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Background Reports
The International Response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza: Science, Policy and Politics
Over the last decade, the avian influenza virus, H5N1, has spread across most of Asia and Europe and parts of Africa. In some countries – including Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Egypt – the avian disease has probably become…
Briefings
Myths and Realities in Disaster Situations
In this resource, the World Health Organization debunk common myths relating to disaster situations and suggest further reading.
Background Reports
Haemorrhagic Fevers in Africa: Narratives, Politics and Pathways of Disease and Response
Outbreak narratives have justified rapid and sometimes draconian international policy responses and control measures. Yet there is a variety of other ways of framing haemorrhagic fevers. There present different views concerning who is at risk, and how? Is the ‘system’…
Background Reports
Seasonality of Cholera from 1974 to 2005: A Review of Global Patterns
The seasonality of cholera is described in various study areas throughout the world. However, no study examines how temporal cycles of the disease vary around the world or reviews its hypothesized causes. This paper reviews the literature on the seasonality…
Background Reports
Addressing Rural Health and Poverty Through Water Sanitation and Hygiene: Gender Perspectives
Women play a crucial role in providing care and support, and also in the use and management of the water resources and sanitation at the household level. In addition, voluntary community care work is done mostly by women, rather than…
Background Reports
The SARS-Associated Stigma of SARS Victims in the Post-SARS Era of Hong Kong
This article explores the disease-associated stigma attached to the SARS victims in the post-SARS era of Hong Kong. The author argues that the SARS-associated stigma did not decrease over time. Based on the ethnographic data obtained from 16 months of…
Exploring the cultural context of HIV/AIDS pandemic in a Nigerian community: Implication for culture specific prevention programmes
The new face of Human Immune Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has earned its recognition as a social problem due to the associated devastating social and cultural consequences on the individual and the society at large. As such,…
Neoliberal Reform and Health Dilemmas
In this article, the author traces the links among neoliberalism, regional ecological decline, and the dynamics of therapeutic processes in rural Senegal. By focusing on illness management in a small rural community, the article explores how economic reform is mediated…
Background Reports
Reviewing Emergencies for Swaziland – Shifting the Paradigm in a New Era
The world’s highest HIV prevalence and the increasing number of deaths due to AIDS is having unprecedented impact on Swaziland. Worryingly, with a generation of orphans and rapidly escalating poverty, this desperate situation is being accepted as ‘normal’. HIV/AIDS in…
Background Reports
Fuzzy Expert Systems and GIS for Cholera Health Risk Prediction in Southern Africa
Cholera (Vibrio cholerae) is endemic in southern Africa and frequently breaks out in epidemics along the eastern seaboard. Extensive resources are directed at combating cholera yet it remains a significant problem. Limited resources could better be directed to prevent outbreaks…
Briefings
Rehabilitating Health Systems in Post-Conflict Situations
Although baseline data for post-conflict situations are frequently unavailable, there is a clear deterioration in the health conditions of populations during and following conflict. Excess mortality and morbidity, displaced populations, and vulnerability to communicable diseases during and following conflict all…
Briefings
Accomodating Dissent
Providing cures for health problems isn’t enough, if people’s personal or cultural beliefs clash with the scientific approach. Policy-makers must recognize and engage with these objections.
