Category: Health and Wellness

  • The danger of overdoing over-the-counter medicine

    The danger of overdoing over-the-counter medicine

    In 2023, David Mitchener, 89, was admitted to a hospital in Surrey, England where he died. His death was attributed, in part, to high levels of Vitamin D, which he had been taking for nine months before his death.

    It turns out that using herbal remedies and nutritional supplements could put your health at risk.

    In a 2020 study at a Canadian naturopathic clinic, 42% of participants said they did not discuss their use of natural health products, including herbal remedies and vitamins, with their doctor. It turns out there are risks associated with not disclosing that you’re taking herbal remedies and supplements.

    Some people are aware of the risks and are careful when using these products, but some people aren’t, said Frances Atcheson, a community pharmacist based in Northern Ireland. “There is a danger with people thinking that they’re always safe to take, just because they’re natural.”

    Lezley-Anne Hanna, chair of pharmacy education at Queen’s University Belfast, said that the products could interfere with a patient getting a correct diagnosis. “If you didn’t disclose that you were on an herbal medicine, well, that could actually be causing your symptoms in the first place,” Hanna said.

    Drug interactions

    A major risk, Atcheson said, is that the natural medicines will interact negatively with with conventional medicine. Increased bleeding risk, for example, is associated with using herbal remedies such as ginkgo biloba, cranberry juice and ginger at the same time as blood-thinning medication, such as warfarin and aspirin.

    In 2014, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which regulates medicines in the United Kingdom, warned about the interaction between hormonal contraceptives and St. John’s wort, a herbal supplement that is used to alleviate mild depression and anxiety.

    Such interaction has been blamed for unplanned pregnancies. St. John’s wort can also cause serotonin syndrome when used with other antidepressants. This can show up as high blood pressure, shivering and mania.

    Ayurvedic medicine, which originated in India, uses many herbal remedies. The products can also include metals. However, in December 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about the possibility of heavy metal poisoning, such as lead and mercury, when using Ayurvedic products.

    This could lead to infertility, kidney and brain damage and convulsions.Taking herbal remedies and supplements when there aren’t specific symptoms or illnesses has risks too.

    Side effects of natural remedies

    While taking Vitamin D supplements is recommended for everyone in the United Kingdom by the Department of Health and Social Care, too much Vitamin D can lead to bone pain, loss of appetite and abdominal pain in otherwise healthy patients.

    Liver injury caused by herbal remedies and supplements has been reported in Australia, the United States and Spain, in some cases so serious that it led to the need of a liver transplant.

    Seema Haribhai, a 37-year-old woman from North London, became concerned about the potential side effects of conventional medication and turned to herbal remedies to treat psoriatic arthritis — a type of arthritis that causes pain and swelling in joints. A coroner’s report attributed her death to liver failure that might have been aggravated by herbal remedies recommended by an Ayurvedic medicine practitioner. “All medicines can cause harm, even those that are herbal based,” the report said.

    Eva Delaney, 24, of Belfast takes the herbal supplement ginkgo biloba to improve brain function and Kalms tablets, which contain the herb valerian root, to reduce stress. She says she found out about the supplements in the pharmacy where she worked and consulted a pharmacist at her work before buying the products. “It probably should be the thing where you should always go to your pharmacist first,” she said.

    Hanna said that pharmacists should be able to discuss these products in the context of patient safety. “Pharmacists are the expert in the safe and effective use of medicine,” she said.

    Discussing herbal medicine with doctors

    What form the herbal remedies and supplements take, Delaney said, play a role in whether people tell a healthcare professional they’re taking them. “I think if it’s a tablet, you’d be more inclined to tell someone, ‘Oh, I’m taking this’,” Delaney said. “But if it was anything else, like a syrup … I think it would be harder to consider that as a medicine.”

    In a 2021 study, more than 90% of pregnant women in Ethiopia using herbal remedies throughout their pregnancies did not discuss this with their health-care professionals. The most common reason they gave was that the healthcare professional did not ask.

    Atcheson said that she wouldn’t normally ask about herbal remedies specifically. But she will ask patients: “Are you on any other prescribed medication or do you take anything over the counter? And sometimes they will volunteer information if they’re taking herbal remedies or supplements.”

    Hanna said that healthcare professionals need to ask specific questions in order to learn about patients’ use of herbal remedies and supplements. “If you want to know if somebody’s on a herbal medicine,” she said, “you need to ask.”

    It is also important for healthcare professionals to know their own limitations, and to know how to find the information they lack. “It’s about accepting that you may not know that particular product or you may not know that name,” Hanna said. “But where can you go and find out reliable information? Where could you advise the person to go?”

    Finding reliable resources

    Atcheson said that she uses the online Cochrane Library as a resource when presented with a patient question she can’t answer. The Cochrane Library provides evidence-based information on herbal remedies and supplements and their effectiveness in different medical conditions. Unfortunately, she said, there aren’t many other readily available resources. “Apart from the Cochrane Library, I’m just going onto Google Scholar looking for reviews,” she said.

    Atcheson recalls telling a patient not to take collagen supplements because the patient had chronic kidney disease. “There’s something about collagen where it can actually interfere with the kidneys when you take it orally,” she said.

    Many young people find misinformation on the internet, she said. “I’ve heard about people buying supplements and herbal remedies for weight loss,” Atcheson said. “It’s especially risky when you’re buying things on the internet. Then there’s no point of contact at all.”

    In the UK, people can look for a  Traditional Herbal Registration symbol on product packaging when deciding whether to buy a herbal remedy. This symbol means the product has met the safety and quality standards set by the MHRA.

    Hanna said that discussing over-the-counter products with a health-care professional can help patients feel empowered about their own health and provide them with unbiased information.

    “It really would be a missed opportunity to not use a healthcare professional,” she said, “and to help you whenever you’re thinking about a herbal medicine.”

    Questions to consider:

    1. Why don’t many people discuss herbal medicines with their medical doctors?

    2. What are some things you need to consider before taking vitamins or herbal remedies?

    3. If you or someone you know takes vitamins, how did you or they decide to do that?

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  • Tanzanian parents struggle with misconceptions of autism

    Tanzanian parents struggle with misconceptions of autism

    The nurse hands the newborn child to his mother, Jamila, who smiles down at him, mesmerized by the tiny being who is about to bring hope and joy to the family. Juma, the proud father, laughs with delight at getting a son, a symbol of pride.

     It feels like the beginning of a perfect future. The whole neighbourhood is celebrating.

    “Say ‘mama’.”

    “Come, walk to me.”

    “Can you count one to three?”

    But all the relatives begin to worry when, four years later, the child still can’t talk or walk and he behaves differently from the other children around him.

    The neighbours begin to whisper, quietly spreading false rumours about the family.

    “Evil spirits must have attacked them.”

    “They are being punished for their sins.”

    Unable to face the embarrassment, Juma refuses to take responsibility and eventually leaves. Jamila is then left alone to carry the weight of raising her child in silence, shame and confusion.

    This is the reality for many families in Tanzania who have a child with autism.

