Healthy Nation

My Thanksgiving hit rock bottom about 10 years ago as I woke up from a food coma-induced nap in my cousins guest bed at about 7pm. Lost time with relatives, a missed half of Turkey Day football was all the overeating really worth it?

Thanksgiving hadnt always been this way. As a kid, my Thanksgiving didnt center around sitting in front of the screen watching football it centered around playing it. My dad was always happier out in the yard letting me tackle him than he was making small talk.

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Each Thanksgiving, we have a tradition in my family aside from the usual feast of turkey and stuffing and assorted other foods: Before we begin our meal, we take turns going around the table, and we each say a few words about what we are especially thankful for We’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember— ever since our children were old enough to talk When I think back to some of the answers, I smile Early on in our ritual, my youngest son, then a few months past 2, said he was thankful for Sesame Street Another year, my older son told us he was thankful for his favorite football team, the Jets As the years pass, naturally their answers become a bit more serious and grounded in reality Life—and age—has a way of doing that, after all What I haven’t heard—yet—come from my sons’ exclamations of thanks are words about health That, I know, is not top of mind when you’re in your 20s, after all But for the more seasoned adults in the crowd? You can a

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Sex workers in Rwanda say the criminalization of their activities, combined with their general isolation from society, means they are often excluded from HIV prevention, treatment and care opportunities.

Article 225 of the Penal Code states that “Any person who practices the profession of prostitution shall be liable for a term of imprisonment ranging from six months to three years or a fine ranging from 50,000 [US$81.5] to 500,000 [$815] Rwanda Francs.”

The survey also found that condom use by sex workers was inconsistent with their paying sexual partners as well as with their chosen partners, and 36 percent of sex workers reported having had at least one sexually transmitted infection symptom in the 12 months preceding the survey. Read full post…