Showing 1 - 10 of 547
Why is North Korea courting Russian tourists?
Oped, Saahil Menon, Published on 13/08/2025
» Hoping to replenish state coffers with much-needed foreign exchange reserves and offset the sharp post-Covid decline in Chinese tour groups, the Hermit Kingdom has set its sights on inquisitive holiday-makers from an ideologically aligned Russia.
Stepping up HIV fight
Oped, Editorial, Published on 30/06/2025
» The recent news of Gilead Sciences' groundbreaking new HIV preventative drug, Lenacapavir, offers a beacon of hope in the fight against HIV. With a remarkable 96% efficacy in reducing HIV infection and the convenience of only two injections per year, Lenacapavir holds the potential to be a true game-changer in the global effort to halt the transmission of HIV.
Life in a flu bubble
Oped, Postbag, Published on 22/05/2025
» Re: "Covid cases hit 33k last week", (BP, May 19) & "Covid alert as six die last week,' (BP, May 13).
Protectionism will not protect
Oped, Winnie Byanyima & Michael Marmot, Published on 16/05/2025
» As many Global North countries turn inwards, foreign assistance has become an easy target. The decimation of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has dominated headlines, but the United Kingdom and many European countries have also cut their foreign-aid budgets. Policymakers in these countries view this spending as a form of charity and think that bolstering their economic and military might can deliver more benefits for more people.
Aids fight cut short
Oped, Postbag, Published on 22/04/2025
» Re: "US funding cuts for Aids-HIV fight", (BP, April 17).
Present from Putin
Oped, Postbag, Published on 22/03/2025
» Re: "Putin call 'a test' of deal-making skill", (World, March 19).
The world's babies need antibiotics
Oped, Glenda Gray, Published on 28/11/2024
» Over the last half-century, the number of children who die before reaching the age of five has fallen dramatically, from around 20 million in 1960 to 4.9 million in 2022, largely owing to the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI). Established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1974, the EPI has been extraordinarily successful in providing the youngest people with access to vaccines, saving more than 150 million lives. But while such progress is worthy of celebration, there is still much work to do, because newborns comprise half of all deaths in children under five each year, many of which are caused by infection.
FGM and the need for Islamic scholars
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 20/07/2024
» There was a small victory in The Gambia this week when a proposed law to legalise female genital mutilation (FGM) was defeated by human rights campaigners. It was quite a small victory, however, because the great majority of little girls in The Gambia are still being mutilated by the professional "cutters" who move from village to village.
Herbal marvel needs support
Oped, Editorial, Published on 25/06/2024
» Now that Covid-19 has become endemic, the Public Health Ministry medical guidelines removing green chiretta, or fah talai jone, a traditional herb, from the list of essential medicines for Covid-19 patients has raised eyebrows among those advocating for alternative medicine.
Climate change poses health threat
Oped, Manica Balasegaram, Published on 17/05/2024
» It is widely believed that climate change is the single biggest threat to human health. A global temperature increase of 2C -- a threshold that will likely be exceeded by the end of the century -- could claim as many as one billion lives, with extreme weather events, heatwaves, droughts, flooding, infectious disease outbreaks, and food shortages among the causes of death. But the situation may, in fact, be far worse because the current forecasts fail to account for the inevitable increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR).