The United Nations Children’s Fund has labeled street children as children in difficult circumstances, which represent a minority population that has been under-represented for too long in health research. This is a concern because street children are at risk of carrying a greater disease burden. Their homeless lifestyle makes them more vulnerable to health risks and problems than children who live at home; as they roam the streets begging for food and money to obtain basic needs and are found sleeping in half-destroyed houses, abandoned basements, under bridges and in the open air. This paper presents health results from a systematic review of literature from 17 databases and including 16 countries in Africa. The review revealed that there are more boys than girls living on the street in their adolescence and who mainly have left home due to poverty and abuse. These children in these countries are vulnerable to poor health due to factors such as homelessness, risky sexual behavior, substance abuse and violence. Among the health problems identified are growth and nutritional disorders, physical injuries, violence, sexual abuse, communicable diseases including diarrheal diseases, malaria, respiratory diseases, neglected tropical diseases, mental health issues, substance abuse, reproductive health disorders, mortality, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. Primary interventions that could prevent poor health and improve the health status of street children include provision of safe shelter, proper nutrition, access to health care, health education, and sexual reproductive health, protection from any form of abuse, violence and substance abuse. Enforcing state policies and laws in all African countries is required to protect street children from neglect, abuse and to increase their access to education. More research on the health risks and health status of street children is still required, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, which carries the greatest disease burden and poverty.

Introduction: malnutrition is a major risk factor of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and therefore the importance of a good dietary practices and balanced diet cannot be overemphasized. University students tend to have poor eating practices which is related to nutritional status. The objective of our study was to assess the dietary practices of medical students, determine the prevalence of malnutrition among medical students and factors associated with malnutrition. Methods: we carried out a cross-sectional study from December 2013 to March 2014 involving 203 consenting students in Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Yaoundé I, Faculties of Health Sciences of the universities of Bamenda and Buea. A three-part questionnaire (socio-demographic profile, eating practices, and anthropometric parameters). Data was analysed using SPSS 18.0. Frequencies and percentages were determined for categorical variables. Means and standard deviations (mean ± SD) were calculated for continuous variables. Fischer´s exact test was used to compare the categorical variables. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: males constituted 44.3% of respondents. The mean age was 20.8 ± 1.6yrs. Most students had a monthly allowance of less than 20.000frs (34 USD) and 59.1% lived alone. Most students (49.8%) reported taking two meals a day with breakfast being the most skipped meal while supper was the meal most consumed by students. Snacking was common among these students as 40.8% admitted consuming snacks daily. Daily intake of milk, fruits, vegetable and meat were low (6.2%, 4.3%, 20.0% and 21.3% respectively). The BMI status of students was associated with gender (p=0.026).

Breast cancer is the most common cause of death in women worldwide. The incidence of breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been rising and yet many cases remain undetected. Studies reveal that the prevalence of breast cancer in most SSA countries does not give the true picture as many of these countries lack national cancer registries. A number of risk factors such as alcoholism, age and hormones predispose women to breast cancer and several challenges are currently faced in detecting and managing breast cancer in SSA, especially in the domain of medical imaging technology and finances. The purpose of this review is to document the prevalence of breast cancer among women in SSA.

