Good news, for once

Just saw this article today, I think its amazing! Its so good to see a political leader taking a step that could actually make a real difference to the spread of HIV. Stigma is such a big problem, I think if more leaders stood up and said they got tested, or admitted if they have HIV, people would not be as afraid of HIV. Its fear that keeps this disease going. Fear of being ostracised when positive, fear of telling you partner to use protection, fear of rejection by your family and partner if you test positive, and the fear of the disease that makes people ignore it, pretend it isn't happening.



Cheers Kikwete, lets hope you're the first of many.

Another girl gone..

A British child has been kidnapped in the Niger Delta. Margaret Hill is the 3yr old daughter of a Nigerian mother and an English father. She was taken on her way to school in Port Harcourt.

I didn't hear this on the radio. I didn't see it on the front page of the paper. I don't see any posters in windows, any petitions on peoples blogs.

But what is so different about this case to the abduction of Madeline McCann? Ok, yes, its a kidnapping, and the parents have been contacted by the kidnappers, but they still don't know where their child is, or if she is dead or alive, or if they will ever see their baby again. Just like Madeline McCanns parents.

Now please don't get me wrong here, I think its terrible what happened to Madeline. I hope as much as anyone else that she is returned safely to her parents. And if all the media coverage and public awareness helps, then so much the better.

But what about the other children that go missing every day? Is it right that no one notices them? That they don't get the same publicity? Are their lives somehow less valuable?

Apologies

For the lack of blogging on my part. I realise there are a few tumbleweed taking up residency on my blog.

I've seen and thought of many things to blog about in the last while (junkie patients, medicine observations, thoughts on life blah blah blah) but I'm afraid I haven't had the energy to follow through.

Still pining over the stupid boy, and knackered from work.....so it may be a while....

Here's a pretty pic of the desert my blog has become...

Weird...

Stole this from Xavier, look what I got as no.1!

Rank	Speciality	Score
1	paediatrics	46
2	plastic surgery	45
3	gastroenterology	43
4	general internal med	42
5	neurology	42
6	infectious disease	41
7	physical med & rehabilitation	41
8	obstetrics/gynecology	41
9	nuclear med	41
10	general surgery	41
11	psychiatry	41
12	neurosurgery	40
13	endocrinology	40
14	cardiology	40
15	dermatology	40
16	ophthalmology	40
17	occupational med	39
18	pathology	39
19	otolaryngology	38
20	thoracic surgery	38
21	allergy & immunology	38
22	colon & rectal surgery	37
23	anaesthesiology	37
24	family practice	37
25	rheumatology	37
26	nephrology	37
27	urology	37
28	radiology	36
29	orthopaedic surgery	36
30	aerospace med	35
31	haematology	34
32	pulmonology	34
33	emergency med	34
34	radiation oncology	33
35	med oncology	33
36	preventive med	31

Plastics though, seriously no way!!! And I'm not really interested in surgery all that much either. Still, infectious disease was no.6! Big up the tropical medicine! Take it yourself here.