Millions approaching famine in Somalia require aid; $2.6 billion appeal launched Millions approaching famine in Somalia require aid; $2.6 billion appeal launched Content Editor: Dr. Purnoor Kaur April 20, 2023 UN News Global Health, Famine, Food Insecurity Somalia pushed to a historic draught due to five poor rainy seasons sequentially, said Mr. Abdemoula in Geneva. The crises puts affected areas to a risk of famine. 21 died and 100,000 people displaced in March as seasonal rains caused floods. The Shabelle and Juba rivers in Ethiopian highlands could flood farmlands. Climate change is the culprit, according to the Humanitarian Coordinator. It produces erratic cycles of flooding and drought . Somalia is actually suffering the most from the climate disaster despite doing barely anything to cause it.

Sex education survey: Urgent need for awareness and curriculum reform Sex education survey: Urgent need for awareness and curriculum reform Content Editor: Dr. Urmimala April 15, 2024 Insight IIT-Bombay Sexual Education, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Knowledge-Attitude-Practice The issue of sex education begins with the results of a survey conducted on the college campus in January 2024. The survey found that 36% of undergraduates and 58.4% of postgraduates have engaged in some form of sexual activity. Close to 25% of sexually active respondents, do not use any form of contraception. Around 39% of 1063 respondents did not have any knowledge about the cause, prevention, or treatment of sexually transmitted infections. In contrast, 495 of them knew to some extent. An important finding was that 76.1% of all the respondents felt the need for formal sex education in the college curriculum. Addressing the results of the survey, the issue informs its readers about contraception, consent, and sexual violence as well. Click here to read more.

WHO Prequalifies Additional HPV test, Expanding Options as Countries Pursue Cervical Cancer Elimination WHO Prequalifies Additional HPV test, Expanding Options as Countries Pursue Cervical Cancer Elimination Content Editor: Dr Ashwini Priyadarshini Singh June 29, 2023 WHO News Public health, WHO, Cancer screening, HPV The World Health Organization (WHO) has included a fourth test for human papillomavirus (HPV) in its list of prequalified tests. It highlights the importance of HPV testing as a crucial component of cervical cancer screening. The WHO's prequalification program evaluates the performance of various tests used for HPV detection. The inclusion of Roche Molecular Systems Inc.'s cobas HPV assay expands the range of high-performance tests available to countries, supporting their efforts to improve screening coverage and quality. This step aligns with WHO's commitment to eliminate cervical cancer through strategic targets, including vaccination, screening, and treatment of pre-cancer and invasive cancer cases. HPV tests offer better performance than alternative methods – such as pap smear and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and provide opportunities for self-sampling, reducing barriers to testing. Incorporating HPV testing into existing laboratory systems further facilitates public health programs and helps achieve screening targets.