    Neema Massawe, the mother of a six-year old with both autism and cerebral palsy, shared her experience. “My child is a lovely six-year old, born with a condition described by doctors as cerebral palsy and autism,” Massawe said. “She has difficulties with movements and speech, and can only be helped.”

    Ignorance is the problem.

    As of 2023, less than 1% of the population of Tanzania is diagnosed with autism, but that’s more than 600,000 people. Still, public awareness of the condition remains alarmingly low, particularly in rural areas where access to diagnosis and support services is even more limited.

    For many children with autism in Tanzania, their struggle goes beyond their developmental challenges and is compounded by misunderstanding, stigma and limited support. Families often face judgment from their communities and cultural beliefs sometimes attribute the child’s condition to curses, punishment or supernatural causes.

    In an article published in 2019, Jane and Isaac Jisangu, parents of an autistic child, told how their community once believed their child was bewitched and accused them of being bad parents.

    Jane Jisangu told the interviewer: “The problem exists, but most people don’t know about it. Some will tell you to go to ‘experts’ or go see your elders. They might help you.”

    Her words reflect how, with limited awareness and scarce resources, families often turn to traditional healers or spiritual explanations rather than seeking professional medical help. The account was reported by China Global Television Network in 2019, highlighting how limited local research and reporting on autism in Tanzania often pushes families’ experiences to international platforms.

    No child deserves inhumanity. 

    Tumaini Kweka, the mother of a 14-year-old autistic boy said that because of autism, her son is often loud and restless.

    “Many people called him a ‘troublesome boy’,” she said. “One day, the maid decided to burn him with an iron machine to teach him a lesson. This really affected his siblings and I as well.”

    This is just one of many examples of how autistic children are treated daily. Sexual harassment, physical abuse and emotional mistreatment are heartbreakingly common. Many are scolded for behaviours they cannot control and are isolated simply for acting differently. Because of such treatment, countless autistic children are denied the chance to attend school, their educational journeys cut short before they even begin.

    Although the Tanzanian government has introduced policies such as the Law of the Child Act, 2009, to protect the rights of children with disabilities and ensure equal access to education and healthcare, the implementation remains weak.

    Limited resources, a shortage of trained professionals and widespread public ignorance continue to hinder meaningful progress.

    Deborah Mapunda, the grandmother of an autistic child, recalled how even visits to the hospital, which were meant for support and care, were met with cold stares and criticisms. “People gave us a lot of judgment and tend to look at us critically,” she said.

    Each stare and criticism left her feeling isolated, frustrated and painfully aware that society often rejects the family rather than understanding the child’s needs.

    “Maybe if everyone understood the situation, they would be nicer,” Mapunda added.

    Parents and caregivers carry quiet burdens.

    Just as autistic children struggle, their parents and caregivers carry a heavy emotional, social and financial burden that often goes unseen. Back in 2012, researchers at Muhimbili Hospital in Dar es Salaam found that many caregivers experience deep stress and even conflicted feelings about raising a child with a developmental condition.

    They spoke about how difficult it was to manage behaviours that are normal within autism but misunderstood by the wider community. Behaviours such as aggression, loud vocalizations, hyperactivity or restless movement often create tension with neighbours and extended family members, who quickly become irritated or uncomfortable.

    Over time, this constant friction makes some caregivers feel as if their child can not “fit in” within the community, a belief that grows into fear, shame and a persistent worry about the child’s future.

    Autism does not affect the child alone; it touches every family member. According to the Family Systems Theory, family members are deeply emotionally connected, so the challenges of one person influence the entire household.

    According to a 2017 study led by University of Kent researcher Ciara Padden, many parents of autistic children are forced to quit their jobs or reduce their working hours due to high caregiving demands, including communication challenges and severe sleep difficulties.

    This places a heavy strain on the parents, making it difficult for them to maintain financial stability and take care of the rest of the family and any other remaining children.

    What the future holds 

    Will children ever outgrow autism? The answer is no. But this does not mean that their lives cannot be full, meaningful and successful. Awareness of autism is slowly increasing in Tanzania, yet ignorance remains widespread, especially in rural areas.

    “I highly believe that educating people is the first step for improving the lives of these children,” said Shangwe Mgaya, mother of an autistic child and an advocate for autism awareness.

    Connect Autism Tanzania, an organization that collaborates with about a dozen centres in northern Tanzania, has made a significant contribution to empowering and training teachers on how to support autistic learners effectively. Four workshops are conducted annually in rural areas and simple tools have been developed for primary caregivers, teachers and the general public to raise awareness and promote education.

    Many non-governmental organizations have also turned International Autism Day, celebrated on 2 April, into a powerful moment for understanding and support. Events like the annual Run4Autism marathon help raise both visibility and funds for autism centers across the nation. Additionally, a gala dinner scheduled for 31 January 2026, aims to bring communities, experts and families together to discuss the challenges autistic children face and inspire stronger national action.

    These efforts have brought a sense of hope to parents and caregivers of autistic children. As awareness slowly increases, more families are beginning to believe that their children might one day receive proper support in schools and be valued as members of the community who can make meaningful contributions.

    For example, a mother on Facebook shared a video of her autistic son swimming and wrote how proud she was that he had mastered swimming in a short period.

    Even though autism can not ‘go away,’ the future can change dramatically depending on how society responds. For now, parents in Tanzania are holding onto the hope that the next generation of caregivers, teachers and neighbours will be more informed, compassionate and better prepared.

    Questions to consider:

    1. In what ways do children with autism struggle beyond their developmental challenges?

    2. Why do you think so many people are ignorant about autism?

    3. In what ways might people have the wrong ideas about you?

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  • Should schools provide more than an education?

    Should schools provide more than an education?

    Ashley teaches Spanish at a public high school in the U.S. state of New Jersey that has a large percentage of students from low-income backgrounds. She has gone food shopping for families and has babysat for weeks while a parent had surgery. She has attended countless graduations, birthday parties and baby showers. She has spent thousands of dollars of her own money on students.

    Because school teachers can face negative repercussions for speaking out, I agreed not to use her last name or the last names of any of the other teachers in this article.

    Ashley is one of many teachers across the United States who perform duties beyond their job description, training and pay. They see it as a result of parents who must work multiple jobs due to greater financial hardship.

    “Anything can happen in this economy,” Ashley said. “A family can be one pay check away from being unhoused.”

    In the U.S. state of Colorado, Shannen teaches at a charter school — a taxpayer-funded, public school that operates under its own “charter,” giving it a degree of independence within local school systems. In November 2025, she voted to approve two propositions to boost Colorado’s universal free school meals program and food stamps program, known as SNAP, which subsidizes nutritious food for low-income families. In 2023, about 35% of SNAP recipients were children.

    “I think it’s a good thing to have in schools,” Shannen said. “We see a lot of kids with food insecurity, but who don’t want to say that, so it’s nice that it’s just available [for everyone]. We provide breakfast, snack and lunch.”

    Should schools feed everyone?

