British FGM campaigner backs US campaign to increase awareness on cutting

American anti-FGM campaigner Jaha Dukureh. Photograph: Mae Ryan for the Guardian

The 17-yr-old Bristol student who aided persuade the schooling secretary, Michael Gove, to speak to every college in England about female genital mutilation has offered her backing to the female major a equivalent campaign in the US.

The campaign across the Atlantic is currently being led by Jaha Dukureh, a mom of three from Atlanta who was put through FGM in Gambia when very younger. Dukureh is calling on Barack Obama to purchase a new study on FGM that would establish how a lot of American ladies and ladies are at threat of the practice, thereby paving the way to tackle the crime.

The adjust.org petition by 24-year-old Dukureh had attracted virtually 60,000 signatures as of Wednesday and has now been provided the backing of Fahma Mohamed, who was the face of the Guardian’s campaign in England, which won the help of more than 230,000 people. Fahma mentioned that action was needed to determine the scale of the difficulty in the US.

Dukureh was subjected to FGM when she was an infant in increasing up in the Gambia. “It took away a portion of my femininity, my ownership to my body. Some girls, like my half-sister who died from problems from becoming minimize, even get rid of their lives,” she wrote in the introduction to her on the internet petition.

“Jaha is exceptionally brave for speaking out,” she said. “She requirements to present President Obama that there is a around the world motion of people hunting to him to consider action to finish the horror of FGM in the US. Ordinary individuals like us truly can make a distinction. When we really think in some thing, when we know one thing is wrong, we have a moral duty to communicate out and do no matter what we can to make adjust.”

Dukureh, who has won backing for her campaign from the UN secretary standard Ban-Ki Moon, mentioned she was delighted to have Fahma’s help. “When I noticed Fahma’s campaign in the Uk, it inspired me to take action too,” she mentioned. “Because I launched by Adjust.org petition in the US, we have been in touch more than e-mail and Twitter and her support has meant so much to me. It really is thrilling to see this campaign turn into global and I hope the US government sees that this is a around the world movement fighting to protect ladies from the practice of FGM.”

Gove wrote to all headteachers in England soon after meeting Fahma and other members of the youth group Integrate Bristol, who have played a important role in raising awareness of FGM.

British FGM campaigner backs US campaign to increase awareness on cutting

Cutting hospital beds is a false economic climate | Zara Aziz

‘It is accurate that our elderly population is living longer, but with a better burden of illness.’ Photograph: Alamy

A latest examine by the Organisation for Financial Co-operation and Development found the United kingdom had the 2nd lowest variety of hospital beds per capita in Europe. There are two.95 beds in the United kingdom per one,000 men and women, and we are seeing more and much more beds currently being lower as smaller sized hospitals amalgamate into larger trusts. The only country that has fewer beds is Sweden, but it has different patient demographics and invests more in community overall health providers, this kind of as for ailment prevention and management of prolonged-phrase problems.

It is symptomatic of the challenge facing the NHS. Commissioning groups and hospital trusts are asked to supply ever much more: reduce A&ampE attendance, unplanned admissions and outpatient waiting occasions, whilst concurrently coping with a workforce crisis and catastrophic budget cuts.

My patient Arthur is a sprightly 81-12 months-outdated retired lecturer, who lives in warden-controlled accommodation. He nursed his wife by means of breast cancer until she died two years ago. He typically manages well: he has meals on wheels and one carer check out a day, to aid with any home tasks or buying. If he needs to see a medical professional, he typically walks the 50 yards it will take to get to our surgery.

He has never ever requested a property pay a visit to right up until the Tuesday that he requests a home call. When I see him, he is quite brief of breath and agitated. I suspect that he has pneumonia. His oxygen ranges are slipping, so I arrange an emergency ambulance to take him to the local hospital. I ring the single level of referral telephone line (this accepts all acute GP health care and surgical admissions). It generally faces higher demand on most days, but that day the hospital is on “red alert”: ambulances are backing up in A&ampE, unable to transfer their individuals. There are no empty healthcare beds to talk of, and hospital doctors are urgently making an attempt to discharge inpatients.

Soon after eight hrs of waiting in A&ampE, Arthur is transferred to an outlying orthopaedic ward. His chest x-ray showed pneumonia. He is handled on intravenous antibiotics for 24 hours and discharged with oral antibiotics on Thursday. When I see him the subsequent day, he admits that he feels tiny better, but is adamant he needs no even more intervention in hospital, come what could. He is philosophical about the care he has acquired. “Absolutely everyone functions really challenging and with resigned excellent humour, but the method is bursting at the seams,” he says.

