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Members of the Women’s Network educate people on the harmful

​Uncut, unwed and cast out, but a better life awaited

In rural Kenya, a group of strong-willed women is giving traumatised young runaways a second chance at life.
Being overweight is considered to be a form of malnutrition.

Six weighty figures to watch: The SA and global obesity epidemic in numbers

Numbers don't lie: A new report shows how people across the world keep piling on the kilos.
Sex workers can take a pill that significantly reduces the risk of HIV infection.

HIV-prevention pill: The deeply personal journey of a male sex worker in Kenya

A pill dispenser with an electronic cap monitors daily adherence to a regimen that may curb HIV among sex workers – and in broader society.
Healing business: Mental health patients help out in the photocopy and printing shop in Machakos

​The mentally ill are not alone in Kenya

There are too few psychiatrists, so a foundation is using a Canadian model to rehabilitate people.
Caverson Maliko fears for the safety of his grandson Chipililo Maiden

​Bones of gold: ‘You never know when someone will kidnap you’

Dangerous myths persist about people living with albinism, but a community in Malawi has had enough.
Irrigation farming in a Malawian village has helped ward off malnutrition and starvation

Water-fed gardens in Malawi ward off starvation – for now

The government's focus on small-scale irrigation has given hope and sustenance to some districts.
Water shortages in South Sudan force residents to rely on water vendors.

Juba’s water vendors make a living, but it’s a cut-throat business

Water pumped from the Nile is the only option for 98% of the residents of South Sudan's capital.
Female genital mutilation is banned in Agamsaha village

Female genital mutilation: Hope blooms in Somaliland

Women in Somaliland are working together with an NGO to eliminate one of the most ancient and extreme practices of female genital mutilation.
Displaced people carry water containers on their heads at Tomping camp

South Sudan: From war to water crisis

The start of the rainy season in the war-torn country could spell a cholera outbreak.
Codeine products are available over the counter in South Africa. But codeine is addictive and the products can be abused.

Is codeine Africa’s drug of choice?

Common cough, flu and pain medicines can be addictive. Codeine addiction is an increasingly well-known problem in South Africa.
South Africa legalised abortion decades ago but a lack of information on where to get one and health workers willing to terminate pregnancies still stand between people and safe abortions.

Cruel dilemma: To terminate or not to terminate

The joy of motherhood is killed by a moral and ethical dilemma when doctors advise termination of a pregnancy.
Yvette Mbayo-Ndaya has high blood pressure

Refugees ripped off at state hospitals

Poor people who have fled their countries are expected to pay steep rates for treatment at government hospitals in Gauteng.
Refugees are at risk of developing mental disorders

‘The baby fell, but I just kept running’

Refugees can flee their countries, but they can't escape the trauma of war.
The Lagos state government has initiated a vaccine campaign for children in rural villages.

‘There is hope this evil illness will not befall us again’

The residents of a Nigerian village had no health services, save for traditional methods, to treat those with a fever and a rash.
Rape survivors from war torn countries need healthcare and support in South Africa

DRC to SA: No escape from rape’s war

Abused women from war-torn countries who have fled to SA for safety often face more maltreatment here.
Children's lives are saved in Libya by doctors who can do heart surgery in countries without decent health systems.

Libya’s war kills little children in need of heart surgery

The country's health system is ravaged, but a team of volunteer doctors visit regularly: operating on the desperate and training local medical staff.