    According to a 2025 report from UNESCO, decades of international evidence support the benefits of universal school meals, including behavioral and academic improvement for students of all income levels, and less stigma compared to income-based eligibility.

    Yet Shannen and other teachers wonder if initiatives like this are sustainable — or just blurring the lines between school and home, and parenting and teaching.

    “I wish it weren’t so dependent on schools because then what happens on the weekends and in the summers?” Shannen said. “I don’t know if it should necessarily be the school’s role, but it ends up being the school because it’s the easiest. Teachers and administrators are asked to take on far more than just educating.”

    Ashley said that school is where many of her students get their needs met, and much of that support comes from teachers. “If I don’t supply medicines, they’re not getting them,” she said.  She also buys bandages, rubbing alcohol, tissues, hand sanitizer, paper plates, napkins, utensils and wipes. “If I’m not replacing them, it’s not getting done,” she said. Ashley’s students can also wash their clothes using the school’s laundry machines.

    Students attending school without the resources they need is not unique to the United States. According to a 2024 report by the National Foundation for Educational Research in the United Kingdom, economically disadvantaged students there continue to arrive at school hungry and without necessary supplies and clothes like winter jackets. Nearly 20% of teachers in the UK are also reporting spending their own money to meet the welfare needs of their students.

    Equity versus equality

    Shannen said that it is important to understand the difference between equity and equality as a teacher. “If one of my kids said they didn’t have shoes, I would … make sure they got their shoes,” Shannen said. “For certain students [in need], I think schools should provide as much as possible to make sure they have the same opportunities. Sometimes equity is making sure certain kids are getting more so that in the long run it’s more equal.”

    Giving all this extra support can take a toll. Jill, a public high school teacher in New Jersey, takes on multiple roles but gets no additional support. That has affected her well-being and ability to do her job.

    “I have to be a social worker, psychologist, counselor, nurse, provider, all of it,” Jill said. “I came home crying the other day because a student has a severe drug problem at home, and also came out to me because he couldn’t come out to his parents. As this is happening, I have a whole class of 30 other kids who need my attention.”

    Jill said she could benefit from working with an aide in the classroom. Reporting by the National Education Association showed that today’s students have increasingly complex needs that would benefit from smaller class sizes.

    Ashley agrees that more professionals are needed at school. “We have six guidance counselors, a substance use counselor and a trauma counselor,” Ashley said. “We have a team of educational experts, social workers, psychologists and nurses. We probably have 25 different healthcare professionals. And that’s still not enough.”

    Who should pay for the essential needs of students?

    All of the teachers I interviewed also say their pay needs to reflect their workload. Salary is not keeping up with inflation and the economic challenges those in the United States are facing. Without the help of her partner’s income, Jill would not be able to afford the $3,000 monthly rent on their apartment. She has a master’s degree and her salary is $68,000 after 10 years of teaching.

    Carson is a former teacher at a private high school in Sacramento, California. He believes unions can advocate for burnt-out teachers.

    “Teachers’ unions usually help with salary, but they should help with managing expectations, like grading,” Carson said. “It wasn’t the teaching that burnt me out. It was … all the other stuff.”

    Education International is a global education union that believes the rights of teachers and students are intertwined — the right to dignity at work and the right to receive a quality education.

    Organizations in the United States that are members of Education International are the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

    “Teaching is a calling,” Carson said. “And that’s why I think teachers’ unions are important,” Carson added. “Teachers are naturally going to give and give. They need somebody looking out for them.”

    Questions to consider:

    1. Why are many schools becoming places that provide food and social services in addition to education?

    2. Why do some teachers feel compelled to pay for things like food and clothing for their students?

    3. In what ways are schools good places for the distribution of food and other public assistance to needy people?

     

     

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  • What’s not part of university requirements? Eating.

    What’s not part of university requirements? Eating.

    University systems have long been promoted as the most reliable path to upward mobility and economic security.

    Yet for a growing number of students, that promise is part of a troubling paradox: the act of seeking a degree requires a harrowing trade-off between paying for schooling and securing the eating. The result is a lack of physical and economic access to enough safe and nutritious food for a healthy and active life. It is a pervasive crisis of food insecurity,

    Today, nearly nine in 10 United States campuses operate food pantries or “basic need hubs,” serving thousands of students each semester.

    What began as a grassroots response to hunger is now becoming institutionalized — a subtle but significant shift in how universities define student success and well-being. According to a survey conducted by the Hope Center for Student Basic Needs, a national research center at Temple University focused on transforming higher education to improve student success and well-being, 59% of students of students at 91 institutions across 16 states experience at least one form of basic needs insecurity, while 41% of students experienced food insecurity.

    Many campus pantries have transformed into one-stop centers that connect students with food assistance programs, financial aid, child-care resources and mental-health support.

    Finding the funds for food

    The Lancer Care Center, which began as the Lancer Pantry in 2015 at the Pasedena City College, has now been integrated into a centralized, holistic support center. Today, it provides coordinated assistance and functions as a single hub for various types of basic needs, ranging from housing, food, emergency funding, peer mentoring and financial assistance.

    Yet, even as they expand, most remain under-funded and overstretched: 60% of campus food pantries lack adequate refrigeration and many rely on short-term grants and student volunteers to operate.

    A survey conducted in 2023 by Swipe Out Hunger, a national non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating student hunger, reported that food pantries face three key challenges: funding, inventory and staffing. More than one in five among the 355 college food pantries surveyed reported that securing stable funding, maintaining streams of funding and obtaining grants remain the most significant challenges.

    Beyond calories, these spaces also provide something harder to quantify: trust.

    “If you have somebody that trusts a systemic function of your campus, like a food pantry, it is likely that they will also trust other systems that are in place,” said Laura Egan of the Clery Center, an organization that focuses on campus safety and student rights. “If and when they or someone they know needs to make a report of a crime or needs to access a resource because they are a survivor of a crime, they will be more likely to look to and trust their campus, who has already established a system of providing them regular support in a non-judgmental [way].”

    When hunger is hidden

    For Egan, said accessibility matters just as much as supply.

    “What we really appreciate seeing with food pantries on college campuses is the community support that it provides, the ready access that provides a student, with no questions asked about why you might need to access that resource,” she said.

    Despite their growing presence, hunger on campus often remains hidden, masked by stigma and assumptions about who is considered food insecure. New York University Izzy Morgan is the administrative coordinator at the College Student Pantry  New York City and says that many students don’t even realize that they are food insecure.

    “I come from a family with money and, you know, I have all these privileges,” Morgan said. “I’m on a pretty big scholarship at school, and even if all of that is true, you could still be insecure.”

    The College Student Pantry, operated by New York City’s Trinity’s Services and Food for the Homeless, serves college and graduate students across the city.

    Affording healthy food

    For Morgan, that self-realization came upon discovering that the pantry provided access to fresh vegetables that would otherwise be unaffordable.

     “Part of why I got this job was because my boss, who is actually my pastor, came up to me and said, ‘Izzy, I think you’re food insecure’,” Morgan said.

