Author: Gloria Addo

Self-proclaimed “dentists” are fitting braces, which are used by dentists to align, straighten, and properly position teeth on the streets and in kiosks. They come in a variety of colors and styles, and they even fit braces for those who don’t need them or have never seen a dentist in person. Using social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, young vendors are advertising their new trade of fitting braces with adhesives that have been colored and mixed with other materials while ignoring health considerations. A US-based Ghanaian orthodontist, Dr. Abraham Musah, touched on allergic reactions. Dr. Musah said some…

The Cleveland Clinic, USA has found that the widely used replacement for sugar, erythritol, has alarming cardiovascular effects when compared to typical sugar, raising concerns about its safety. The study raises some concerns that the usual amount of a food or beverage sweetened with erythritol may temporarily induce a direct clot-forming impact. According to the researchers, erythritol increases the activity of blood platelets, which can result in blood clots. Erythritol is a low-calorie sweetener that is roughly 70% sweeter than sugar. Manufacturers synthesize erythritol from corn, and various fruits naturally contain it. The body also made it in extremely small…

The Food and Drug Administration of the USA has discovered that sterile tattoo and makeup ink bottles contain dangerous bacteria, potentially causing infections, sepsis, and even death. In the study published in Applied and Environmental Biology on bacterial contamination in tattoo and permanent cosmetic inks, researchers evaluated 75 samples from 14 manufacturers and discovered that 26 were infected with 34 different types of bacteria, 19 of which can cause diseases. Dr. Pauline Gacheri, a consultant dermatologist, explained that dichromate salts, cobalt (Co), cadmium, and mercury, considered bases for the colors green, blue, yellow, and red; and iron oxide, titanium dioxide,…

The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have called for holistic support to improve exclusive and equal access to breastfeeding support as the world marks World Breastfeeding Awareness Week. Celebrated annually from August 1 to August 7, this year’s campaign, themed “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All,” emphasizes the importance of enhancing breastfeeding support to ensure the health and well-being of mothers and babies. A statement published by Catherine Russell (UNICEF Executive Director) and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO Director-General) reads that an estimated 4.5 billion people, or more than half of the world’s population, do…

A clinical trial conducted in South Africa and Uganda found that a new pre-exposure prophylaxis drug (PrEP) provides young women between the ages of 16 and 25 with complete protection against HIV infection. The New England Journal of Medicine published a confirmation of the study, which indicated that positive findings resulted in an earlier-than-expected conclusion of the experiment. UNAIDS reported 1.3 million new HIV infections globally last year, falling short of the 2025 target and the goal of ending AIDS by 2030. This development raises the prospect of an extremely effective HIV preventive tool with great potential. For a young…

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is preparing to introduce a free health screening program for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly hypertension and diabetes, to combat its high mortality rates in Ghana. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which include cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory conditions, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, pose serious international public health issues. Every year, around the world, NCDs claim the lives of 17 million people before they reach the age of 70, and it is possible to prevent 86 percent of these deaths. However, NCDs accounted for 41 million of the 55 million fatalities in 2019, accounting for 74% of deaths…

UNICEF in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has launched a project to improve healthcare in HIV Services for possible mother-to-child transmission cases. The project dubbed Point of Care Test, is the use of a technology to significantly reduce turnaround times for HIV test results in babies, enhancing their chances of survival and reducing maternal anxiety. Speaking on the project, Chief of Health & Nutrition -UNICEF Ghana, Emmanuel Dewiz, stated that the idea is innovative as it allows infected babies to be treated as soon as possible thereby increasing their chances of surviving. “The Point of Care Test initiative…

Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has announced intentions to implement paternity leave as part of labor reforms under the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s proposed Labour Bill for 2024. Male employees may request paternity leave within three months of the wife’s or surrogate’s childbirth or following the adoption of a child under one year old. To qualify, male employees must provide proof of birth or adoption to their employer. Upon approval, the employer is required to grant a minimum of five days of paternity leave, effective from the specified date in the application. However, a worker cannot be…

A team of researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science, Imperial College London, and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore have discovered a possible drug that can increase lifespan by 20–25% after conducting an experiment in mice. In preclinical research, the group discovered that as people aged, their organs released higher amounts of the interleukin-11 (IL-11) protein, which encouraged the build-up of fat in the liver and belly and decreased muscle mass and strength two characteristics that are significant in the aging in humans. Professor Stuart Cook and his associates tested this theory by injecting 37 mice with a medication…

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has begun the 2024 Mass Drug Administration (MDA) Campaign against Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, and Lymphatic Filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, in the disease-endemic districts across the country. The initiative aimed at combating these neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2030 is targeted at 5.8 million and 440,000 individuals aged 5 years and older, excluding pregnant women, in 77 Onchocerciasis endemic districts and 3 Lymphatic Filariasis endemic districts across the country. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, the Director-General of the Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, revealed that the main strategy for controlling and…