Scalpel, please: Vietnam wants a slice of South-east Asia's medical tourism pie
- When Mr Cecil Hatfield, 80, decided to seek medical treatment in Vietnam in May for acute hip pain, his British family and friends were 'very sceptical' about his decision.
'They've heard of Singapore, of course, and Malaysia, as well as Thailand. But Vietnam? 'Do they even have good hospitals there?' they asked.'
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Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Some Kenyan runners see doping as a path to glory, and to basic sustenance
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Runners go to Iten for access to competition, coaching talent and the benefit of training in thin air, all to try to earn riches from running. – Thousands of feet above the Great Rift Valley that runs through East Africa, the small city of Iten, Kenya, calls itself the 'Home of Champions'. It has long produced and attracted world-class running talent, its high altitude and red dirt roads a training ground for thousands. The town also has a far less laudatory reputation. It is a well-documented centre of a doping crisis that shows little sign of being tamed. Runners come here for access to competition, coaching talent and the benefit of training in thin air, all to try to earn riches from running. Many Kenyans who try to join the elite endure cramped and dirty living conditions, little food and separation from their families in service of their ambitions. In a region where the average annual income is the equivalent of little more than US$2,000 (S$2,590) and the competition so intense, the potentially life-changing lure of banned substances, referred to locally as 'the medicine', is obvious. A few thousand dollars in prize money or participation in a single overseas race can be the difference between runners and their families eating three meals a day and scratching around for the next bite. They calculate that doping is worth the risks not only of getting caught, but also of damaging their health and, in some cases, even dying. In that environment, the doping industry has flourished, with pharmacies in the region's healthcare hub city of Eldoret said to serve as a conduit for performance-enhancing substances. The crisis pulls together extreme poverty, money-making opportunity, corruption and a region overflowing with running talent that makes getting an edge harder than just about anywhere. 'This economic reality means the high-risk situation is always going to be impossible to completely eradicate,' said Brett Clothier, the head of global track and field's unit responsible for anti-doping efforts. Many runners and coaches suspect that their rivals dope and they point to the roster of athletes barred from international competitive racing. Kenya has the most names on the list. Some of Kenya's most prominent runners have been caught doping and barred from competition. The women's marathon world-record holder, Ruth Chepngetich, who is from the Rift Valley, was suspended in July after testing positive for a prohibited substance. International officials have made headway. Kenyans are now among the most-tested athletes anywhere, Clothier said, adding that as widespread as the doping is, it was far worse a few years ago. Yet, global anti-doping bodies suspect that policing efforts may be touching only the edges of a cheating epidemic. Officials in Kenya responsible for tackling doping have been caught taking bribes. The scale of the problem prompted track and field's governing body to threaten to ban Kenya from global competition unless its government committed to spending US$25 million to fight doping, a staggering amount in the anti-doping world. 'We have to teach them a different way of seeing things, that using illegitimate means of doing well is not going to help them in the long run. It damages their health and they might not be successful,' said Barnabas Korir, an executive committee member of Kenya's athletics federation who also sits on a multi-agency anti-doping body. 'It's a matter of changing the whole attitude.' To beat the competition and earn life-changing income, which could mean as little as US$5,000 or US$10,000 a year, doping is an attractive proposition. Over the past decade, Alfred, an athlete who acknowledged using banned drugs, achieved success in modest races. The income, he said, allowed him to provide a home for his immediate family and his mother, who had been living in the mud-and-thatch house where he was raised. Doping was the only route he saw to a better life, said Alfred, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition his last name not be used. Getting access to banned substances is straightforward. Pharmacies line the streets of Eldoret, a city of about a half million and the region's principal commercial hub, about a 30-minute drive from Iten. Runners can procure just about anything they need to boost performance. For those who cannot pay, some pharmacists or doctors will strike deals for a percentage of future earnings. The authorities' crackdown also took aim at drug suppliers, while blanket testing is the latest tool that officials have devised to catch cheats in Iten. Often, Kenyans and others taking drugs show little regard for the physical risks, such as dangerously elevated heart rates, kidney and liver disease, and even death. In the fall of 2024, at the same Iten track, a 20-year-old man trying out for an American college scholarship collapsed and died after a 3,000m trial, news reports said. He is one of many young Kenyan athletes to die while running. The causes of death have been hard for athletics officials to determine because they have been unable to get access to autopsy results. 'If someone drops dead like that, an athlete who is fit, a young one, there has to be a reason,' said Korir, the Kenyan official. 'It can't be someone just drops dead.' NYTIMES
