By Frank Dexter Brown, Special to the AFRO What a year of global weather-related events it was in 2022, and now into 2023. The extreme weather witnessed during the summertime and fall of 2022 were soon followed by devastating weather conditions this winter. Historic freezing temperatures caused by what meteorologists referenced as “arctic blasts,” spread […]
Category: Health
Posted inNational News
A Marine Corps vet’s battle to breathe is part of a fight against ‘Big Pharma’
By Reginald Williams, Special to the AFRO If Congress acts quickly enough, Kevin Jackson just may survive the disease that is trying to suffocate him. Each month he has to come up with $3,000, his co-pay for a 90-day supply of nintedanib. The cost without insurance lands somewhere near $20,000. Sold under the name Ofev, […]
Posted inHealth
Black children experiencing brunt of child abuse crisis
By ReShonda Tate, Defender Network A Houston mother beats her 4-month-old daughter because the baby’s father no longer wanted a relationship with her. A 7-year-old boy was found dead in a washing machine where his adoptive parents reportedly stuffed him after he was beaten, suffocated and possibly drowned – all because the boy stole the […]
Posted inHealth
National Stress Awareness Month highlights Black men and mental health
By Reginald Williams, Special to the AFRO The failure to properly manage stress serves as a critical underlying factor in the poor health outcomes for Black men. Black men have the lowest life expectancy. The National Institute of Health (NIH) maintains the health of Black men is a public health issue. Heart disease, homicide, and hypertension […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Donate Life Maryland highlights transplant recipient’s story for National Donate Life Month
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com April is known as National Donate Life Month, a time to promote the importance of people registering as organ, eye and tissue donors and to dispel misconceptions surrounding organ donation. Across the United States, there are more than 100,000 people waiting for a life-saving transplant, according to the […]
Posted inHealth
Contract nurses enter debate over economic protections for gig workers classified as independent contractors
By Edward Henderson, California Black Media McKenzie Young is a traveling nurse from California who works in Hawaii. She gets placements through an agency that connects her to temporary jobs around the state and country. Her assignments can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to months at a time. When Young returns to the […]
Posted inHealth
Burden of medical debt forces Black Americans to make difficult choices
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer Marie Crest is like many other Black people in the United States. She is 36-years-old. She’s a mother of two sons with a third on the way. Crest works full time as an account consultant specialist for a national payroll company, but somehow, she receives regular collection phone […]
Posted inCoronavirus
Biden signs bipartisan congressional resolution, ends COVID-19 national emergency
By Zeke Miller, The Associated Press The U.S. national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic ended on April 10 as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to bring it to a close after three years — weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency. The national emergency […]
Posted inHealth
Light pollution has far-reaching effects on environment and human health
By Hunter Savery, Capital News Service It’s becoming more and more difficult to see the stars every year. This will come as no surprise to residents of cities like Washington and Baltimore, where it is often difficult to see more than the moon. Although it may not garner the same popular attention as other forms […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. advocates celebrate Black Maternal Health Week
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO Contributing Editor Yes…Black Maternal Health Week is a “thing.” In fact, 2023 marks the sixth Annual Recognition of Black Maternal Health week, with workshops, events and support sessions across 13 states and the District of Columbia. Beginning on April 11, Black women, mothers, fathers and men of all ages will reflect […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Meet the organization fighting hunger in the District after termination of emergency SNAP benefits
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com When the COVID-19 pandemic created and increased financial hardship for families across the country, the federal government stepped in to temporarily increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits with emergency allotments. In March, the extra benefits came to an end with the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. […]
Posted inINTERNATIONAL
Mozambique works to contain cholera outbreak after cyclone
By Tom Gould, The Associated Press QUELIMANE, Mozambique (AP) — Weeks after massive Cyclone Freddy hit Mozambique for a second time, the still-flooded country is facing a spiraling cholera outbreak that threatens to add to the devastation. There were over 19,000 confirmed cases of cholera across eight of Mozambique’s provinces as of March 27, according […]
