Coronavirus spreading fast but stigma is more dangerous – WHO
Geneva, Switzerland/Beijing, ChinaReuters Coronavirus now appears to be spreading much more rapidly outside China than within but can still be contained, and stigma is more dangerous than the disease itself, the World Health Organization said on Monday. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said almost nine times as many cases had been reported outside China as […]
MENTAL HEALTH: HOW US FAITH LEADERS ARE TACKLING MENTAL ILLNESS, SUICIDE
HEATHER MORRISON, writing for Religion News Service, reports on how churches and other faith-based organisations are working to help people with mental health issues…
South Sudan’s churches denounce stigmatisation of sexual violence survivors
The South Sudan Council of Churches has denounced the stigmatisation of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in the strife-torn African nation. In a statement released last week to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the council condemned sexual violence as “one of the most heinous crimes committed during conflicts” and […]
Stigma, poverty leave ‘cursed’ disabled children neglected in Kenya’s orphanages
Thomson Reuters Foundation At a dilapidated orphanage on the outskirts of eastern Nairobi, children with twisted limbs and clawed hands are slumped in wheelchairs, lie foetal-like on mattresses on the floor, or sit in chairs rocking back and forth repeatedly. The children – ranging from 3 to 19 years old – are devoid of attention […]
Conquering Kilimanjaro: Women with albinism set to scale Africa’s highest peak
Thomson Reuters Foundation Six African women with albinism who have overcome stigma, abuse, rape and machete attacks are set to scale the continent’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, to dispel the negative perceptions surrounding people with the rare skin condition. The novice climbers – aged between 26 to 35 years old and from Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, […]
Thousands of Iraqis too scared to go home because of IS stigma
Thomson Reuters Foundation Hundreds of Iraqi families forced to flee last year’s fighting in Mosul are being prevented from returning home by their communities because they had a relative who joined the so-called Islamic State, an aid worker said on Tuesday. Communities are also barring some families from accessing aid for the same reason, said […]
A PLACE OF HOPE: SOUTH SUDAN’S DISABLED SWAP STIGMA FOR SPORT
STEFANIE GLINSKI, of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how sport is providing a “place of belonging” for those with disabilities in South Sudan…