By Nofil Shah

Founded in 1977 by an Afghan feminist poetess Meena, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) has been active for over a decade now in its humanitarian endeavors. It is a left-of-center group, which does not advocate violence. RAWA campaigns for women's rights and provides education and health facilities for women and children.

By Michael Parenti

There is a "mystery" we must explain: How is it that as corporate investments and foreign aid and international loans to poor countries have increased dramatically throughout the world over the last half century, so has poverty? The number of people living in poverty is growing at a faster rate than the world's population. What do we make of this?

Expert skeptical about use of polypill in primary prevention of CVD

by Shamala Palaniappan

A cardiologist has voiced his skepticism over the use of the 'polypill' in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), advocating instead a concept he refers to as the 'polymeal'.

There is now a clear economic incentive for countries to invest more money in diabetes treatment and therapeutics, reports Shamala S. Palaniappan.

An independent body providing diabetes management programs and monitoring should be established to facilitate greater interaction between government and the pharmaceutical industry, says an expert.

Does the metabolic syndrome exist? Shamala S. Palaniappan queries.

Changes in lifestyle has to be the focus in the fight against the metabolic syndrome, says the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) .

Lifestyle changes include exercising more and adopting healthier eating habits, said Professor Paul Zimmet, director of the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

Have cardiologists become good recipe doctors? asks Shamala S. Palaniappan

Intra-abdominal obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) even after all conventional risk factors have been accounted for, says an expert.

by Shamala S. Palaniappan

A recently completed whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphism scan for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has increased the genetic information content for the disease.

The data will hopefully facilitate research into the genetics of T2DM, said geneticist Professor Leif Groop, of the department of clinical sciences, Malmo University Hospital, Sweden.

Shamala S. Palaniappan grapples with the details of the disease in three South East Asian countries.

The outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and brain infections in young children in the region during the last decade is due to the human enterovirus type 71 (HEV 71).

HEV 71 was first identified in California in 1969 as a major cause of HFMD epidemics and associated with severe neurological complications in young children.

The emergence of a planet of slums? Shamala S. Palaniappan worries over the recent UN prediction.

Meteor impacts, continent-shattering earthquakes and overnight climate change has shaped the world and the evolution of humans. Environmental change on human life has been always dramatic but the message from recent WHO statistics are frighteningly disturbing. Human health is now deteriorating rapidly, catalyzed by gradual and global irrevocable environmental change.

by Shamala S. Palaniappan

When Pauline, 30, woke up feeling slightly under the weather, she brushed it off as a slight flu. Two days, the fever persisted and she felt much worse. A visit to a doctor ensued.

As she lived in a dengue-plagued area, the doctor was suspicious of her high, uncontrolled fever and ordered a blood test for dengue serology and platelet counts. A repeat test a few days later confirmed that Pauline had dengue.