HEALTH - The African Mirror

Feb

12

2026

By TURNWAIT OTU MICHAEL and KAMMILA NAIDOO

Women’s control over fertility is linked to education, money and digital access – study of 16 African countries

HEALTH

MANY married women in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have the freedom to make decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. Global data show that only 37% of women in the region aged 15-49 can make their own informed decisions about sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive healthcare in the region. In Europe, 87% of women have this freedom. These decisions shape whether women survive pregnancy, avoid unsafe abortions, stay in school, participate in paid work and plan the size of their families. Yet in many homes, decisions about engaging in sex, using contraception or seeking healthcare are strictly determined by husbands,…

Feb

05

2026

By OBASANJO BOLARINWA

Nigerian women and contraceptives: study finds big gaps between the haves and the have-nots

HEALTH

NIGERIAN women who are wealthier, more educated and urban are more likely to use modern contraceptives than poorer, less educated and rural women. This is one of the findings of a study that assessed patterns of inequality in modern contraceptive use. This highlights persistent inequalities in access to family planning services. Obasanjo Bolarinwa, a global public health researcher, unpacks the findings. What’s behind differences in contraceptive use in Nigeria? I analysed data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys 2003 and 2018 using the WHO Health Equity Assessment Toolkit to assess contraceptive use in the country. My analysis shows that…

Feb

04

2026

By ADEYEMI OLADAPO AREMU; MAKHOTSO LEKHOOA, and MOMPATI VINCENT CHAKALE

Medicinal plants support men’s health in South Africa: why this knowledge needs safekeeping

HEALTH

MEN’S sexual and reproductive health may be awkward to talk about, but there’s a need to do so. For example, about one-sixth of all couples worldwide have difficulty conceiving children, and in half the cases, the man’s fertility is part of the problem. In South Africa, nearly 65% of men attending primary healthcare facilities report some level of erectile dysfunction, as do 57.4% of men in Nigeria. Not only is there a cultural stigma around these issues, but there also aren’t always enough healthcare professionals and services to help. Consequently, traditional medicine is not just an alternative to “western medicine”,…

Jan

27

2026

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Swapping antibiotics for cannabis in chicken feed? Morocco explores

HEALTH

MOROCCO has begun exploring the use of hemp in animal feeds as demand for organic and antibiotic-free poultry products rises in one of Africa’s largest poultry markets. Early January, Morocco’s cannabis regulator, the National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis-Related Activities (ANRAC), rolled out a 10-month research programme to test the use of Cannabidiol (CBD), said to be a non-intoxicating compound from the cannabis plant in poultry feeds.The National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Related Activities signed an agreement with the country’s most prestigious university in agriculture, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, to conduct the study.…

Jan

21

2026

By FRIDAY OKONOFUA

Medical negligence in Nigeria: what’s known, and what needs to be done

HEALTH

MEDICAL negligence in Nigeria came to the fore when author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie accused a Lagos hospital of negligence after the death of one of her 21-month-old twin boys. Nkanu Nnamdi died on 6 January 2026 after a brief illness. Friday Okonofua, emeritus professor of obstetrics and gynaecology and vice-president of the Nigerian Academy of Science, answers some questions about medical negligence in the country and how it can be curbed. What is medical negligence? Medical negligence is said to occur when a healthcare professional or a health institution fails to provide the expected standard of care, thereby causing harm…

Jan

20

2026

By MICHAEL HEAD; HONGHUI SHEN, and MARKUS BREDE

Ghana collects half the blood it needs – digital approaches can improve that

HEALTH

IT is late, the ward is crowded, and the clock is moving faster than everyone would like. A doctor has stabilised the patient as best they can, but one thing is missing – blood. A relative is asked to “try somewhere else”, and within minutes, the family is on the phone, calling friends, contacting church groups, posting in WhatsApp chats, hoping that someone nearby is eligible, willing and able to reach the hospital in time. In that moment, healthcare stops being only about medicine. It becomes about networks, trust and whether a lifesaving resource can be found quickly enough. This…

Jan

14

2026

By THEMBA TITUS SIGUDU

High cholesterol and insulin resistance are rising among young South Africans – what that means for public health

HEALTH

IN a small mining town in South Africa’s Limpopo province, young people are showing worrying signs of diseases that were once thought to affect only older adults. These include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and insulin resistance. This is not unique to Limpopo or South Africa. It reflects a global trend, where young adults in many low- and middle-income countries are increasingly experiencing early-onset metabolic diseases due to rapid urbanisation, lifestyle changes, unhealthy diets and reduced physical activity. The World Health Organisation says non-communicable diseases now account for 75% of all non-pandemic-related deaths globally. Also, 82%…

Jan

12

2026

By LYZBETH KING and MARY KIURA

Ghanaian celebrities are dealing with mental illness stigma behind closed doors – why speaking up matters

HEALTH

IMAGINE living in a country where talking openly about depression or anxiety can cost you your job, your reputation, or even your freedom. That is still the reality in Ghana, where mental illness is often explained in spiritual terms, and seeking help can mean being taken to a prayer camp instead of seeing a therapist. Even with global mental health awareness campaigns flooding social media and calendar days dedicated to ending stigma, many Ghanaians continue to struggle in silence. We study communication and wanted to understand how Ghanaian celebrities, in particular, communicatively manage the stigma that is associated with their…

Aug

02

2025

By VELMA PAMELA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Her mission: free treatment for cleft lip

HEALTH, MULTIMEDIA

44-YEAR-OLD Sesnie Zemichael was not meant to be in Nairobi, at least not in the way that she arrived. Conflict in her homeland brought her to Kenya in 2020. When civil war broke out in Ethiopia's Tigray region, Sesnie, who is of Tigrayan descent, was forced to flee the nation for safety. The turmoil disrupted her career in public health. “It was a very unpleasant, sudden exit,” she says. “I had to leave my position, my home, and a network I had spent years building.” But she turned her situation around and rebuilt her life — in Nairobi. The city…

Jan

05

2026

By MELANIE BISNAUTH

HIV funding still falls short of targets after pledges: what’s at stake

HEALTH

THE US government paused all foreign assistance in January 2025. This abrupt decision affected the delivery of life-saving HIV medicines and the provision of HIV prevention services to millions of people. A UNAIDS report estimates there could be an additional 6 million new HIV infections and 4 million AIDS-related deaths by 2029 if the world does not act. In November 2025, a global health initiative, The Global Fund, raised US$11.34 billion for HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria. Melanie Bisnauth, a public health professional in healthcare systems strengthening and HIV/Aids leadership, discusses how far this latest funding could go and how African…