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wanna find out which brand of test kit(blood sugar) to get.intend to get 1 for my mum.anyway,anyone here got experience with diabetes within family members?can they lead a normal life?what do they have to take care?any suggestions or help will be greatly appreciated

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Datawatch/Diabetes-ravages-emerging-nations-in-Asia-Africa?utm_campaign=GL_asia_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link&del_type=1&pub_date=20230213123000&seq_num=12&si=44594 Diabetes patients in Asia and Africa are projected to total 560 million by 2045 as affluence and urbanization lead to changes in Diabetes ravages emerging nations in Asia, Africa Number of patients projected to jump 50% by 2045 as dietary habits change RYOSUKE HANADA and KOSUKE INOUE, Nikkei staff writersFebruary 11, 2023 16:10 JST MUMBAI/BANGKOK -- The number of diabetes patients is surging in Asia and Africa as more people become obese due to COVID-related curbs on outdoor activities and their dietary habits change amid economic growth. In Pakistan, there were 5.2 times more diabetes patients in 2021 than a decade earlier. Of the population from ages 20 to 79, 30% have developed diabetes. "Earlier in Pakistan, diabetes would affect people of 40 years of age, but gradually [came to affect those] in 30s, then 20s, and now we can find in teenagers type two of diabetes," said Matiullah Khan, an endocrinologist at the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to serious complications, such as heart disease, strokes and blindness. "There is widespread lack of education and awareness among general masses in Pakistan about diabetes. People [tend] to take it less serious as compared to heart ailments," said an official at the nonprofit Diabetes Center in Islamabad. "At government level, there is no education and awareness policy to tackle soaring number of diabetic patients in Pakistan." Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or the body cannot use the hormone well. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the insulin-producing cells fail to work, while Type 2 diabetes results when the body cannot keep blood sugar at normal levels due to obesity or a lack of physical activity. Type 2 accounts for 90% of the world's diabetes patients. Diabetes by itself is the ninth-leading cause of death globally, according to the World Health Organization. But if sugar in the bloodstream remains high, it can damage blood vessels, increasing the risk of developing such complications as ischemic heart disease, the leading cause of death. Treating diabetes is expensive because it requires regular medications, and some patients also find it difficult to make the lifestyle changes needed for treatment. People in emerging nations are particularly vulnerable to diabetes. The total number of diabetes patients in Asia and Africa is forecast to reach 560 million by 2045, up 50% from 2021, according to the International Diabetes Federation. The number is projected to rise 70% to 220 million in South Asia, while sub-Saharan Africa is expected to see a 2.3-fold jump to 55 million. In contrast, increases in Europe and North America are expected to be slight at 1.1 to 1.2 times. The number of patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes is growing in emerging countries as their diets improve with economic development. Daily calorie intake per capita rose 43% in Vietnam and 39% in Ethiopia over the 20 years through 2018, compared to a global average of 8%. The number of diabetes patients rose 130% in Vietnam and 40% in Ethiopia in the decade through 2021. Traditional staple foods in Asia and Africa are low in calories and fat, but foods high in both categories have become available with the globalization of Western diets. As the number of fast-food restaurants increases in urban areas, people have more opportunities to eat foods rich in carbohydrates and fat, leading to an increase in obesity and diabetes. Half of Pakistan's adult population is now considered obese, according to one study. The spread of the novel coronavirus made the situation worse as various restrictions were imposed on people's daily activities. The global average of steps that a person walked daily was 4,997 from May to November in 2021, down 10% from the pre-pandemic level, according to a study by Geoffrey H. Tison, a cardiologist and assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco and other researchers who analyzed data from the Azumio Argus smartphone app. In Asia, the number fell 30%. "Even North America and Europe, which were among the first countries to lift restrictions relevant to COVID-19, have not [seen the level of exercise] recovered to pre-COVID-19 level," Tison said. Unless people engage in more physical activity, the number of diabetes patients will likely increase and the condition of existing patients will worsen. Along with exercise, dietary control is the key to preventing diabetes or staying healthy after the onset of the disease. Some emerging countries have adopted measures to discourage the excessive drinking of sweetened beverages. Thailand plans to raise its sugar tax by 1.6 to 3.3 times, depending on the level of sugar in beverages, effective as of April. South Africa is also considering raising its sugar tax. Still, education can make people aware of the importance of daily diet. "Government should do campaign to [tell] people, as well as children in the school, about how [important] diets are for their healthy life," said Ruchirek Thamcharoen, an endocrinologist at the Royal Thai Navy's Somdejphranangchaosirikit Hospital.

