A health and public policy blog
Over the years widespread application of vaccines globally has led to significant reductions in the incidence of many vaccine preventable communicable diseases. One disease smallpox has been completeRead More…
In a prior post earlier in the year I wrote on this topic. A closer look at the current global situation suggests that whilst the cost of Hepatitis C (HCV) treatment may appear to be a major barrier Read More…
In the past few weeks there has been a lot of interest on the breast as different organizations advance various initiatives to help reduce risk of Breast Cancer in Ghana. These activities attracted aRead More…
As any self respecting Baltimore resident I sometimes see business deals in terms of street culture. I must admit though that I am no expert in street culture however a conversation that I had with aRead More…
In the US most patients who require PrEP (HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) get coverage for Truvada by their insurance companies. Patients with medicaid coverage have copays ranging from $3 – 25, howeverRead More…
As the summer enters its full force and many plan their vacations to the beach and other sunny places, I remembered that not all of us are going to be enjoying the sun equally. There are a few who wouRead More…
A part of the New Testament, John 8:7 actually suggests …..“He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.”… This was after an adulterer was accused and brought to JesuRead More…
Broad street in Philadelphia is this wide swathe of black, running through the middle of the city. A black big motoring vein with asphalt tributaries emptying cars, and people, milling restlessly withRead More…
Hepatitis C is a global disease with an estimated prevalence rate of about 2.8% worldwide. There are however significant variations in the prevalence rate by country with most low and middle income coRead More…
Most of us have heard of the use of chicken soup to cure common cold or flu symptoms, today I decided to do a literature search to determine if there is any evidence supporting this common recommendatRead More…
Gun violence in the USA and road traffic accidents in Ghana share one thing in common both countries have decided to leave their respective problems in the hand of God. In the past 2 weeks I have beRead More…
Prostate cancer screening always raises a lot of controversy on MANY accounts. Most notable among these is the nature of the physical exam recommended for screening, digital rectal exam (DRE). On a Read More…
As an immigrant from Ghana I have the liberty of blaming all my weight gain on the American diet and a lifestyle with less physical activity. Whilst the kinds of foods we eat play a major role in weigRead More…
As a physician from Ghana brought up in a very religious family, I must admit that when it comes to gay rights and other issues related to sexual minorities I was as far to the right as anyone could bRead More…
My first HIV patient that I cared for was in Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana in the late 1990s. I can still remember the woman in her mid-thirties who we had admitted with symptoms suggestiveRead More…
Four students have died. One after the other over a ten day period. And the diagnosis is only certain now, after they died. In a country with close 5000 doctors, multiple teaching hospitals, a functioRead More…