    Daniela Bermudez, a volunteer and Outreach and Social Media coordinator at the pantry, said that For many students, hunger is normalized as part of the college experience. “A lot of college students have this (assumption) that they’re supposed to struggle,” Bermudez said. “It’s almost normal to not have a well-balanced meal daily.”

    Understanding food insecurity often comes gradually. “It’s kind of hard to almost wrap your head (around the meaning of food insecurity),” Bermudez said. “I’m noticing that (when) I’m not eating the right food groups and I don’t necessarily have the continuous ability to access these foods, that is a sign of food insecurity.”

    Universities often measure success through graduation rates and employment outcomes, but for a growing number of students, success must depend on something far more basic: the ability to eat regularly, without shame or uncertainty. As higher education continues to market itself as a pathway out of poverty, the persistence of campus hunger raises an urgent question: Can institutions truly promise opportunity while leaving students to choose between a meal and a degree?

    Questions to consider:

    1. Why do many university students struggle to pay for food?

    2. What are universities doing to make sure students can eat?

    3. Do you think food should be a basic right for everyone? Why?

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  • What happens when people lose access to birth control?

    What happens when people lose access to birth control?

    Abandonment of U.S. financial support for contraception around the world has disrupted the ecosystem that fostered birth control, family planning and sexual and reproductive health for decades.

    Back in February, the United Nations Population Fund announced that the United States had canceled some $377 million in funding for maternal health programs around the world, which includes contraception programs.

    Contraception reduces mortality and can improve the lives of women and families. The United Nations estimates that the number of women using a modern contraception method doubled from 1990 to 2021, which coincided with a 34% reduction in maternal mortality over the same period.

    Now, tens of millions of people could lose access to modern contraceptives in the next year, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a family planning research and lobby group. This, it reported, could result in more than 17 million unintended pregnancies and 34,000 preventable pregnancy-related deaths.

    Sexual and reproductive health and rights programs improve women’s choices and protection including violence and rape prevention and treatment.

    Who will fill the gap?

    European donor governments have pledged to increase contributions to UNFPA and other global health funds to partially fill the gap. The Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, for example, have pledged emergency funds to UNFPA Supplies, the world’s largest provider of contraceptives to low-income countries.

    The EU has also redirected part of its humanitarian budget to cover contraceptive procurement in sub-Saharan Africa. Canada announced an additional CAD $100 million over three years for sexual and reproductive health programs, explicitly citing the U.S. withdrawal.

    Despite its own aid budget pressures, the UK has committed to maintaining its £200 million annual contribution to family planning programs, with a focus on East Africa.

    The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation expanded its Family Planning 2030 commitments, pledging tens of millions in stopgap funding to keep supply chains moving. The World Bank Global Financing Facility offers bridge loans and grants to governments facing sudden gaps in reproductive health budgets and calls for governments to co-finance. However these initiatives will not immediately replace the scale of previous U.S. government investments.

    The loss of U.S. support has left many women with no access to family planning, especially in rural and conflict-affected areas. Clinics are reporting a surge in unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

    Health clinics closing

    In Zambia, Cooper Rose Zambia, a local NGO reported laying off 60% of its staff after receiving a stop-work order from USAID. Clinics have been rationing contraceptives with some methods already out of stock.

    In Kenya, clinics in Nairobi and rural counties are turning women away, with some supplies stuck in warehouses and at risk of expiring. In Tanzania, medical stores confirmed they were completely out of stock of certain contraceptive implants by July 2025.

    Mali will be denied 1.2 million oral contraceptives and 95,800 implants, nearly a quarter of its annual need. In Burkina Faso, another country under terrorist insurgency internally, many displaced women have no access to modern contraceptives.

    The consequences of the stock depletions will be particularly catastrophic in fragile and conflict settings such as refugee camps.

    Struggling to adapt to the reality has led organizations to cut programs and redirect their remaining resources. Many are trying desperately to raise new funds. But there are some voices that cheer the cuts, describing them as a wake up call.

    A wake up call for Africa?

    Rama Yade, director of the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council, a non-partisan organization that studies and facilitates U.S. international relations, argues that the aid cuts could be a wake-up call for African nations to reduce dependency and pursue economic sovereignty.

    For pan-African voices who have long criticized foreign aid as a tool of neocolonialism, the U.S. government cuts are a chance to build local capacity, strengthen intra-African trade and reduce reliance on Western donors. Trump’s dismantling of USAID offers a new beginning for Africa.

    In an essay in the publication New Humanitarian, Themrit Khan, an independent researcher in the aid sectors wrote that recipient nations have been made to believe they are unable to function without external support.

    Khan proposes several actions to mitigate the foreign funding cuts: relying more on local donors; developing trade and bilateral relations instead of depending on international cooperation programs through the United Nations and other international organizations; re-evaluating military spending and reducing debt.

    Colette Hilaire Ouedraogo, a senior midwife and sexual and reproductive health practitioner, told me that up to 60% of activities were from external funding partners. She recalled the alerts sent by the health department to increase funding from national sources as early as 2022.

    She predicts that the cuts affecting the availability and access to contraceptives and the overall quality of services will slow down progress towards universal health coverage targets and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. There is a risk of reduced attendance at reproductive health and family planning centers. Consequently, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions could increase leading an higher maternal mortality.

    Questions to consider:

    1. How can contraceptives result in lower deaths for women?

    2. Why do some people argue that the cut off of funds from the United States might ultimately benefit nations in Africa?

    3. Why are contraceptives controversial?

     

     

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  • Dishing out healthy food options kids will eat

    Dishing out healthy food options kids will eat

    In New York City, a surprising culinary shift is happening where few expect it: inside city agencies that serve up to 219 million meals and snacks a year. From hospitals to shelters, New York is quietly leading a global experiment to reshape the diets of millions, not by persuasion but through policy. 

    Food is sitting at the crossroads of two global crises: chronic disease and climate change. The World Health Organization estimates that in 2017, 11 million deaths were attributable to unhealthy diets that were high in processed meat, sodium and added sugar and low in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. 

    Climate change, in addition to the consequences of extreme weather events, makes existing challenges worse on communities, environments and systems that sustain life. 

    More than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, where 70% of global CO2 emissions are generated from transport, buildings and energy use. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, roughly 1.7 billion people living in cities and areas around them face food insecurity, making cities the new frontline in the fight against malnutrition. 

    The report calls on governments to use public budgets to buy and serve healthier food, prioritize buying from local, agroecological and small-scale farmers and integrate food planning into urban policies on health, transport, housing and waste. 

    We are what we eat.

    According to the United Nations Environment Programme, how people live — what they eat, how they move and what goods they consume — matters just as much as what governments do. Some governments, like New York’s, are turning sustainable living from a personal choice into a shared system: using their purchasing power to serve millions of plant-forward meals that put vegetables, legumes and grains at the center of the plate across public institutions, and coupling procurement with education and food policy to make diets a driver of both health and sustainability. 

