My Adherence My Fallacy: Stigma and Mental Health

Credit: Unsplash /Melanie Wasser

NEW YORK, May 18 2020 (IPS) – The World Health Organization (2019) states that . Annually, this represents over , more than the number of people who die in conflict and by homicide put together. Every suicide is a tragedy that has long-lasting effects on the people left behind and most cases stem from prolonged mental health issues and abuses that are not reported.

This is the story of Maria Gomez (56), an American citizen, born in Bangladesh, and of her daughter Mila Gomez (25), a mother and daughter duo, who work to raise awareness about mental health amongst young people and teens. Both are survivors of domestic abuse. Mil…

Safeguarding Africa’s Food Security in the Age of COVID-19

Jun 5 2020 (IPS) – Food security in sub-Saharan Africa is under threat. The ability of many Africans to access sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs has been disrupted by successive natural disasters and epidemics. Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, locust outbreaks in eastern Africa, and droughts in southern and eastern Africa are some examples. The COVID-19 pandemic is just the latest catastrophe to have swollen the ranks of 240 million people going hungry in the region. In some countries, over 70 percent of the population has problems accessing food.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s most food-insecure region, and in the June 2020 , we show t…

Tobacco Industry Capitalizes on Pandemic to Increase Influence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Jennie Lyn Reyes is the author of the 2020 Asian Tobacco Industry Interference Index and the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager of SEATCA.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov 20 2020 (IPS) – While the COVID-19 pandemic has elevated public health to a top priority in every country in the world, it has left many poorly resourced governments receptive to any and all aid that can provide immediate assistance to help their people.

The pandemic pandemonium has provided unprecedented opportunities for the tobacco industry to boost its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to get closer to health and senior government officials.

Using charity to gain access to senior officia…

Endgame for Polio in Pakistan

The campaign to eradicate polio in Pakistan has reached a critical milestone, with no cases reported for a year

A young child being given polio drops in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan recently reported that it had been a year since the last case of polio was detected. Credit: EOC KP

KARACHI, Feb 2 2022 (IPS) – “It was like a heavy burden had been lifted, and I could breathe easier,” said Irum Khan, a polio worker, recalling the cloudy, gloomy, winter morning of January 28, 2022, when her supervisor announced Pakistan had not reported a single case of a child afflicted with polio sin…