It is true that our elderly population is living longer, but with a greater burden of illness. The standard position of a generalist GP is altering, as we see far more expert work spilling out of secondary care. GPs are expected to absorb this operate, but with no further sources. When I 1st joined my practice in 2010, we utilised to have an in-residence local community matron (to support assistance our sufferers with prolonged-phrase conditions). The funding for this was cut, and we now share a matron with three other practices (covering a total baseline population of all around forty,000 patients).

Our neighborhood trust has undergone major reconfiguration, with the imminent closure of one massive hospital and the transfer of all companies to the other web site. This will consequence in a net loss of 200 acute beds, which is probably to impact sufferers like Arthur, and stretch primary care in Bristol in an unprecedented way.

Several NHS trusts in England face comparable reconfigurations, and the government would do nicely to emphasis on what this means at patient degree, as there are no “quick fixes” when planning healthcare demands for sick individuals. Cuts in numbers of hospital beds can only work if these are replaced with equivalent community-based solutions, this kind of as more stage-down intermediate beds. Otherwise we will carry on to see an escalation of failed hospital discharges and “revolving-door” admissions.

Cutting hospital beds is a false economic climate | Zara Aziz

Health Q&A: Cutting out fruit on a minimal sugar diet regime

I have cut out chocolate, cake, biscuits and pastries from my diet regime to reduce my consumption of sugar. I really feel wonderful, but need to I also be keeping away from fruit as properly for it to have any correct impact? I am loth to, since I feel the positive aspects (vitamins, fibre and so forth) outweigh the negatives, but am I wrong?

Congratulations on getting rid of all these empty carbs, and it’s excellent to hear that you feel so very good as a result. No, you do not need to lower out all fruit – you are right, fruit and specially berries provide us with fantastic vitamins and phytonutrients. And apples are the original superfoods, packed complete of fibre and antioxidants. But maintain bananas to a minimal because they do not give us a lot except sugar.

The dietary therapist Melanie Brown

Research demonstrates that it is greater to consume more greens than fruit simply because the sugar (fructose) in fruit can truly make you hungrier and pack on “bad” belly body fat. But you are appropriate not to steer clear of it altogether, as it contains micronutrients this kind of as vitamin C, beta-carotene, overall health-promoting plant chemical compounds and fibre. Eat no a lot more than 15g of fructose per day (the internet will tell you how a lot is in particular fruits) and avoid fruit juice, and tinned and dried fruit.

The GP Rupal Shah

For most men and women, the advantages of consuming fruit outweigh any disadvantages posed by its sugar articles. The official recommendation is to consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but proof suggests that consuming more than this may decrease mortality. Greens might be more protective than fruit, and in Australia people are encouraged to adopt a “5 + 2” strategy – that is, five portions of vegetables and two of fruit every single day.

Often consult a medical practitioner if your signs and symptoms persist. Send your wellness concerns, for publication only, to stellahealth@telegraph.co.united kingdom

Health Q&A: Cutting out fruit on a minimal sugar diet regime

Health Q&A: cutting out fruit on a lower sugar diet

I have minimize out chocolate, cake, biscuits and pastries from my diet regime to reduce my consumption of sugar. I come to feel great, but need to I also be staying away from fruit as well for it to have any proper result? I am loth to, because I truly feel the positive aspects (vitamins, fibre and so forth) outweigh the negatives, but am I incorrect?

Congratulations on acquiring rid of all these empty carbs, and it is fantastic to hear that you feel so good as a outcome. No, you do not want to cut out all fruit – you are proper, fruit and specifically berries supply us with wonderful vitamins and phytonutrients. And apples are the unique superfoods, packed full of fibre and antioxidants. But keep bananas to a minimal simply because they don’t give us much except sugar.

The nutritional therapist Melanie Brown

Study displays that it is far better to consume a lot more vegetables than fruit since the sugar (fructose) in fruit can actually make you hungrier and pack on “bad” belly body fat. But you are appropriate not to steer clear of it altogether, as it includes micronutrients such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, wellness-selling plant chemical substances and fibre. Consume no more than 15g of fructose per day (the world wide web will tell you how much is in specific fruits) and stay away from fruit juice, and tinned and dried fruit.

The GP Rupal Shah

For most individuals, the advantages of eating fruit outweigh any down sides posed by its sugar articles. The official recommendation is to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but evidence suggests that consuming a lot more than this might lessen mortality. Veggies could be more protective than fruit, and in Australia men and women are encouraged to adopt a “5 + 2” method – that is, five portions of greens and two of fruit every single day.