    This makes these cities critical testing grounds for climate solutions, where policies that reshape diets toward more plant-rich, low-carbon meals can contribute directly to urban emissions reduction while improving health. 

    Since signing the C40 Good Food Cities Declaration in 2019, mayors across the world have pledged to make healthy and sustainable eating the norm by buying food aligned with the Planetary Health Diet, which promotes serving more plant-based meals, cutting food waste by half and working across communities, businesses and institutions to integrate these goals into their climate action plans. 

    New York is not alone. In Copenhagen, kitchen staff across more than 500 public kitchens are being trained to prepare nutritious, organic and climate-friendly meals as the city works toward its goal of making 90% of its food organic. In Quezon City in the Philippines, a partnership with Scholars of Sustenance, a nonprofit environmental organization tackling food waste, helped recover and distribute surplus food, providing roughly 22,000 meals for people in need within the first four months of the program. Across the world, cities are rethinking how the meals served through public programs can nourish both people and the planet. 

    In 2021, New York launched an ambitious 10-year plan with five goals: to support food businesses and strengthen protections for food workers; to modernize supply chains; to provide food that is produced, distributed and disposed of sustainably; to promote community engagement and cross-sector co-ordination; and to improve the nutrition and food security of New Yorkers. 

    Building health into a food system

    The city’s updated Food Standards go further: They ban processed meats and deep frying, require two or more servings a week at lunch and dinner to feature plant proteins and limit beef and other meats, such as lamb and mutton, to a maximum of two servings a week at facilities serving three meals a day. These standards touch nearly every corner of city life; they guide what’s served in schools, hospitals, homeless shelters, correctional facilities and senior centers, which adds up to 219 million meals and snacks each year. 

    New York challenges the idea that sustainable diets are solely individual choices, reframing them as civic responsibility. 

    “Food standards are the reinforcement piece for our departments and agencies to align with those values,” said Ora Kemp, senior policy adviser in the Office of the Mayor of New York City. “So those get developed with a very clear and distinct goal of being able to promote, protect and preserve the health of those that we serve through our food service, while simultaneously ensuring that the food is delicious and is culturally representative of the people that we serve.” 

    Transparency is also a central tool in this transformation. The Good Food Purchasing initiative, established in 2022, requires vendors to share data, such as the origin of the food and meals the city buys. 

    The lesson of the city’s policies for the public’s health is simple: People embrace change when it still feels like home. 

    “We have a policy that if 20% of the population is of any religious or ethnic group, then we need to make sure that food is provided for that group,” says Lorraine Cortés-Vásquez, commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging. “It is very important for us that we manage the requirements, but also look at demand, interest and palate, because we want to respect culture and respect traditions, but we also want people to consume the food.” 

    Sustainable food choices

    In a citywide Cook-Off hosted by the Department for the Aging, chefs came together to demonstrate the flavor, creativity and nutrition of plant-based food, while also bringing the community together. 

    “Most older adults want to live in the community, in the communities that they build,” Cortés-Vásquez said. “They’re an asset, they bring revenue.” 

    Kemp said that plant-based menu options are also a low-effort way to encourage sustainable food choices. 

    “It’s not just the first and not just the second [exposure], but we offer the plant-based default multiple times throughout someone’s stay within any of our health and hospital systems in an attempt to encourage them to choose healthier diets,” Kemp said. 

    Preliminary data from New York City Health and Hospitals demonstrate that the shift is clear: 90% of patients who received plant-based meals report satisfaction. 

    Nicole Bonica, deputy director of menu management at the Office of Food and Nutrition Services for New York City Public Schools, says success depends on building a menu that students also like and that they feel will benefit them. This can be tricky. “Older students, they have preferences,” Bonica said. “Girls may not want to eat so many calories, because they’re watching themselves, whereas the boys actually want more protein items, maybe because they’re in more athletics.”

    The success of Plant-Powered Fridays, where school cafeterias feature a plant-based dish as the primary menu item, has led to additional offerings of plant-powered meals throughout the week in schools. Rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein, these meals must align with both New York City Food Standards and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 

    While this experiment is still unfolding, city governments may offer the most hopeful ingredient of all: changing what a city eats can change what a city stands for. In kitchens that once served convenience, chefs now serve climate action, health and dignity on the same plate. If New York can make sustainability taste good, perhaps the rest of the world can too. 

    Questions to consider:

    1. How is food connected to climate change?

    2. What is one thing New York City is doing to get young people to eat healthier?

    3. Can you think of ways you could change your diet to make it healthier?

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  • It is up to all of us to stand up to bullies

    It is up to all of us to stand up to bullies

    In the northern part of the country of a thousand hills, amidst volcanoes and the freezing air, there resides a Catholic high school. My name is Anderson and this is my story. I went to study there right after finishing my primary school.

    The school was competitive; the smartest, most intelligent and most talented students were found there. It was a school of sciences and it used to be in the top five best high schools in the country. It had an amazing environment. Though strict academically, the teachers were among the best.

    When I arrived, it wasn’t that hard to fit in because my elder sister had studied there before me. Some senior students recognized the resemblance and helped me get used to the school. This also gave me the privilege of not being bullied.

    Normally, new students in S1 were bullied by seniors and couldn’t report it because they were scared of what might happen. The bullying was actually different based on gender. Boys were beaten severely, while girls were pressured into “dating” seniors. You might think dating sounds harmless, but it often involved bullying too.

    There was a male friend of mine who was told to sit on his fork (the one used when we are eating) and say his weight — if he didn’t, the other students would beat him badly. This was also ridiculous because a fork cannot be used to measure someone’s weight. Another was given a leaf from a tree and told to use it to call his parents — again, he was beaten. This was a type of bullying because obviously you can’t talk on the leaf; they wanted him to pretend that the leaf is the phone.

    On the other hand, my girlfriend was called out by senior boys, made to greet each one in a way they preferred and surrounded by a big circle of them. In summary, the first year was really hard for some students.

    The bullied become bullies

    By the second year, we were seniors to new students and some of us began to bully them. At this point, I understood the perspective of bullies — though it didn’t justify their actions. Seeing new students, you feel the tendency to assert your seniority and demand respect.

    Some classmates acted out of revenge, targeting new students for what they had endured. On my side, I welcomed them with kindness and tried to help them adapt, knowing how hard it had been.

    We used to have shows, which were my favorite part. I loved fashion and wanted to model in the shows, but I was always scared. During the shows, boys would often stand at the entrance, waiting to touch the girls’ bodies; breasts, buttocks, even private parts. Girls could complain, but some students and authorities argued that some girls “wanted to be touched.”

    Others said that if girls didn’t want it, they could avoid participating or avoid wearing revealing clothes. Though some authorities promised to investigate, they often ignored the problem. Shows were considered entertainment, so the school left the organization to students. At some point, students feared reporting, worried the school might ban shows entirely.

    It wasn’t only during shows. In class, we had a group of bullies we studied with. When the lights went out, girls would run outside immediately, because boys would touch them by force in the darkness.

