Arriving in Ramallah in December from a freezing UK, both the temperature and the welcome were very warm. The purpose was a regular visit to the students on the collaborative […]
Guest writers
Richard Smith on the right to health
On first acquaintance the concept of a right to health can seem ridiculous. Why not a right to happiness, beauty, high intelligence, and Arsenal winning the cup every year? The […]
Richard Smith on why diabetes envies cancer
Those who campaign on diabetes envy those who campaign on cancer because cancer gets so much more attention than diabetes. Indeed, the diabetes campaigners are very frustrated that diabetes is […]
Alison Godbolt on identity cards … invasion of privacy or commonsense?
A few years ago I saw myself as a bit of a defender of privacy. Now I’m slightly older (and wiser?). I wonder whether identity cards – traditionally opposed by […]
A global conversation on defining health: Alex Jadad and Laura O’Grady
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” In February of 2008 we dreamt of the possibility of […]
Siddhartha Yadav: Sex and the city
Thamel is a busy tourist hub in Kathmandu. Its streets are lined by numerous shops, massage centres, bars, pubs, hotels, restaurants and even strip clubs, popularly known as dance restaurants. […]
Ohad Oren injects hope into medical communication
In Israel, a country where we don’t need reminding of the precariousness of life, absolute terms like life and death are sometimes blurred. This gives power to the sort of […]
Matiram Pun: Mountain medicine – pilgrims, research, and peace
With the world’s media reporting about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the first congress of the Asia-Pacific Society of Mountain Medicine (APSMM) took place in Delhi on 28-30 November. The […]
Julian Sheather on genetically modified organisms
One evening last week I found myself alone in the restaurant of a large golfing hotel in a remote corner of Essex. Probably because it happens so infrequently, I quite […]
Andrew Hogg on clubfoot in Africa: the video
While working in the orthopaedic department at Ngwelezana I spent a fair amount of time doing the clubfoot clinics. For those unfamiliar with clubfoot treatment, most cases can be corrected […]