A health and public policy blog
Whilst boarding school in Ghana for me was mostly fun that was not all that I experienced in Mfantsipim School, one of the oldest schools in Ghana. My first 3 years in boarding school as a junior boy Read More…
Before I came to America I was made to believe that America was this “melting pot” of people from all over the world. A huge successful experiment where people from all walks of life and continentRead 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…
I first saw her in my clinic seeking care for HIV but when we first met like most patients with her medical condition she was not an ideal patient. The decision to start her on ART Antiretroviral theRead More…
After more than 2 centuries of slavery progress towards equity and equality has always been challenging for African Americans, progress always seems to be followed by significant periods or retrogressRead 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…
Personally I cannot say when I had my first drink because I believe I was just too young to remember. I believe I must have been three or four years old then because it was definitely before I went toRead 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…
I recently read that America has about 270 – 310 million guns, and with a population estimate of 310 million, that is almost as many guns as for every man, woman and child in this country. That gRead 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…
Growing up in Ghana towards the end of the 20th century, Africa to most Americans and “sh*thole” as Trump would say the environment under which we lived was one of that was very much carved by the iRead More…
As a student in medical school I have a host of memories that I believe would still remain vivid in my mind for ages. One such image is my experience as a 4th year medical student observing an amputatRead 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…
Race has been a defining characteristic in America over the years due to historical elements of American society. In the 1600s European settlers in the New World transitioned a system of slavery and iRead 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…
Today I would be talking about a problem that affects a large proportion of men. This is a condition most men have experienced before and concerns women very much since it affects them very directly. Read 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…
President Trump declared a National Public Health Emergency this week; in his statement from the Whitehouse he was not talking about HIV or Hepatitis C nor was he referring to the increased incidencRead More…
Current reports from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) suggest that the United States is second on the list of countries with the highest per capita consumption of opioids. Data from Read More…
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin introduced the Dream Act in Congress in 2001 due to a story told him by a music teacher about the life of Tereza Lee a Korean girl whose parents had come to the US from KoRead More…
For those who do not know my heritage I am Ghanaian by birth and moved to the United States about 16 yrs ago. In the US I have never been able to escape being mistaken for a Nigerian, Caribbean AmericRead More…
I had the opportunity to watch the released dash-cam video of the shooting of Philando Castile by police officer Geronimo Yanez. My reaction was mostly surprise at the composure and calmness of the laRead More…
About three years ago I posted a photo of myself wearing my biking gear on facebook and was aghast with horror when one of my old classmates made a comment on the size of my belly. Well it is three yeRead 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…