    When harassment is condoned

    Once, I was sitting in class, my head on the desk, taking a nap. The lights went out and I didn’t notice. I woke up surrounded by boys. When I tried to leave, they blocked my way. One of them, called Chris, touched my breasts and others grabbed me as well. I felt scared, ashamed and angry. They were about to do more, but fortunately, other students started entering the class, and they left.

    I laid my head back on the desk and cried. When people asked what was wrong, I couldn’t say. I had few friends; just my twin sister and another girl. When I reached the dormitory, I cried the whole night. My friend checked on me and though I hesitated at first, she comforted me.

    I opened up and told her the story. To my surprise, she had also been harassed by the same boy, Chris. He was undisciplined and we didn’t know how to report him; there was no evidence and I wasn’t ready.

    I spent months blaming myself. I was ashamed, hated myself and even had suicidal thoughts. My heart felt broken into pieces and no day passed without crying. But my twin sister was there for me. We cried together and I felt comforted. She suggested that we learn karate so no boy would dare harass me again.

    We joined a karate club at school. It was amazing. The group was friendly, teaching discipline, teamwork and flexibility. Chris still mocked me, but I knew he was scared. In class, he never bullied me again. I continued learning karate even in other schools.

    Fighting harassment

    At other schools, I began my journey in leadership. I was voted Head Girl at two schools, started reading about feminism and realized I was a feminist. I began challenging unfair school policies that hindered one gender. On many campuses, girls were forced to do cleaning chores because culture expected them to be “decent” and “clean.”

    Boys were allowed privileges girls could not have, without clear reason. It was a hard battle because authorities were biased. When I finished high school, I was voted Minister of Gender Promotion at my campus.

    Reflecting on my high school experience, I realized many other girls knew stories of friends who were sexually assaulted and who couldn’t report it. Sometimes it was done to them by teachers or fellow students or authorities.

    Schools often silence reports to protect their reputation. I understand that, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of student safety. There weren’t reporting platforms in place, but when girls tried to report, they were sometimes blamed, told they “wanted it.”

    All of this motivated me to start a high school research project to assess the impact of school policies, sexual harassment and sextortion (this means when someone asks for sexual intercourse in exchange for a certain favor. In this context it may be to give you grades or other favors which you can get after having sex with that person offering it) on gender equality outcomes in high schools.

    I am still working on my proposal, applying feedback and hoping for approval. As a survivor, I want to help my younger sisters get justice. I want to ensure no other girl cries alone at night, hiding the trauma she endured. I want to be their voice and advocate for solutions as youth.

    This is my story — though it is still being written and it is far from over.

    Questions to consider:

    1. How can someone who is bullied become a bully?

    2. Where do you think that some people get the idea that sexual harrassment is acceptable?

    3. Have you ever been bullied or felt harrassed at school?

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  • How one young woman broke free of a media addiction

    How one young woman broke free of a media addiction

    I knew every word to the saddest songs on my playlist. Not because I loved music, but because depression had become my language. I was 14, lying in my room with my family just beyond the door, close enough to hear their voices, far enough that they might as well have been in another country.

    I had been expelled from school months earlier. “Disciplinary issues,” they called it. My family’s disappointment sat heavy in our home, unspoken but everywhere. We lived together, ate together, but there was no closeness, no one I could talk to.

    I tried to find help. I downloaded mental health apps, desperate for someone, anyone, to talk to. Every single one wanted money: subscriptions, fees, payments I couldn’t afford. I stared at those payment screens feeling like I was drowning, watching help float just out of reach.

    That’s when the screen became my only escape. It started two years earlier, in Primary 6, when house workers casually showed me explicit images on their phones. I was just a child; curious, confused, not understanding what I was seeing. Then it continued at school with friends, and something awakened in me that I didn’t know how to name or control.

    Now, alone and depressed, pornography became my refuge. Not because it made me happy, but because for a few minutes, it made me feel something other than suffocating sadness. It was free. It was always available. And unlike everyone in my life, it didn’t judge me.

    A cycle begins

    I didn’t wake up one morning and decide to be addicted. At first, it felt harmless, a way to escape. I told myself, It’s just this once. I’m in control. But addiction is a liar. Soon, it wasn’t me making the choices, the choices were making me.

    I became a professional actor: smiling, joking, saying “I’m fine.” Inside, I was drowning. Mornings brought disgust and broken promises. “This is the last time,” I would whisper. By evening, I was back in the same cycle.

    Being a Christian made it worse. How could I worship on Sunday and fall back into the same pit during the week? I carried my Bible with trembling hands, wondering: Does God still want me? Is He tired of forgiving me?

    What made everything harder was the silence; not just mine, but from my entire community.

    In many African homes, conversations about struggles don’t happen. Children are raised to “be strong,” “obey,” and “not bring shame.” So, when addiction creeps in, we already know: I can’t tell my parents because we know the response is often punishment and disappointment rather than compassion and feeling secure.

    The things we don’t discuss

    My family was no different. We shared meals, went to church together. But I couldn’t tell them about the depression that made me want to die, or the addiction consuming me. Not because they were cruel, but because we’d never learned how to talk about things that hurt.

    In many communities, struggles like pornography are labeled as spiritual weakness rather than human pain. Youth are told to “pray harder” while root wounds remain untouched. Girls especially face pressure to be “good daughters” because any confession can bring family shame.

    After my expulsion, I carried not just my own shame, but my family’s disappointment, the fear of being labeled a failure, the burden of disgrace.

    Addiction thrives in that silence. It feeds on fear; fear of punishment, of shame, of losing respect. So, we hide behind grades, church attendance, fake smiles. Inside, we are prisoners.

    For Christians struggling with addiction, the battle isn’t linear. One day you pray and feel close to God; the next, guilt crashes down. You confess, repent, hope but relapse comes again. I can’t get free. I’m weak. I keep failing.

    Faith meets struggle.

    Each fall reinforces the lie that you’re beyond redemption. You watch others grow in faith and compare your hidden failures to their visible victories. The church can make this harder. Fear of gossip or rejection stops you from seeking support. If they knew, would they still respect me?

    I struggled with this constantly. Sundays brought worship and hope. By Tuesday, I’d be back in the cycle, convinced I’d disappointed God one too many times. Everyone seemed to have faith figured out while I failed again and again.

    It’s strange having a full contact list but feeling completely alone. People assume you’re fine. “You’re always smiling,” they say. That image becomes a trap. If you break the mask, they might judge.

    The worst I’ve discovered is that the more people around you, the lonelier you feel. Addiction thrives in isolation. Your mind becomes a battlefield of self-condemnation and guilt. You wonder if anyone could love you as you are not as the image you show.

    When you reach out, friends often laugh it off or assume you’re exaggerating. Each failed attempt reinforces that isolation is safer than vulnerability. Trust issues build. You question whether anyone can handle your truth.

    Small steps forward 

    I haven’t stopped struggling. But I’ve discovered steps that help me keep moving forward. God’s presence never left me, even when I couldn’t feel it. Even in the darkest moments, there was a whisper: You are not finished. I’m still here.