Constantly seek advice from a health-related practitioner if your signs persist. Send your wellness questions, for publication only, to stellahealth@telegraph.co.uk

Health Q&A: cutting out fruit on a lower sugar diet

On The Cutting Edge of Viral

News aggregator sites abound, from progressive Upworthy and BuzzFeed  to conservative Independent Journal Assessment. An optimistic newcomer called The Mighty has a comparable really feel, but without the politically-tinged undercurrent. Feel Viral Nova meets Chicken Soup For The Soul.

CEO and co-founder Mike Porath worked for retailers like MSNBC, ABC News, BUZZMEDIA and served as editor-in-chief of AOL AOL News. He poached Megan Griffo from The Huffington Post “Good News” part and now prospects a workers of eight–some unpaid–for the self-funded launch this month.

Five many years ago, following Porath and his wife have been stunned to find out their unborn daughter had a rare chromosome disorder known as Dup15q syndrome and their son was later born without having a kidney, their lives took a turn toward better empathy. Their internet site tells stories of people dealing with dramatic mental or physical tribulations, everything from Boston marathon bombing survivors to hospital-stricken kids visualizing their dreams to a tap dancer who lost his leg to cancer but didn’t hang up his shoes. Though the site’s brand new, the founders hope The Mighty will expand an natural support community about articles.

The internet site does not have considerably original reporting but so far it is largely aggregation from YouTube and elsewhere, even though Porath said they will produce a lot more enterprise articles, convinced its viral nature will quickly make their site profitable.

“So a lot of of the stories men and women read through every single day are throwaway stories,” Porath explained. “What men and women will uncover on The Mighty are takeaway stories. They remain with you and depart an influence. We’re proud of that.”

The Mighty is partnering with nonprofits, permitting the charities to have their beneficiaries’ stories told (along with receiving a portion of future ad income) and providing The Mighty new people to highlight and expand traffic.

“Non-earnings do some items extremely, quite nicely,” Porath stated. “They function with researchers and scientists in ways that media companies would truly struggle to do so. They fundraise well …  But most nonprofits are not specifically robust in storytelling. I feel stories are one of the biggest assets that nonprofits have. One opportunity we have is to aid these non-income inform stories of the folks in their local community, and they are incredibly proud. Individuals stories so rarely get out to the public.”

I met Porath through the Robert Novak Journalism fellowship, which is funded by political conservatives, however Porath is quick to level out he’s also been on workers at the liberal The New York Occasions. He says the website will be strictly apolitical and focused entirely on these overall health-associated stories and aims to depend solely on ad revenue. Porath sent analysis showing that adverts running alongside well being-related articles is the most lucrative group of on the internet promoting, as measured by Price per mille (CPM), or price per thousand. He hopes The Mighty will strike a rewarding niche even though simultaneously inspiring readers.

Alexis Sobel Fitts, an assistant editor at Columbia Journalism Evaluation, has studied the viral nature of Upworthy, what Porath calls The Mighty‘s most frequent comparison. Fitts’ in-depth analysis of the Upworthy technique demonstrates the progressive site’s success (~49 million web page views in the past month, according to audience measuring company Quantcast) is fueled by repackaging content with curiosity-piquing headlines (writers must produce 25 various headline options for every piece prior to publication) that are tested on target groups just before going dwell. Upworthy personnel also tailor the headlines for different social media platforms and modify their content material primarily based on actual-time data analytics.

Fitts stated The Mighty’s organization model (which Porath sketched out and provided me beneath) fits effectively with academic research by Jonah Berger and Katherine Milkman from Wharton Business College at the University of Pennsylvania. They discovered that “good content is more viral than adverse content, but the connection in between emotion and social transmission is far more complex than valence alone. Virality is partially driven by physiological arousal. Articles that evokes high-arousal optimistic (awe) or damaging (anger or nervousness) feelings is a lot more viral.”

“They’re focusing on much more positive stories, which are much more probably to be shared,” Fitts stated. “And overall health stories, at their worst, can be incredibly volatile and concern-inducing.”

Porath acknowledges not all of The Mighty is come to feel-good.

“Some of these stories have fantastic endings, and some of them are heartbreaking. We’re not just making an attempt to package minor stories that all have content endings,” Porath stated. “We’re truly making an attempt to genuinely display what individuals do when they are faced with adversity.”

On The Cutting Edge of Viral