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Friday

Eye Makeup Used To Protect Children Can Poison Them Instead

A child wearing the traditional eyeliner kajal peeps from behind a door in Allahabad, India. Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP hide caption

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Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

Shots - Health News

Eye Makeup Used To Protect Children Can Poison Them Instead

When an Afghan toddler in Albuquerque was tested for lead at preschool, the child's blood levels were off the charts. A baby's brother's was, too. Why? It turns out that kajal, a traditional eyeliner used by the family, was 54 percent lead. It's a reminder of the health hazards posed by traditional cosmetics.

Thursday

Reinventing The Condom With Easy-On Tabs And Beef Tendon

One experimental condom has tabs on either side so it's easier to put on in the dark. Courtesy of California Family Health Council hide caption

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Courtesy of California Family Health Council

Shots - Health News

Reinventing The Condom With Easy-On Tabs And Beef Tendon

What would it take for people to like using condoms? Inventors say it's all about the fit and feel. The 11 winners in a competition sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation include one condom made from beef tendons, and another that's heat-activated for a glove-like fit.

Tuesday

Spiritual Healers Keep Watch For Plague In Uganda

Yoset, a spiritual healer near Arua, Uganda, works with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to detect the plague in his village. Courtesy of Mary Hayden hide caption

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Courtesy of Mary Hayden

Shots - Health News

Spiritual Healers Keep Watch For Plague In Uganda

It can be tough to stop the plague from spreading in rural Uganda because most villages don't have medical doctors to diagnose the deadly infection. But healers and herbalists are common. A scientist has trained them to detect the illness and refer patients for modern treatment.

Tuesday

Do For-Profit Schools Give Poor Kenyans A Real Choice?

Young students in a Bridge International Academy school in Nairobi, in September. On the surface, there's little to distinguish these schools from others in the developing world. But Bridge's model relies on teachers reading lessons from tablets. Frederic Courbet for NPR hide caption

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Frederic Courbet for NPR

Parallels

Do For-Profit Schools Give Poor Kenyans A Real Choice?

American entrepreneurs in Kenya are attempting to fundamentally transform education for some of the poorest kids in the world — while making a profit.

Do For-Profit Schools Give Poor Kenyans A Real Choice?

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Monday

Aid Groups Struggle To Reach Survivors Of Typhoon Haiyan

Military personnel from the U.S. and the Philippines unload relief goods at the Tacloban airport, Nov. 11, 2013. Some reports estimate that 10,000 people may have died in the city of Tacloban. Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Aid Groups Struggle To Reach Survivors Of Typhoon Haiyan

More than 600,000 have been left homeless and hungry by the devastating storm. In response, humanitarian agencies are mounting the largest relief operation since the Haitian earthquake in 2010. The biggest challenge right now is getting the basics — clean water and food — to the hardest hit areas.

Aid Groups Struggle To Reach Survivors Of Typhoon Haiyan

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Friday

Polio In The Middle East And Africa Could Threaten Europe

A doctor vaccinates a child against polio at a health clinic in Damascus, Syria, on Nov. 6. To stop the disease from spreading beyond Syria, health officials plan to vaccinate 20 million children in the region. Youssef Badawi/EPA /LANDOV hide caption

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Youssef Badawi/EPA /LANDOV

Shots - Health News

Polio In The Middle East And Africa Could Threaten Europe

The recent discovery of polio in Syria and Israel should be a wake-up call to European health officials, scientists say. Low vaccination rates in some regions could offer the crippling virus a chance to reenter Europe and possibly gain a foothold. Vaccines used there also make it more likely that people can spread the virus.

Thursday

Wednesday

Violence, Chaos Let Polio Creep Back Into Syria And Horn Of Africa

The Ethiopian government has set up about a dozen vaccination booths along its thousand-mile border with Somalia. Jason Beaubien/NPR hide caption

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Jason Beaubien/NPR

Shots - Health News

Violence, Chaos Let Polio Creep Back Into Syria And Horn Of Africa

The number of polio cases globally sank to an all-time low in 2012. But outbreaks in Syria and Somalia this year are jeopardizing efforts to eradicate the virus. A recent visit to the Somali-Ethiopian border highlights just how easily polio can regain a foothold in rural, insecure communities.