Enjoy reading- A GROUP of intrepid Singapore motorists are showing that you do not need airplanes to travel the world - just four wheels, a gung-ho spirit and cruise control. Singapore permanent resident Daniel Ma from Malaysia and his wife, Singaporean Hew Shiau Wei, drove from India to South Africa in their off-peak Singapore-registered Hyundai Matrix car, a journey that took more than nine months. That was a mere jaunt in the big scheme of things, though. The adventurous pair, both 29, started in August last year and recently completed an extreme road trip which covered 43,500km and 24 countries. Their India to South Africa trip was just one leg of it. During their odyssey, they encounted huge potholes in India and swindlers in Egypt, and drove alongside grazing giraffes on desert roads in Kenya. The car-crazy couple are among an increasing number of Singaporeans and residents here taking the road less travelled - well, for a driving holiday at least. The Automobile Association (AA) of Singapore, which organised a 23-day road trip from Singapore to Lijiang in China last September, said it is experiencing a jump in the popularity of road trips among their members. The motoring association regularly organises road holidays to Malaysia, with more than 400 of its members taking part last year. Its spokesman said: 'Driving holidays have become more popular as members have become more adventurous and road savvy and do not want to be constrained by a fixed itinerary.' She added that these people 'prefer to have more control over time' and 'enjoy sights and places of interest that are not ordinarily covered in normal itineraries'. http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/Drivers/St...607-220711.html

