All of Africa has reached a very important milestone. The World Health Organization has declared that the entire continent is now free of the wild poliovirus.  This comes after four years without a single case.  With this historic milestone, five of the six WHO regions – representing over 90% of the world’s population – are now free of the crippling disease. The world is now closer to achieving global polio eradication. If it can be done, it will be the second infectious disease, after smallpox, to be eliminated.    It has …

A parachutist completed the world’s first jump from a solar-powered aircraft Tuesday, leaping from a height of 1,520 meters over western Switzerland.   The parachutist, Raphael Domjan, also is the founder of the SolarStratos project, the group behind the feat, designed to promote renewable energy. Domjan jumped from a two-seater prototype plane after it reached a speed of 150 kilometers per hour, and he landed near the project’s base in the city of Payerne.   Domjan said there were many unknowns involved in the jump, such as what would happen …

As millions of children head back to school, the World Health Organization has issued its recommendation on whether they need to wear face masks.The WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have broken their new guidelines into age groups, and they say children younger than 6 should not wear them.”According to the limited available evidence, young children may have lower susceptibility to infection compared to adults, however available data suggests that this may vary by age among children,” WHO and UNICEF said.In this May 27, 2020, photo, teachers Jana …

Kenyan authorities and aid agencies say rape and sexual abuse cases against girls have increased since the start of pandemic restrictions, and they say in most cases relatives are the offenders. Some safe shelters in Nairobi are overwhelmed by girls who need an escape from people meant to care for them.  Kenyan children have extra time off these days since schools closed in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. That is making them more vulnerable to sexual predators.  Thirty-three-year-old Judith Andiso said a 20-year-old man targeted her teenage daughter at home and got her pregnant.  “I started interrogating my daughter,” Andiso said. “She started to explain how the man will come in the …

Misbahu Lawan Didi became paralyzed in both legs after contracting the polio virus as a child. As a lover of games, he was unable to enjoy his favorite sports with his able-bodied counterparts. In 1988, he founded para-soccer for disabled polio survivors to play. Not long after, he also played a part in creating Nigeria’s Polio Survivors’ Association. The aim was to use survivors’ stories to drive awareness and vaccinations.”Many people were rejecting treatment based on what they believed. Some believed it is Western manipulation to reduce the number of Nigerians; some …