Violence, Chaos Let Polio Creep Back Into Syria And Horn Of Africa

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Sunday

How The World Backed Polio Into A Corner

A young girl stands in the doorway of a home in Uttar Pradesh, India. The markings on the door show that a polio immunization team vaccinated children in the home. Alyce Henson/Courtesy of Rotary International hide caption

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Alyce Henson/Courtesy of Rotary International

Shots - Health News

How The World Backed Polio Into A Corner

Just a few decades ago, polio was crippling more than a thousand children each day. Now the paralyzing virus remains endemic to only three countries. A timeline shows how polio went from one of the most feared illnesses to a disease on the ropes.

Thursday

Slaying 'Little Dragons': Guinea Worm Moves Toward Eradication

Hawah Alhassan, 5, contracted Guinea worm in a village near Tamale, Ghana, in 2007. The country eliminated the parasite in 2011. Wes Pope/MCT/Landov hide caption

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Wes Pope/MCT/Landov

Shots - Health News

Slaying 'Little Dragons': Guinea Worm Moves Toward Eradication

Known as the "affliction with little dragons," Guinea worm is a nasty parasite that can grow up to 3 feet inside a person. A decades-long campaign to eliminate the worm is starting to pay off. There were only about 500 cases worldwide in 2012, and 89 cases in the first half of 2013.

Wednesday

A Toddler Remains HIV-Free, Raising Hope For Babies Worldwide

HIV-positive babies rest in an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Treatment right after birth may make it possible for HIV-positive newborns to fight off the virus. Brent Stirton/Getty Images hide caption

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Brent Stirton/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

A Toddler Remains HIV-Free, Raising Hope For Babies Worldwide

The news that a baby born HIV-positive in Mississippi stayed HIV-free even though her mother stopped giving her anti-retroviral drugs sparked skepticism earlier this year. But a new report says that the girl is still virus-free at age 3. This could jumpstart a global study on super-early treatment of HIV-positive newborns.

Haitian Cholera Strain Spreads To Mexico

A nurse treats a cholera patient at the Juan Pablo Pina Hospital in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, in August. Health officials say that the strain of cholera circulating in the country— the same one that first appeared in Haiti three years ago — has also caused outbreaks in Cuba and now Mexico. Erika Santelices/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Erika Santelices/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Haitian Cholera Strain Spreads To Mexico

A cholera outbreak in Mexico has been traced to the same strain that first appeared in Haiti three years ago. It has appeared in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, too. So far nearly 9,000 people have died in the four countries, and health authorities think it will spread farther in the Americas.

Haitian Cholera Strain Spreads To Mexico

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Monday

First Polio Cases Since 1999 Suspected In Syria

Syrian opposition fighters sit on the front line in the city of Deir Ezzor on Oct. 13. Ongoing violence has ravaged the city since March 2011. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

First Polio Cases Since 1999 Suspected In Syria

Syria used to have one of the highest rates of polio vaccinations in the region. But since the civil war began, rates have plummeted. Now the crippling virus has likely returned to the country, health officials say. Initial tests indicate that polio has paralyzed at least two children.

First Polio Cases Since 1999 Suspected In Syria

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Friday

To Prevent HIV Infection, Couples Try Testing Together

David Lozano (left) and Kevin Kreinbring stand in front of a painting created by Lozano. The couple says they get tested for HIV together every six months. Courtesy of David Lozano hide caption

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Courtesy of David Lozano

Shots - Health News

To Prevent HIV Infection, Couples Try Testing Together

The majority of new HIV infections among gay men in the U.S. these days occur within committed couples. So researchers are piloting a strategy that's been successful in Africa. Gay couples in several cities have tried it and say the benefits are unexpected.