    I’ve learned to pray honestly. One night I prayed: “God, I’m tired. I failed again.” That messy prayer brought relief. God doesn’t need eloquence, He wants honesty.

    Scripture became my anchor: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). These words remind me that weakness doesn’t disqualify me.

    I’ve sought godly friendship. Sharing my struggle with a mentor brought prayer, guidance, and relief I hadn’t felt in years. Accountability isn’t about judgment; it’s about having allies who speak truth when you’re too weary.

    I celebrate small wins: resisting harmful content one morning, admitting a relapse to a friend, choosing honesty over shame. These moments prove God is working, even if change feels slow.

    Most importantly, I keep returning to God. After rough weeks, I kneel and whisper, “I’m here again, God,” and find quiet peace. The journey isn’t linear, but persistent return is how healing begins.

    Lessons and hope 

    Silence makes struggle worse; speaking lifts the burden. Faith doesn’t remove struggle, but gives hope and a path forward. Vulnerability is strength. Grace works in the mess. Small wins matter.

    If you feel trapped by addiction, shame or loneliness: you are not alone, and your story isn’t finished. God sees every hidden struggle, every tear, every relapse, every moment you’ve smiled while breaking inside. His love is stronger than any fear or guilt you carry.

    Change may be slow. You may stumble again. But every honest step toward God, every whispered prayer, every confession is victory. The times you felt weakest may be when God was shaping your heart for strength.

    Do not be discouraged by setbacks. Healing is a process. God’s timing is perfect, his grace persistent. You are not defined by your struggles; you’re defined by the God who pursues you relentlessly and turns brokenness into testimony.

    To my fellow young Africans carrying battles in silence: I see you. Your pain is real. The silence in your home is real. But so is God’s grace, the possibility of healing, and the chance that your story could be the hope someone else needs.

    I am still on this journey. There are days when old habits call, when depression threatens, when I feel eight years of struggle. But I’m learning that every day I turn back to God, I choose life over death, hope over despair, truth over silence.

    Remember: hope is not passive. It’s a daily choice to trust that God sees you, values you and has a purpose for you. Your story is not over. It is still being written, and your struggles are chapters, not the conclusion. Break the silence. Reach out. Trust that there is grace enough for every fall, love enough for every shame and hope enough for every tomorrow.

    You are not alone.

    Questions to consider:

    1. Why might someone turn to media, like pornography, as a way to escape depression or loneliness?

    2. Why do you think media addiction is so difficult to break from?

    3. If you knew of someone with an addiction, how might you help them free themselves from it?

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  • The high costs of cheap food

    The high costs of cheap food

    From New York to Jakarta, the scene is the same: Shelves overflowing with cheap, ultra-processed snacks and sugary drinks have become the new normal for millions of children. As a result, for the first time in history, more children are obese than underweight.

    UNICEF’s new Feeding Profit report explains why: Across the globe, cheap and intensely marketed ultra-processed foods dominate what families are able to put on the table, while nutritious options remain out of reach.

    Across the world, one in 20 children under five and one in five children and adolescents aged five to 19 are overweight. The number of overweight children and teens in 2000 almost doubled by 2022, with South Asia experiencing an increase of almost 500%. In East Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, the increase was at least 10%.

    Ultra-processed foods and beverages, defined as industrially formulated, are composed primarily of chemically-modified substances extracted from foods, together with additives and preservatives to enhance taste, texture and appearance as well as shelf life.

    These foods — which are often cheaper, nutrient poor and higher in sugar, unhealthy fats and salt — are now more prevalent than traditional, nutritious foods in children’s diets.

    Can we wean ourselves off ultra-processed foods?

    Studies show there’s a direct link between eating a lot of ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents. Among teens aged 15-19 years, 60% consumed more than one sugary food or beverage during the previous day, 32% consumed a soft drink and 25% consumed more than one salty processed food.

    Today, children’s paths to healthy eating are shaped less by personal choice than by the food environments that surround them. Those are the places where and conditions under which people make decisions about what to eat. They connect a person’s daily life with the broader food system around them, and are shaped by physical, political, economic and cultural factors that help determine what foods are available, affordable, appealing and regularly eaten.

    Such environments are steering children toward ultra-processed, calorie-dense options, even when healthier foods are available.

    Around the world, countries are beginning to push back. In Mexico, where nearly four million children aged 4-10 are obese, the government took a bold step in March 2025. It banned the sale of ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks in schools.

    The new rules go beyond restriction: Schools must offer fresh, regional foods such as fruits, vegetables and seeds, promote water as the default beverage, and establish health education programs. The policy also calls for regular health monitoring, mandatory fortification of wheat and corn flours, and more opportunities for physical activity, with penalties for schools that fail to comply.

    Taking steps to slim down our diets

    In September 2025, Malaysia’s Ministry of Education followed similar steps. It now prohibits 12 categories of ultra-processed foods and drinks in school canteens, from instant noodles and skewered snacks to frozen desserts and candy.

    But even as countries rewrite their food policies, millions of families still face difficult choices at the market.

    Shauna Downs, associate professor of food policy and public health nutrition at Rutgers University, has seen firsthand how hunger and obesity can coexist within the same communities in her research on informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.

    “People are able to find nutrient-rich foods, like leafy greens, fruits, and vegetables, and animal-source foods, but they’re often expensive, and what they can get that’s cheaper is things like mandazi [fried dough], which provide energy, and they taste good, but they’re not getting the nutrients they need,” she said.

    Families that want to buy the nutrient-rich foods are forced into heartbreaking choices, Downs said.

    “So now they’re making a decision between ‘Am I gonna buy this food from the market, which my family needs, or am I gonna pay for my child to go to school?’” she said.

    Looking at food environments

    By spotlighting the food environment, consumers and researchers alike can move past the tired “eat less, move more” narrative to fight childhood obesity and ask a better question: Why wasn’t the healthy plate the obvious, easy and most affordable choice in the first place?

    Long before ultra-processed foods flooded grocery shelves, they quietly took over another key part of children’s lives: school cafeterias. Back in 1981, the Reagan administration cut US$1.5 billion in U.S. school food funding, pushing public institutions to rely on convenience over nutrition.

    Pamela Koch, associate professor of nutrition and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, said that one of the things cut was for funding for schools  upgrade their kitchens.

    “That was the same time as the food supply was becoming more and more [saturated] with highly-processed food, and a lot of food companies realized, ‘Wait, we could have a market selling to schools. Schools don’t have money to buy supplies’,” Koch said.

    Companies began offering deals: Sign a long-term contract and receive a free convection oven to reheat ultra-processed foods. For schools facing budget cuts and limited staffing, the decision was simple. The cost of that convenience would echo for decades.

    Let’s start with school meals.

    The nonprofit Global Child Nutrition Foundation, highlights school meals as an essential lever for transforming food systems: Create demand for nutritious foods, improve the livelihoods of those working in the food system and promote climate-smart foods. However, the cost of scaling up national programs depends on the strength of supply chains, underlying food markets, logistics and procurement models.

