We want to put a spotlight on an issue that is a threat to national security, public health, and democracy -- human trafficking. Worldwide, the State Department estimated there are an astounding 12.3 million adults and children in modern-day slavery! From sexual exploitation to involuntary servitude, victims of human trafficking, particularly women and children, experience horrendous crimes and injustices on a daily basis. Trafficking fuels gender violence and the subordination of women and their rights as human beings. We, as the next generation of … [Read more...]

By Carly James. South Africa has been ransacked by HIV for decades, consistently ranking as the country bearing the highest prevalence of HIV among adults in the world. Records indicate that roughly 5.6 million South Africans face the disease every day. Furthermore, statistics reveal that HIV rates among pregnant women in South Africa are significantly higher than among adults. With such a staggering rate of HIV, the southernmost country of continental Africa has been pin-pointed as a key distribution site for various forms of contraception, awareness … [Read more...]

By  Sofia Ahsanuddin When you think of the term, “apartheid,” what comes to mind? In his article for the 2000 edition of the French newspaper, “Le Monde Diplomatique,” Martine Bulard uses the term apartheid to refer to the unjust policies and practices of the pharmaceutical industry in developing nations. He provides ample evidence to support his claim that many international pharmaceutical companies have not only refused to produce essential drugs because there were no “guarantees of a return on an investment,” but have also engaged in … [Read more...]

By Billy Tsang   Much of Africa’s leadership has and continues to see HIV as a heterosexual epidemic. This is not surprising, as most of Africa still deems homosexuality as illegal and punishable by law. Lane (2008) expresses that even in post-apartheid South Africa, the “only African nation with legal guarantees of equal rights for gay and lesbian citizens and highly visible gay and lesbian communities”, there has been  little attention given to the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM). Academic literature has widely … [Read more...]

By Sofia Ahsanuddin   Nursing and midwife education plays a pivotal role in developing an innovative and transformative approach to sustainable healthcare. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) drew attention to a critical shortage of more than 4 million doctors, nurses, and midwives worldwide. In 2010, a report issued by a high-level Commission on Education of Health Professionals and the Sub-Saharan African Medical School Study stated a mind-blowing statistic about the mentioned shortage of trained health professionals; between 1985 … [Read more...]

By Carly James   In the wake of the second anniversary of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, much of the world is directing its attention to the social, economic, and political progress that Haiti has made. Since that historic moment in Haiti’s troubled history, considerable strides have been made in terms of rubble removal, medical assistance, and resettlement of displaced persons. In fact, the country was proud to inaugurate the ultra-modern Roi Henri Christophe University, currently one of Haiti’s largest buildings, in mid-January. Secretary … [Read more...]