Malaria has plagued humankind from Neolithic times to the modern day. Now, with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) approval of the first vaccine to prevent malaria, there is hope to drastically reduce the numbers of cases and deaths from this ancient disease.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity has nearly tripled globally since 1975. Except for a few medical conditions, overweight and obesity are preventable and result from poor eating habits, unhealthy body fat distribution and lack of physical activity.
WiRED International now offers a module on overweight and obesity. WiRED’s health education course defines these conditions and their signs, causes, health consequences, genetic, behavioral and risk factors, in addition to treatment.
Air pollution. We have been living with it ever since we began burning fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, cause temperatures to rise and produce chemicals and particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals and plants. A pivotal part to stopping climate change is reducing air pollution.
Throughout Africa, and in nearly all low-income regions around the world, community health workers (CHWs) augment the professional medical corps by offering critical medical and public health services. They provide community health education, basic clinical services, health surveillance, mother and child assistance and much more.
Early in 2020. WiRED International inaugurated our CHW Training Program to teach local people in Kisumu, Kenya, about health basics, patient assessment, clinical issues, health teaching and monitoring.
World Heart Day is September 29 — which serves to raise awareness and information about heart well-being, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
WiRED International contributes to the understanding of heart health by offering a wealth of materials on the subject, from providing basic information for general audiences to training nurses in the echocardiographic diagnosis of heart diseases.
The double punch of COVID-19 and dengue outbreaks is endangering health care in dengue-endemic countries such as Brazil, India, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The overlapping of the two diseases presents a challenge for accurate diagnosis and treatment because both infections initially share similar symptoms. Dengue programs have been halted in many countries as efforts are focused on stopping COVID-19. Funds for dengue routine vector control and mosquito netting have decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospital beds are in short supply.
What is long-haul COVID-19?
Long-haul COVID-19 — Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection — occurs when patients who have been infected with the virus experience new, recurring or ongoing symptoms four or more weeks after infection, sometimes after initial symptom recovery. These post-virus conditions constitute a lack of return to a usual state of health after the COVID-19 illness. Symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, “brain fog,” sleep disorders, fevers, gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety and depression. They can persist for months and range from mild to incapacitating. In some cases, new symptoms arise well after the time of infection or evolve over time.
Any infection can lead to sepsis — a life-threatening emergency — yet few people know what it is.
Sepsis is a complication of infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death. The condition constitutes a global healthcare problem, and despite advances in modern medicine such as vaccines, antibiotics and intensive care, it is the primary cause of death from infection, especially in underserved countries.
With a health issue like COVID-19, we all like a linear story: There’s a killer virus out there, but we’ve found a vaccine that stops it cold in an individual, and when enough of us get the vaccine, the virus fades away and we all return to life, liberty and our pursuit of happiness.
That isn’t the COVID-19 story, though. It’s a dangerous virus, where some people get sick, some die and some never feel a thing. There are remarkable vaccines, but they have a sliding scale of effectiveness, and then they attenuate, and so we’ll need a booster to keep the virus from breaking through. Then some people who get sick from COVID-19 get well and seem protected, but then ill health effects return. These long-haulers are a mystery. Don’t even ask about the variants where the first COVID-19 was bad, but some of the follow-ups are worse by spreading faster and making people sicker.
When WiRED International’s Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Kisumu, Kenya, graduated early in 2020 nobody could have foreseen that they would soon have to defend their communities from a global pandemic. WiRED’s CHWs continue to witness firsthand the effects of COVID-19 on their communities and the impact the pandemic is having not only on health but on businesses, jobs, schools and daily life. As fully trained vaccinators, thanks to WiRED’s Vaccinator Training Program (VTP), WiRED’s CHWs now stand ready to further support their communities by working with local doctors and nurses to distribute and administer vaccines as soon as they arrive.