insert_link Health / Medical GoFundMe Has Become a Health Care Utility In its early years, GoFundMe funded honeymoon trips, graduation gifts, and church missions to overseas hospitals in need. Now it has become a go-to platform for patients trying to escape medical billing nightmares. (ERIC HARKLEROAD/KFF HEALTH NEWS) By Elisabeth Rosenthal via KFF Health News GoFundMe started as a crowdfunding site for underwriting “ideas and dreams,” and, as GoFundMe’s co-founders, Andrew Ballester and Brad Damphousse, once put it, “for life’s important moments.” […] todayFebruary 13, 2024 22
insert_link Namibia Katutura Intermediate State Hospital Faces Criticism for Inhumane Conditions; Activist Urges Private Healthcare Alternatives The Katutura Intermediate State Hospital is under scrutiny for allegedly accommodating patients in inhumane conditions, as highlighted by activist Michael Amushelelo. Amushelelo insists that patients should be housed in private healthcare facilities instead of the current situation. Lukas Kondo from the Katutura Intermediate State Hospital responds to the criticism. todayFebruary 13, 2024 26
insert_link Health / Medical EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: “Renovation Update: Katutura Intermediate State Hospital’s Lukas Kondo Shares Insights on Current Transformations In an effort to improve healthcare facilities and services, Katutura Intermediate State Hospital is currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation, as announced by Lukas Kondo, the Customer Care Officer for the hospital. The renovation, initiated by BCODIA, aims to enhance the overall infrastructure of the hospital for the benefit of the community. Kondo took a moment to address the nation and provide essential details about the ongoing process. Temporary Relocation for […] todayFebruary 13, 2024 102
insert_link Health / Medical NamBTS gives blood stock update The Blood Transfusion Service of Namibia has a critical shortage of blood since last year, with reserves declining. NAMBTS needs over 170 blood donations daily to meet the demand for blood in hospitals. We contacted Titus Shivute from the Blood Transfusion Service of Namibia, for an update. todayFebruary 6, 2024 60
insert_link Health / Medical Thirty years of rural health research: South Africa’s Agincourt studies offer unique insights By Stephen Tollman, University of the Witwatersrand and Kathleen Kahn, University of the Witwatersrand In 1992 a group of academics from the University of the Witwatersrand introduced a health and socio-demographic surveillance system in remote, rural South Africa to track and understand health and wellbeing in these environments. This initiative built on pioneering work by a Wits team to establish a health systems development unit in a […] todayFebruary 6, 2024 34
insert_link Africa Neglected tropical diseases persist in the world’s poorest places: four reads about hurdles and progress By Nadine Dreyer, via The Conversation It’s sobering to reflect that “neglected tropical diseases” are referred to as “neglected” because they persist in the poorest, most marginalised communities even after being wiped out in more developed parts of the world. A variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins, cause neglected tropical diseases, which include dengue, chikungunya, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis and yaws. They inflict tremendous suffering because […] todayJanuary 30, 2024 21
insert_link Africa Kenya’s healthcare workers abuse a third of teen mums from informal settlements – study By Anthony Idowu Ajayi, African Population and Health Research Center and Caroline W. Kabiru, African Population and Health Research Center Adolescent pregnancy is a global public health concern: in 2022, about 13% of girls and young women gave birth before the age of 18. Compared with women in their early 20s, adolescents are more susceptible to maternal deaths. Pregnancy-related complications are among the leading causes of death […] todayJanuary 30, 2024 57
insert_link Health / Medical How both health and safety are compromised for people living with long COVID and intimate partner violence Shutterstock Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Monash University; Benjamin Scott, Monash University; Jasmine McGowan, Monash University, and Naomi Pfitzner, Monash University What happens when a person is experiencing long COVID and intimate partner violence at the same time? There has been no attention paid to this question anywhere in the world since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. This is staggering, given previous research shows women who are victim-survivors of intimate partner […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 13
insert_link World With Trump Front of Mind, New Hampshire Voters Cite Abortion and Obamacare as Concerns Voters in Bedford, New Hampshire, wait in line to cast their ballots on Jan. 23, as the state holds its primary. (JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES) By Phil Galewitz via KFF Health News Health care issues are important to Lana Leggett-Kealey, who works as a genetic genealogist. But on Tuesday, as she walked out of her polling place at a local high school and into a frigid New England morning, she said she […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 5