ABSTRACT: The Republic of Sudan is a country located in the Northeastern region of Africa. It has a very diverse culture with about 597 ethnic groups communicating in 400 different languages and dialects. Sudan is the third-largest country in Africa and the sixteenth largest in the world. This country is blessed with numerous mineral resources such as asbestos, chromite, copper, gold, iron, lead, mica, nickel, petroleum, silver, uranium, zinc and many more. However, Sudan is not a peaceful nation. The government of Sudan has been engaged in military warfare against the Sudan Revolutionary Front since 2011. There are widespread human rights violations and religious persecutions. There are allegations that Sudan is a safe haven for terrorist. This study therefore gives an overview of the health status and demographics of the populace inhabiting this conflicting nation. In discussing the health status of the Sudan population, the data on number of the different types of health care facilities and major equipment in Sudan were presented. Also data on maternal and child health, malaria, HIV/AIDS, yellow fever, nodding diseases, noncommunicable disease mental health and dental health were presented. The demographics section displayed the population, population distribution and statistics, religion distribution and many more of the Sudan populace. Author appeals that the statistics and data presented be used in attending to the health needs of the populace of Sudan.

ABSTRACT: Introduction: Research has shown that African American and Hispanic/Latino youth are at an increased risk of contracting STIs/STDs and HIV/AIDS.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with condom use among African American and Hispanic/Latino youths.
Results: Among African American youth, condom use was more likely among males (2.09; 95% CI:1.45-3.02) compared to females and less likely among gays/lesbians compared to heterosexuals (0.33; 95% CI: 0.12-0.90), adjusted for cofounders. Among Hispanic/Latino youth, condom use was more likely among males (1.70; 95% CI: 1.25-2.31) compared to females and less likely among gays/lesbians (0.16; 95% CI: 0.57-0.44) and those who used alcohol/drugs during last sex (0.54; 95% CI: 0.37-0.78), adjusted for cofounders.
Conclusion: For both racial groups’, females and those identifying as gay or lesbian were more at risk of not using condoms. For Hispanic/Latino youth who used alcohol/drugs during last sex they were more at risk of not using a condom. This study can be used to identify culturally appropriate interventions that must be implemented to encourage greater condom use amongst African American and Hispanic/Latino youth.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV and syphilis and examine the HIV-related behaviors among men who have sex with other men (MSM) in Kinshasa, Congo. A modified snowball sampling was used to recruit the participants. The results showed that among the 401 men studied, 23.7% and 11.2% were infected with HIV and syphilis, respectively. HIV risk behaviors were rampant in this population. In the last 6 months preceding the survey, 83.3% of MSM reported receptive anal sex (RAS) with an average of 7 sexual partners. As high as 37.7% of MSM did not use condoms during the last RAS. About 65.9% (n = 249) reported drinking alcohol before sex. Logistic regression model indicated that being diagnosed with syphilis and not using lubricant were associated with positive HIV test. High-risk behaviors coupled with high prevalence of HIV among MSM underscore the need for the National HIV Control program to design new interventions to prevent HIV transmission from the MSM community into the general population.

ABSTRACT: Introduction: Young people easily fall prey to risky and dangerous practices such as drug abuse, unprotected sexual intercourse etc. due to lack of knowledge about the implications of these practices. Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) was developed to solve this problem by educating young minds so that they can avoid risky sexual behaviours and live healthy lives.
Methods: The ten countries in East and Southern Africa selected were those whose CSE curriculum had been reviewed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). We developed a scoring protocol to be able to specifically group a curriculum into three categories (A, B and C) based on its weakness. The data for HIV was based on the UNAIDS estimation. Data was analyzed with the Microsoft Excel Version 2010.
Results: Sixty (60%) percent of the countries involved had CSE curriculum with minor to moderate concerns, while the remaining 40% had moderate to serious gaps. Botswana and Lesotho had high prevalence of HIV among both young males and females. Majority of the countries with CSE curriculum having minor to moderate gaps had high prevalence of HIV among males within age 15-24 years. In the female category, one of the countries using CSE curriculum with moderate to serious gaps had an average HIV prevalence higher than the average of all the 10 countries involved in the study.
Conclusion: It is recommended that factors responsible for high HIV prevalence as identified in this study be addressed. This might help reduce the prevalence of HIV.

ABSTRACT: Salt is a noteworthy mineral component that plays a major role in health and infection. Unreasonable salt intake is a major reason for hypertension, cardiovascular illness, and stroke. It is assessed that 884 million individuals don’t have access to clean water in the world. The expanding saltiness of characteristic drinking water sources has been accounted for as one of the numerous issues that influence low-pay nations, however one which has not been completely investigated. This problem is exaggerated by rising sea levels, climate change as well as. The developed countries are used desalination trees for reducing the salinity level, in any case, this is probably not going to be a reasonable choice for low-salary nations influenced by high saltiness like Bangladesh. Miscarriage and preeclampsia are the most widely recognized pregnancy factor with various etiological elements, including inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. All the more as of late, various investigations demonstrated that unreasonable salt intake is engaged with the advancement of inflammatory procedures through the enlistment of the T helper-17 pathway and their inflammatory cytokines. Then again, miscarriage, preeclampsia, and adverse pregnancy outcome have been demonstrated in several studies indicated the pivotal role of inflammation in the etiology. Here, it is assumed that unreasonable salt intake during the time of pregnancy can highly be associated with increased risk of miscarriage, and adverse pregnancy outcome. Subsequently, the risk of miscarriage and adverse pregnancy status can be reduced by taking the low salt intake around the time of pregnancy status. This paper also describes the role of salt in the etiology of miscarriage and preeclampsia.

ABSTRACT: As the U.S. seeks to increase the quality of health care, both the quality and quantity of time physicians spend with patients will continue to be an important factor as in the last decades. In today’s healthcare environment, time is more valuable than before and the payment system, like fee-for service, encourages physicians to care for more patients but spend less time with them. Inherently, time spent with the physician is an important indicator for patients to see the total care. Based on this assumption, patient satisfaction cannot be fulfilled without a sufficient amount of time spent with the physician during the examination. If the physicians do not spend enough time with patients, they cannot understand the patients’ problems and history of illness. How can we achieve better outcome for patients if we do not understand their problems and concerns? At the same time, we know that involving patients in the decision-making process is important to get better results. Overall, the amount of time spent with patients indeed is an important indicator of good quality of health services and must be continuously monitored by health administrators to improve effectiveness and increase health care quality.

ABSTRACT: Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is a West African country with a total land area of 910,770 square kilometers and a population of 198,778,607 people. She is made up of diverse people based on ethnic group, language, religion, etc. The diversities present in the country, however, have been a major cause of conflicts. Conflict in Nigeria has resulted in the death, displacement, sexual violations, injuries, disabilities among others, of the population affected. Zones commonly affected in Nigeria are the north east (due to Boko Haram insurgency), north central(territorial dispute between nomadic farmers and the community dwellers compounded by ethno-religious issues) and south south (high unemployment rate despite the presence of a mineral resource [petroleum] and ecological degradation due to oil spillage) geopolitical zones. Children, victims of sexual violence, families that lost their loved ones, refugees and internally displaced people are the main victims of mental illness in conflicting regions in Nigeria. Individuals affected by conflict could present with varying mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), anxiety disorder, depression, substance misuse, psychosis, anti-social behaviours, somatic symptoms such as headaches, non-specific pains or discomfort in torso and limbs, dizziness, weakness, and fatigue, etc. This study presented the mental health status of the individuals in these conflict zones. Authors appeal that their recommendations be applied to reduce the burden of mental illness in the conflict zones in Nigeria.