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pharmaceuticals/WHO-backs-world-s-first-malaria-vaccine-for-Africa-s-children?utm_campaign=GL_coronavirus_latest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link&del_type=10&pub_date=20211007150000&seq_num=10&si=44594 WHO backs world's first malaria vaccine for Africa's children GlaxoSmithKline's Mosquirix could offer big breakthrough against deadly disease The WHO says 94% of the world's malaria cases and deaths occur in Africa. © Reuters October 7, 2021 10:58 JST NAIROBI (Reuters) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday the only approved vaccine against malaria should be widely given to African children, potentially marking a major advance against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people annually. The WHO recommendation is for RTS,S -- or Mosquirix -- a vaccine developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline. Since 2019, 2.3 million doses of Mosquirix have been administered to infants in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in a large-scale pilot program coordinated by the WHO. The majority of those whom the disease kills are under age five. That program followed a decade of clinical trials in seven African countries. "This is a vaccine developed in Africa by African scientists and we're very proud," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Using this vaccine in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year," he added, referring to anti-malaria measures like bed nets and spraying to kill mosquitoes that transmit the disease. One of the ingredients in the Mosquirix vaccine is sourced from a rare evergreen native to Chile called a Quillay tree. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the long-term supply of these trees is in question. Malaria is far more deadly than COVID-19 in Africa. It killed 386,000 Africans in 2019, according to a WHO estimate, compared with 212,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the past 18 months. The WHO says 94% of malaria cases and deaths occur in Africa, a continent of 1.3 billion people. The preventable disease is caused by parasites transmitted to people by the bites of infected mosquitoes. Symptoms include fever, vomiting and fatigue. The vaccine's effectiveness at preventing severe cases of malaria in children is only around 30%, but it is the only approved vaccine. The European Union's drugs regulator approved it in 2015, saying its benefits outweighed the risks. "This is how we fight malaria, layering imperfect tools on top of each other," said Ashley Birkett, who leads global malaria vaccine work at Path, a non-profit global health organization that has funded development of the vaccine with GSK and the three-country pilot. Another vaccine against malaria called R21/Matrix-M that was developed by scientists at Britain's University of Oxford showed up to 77% efficacy in a year-long study involving 450 children in Burkina Faso, researchers said in April. It is still in the trial stages. GSK welcomed the WHO recommendation. "This long-awaited landmark decision can reinvigorate the fight against malaria in the region at a time when progress on malaria control has stalled," Thomas Breuer, GSK's chief global health officer, said in a statement. GSK shares held steady in New York following the announcement, which came after the close of trading in its London-listed shares. The recommendation was jointly announced in Geneva by the WHO's top advisory bodies for malaria and immunization, the Malaria Policy Advisory Group and the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. Experts said the challenge now would be mobilizing financing for production and distribution of the vaccine to some of the world's poorest countries. GSK has to date committed to produce 15 million doses of Mosquirix annually up to 2028 at a cost of production plus no more than 5% margin. A global market study led by the WHO this year projected demand for a malaria vaccine would be 50 to 110 million doses per year by 2030 if it is deployed in areas with moderate to high transmission of the disease. The GAVI vaccine alliance, a global public-private partnership, will consider in December whether and how to finance the vaccination program. "As we've seen from the COVID vaccine, where there is political will, there is funding available to ensure that vaccines are scaled to the level they are needed," said Kate O’Brien, director of WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals. A source familiar with planning for the vaccine’s development said the price per dose was not yet set, but would be confirmed after GAVI's funding decision and once there is a clear sense of demand. The WHO's decision had personal meaning for Dr. Rose Jalong'o, a vaccinology specialist at the Kenyan health ministry. "I suffered from malaria as a child, and during my internship, and during my clinical years I attended to children in hospital because of severe malaria who needed blood transfusion and unfortunately some of them died," she said. "It's a disease I have grown up with and, seeing all this in my lifetime, it's an exciting time."

I recently saw this video on Youtube explaining the reason why African countries are poor. Its an eye opener for me at the same time I greatly enjoyed the presentation what is easy to understand. Hope you guys like it too.

Anyone planning to return to China, India, Malaysia ?

Singapore—Congratulations are in order for Li Huanwu, the nephew of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and his boyfriend Heng Yirui, who were married in South Africa today, May 24. In an Instagram post put up in the late afternoon, Dr Heng wrote, “Today I marry my soul mate. Looking forward to a lifetime of moments like this with @hero.unit” In the photo, there’s an elephant standing in the background and Dr Heng tagged the location of the photo as Cape Town. Mr Li is the second son of Lee Hsien Yang, PM Lee’s younger brother. He is also the grandson of the founding Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, and works as a general manager, while Dr Heng is a veterinarian. Not sure if our Prime Minister Lee will be particularly pleased or even IF Lee Hsien Yang is happy about this news but congratulations to the newly weds!!! So much news about LGBT these few weeks.I am of the opinion that it is one's perogative to fall in love with the sam sex and I am totally cool wihh that but I would feel uncomfortable if this is one day legalized in our red dot. It should just remain status quo. So yes I am of the opinion that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Discussions are welcomed but if it turns nasty mod please lock

you are forgiven if you think these are our HDB flats in a newly developed new town like Sengkang or Punggol... but these are actually in Angola, an African country apparently these are built in a joint venture by the Angola government and a China construction company, but in the end they are left empty because they are still too expensive for the Angolan people (saw these interesting photos in Fb: https://www.facebook.com/Africbook/posts/538827179567865)

When you go to a safari the next time, I'd suggest that you make sure you close all those windows of your car. It's not that I'm exaggerating, but I'm pretty sure you won't want to see the situation in the video below, happening to you as well. At the Kruger National Park in South Africa, some impalas were trying to run for their lives while visitors were passing by. As it turned out, those impalas were being chased by a couple of hungry cheetahs. Luckily for one particular impala, it seemed to obtain a very good escape route, by jumping into a Toyota Land Cruiser with its windows open at the time. Therefore, keep in mind that it's really not recommended at all to open your car windows at such a place. As for the family, thank God one of the passengers in the car was finally able to open the car door to let the impala go without it or anyone being injured. The incident was caught on tape courtesy of Samantha Pittendrigh who was riding in the car behind the Land Cruiser. Well, it seems that this time the cheetahs will have to make do without their would-be tasty dinner.

