WHEN Michelle’s twin daughters, Ruby and Emily, were born she had never heard of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. The syndrome, which affects 1 in 1000 births, is one of the world’s most undiagnosed syndromes because it has so many symptoms. 22q11.2 deletion syndrome,…
IN a world without leukaemia, 18-year-old Blake Wilson from Dunsborough, Western Australia would have graduated from St Mary Mackillop Catholic College in November 2020. Instead, Blake’s family watched thousands of school graduates descend on the town during Leavers Week last year as…
GROUPS of Australian children, aged 6 to 18, recently attended camps around the country where they did many things for the very first time. Things including uncovering their heads in public, seeing themselves represented, speaking about their bodies and interacting with people…
WORLD Toilet Organization (WTO), established in 2001, aims to break the taboo around toilets and the sanitation crisis. World Toilet Day on Friday 19, November is one of its initiatives, focussing on the 3.6 billion people on the planet who live without…
WORLD Vegan Day on Monday November, 1 heralding the start of World Vegan month, coincided with the COP26 Glasgow climate change summit this year. While the Vegan Society UK, along with other environmental groups had a presence at the conference, there was…
THE Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released a report of 12 recommendations to protect the human rights of intersex people. Published in October 2021, Ensuring Health and Bodily Integrity forms a human rights-based approach to decision making with an aim to protect intersex…
WITHIN an elephant community, if a mother elephant loses her baby, the other elephants use their trunks to form a physical circle of support around her. Sixty-eight per cent of women who return to work after a miscarriage received no support or…
IN a small village in Sierra Leone, 15-year-old Zainab was 43 weeks pregnant with no way to give birth naturally. The closest maternity clinic is 125km away, a journey she would have to take by foot. But with the help of the…
ENDOMETRIOSIS Australia’s High Time for Tea initiative’s aim is to boost knowledge and resources to support research into this critically misunderstood disorder. Alexis Wolfe, CEO of Endometriosis Australia, said the community fundraiser aims to “increase awareness and conversations about endometriosis” around the country.…
THE Government’s world-first National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy is being celebrated as a transformative step to improving child mental health. The strategy provides a framework to guide the development of a comprehensive, integrated system of services to children aged 0-12…
