Master of Public Health & Tropical Medicine. Long standing experience with infectious disease surveillance (including influenza-like-illness monitoring), outbreak control, case management, vaccination program management. There is no health without liberty and justice. Ask anyone existing in poverty.
This week I discovered that “TB Baby”, 18 months old and severely malnourished with no weight gain in many months, is unable to sit independently, unable to crawl, unable to weight bear on her legs and unable to walk. We don’t think help will be forthcoming. Perhaps, after all, it never was TB? It is … More Viral Panic
There has always been a nagging doubt somewhere in the back of my mind about the mainstream response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It started when a friend pointed out that when China locked down Hubei province, the violations of human rights were condemned quickly by the likes of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others. … More Questioning the New Normal
The other day a friend in Cambodia shared this photograph of a young man not receiving his anti-HIV medications. In the same email she told the story of a dog she was unable to save before it died of starvation in front of her. Cambodia continues to report no local transmission of Coronavirus despite concerted … More A Picture Paints a Thousand Words
People are going hungry. This immediately increases the rate of malnutrition allowing Tuberculosis to emerge. Stop TB Partnership have predicted an extra 6.3 million cases of TB and 1.4 million extra TB deaths over the next five years. During global lockdowns cases of notified TB have declined as people are unable to access the services … More Hidden Coronavirus Victims
Countries where the Covid-19 epidemic hit hard are starting to ease their lockdown restrictions. Paradoxically, Cambodia, who has not really experienced the epidemic except by way of psychological and economic impact, continues to receive strong messages of “the second wave is coming” and “risk level for transmission is at an alarming rate”. Until two days … More A Very Important Triangle
It is now over a month since Cambodia reported their last case of Coronavirus. They currently sit at 122 cases, 122 recoveries and 0 deaths. Nevertheless, messages of the grim reaper coming continue from various sources. The grim reaper certainly will come but perhaps not by actual Coronavirus, and rather by Coronavirus fears. As a … More An Interesting Picture
When you are poor in a poor country there are many things which will kill you prematurely. Stress is likely the prevailing, but not the only culprit. Right now the Coronavirus Pandemic response is becoming a major issue for millions around the world, increasing food insecurity and hunger as well as having a negative impact … More Grab Some Happiness
How does the Coronavirus pandemic affect the world’s most vulnerable people? Take this quiz and find out
Until now Cambodia has had minimal Coronavirus infections. Today’s count sits at a total of 121 cases and 0 deaths. However in the face of two different clusters with contact tracing becoming more complex, and hindered by a reluctance of some cases to share the information needed to track their close contacts, Khmer New Year … More Complex and Confusing
Most of us have seen this curve by now, which explains in a single diagram why it’s important to practice the public health recommendations of staying away from each other as much as possible, washing our hands frequently and practicing proper cough etiquette. This picture looks different for different populations right now. Italy, Spain and … More Flattening the Fake News
