Education
NYF Africa 2013: “We are not beggars,” says Ali Bongo
The Gabonese president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, speaking on Friday at the 2nd edition of the New York Forum Africa, invited Africans to work for...
Individual Liberty delivers economic freedom and progress
Everyone says they believe in freedom. The kind of freedom that endures is individual liberty that comes at no cost to anyone else. Increasing...
Ugandan students stranded in Libya soon to be evacuated
Over 20 Ugandan students are stranded in the battle that hit Libya at the beginning of 2011.
According to the permanent secretary in the Ministry...
Namibia: Baby-dumping rates soar among school girls
Female college students across Namibia have caused a stir by holding a mini summit to discuss infanticide and baby dumping amid reports that figures...
Africans lend tech savvy to elections, banking, education
Africa is wired and fast proving its tech savviness as millions of Africans adopt new technology. A decision by UEMOA, an eight-member country, to...
Nail biting opens the door to infection
Do you bite your nails? It’s a bad habit, and it’s not without its dangers either. “Light onychophagy” (as doctors call it) is not...
Childproofing the kitchen is essential
For children, every room in the house is a playground and ripe for exploration, and the kitchen is no exception. But with all the...
Declare war on allergens in the home
Up until the age of 12 months, the main allergens your child is likely to be exposed to are eggs, groundnuts and cow’s milk....
What is selenium and where is it found?
Selenium is a trace element essential to our metabolism, a vital constituent of certain antioxidant enzymes that plays a role in the fight against...
Texting helps monitor HIV/AIDS in Kenya
Between May 2007 and October 2008, an experiment was conducted in Kenya that involved sending a weekly text message to patients on antiretroviral drugs...
Beyond sex: South African school girls seek ‘Fashionable Pregnancies”
Teenage school girls in South Africa say it’s more fashionable to fall pregnant while still a student because “you are like a fool ...
Sex for grades in South Africa leads to death
Education officials in South African have shut down a high school following an incident involving an 18 year old female learner. The young student...
Child obesity causes heart problems
According to a study carried out in a hospital in Vancouver, Canada, children who are obese are at risk of developing atherosclerosis. And this...
Exercise has varying effects on sleep habits
Common knowledge says that the tiredness caused by exercise will help us sleep better. It can, but it’s important to know how to go...
Fizzy soda drinks may cause gout in women
The consumption of drinks that are high in fructose, such as fizzy drinks and orange juice, appears to be associated with an increased risk...
Eyelashes, eyebrows – do they serve any useful purpose?
The common expression is that eyes are windows to the soul, but eyelashes and eyebrows also have their role to play.
Anger, doubt and...
Rise in Black enrollments overwhelm South African universities
Even as figures show huge leaps in the percentage of Black South Africans graduating from universities (a 334% increase compared to 14% for whites),...
Zimbabwe’s anti-colonialist agenda a ‘bizarre arrangement’
In Zimbabwe, children as young as 5 would, as of February, be subjected to national service training as part of efforts by ZANU-PF to...
Smoking reduces your chance of becoming grandparents
Smoking is bad for your health as well as your fertility. Though this is generally common knowledge, two recent studies have now produced an...
Basketball injuries are all too common
In North America, playing basketball is resulting an increasing number of head injuries. In 11 years, the number of such injuries has increased by...
Heart murmurs for children are no need to panic
“My child can’t run, he has a heart murmur.” This is a statement that simply reflects the anxiety of parents faced with a situation...
Dogs in hospitals can be beneficial to children
There’s no doubt that for children, the presence of a dog in a hospital environment brings hope. In his study, The Child and Animal...
Onions have many health benefits, beyond tears
When preparing meals, who doesn’t dread chopping onions? There’s the smell they leave on your hands, the tears, and the prickling sensation in the...
Smoking tobacco roll-ups more dangerous than cigs
As everyone knows, smoking is bad for your health. But smoking roll-ups is even more harmful than smoking commercially manufactured cigarettes. They contain record-breaking...
Toilets: not all countries are flush with this luxury
In 2008, around 40% of the world’s population was still without good quality sanitation. However, the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO)...
Calcium – the body’s own precious metal
Calcium is, in fact, a metal. Yellowish in color and identified by its chemical symbol "Ca," calcium belongs to the group of alkaline earth...
Citrus lemons: sour, but sweet for your health
The lemon is a familiar enough fruit to most of us. But perhaps it is not common knowledge that, like other citrus fruits, it...
Is omega-6/omega-3 imbalance at the root of obesity?
According to a French study, an excess of omega-6 type fatty acids, combined with a shortage of omega-3, may favor the transmission of obesity...
Urinary infections: a vaccine on the horizon?
One in every two women will, at least once in their life, suffer from a urinary infection—a far from pleasant experience. And though it...
Verrucas: more than just a foot virus
Beware of verrucas.
These small, benign tumours, usually caused by a virus belonging to the extensive human papillomavirus family (HPVs), are extremely contagious. They spread...