Health + Medicine – Views & Research

Cracked earth with a few small plants growing in it

Drought can make farmers feel worried and hopeless: Ghana study finds social networks help

Seth Asare Okyere, University of Pittsburgh; Matthew Abunyewah, Charles Darwin University; Michael Odei Erdiaw-Kwasie, Charles Darwin University; Mitchell Keith Byrne, Charles Darwin University; Seth Opoku Mensah, University of Technology Sydney, and Stephen Leonard Mensah, University of Memphis

4 tips for a healthy heart from a biokineticist

Lynn Smith, University of Johannesburg

A health worker vaccinates a volunteer on the upper arm.

The global health system can build back better after US aid cuts – here’s how

Jonathan E. Cohen, University of Southern California

Sexual health is an extra struggle for women with disabilities: findings from 10 African countries

Obasanjo Bolarinwa, York St John University; Aliu Mohammed, University of Energy and Natural Resources, and Clifford Obby Odimegwu, University of the Witwatersrand

First malaria treatment for babies is a major step to ending the disease in Africa – biochemist

Fortunate Mokoena, North-West University

A woman talking to a group of men. She is holding a blister pack of pills.

Men and family planning: studies from 23 African countries reveal gaps in what we know

Tosin Oni, Obafemi Awolowo University

People outside a single storey building, some with bicycles. Palm trees in the background.

How far is your closest hospital or clinic? Public health researchers explain why Africa needs up-to-date health facility databases

Peter M Macharia, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp and Emelda Okiro, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme

A swarm of bats at the mouth of a stone cave.

How does Marburg virus spread between species? Young Ugandan scientist’s photos give important clues

Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Griffith University

Decades of South African research reveal key strategies to reduce water contamination in fruit and veg

Loandi Richter-Mouton, University of Pretoria and Lise Korsten, University of Pretoria

A row of green leafy plants in a field, with irrigation pipes sprinkling water

What students eat: I conducted a survey at a South African university’s cafes – the results are scary

Tinashe P. Kanosvamhira, University of Cape Town

A young woman sitting on the grass outside eating a brown bread and cheese sandwich

Eating wild meat carries serious health risks – why it still happens along the Kenya-Tanzania border

Ekta Patel, International Livestock Research Institute and Julia E. Fa, Manchester Metropolitan University

A woman chopping up a medium-sized piece of meat that she has placed on a piece of wood

A quarter of the world’s population are adolescents: major report sets out health and wellbeing trends

Alex Ezeh, Drexel University; Russell Viner, UCL, and Sarah Baird, George Washington University

Girls in white robes and headscarves sit at a desk in a school classroom, writing in exercise books

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Health research insights

One person's hand holding another person's hand which has a medical drip inserted

Living with multiple chronic conditions cuts lives short – but Africans are overlooked in research

Isaac Kisiangani, African Population and Health Research Center; Michele Ramsay, University of the Witwatersrand, and Michelle Kamp, University of the Witwatersrand

Why rating your pain out of 10 is tricky

Joshua Pate, University of Technology Sydney; Dale J. Langford, Cornell University, and Tory Madden, University of Cape Town

Little girl holds her face in her hands.

Mystery disease kills dozens in Congo – what we know so far

Andrew Lee, University of Sheffield

The team in charge of burning the bodies of Ebola victims.

Why is it so difficult to make a new antibiotic?

Alistair Farley, University of Oxford and Helen Smith, University of Oxford

We studied drug-resistant bacteria on hospital surfaces in six countries. This is what we found

Pink spherical shapes against a blue background

More health research insights

Health challenges

Hands in blue gloves holding a test tube, and more test tubes in the foreground labelled Ebola

Preventing the next pandemic: One Health researcher calls for urgent action

Hung Nguyen-Viet, International Livestock Research Institute

Sex and disability: Nigerian women share their stories

Obasanjo Bolarinwa, York St John University; Aliu Mohammed, University of Energy and Natural Resources; Blessing Babalola, and Clifford Obby Odimegwu, University of the Witwatersrand

Vaccines: why these young Africans are hesitant about them and what might change their minds

Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun, University of the Western Cape and Marisa Casale, University of the Western Cape

Hypodermic needle inserted into a vial, with graphic of spiky spherical shapes

US funding cuts have crippled our HIV work – what’s being lost

Glenda Gray, South African Medical Research Council

Marketing unhealthy food as good for kids is fuelling obesity in South Africa: how to curb it

Aisosa Jennifer Omoruyi, University of the Western Cape

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Mind and body

How to protect your eyes in the digital age – expert in eye and vision science

Daniela Oehring, University of Plymouth

The best and worst meat replacements for your health, your wallet and the planet – new research

Marco Springmann, University of Oxford

Even small diet tweaks can lead to sustainable weight loss – here’s how

Alexandra Cremona, University of Limerick

A woman prepares portioned meals for the week.

Why you should avoid doing the exact same workout everyday if you want to get fit

Dan Gordon, Anglia Ruskin University; Jonathan Melville, Anglia Ruskin University, and Ruby Cain, Anglia Ruskin University

A young couple sprint down a road outdoors.

Dehydration: how it happens, what to watch out for, what steps to take

Anastasia Ugwuanyi, University of the Witwatersrand

Back view of a woman holding a bottle of water to her neck. with her other hand on her head