International Health News

Many global women’s advocacy groups and health networks are banding together, ready to block decisions made by the President-elect Donald Trump and his administration, which they fear will have a severe impact on women’s reproductive rights worldwide. Many of these organizations are concerned that funding for groups that offer or provide advice on abortions will be severely reduced, impacting millions of people. The U.S. is currently the largest contributor of funds for international family planning, donating more than $607 million in 2016 alone and helping more than 27 million women and couples get access to contraception.

Country updates

The World Health Organization (WHO) has described Shanghai as a ‘leading example of a healthy city’. The city has succeeded in fully implementing a smoking ban in all indoor public spaces. By using the ‘whole-of-society’ approach, Shanghai is a fine example to other Chinese cities that it is possible to create completely smoke-free environments, which will significantly help to combat the increase in non-communicable diseases which are caused by smoking alone.

A new vaccine against HIV is to be tested in a trial in South Africa. The study will enroll 5,400 sexually active men and women aged between 18 and 35 at 15 sites across the country. It will be the largest HIV vaccine clinical trial to take place in the country, and could bring hope that this disease, which is passed on to more than 1000 people a day in South Africa, will finally be beaten.

Health Advice

Winter can have a big impact on our health, both mentally and physically, and the shorter days and colder weather could be affecting us more than we realise. The three major factors attributed to feeling worse during winter are low vitamin D levels, doing less exercise than normal and suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD); so make sure you take your vitamins, and try and get out of the house and exercise as much as possible.