Society catergory

Niamey, Niger | AFP | Niger has launched a mass polio vaccination campaign targeting more than three million children under five after new cases were detected, an official said Friday. The programme kicked off Thursday in the regions of Zinder, Maradi, Agadez and Diffa, said Rabi Souley, who is in …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Scientists on Thursday unveiled a revolutionary way of screening children for tuberculosis, which they say will prevent hundreds of thousands each year from contracting the world’s deadliest infectious disease. A multinational team based at the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation in The Hague have developed a …

Limoges, France | AFP | The father of two boys, aged three and four, has been jailed in France for feeding them nearly exclusively on Coca-Cola, the children’s lawyer said. The father, who can “neither read, nor write, nor count, doesn’t realise the seriousness of the situation and spent all …

“I do not want to hear that shit anymore!” declares BMW development boss Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | Negative media reviews of recent BMW 3 Series generations have motivated the German car-maker to aim for new driving benchmarks with its latest mid-size luxury sedan. Speaking at the Paris motor show recently, …

HIV PREVENTION: Researchers dive into finding new ways of increasing prevention innovations uptake | Douches, gels and lubes explored Madrid, Spain |  FLAVIA NASSAKA | A condom is cheap. It’s readily available and has been proven to be over 99% effective if used correctly at not only preventing HIV infection …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A bucket containing a soupy green mixture sits under a table in Nduna Ewrong-Nxumalo’s consultation room in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic hub. The traditional healer, or sangoma, has trusted and prescribed the pungent mixture — cannabis tea — to his patients for years. …

Paris, France | AFP | A new treatment for a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis can cure 80 percent of sufferers, according to a trial hailed Monday as a “game changer” in the fight against the global killer. Doctors in Belarus — a country with one of the highest rates of …

Paris, France | AFP | Women’s bodies undergo a “striking” change during a specific week of pregnancy that can significantly reduce their risk of developing breast cancer later in life, scientists said Tuesday. Previous research has highlighted how women under the age of 30 can reduce their risk of contracting …

Paris, France | AFP | Bits of plastic have been detected in the faeces of people in Europe, Russia and Japan, according to research claiming to show for the first time the widespread presence of plastics in the human food chain. All eight volunteers in a small pilot study were …

Scientists explain why they haven’t found an HIV vaccine yet Madrid, Spain | FLAVIA NASSAKA | A global HIV conference opened on Oct.22 in Madrid, Spain bringing together researchers to discuss strides made in prevention of infections. Dubbed HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) 2018, the week long event which  happens …