    Countries that depend on imported food, already challenged by infrastructure and expensive trading costs, will face additional challenges in delivering healthy school meals.

    In much of the world, climate stress and weak infrastructure are making nutritious food both more difficult to grow and more expensive to purchase.

    Small-scale farmers, sheep and cattle farmers, forest keepers and fishers — known collectively as smallholder farmers — grow much of the food in low-income countries. They face worsening yields due to climate change, land degradation and lack of access to the technology and resources that support sustainable food production.

    At the same time perishable foods are becoming more expensive because the global supply chain — how food gets shipped from a farm in one country through distribution networks to store shelves in another country — is increasingly threatened by political tension, the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

    Durability over nutrition

    Kate Schneider, assistant professor of sustainable food systems at Arizona State University, said that smallholder farmers grow food as their livelihood. “They’re not able to grow enough food, which is partly a story of climate change,” Schneider said. “Multiple generations now have been farming … year after year on the same land, but without external inputs –– fertilizers and modern, high-yielding seeds –– they are resulting in very low yields.”

    Even when fresh fruits and vegetables are available, logistical barriers make it easier to sell ultra-processed foods. Fresh produce is heavy, vulnerable to spoilage and expensive to move, especially in countries with poor transport networks.

    “When we’re thinking about fresh items, they’re perishable, and they need a cold chain,” Schneider said. “You’re paying, when you buy an apple, for the three that also rotted.”

    Meanwhile, ultra-processed products like soda avoid this problem entirely: “It’s cheaper for them to have a ton of different bottling plants around countries than to distribute long distances,” Schneider said.

    The result of these challenges is a global system that rewards durability over nutrition and continues to make healthy food increasingly out of reach.

    Connecting sustainability of diets and the environment

    The EAT-Lancet Commission 2.0, a scientific body redefining healthy and sustainable diets, offers a different view: The ultra-processed foods fuelling obesity are also pushing food systems beyond climate and biodiversity limits.

    Its newly published report says that nearly half the world’s population can’t afford a healthy diet, while the richest 30% generate more than 70% of food-related environmental damage.

    The planetary health diet suggests a plant-rich diet that consists of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans, with only moderate or small amounts of fish, dairy and meat.

    To build healthier and more just food systems, experts also recommend a whole list of other things: make nutritious diets more accessible and affordable; protect traditional diets; promote sustainable farming and ecosystems; reduce food waste.

    And all of this should be done with the participation of diverse sectors of the society.

    The responsibility of transforming food systems falls not only on governments but also on donors and financial partners, development and humanitarian organizations, academic institutions and civil society. The stakes are high, but so is the potential to change. With bold, coordinated action, the next generation of children can be nourished by healthy food, while building food systems that sustain both people and the planet. 

    Questions to consider:

    1. How is obesity connected to the environment?

    2. What are some governments doing to try to tackle the obesity crisis?

    3. What changes could you make to your diet to make it healthier?

     

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  • When life is bitter, don’t lose hope

    When life is bitter, don’t lose hope

    When life takes away your greatest support, it can feel as if the world is falling apart. For me, losing my father as a child was more than heartbreaking. It was a true test of strength. Yet in a world that often seemed bitter, the kindness of strangers and the power of personal dreams helped me rise above my sorrow and shape a future full of hope.

    My family and I live in the Eastern province of Rwanda. I was only five years old when one morning, my father packed his bag and left the house. He didn’t say where he was going and he never came back. Days turned into weeks, weeks into years, but there was no sign of him. No call. No letter. Nothing. 

    At first, I didn’t understand what was happening. I kept asking my mother, “When is Papa coming back?” But she would just smile sadly and say, “One day, maybe.”

    In her heart, she knew he was not coming back. 

    Life changed quickly after that. Without a father and without money, things became hard for the family. My mother, Catherine, had no job. She had never worked outside the home before. Now, she had to take care of me and my four siblings alone. 

    Struggling with little

    We had no house of our own. We moved from one place to another, staying with kind neighbors or sleeping in small, broken huts. During rainy nights, water would leak through the roof and we had to stay awake holding buckets. Sometimes, we didn’t even have enough food to eat. Many nights, we went to bed hungry. 

    My siblings were in high school at the time, but the family could not afford school fees anymore. One by one, they dropped out and stayed home. It was painful for me to watch them suffer. I loved them deeply and wanted a better life for all of them. 

    Despite everything, I stayed in school. My mother worked hard doing small jobs washing clothes, digging gardens or selling vegetables in the market. She never gave up. “You are our hope,” she would tell me. “Even if your father left, we must move forward.”

    I listened. I promised myself that no matter how hard life became, I would not give up. I wanted to finish school, go to university and one day help my family live a better life. 

    But it was not easy. 

    Help can come from surprising places.

    I often went to school with old shoes. I had no school bag only an old plastic bag to carry my books. I had no lunch and many times, I sat in class with an empty stomach. But still, I worked hard. I listened carefully, asked questions and always completed my homework, even if it meant studying by candlelight or by the dim light of a kerosene lamp. 

    Many teachers began to notice me. They saw that even though I had nothing, I had determination and a kind heart. One teacher gave me exercise books. Another helped pay part of my school fees. A neighbor who owned a small shop gave me a few snacks sometimes. A church group gave my mother food and clothes once in a while. 

    These acts of kindness kept me going. 

    I studied harder than anyone else and soon became the best performer in my class. Every year, I got top marks. My name was always on the honor list. At school, students looked up to me. But at home, things were still hard. My siblings had lost hope, but I kept believing in a better future. 

    After many years of struggle, I finally finished high school. I was the first in my family to do so. On the day I received my final results, my mother cried tears of joy. You did it, my son. You made me proud, she said, hugging me tightly.

    But my journey wasn’t over. 

    I had one more goal: to go to university. That meant more fees, laptop, more books, more challenges, but I didn’t stop. I applied for scholarships and after many rejections, I finally got accepted to a university with some financial support. 

    Now, I’m 22 years old. I’m in university, studying hard every day. I met with a kind person again, who gave me a place to sleep and dinner. Even though I have that support, I’m still facing challenges. I still lack proper shoes, clothes and transport money, but I keep going. My dream is to become a professional, get a good job first, then become self-employed and return home to support my mother and siblings. 

    I remind myself: “My father left us when I was just a child. We had no house, no food and no money. My siblings could not finish school. But I decided to fight. Kind people helped me and I stayed strong. Now I am at university. I will not stop until I help my family rise again.” 

    I hope my story will teach young people that even when life feels bitter and people let you down, you must not give up. Strength is not about having everything. It is about standing tall even when you have nothing. This is the reason why I’m writing my story. 

    Even when life is painful and people walk away from you, never lose hope. With hard work, faith and the help of kind people, you can still rise, succeed and help others do the same. 

    QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

    1. What was one thing the author promised himself when things got really hard for his family?

    2. In what ways did people help the author succeed?

    3. When have people helped you when you were having difficulty?

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