Oral candidiasis is one of the most common opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patient and it is caused by Candida species. The low absolute CD4+T-lymphocyte count has traditionally been cited as the greatest risk factor for the development of Oral Candidiasis. The aim of this study was to identify Candida species isolated from the oral cavity of HIV/AIDS patients, to determine their in vitro antifungal susceptibility and to investigate the possible risk factors associated with oral candidiasis. This was a hospital based cross sectional study that was carried out for a period of 3 months amongst HIV/AIDS patients in Kumba District Hospital, whether on HAART or not. Mouth swabs were collected from 378 participants using sterile cotton wool swabs and 5ml venous blood were collected for determination of CD4 cell. Candida species were isolated and identified. Antifungal sensitivity testing was performed using modified kirby-bauer susceptibility testing technique. Candida species were present in 42.86% of the samples and Candida albicans was the most prevalent (60.2%) amongst the six Candida isolates identified, followed by Candida glabrata (16.9%), Candida krusei (12.3%), Candida tropicalis (6.4%), Candida parapsilosis (2.3%) and Candida pseudotropicalis (1.8%). Pregnancy, oral hygiene and antibiotic usage were significantly associated with oral candidiasis in HIV/AIDS patients (P<0.05). Oral candidiasis was mostly frequent in HIV/AIDS patients between 21-40 years. A CD4 cell count less than 200 cells/μl was a significant risk factor for acquiring oral candidiasis in HIV/AIDS patients (P<0.001). Nystatin was the most sensitive drug (83.6%) meanwhile ketonazole was the most resistant drug (29.2%), followed by fluconazole (24.6%) to all oral Candida isolates. Oral Candida colonization occurs more frequently in HIV/AIDS patients and the is a need for the government to implement regular checks for opportunistic infections in HIV/AIDS patients, including oral candidiasis in HIV/AIDS patients to monitor disease progression and prevent subsequent complications such as candidemia and diarrhea.

INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis B infection is caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV is transmitted through sexual intercourse, by exchange of saliva during kissing and also to newborns of infected mothers. In the Global Burden of Diseases 2010, 786,000 deaths were attributed to HBV. Studies in Cameroon, reported the prevalence of HBV as high as 10.1% and 12% among blood donors in hospital blood banks. This study therefore, aims at determining the prevalence of HBsAg, knowledge and practices of pregnant women on HBV prevention and transmission in the Limbe Health District (LHD) and Muyuka Health District (MHD). METHODS: ANC registers were exploited from the Health Centers for a period of three years (2014-2016) inorder to determine the prevalence of HBV infection. 270 women attending ANC were selected by exhaustive sampling. Knowledge and practices of participants on HBV prevention and transmission was assessed using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: the prevalence of HBV in the LHD and MHD were 5.7% and 7.5% respectively. Pregnant women in the LHD demonstrated good knowledge but adopted poor practices whereas in the MHD, pregnant women demonstrated poor knowledge and adopted poor practices regarding the mode of transmission and prevention of HBV infection. There was a significant association between the prevalence of HBsAg and marital status (p = 0.000) in the LHD and age (p = 0.022) in the MHD. CONCLUSION: this study indicated a high prevalence of HBV among pregnant women in the LHD and MHD, knowledge and practices were identified as potential risk factors.

INTRODUCTION: Unintended pregnancies and adolescent childbearing are on the increase in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, 14% of adolescents aged 15-19 are already mothers or pregnant with their first child. Most of these pregnancies are associated with poor outcomes such as miscarriages, stillbirths, unsafe abortions and other complications that might result in infant or mortality. In addition, sexually-active adolescents (16-19 years) are at higher risk of contracting STIs. Evidence suggest that contraceptive use help reduce fertility rate and adolescent reproductive health. This study therefore sought to understand the magnitude and associated factors that influence female adolescents' use of contraceptive in the Atwima Kwanwoma District, Ghana. METHODS: a descriptive and analytic cross-sectional study design was used for this study. Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from randomly sampled 200 sexually active female adolescents; aged 16-19 for a three month period; June to September 2017. The questionnaire elicited data on the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, their knowledge and perception, use of contraceptives and factors influencing their contraceptive use. Data were analyzed using STATA version 12.1 software. RESULTS: ninety-five percent of the respondents exhibited some knowledge about contraceptives, but this high knowledge did not translate into its use as the prevalence rate was 18%. Condom was the most widely used contraceptive (33%) and perceived side effects of contraceptives was found to be the main reason for not using the contraceptives (53.66%). Marital status and the participants who were staying with both parents were found to be associated with contraceptive use with their p-values of 0.023 and 0.002 respectively. CONCLUSION: considering the fact that contraceptive knowledge does not necessarily translate into use, further studies (qualitative), are needed to understand why high knowledge levels are not associated with high usage patterns.