite notable successes in the battle against HIV and AIDS in China, discrimination against infected people remains rife here and critics continue to question the Chinese government over allocation of treatment funds. China has cut AIDS mortality by almost two-thirds since it began distributing antiretroviral drugs nine […]
U.S.: A Lifesaver That Fits in Your Pocket
PORTLAND, Oregon, Jul 18 2011 – How much good can a small red pouch, zip tie and sheet of paper do for someone living on the streets? Turns out, a lot. The Vial of Life contains medical information that can help homeless people in case of emergency. Credit: Courtesy of the Downtown Chapel Downtown Chapel […]