Will be going to West Africa (Ivory Coast & other countries) soon . Want to find out from those who have been there what medicine to bring along besides mosquito repellent, malaria pills etc? Have gotten the yellow fever vaccination

Naked maids, accountants take (it) off in South Africa AFP Relax

Love this song! Waka waka, THIS TIME FOR AFRICA! Can't wait for the World Cup! Enjoy the video from youtube!!!

So far the SA goalie gives confidence to the defenders and the team. The humming noise....any idea what's making the noise?

anyone has experience with these? pretty old model i think but value for money.

Two German children - aged six and seven - have been stopped by police from eloping to Africa to tie the knot in the sun, reports say. The budding lovebirds, identified as Mika and Anna-Lena, packed bathing costumes, sunglasses and a lilo and headed for the airport. They even had the presence of mind to invite along an official witness - Anna-Lena's five-year-old sister. The three got as far as Hanover railway station before police intervened. The young couple were "very much in love" and had decided to get married in Africa "where it is warm", police spokesman Holger Jureczko told the AFP news agency. Sun-seekers The idea for the getaway wedding was born as the children's families celebrated New Year's eve together and Mika regaled the two girls with stories of a recent holiday to Italy. They can still put their plan into action at a later date Holger Jureczko Hanover police spokesman The following morning, as their parents slept, the intrepid trio walked 1km (0.6 miles) to the local tram station at Langenhagen, where they hopped aboard a tram for Hanover central station. But the group aroused the suspicion of a guard as they waited for a train to the airport, and police were called in. Officers persuaded the children they would not get far without tickets and money, but consoled them with a free tour of the police station, where they were shortly picked up by relieved parents. Although any marriage plans have been put on hold for now, police did not altogether rule out the possibility of an African wedding. "They can still put their plan into action at a later date," AFP quoted the spokesman as saying. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7811686.stm

As deadly as AIDS, there is an outbreak of the disease in Democratic Republic of Congo. So far 166 dead had been recorded. No known cure for such disease. This report came from CNA new as attach: GENEVA : The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed a major outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and said 166 deaths there since April could be linked to the disease. The outbreak of the highly-contagious Ebola haemorrhagic fever, in the Western Kasai province, was confirmed by specialist laboratories in the US and Gabon, the WHO said in a statement on its website. Speaking to journalists in Geneva Tuesday, a WHO spokesman stressed that another illness other than Ebola could yet be responsible for some of the deaths, possibly the Shigella infectious disease. Of five samples sent to one laboratory, all showed signs of Ebola. Ebola causes the patient to bleed under the skin and in severe cases, from the mouth, ears and eyes. The virus, which has no known cure, is highly infectious for those who come into contact with a victim's body fluids. Ebola had previously killed some 450 people in the DRC since 1976, and 1,200 people across the whole of Africa in the same period. - AFP/de If I am not mistaken, AIDS also orginated from Africa.

Dear all I am looking to import a brand new or relatively new, used less than 2 years twin cab pick up into Salaam, South Africa. I am looking at the Hilux SR Turbo or Vigo or the latest Mitsubishi Strada or Storm. I've tried Toyota Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. They are not willing to help to do the import as they have a global agreement to sell direct to their respective distributor/dealers. I've approached a few local parallel importers as well and they are not able to help even to to bring into the EPZ before exporting out to Salaam. Anyone here knows of anybody who is able to help? Thanks in advance for any help rendered.