Doctors may not always agree with their methods, but in Lagos state, traditional birth attendants are helping to connect women and babies with modern maternity treatments

The sound of chanting fills the narrow corridor that serves as a waiting room, as about 30 pregnant women pray for safe deliveries and protection against wizards, witches and other enemies they believe could harm them or their babies.

The women take turns in the small bathroom, where they stand on a rock and use soap, nest-like straw sponges and seeds blessed by a prophet ​to wash away evil spirits.

One of the continent’s leading medics, Jean Kaseya, has made it his mission to help the 116m people in African countries with mental health conditions

Jean Kaseya would hear regularly from his younger brother, an army officer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, until the day in 2018 when all contact stopped. “Suddenly, we didn’t have any information,” remembers Dr Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

It was two years before an acquaintance approached the family to say his brother, Dieudonné, was alive, but in jail in the north of the country. Kaseya was able to have him brought back to the capital, Kinshasa. “I went to see him. Honestly, this person deserved to be at a hospital, not to be jailed.

Leaked documents from Philip Morris reveal ‘secret’ strategy to market its heated tobacco product IQOS

The tobacco company Philip Morris International has been accused of “manipulating science for profit” through funding research and advocacy work with scientists.

Campaigners say that leaked documents from PMI and its Japanese affiliate also reveal plans to target politicians, doctors and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the multinational’s marketing strategy to attract non-smokers to its heated tobacco product, IQOS.

New coalition formed to push for repeal of colonial-era laws and reduce barriers to access for those seeking mental health help

Pressure to decriminalise suicide in four Caribbean nations is mounting as a new coalition has come together for the first time to fight for the repeal of colonial-era laws.

A group of people with experience of poor mental health, government officials, activists, legal experts and healthcare workers, led by organisations in the Caribbean, will advocate for legislative reform. They want to reduce barriers for people seeking help and ensure that mental health services can operate without fear of legal repercussions and ultimately save lives.