Simone Oyekan recently graduated with an Economics degree from the University of Surrey. Living in several different countries, from Europe to the Americas to Africa, inspired her to want to make a difference in the international community. Previously, she has worked for an NGO and in a Ugandan health center. She is currently a French language student in Paris and is looking forward to obtaining a masters degree in International Affairs. Her hobbies include cooking, reading and skiing.
Simone Oyekan
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The Spread of Malaria in Thai-Cambodia
March 25, 2011 by
2008 was a busy year for Thailand. The “Red T-Shirt” Conflict happened and so did the Thai-Cambodian border dispute. In 2011, it seems that the latter of these problems is resurfacing. The two nations have made claims for decades over the temple, Preah Vihear, which hovers at the border. In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia. Both sides have been locked in a standoff since July 2008, when the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple was granted UNESCO World Heritage status, which Thailand opposed on grounds that … [Read more...]
Bush Wives
February 7, 2011 by
“Rape as a Weapon of War” is undoubtedly the most cruel war tactic. As a kind of slow death, it is designed to destroy communities as a tool of ethnic cleansing. One method is through the childbirth of different citizens (as in the case of Bosnia). Another may be through humiliating rape victims and thereby making it harder for them to assimilate into their communities. These accounts of rape are extremely disturbing because they require extensive premeditation and often have the consent of those we trust (soldiers, senior officials, UN … [Read more...]
Malaria & Pregnancy
January 9, 2011 by
A couple of days ago, I had a bright idea to browse the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine's website. I'd just finished watching a program about the actress that plays Samantha (from Sex and the City) searching for her family's history in Liverpool. During the program, I tried to recall the little information I knew about Liverpool. One was that I visited Liverpool a couple of years ago, and the other is the infamous tropical medicine school. That then got me thinking about an article that I could write for a blog post. After doing some research … [Read more...]
Toxic “Sugar Meals” for Mosquitoes
December 22, 2010 by
A new trial by scientists at the University of Israel suggests a new method by which about 90% of mosquitoes can be eradicated. On certain local fruits, a toxic sugar bait can be used to exterminate local populations of mosquitoes as they sample the fruit. In the semi-arid Bandiagara District of Mali, West Africa, scientists used man-made ponds containing the Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles arabiensi mosquitoes. Over a 38-day period, scientists first used CDC light traps to monitor mosquito populations and then on day 8, sprayed on the attractive … [Read more...]
Violence against Women in Iraqi Refugee Populations
December 7, 2010 by
“It is perhaps more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in armed conflict.” – Major General Patrick Cammaert Almost comparable to a food chain, violence against women is often a result of other socioeconomic factors. Conflict leads to humanitarian emergencies and the creation of refugees. The creation of refugees creates discrimination towards women that includes anything from rape to trafficking to honor killings. This sexual violence then results in health crises such as unsafe abortion, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections … [Read more...]
Genetically-Modified Mosquitoes
November 30, 2010 by
"In the absence of drugs and vaccines, the way to control this disease is to control the mosquito, and that's what this technology will do." – Dr. Alphey, Oxitec It is well known that Anopheles mosquitoes cause malaria, but not as widely known that mosquitoes cause dengue fever. Dengue fever is spread through the bite of an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito. The symptoms often resemble that of a common cold. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 50 million cases of dengue fever a year, of which 25,000 are fatal, and … [Read more...]
Diagnosing Malaria with a Cell Phone
October 27, 2010 by
These days cell phones are used for everything. From sending e-mails to creating powerpoint presentations and to conducting video calls. They have even replaced the home phone as the primary number of contact. But who would have thought that cell phones could be used to solve global problems? As part of a research project, some students from the University of California, Berkeley have created an innovative way to use the cell phone to provide solutions to various global health issues. The students took a microscope and a Nokia N95 and put them … [Read more...]
Solving Malaria is a bit like Solving the Rubix Cube
October 14, 2010 by
Every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria. Yet, malaria is a treatable disease. How do I know? I’ve had it before. I was 9 years old. If not for my families’ access to drugs, I may have been 1 of one million children that die each year. Malaria is caused by an anopheles mosquito bite. The parasite that is transmitted by these mosquitoes multiplies in the liver and infects red blood cells. Symptoms can include a fever, vomiting, weakness and a headache. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately half of the world’s … [Read more...]
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