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Fatal manhole accident in Japan: Hydrogen sulphide level reportedly exceeded legal limit
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A sewer manhole four workers died during an inspection had a concentration of hydrogen sulfide at least 15 times the legal level. SAITAMA, Japan - A sewer manhole where four workers died during an inspection had a concentration of hydrogen sulfide at least 15 times the legal level, according to the contractor assigned to the work. The Saitama prefectural police believe that the workers may have inhaled hydrogen sulfide and are working to determine the exact cause of death. An investigation has been opened for suspected professional negligence resulting in death. Police on Aug 3 announced that the deceased were employees of a Saitama City-based civil engineering company hired by Gyoda city government to perform the inspection. According to the police, one of the workers was trying to climb down a ladder to the bottom of the sewer pipe, which had stopped flowing, when he lost consciousness and fell on the morning of Aug 2. The other three workers apparently fell while attempting to rescue him. All four were pulled from the pipe, where wastewater was about 1.8 meters deep, and were later pronounced dead at a hospital. None of the workers had any visible injuries. The Industrial Safety and Health Law requires that in locations where hydrogen sulfide may be generated, ventilation or other measures must keep concentrations at 10 ppm or less. According to the company, a reading of 30 ppm was recorded when work began. After the four men fell, a concentration of 150 ppm or higher was measured. None of the workers were wearing safety harnesses to prevent falls, nor masks to guard against oxygen deficiency. Police are examining whether there were any problems with the company's safety management. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
Plastic pollution ‘grave and growing' health threat: Lancet
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The amount of plastic produced by the world has risen from two million tonnes in 1950 to 475 million tonnes in 2022. PARIS - Plastic pollution is a 'grave, growing and under-recognised danger' to health that is costing the world at least US$1.5 trillion (S$1.93 trillion) a year, experts warned in a report on Aug 4. The new review of the existing evidence, which was carried out by leading health researchers and doctors, was published one day ahead of fresh talks opening in Geneva aiming to seal the world's first treaty on plastic pollution. 'Plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding US$1.5 trillion annually,' said the review in The Lancet medical journal. Comparing plastic to air pollution and lead, the report said its impact on health could be mitigated by laws and policies. The experts called for the delegates from nearly 180 nations gathering in Geneva to finally agree to a treaty after previous failed attempts. Dr Philip Landrigan, a doctor and researcher at Boston College in the United States, warned that vulnerable people, particularly children, are most affected by plastic pollution. 'It is incumbent on us to act in response,' he said in a statement. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Ong Beng Seng to be sentenced on Aug 15, prosecution does not object to fine due to his poor health Singapore Recap: Ong Beng Seng pleads guilty to abetting obstruction of justice in case linked to Iswaran Singapore Electric car-sharing firm BlueSG to wind down current operations on Aug 8 Singapore Smooth traffic after Tanjong Katong South Road fully reopens following sinkhole incident Singapore Car passenger dies after accident involving bus in Yishun Singapore Man admits punching elderly cabby's eye in road rage incident, causing long-term injuries Life Char kway teow in India? Meet the Singaporeans bringing local food to Mumbai Singapore ICA to roll out new group feature in electronic change of address service from Aug 15 'To those meeting in Geneva: please take up the challenge and the opportunity of finding the common ground that will enable meaningful and effective international cooperation in response to this global crisis.' The researchers also warned about tiny pieces of plastic called microplastics, which have been found throughout nature – and throughout human bodies. The full effect of microplastics on health are not yet fully known, but researchers have sounded the alarm about the potential impact of this ubiquitous plastic. The amount of plastic produced by the world has risen from two million tonnes in 1950 to 475 million tonnes in 2022, the report said. The number is projected to triple by 2060. Yet currently less than 10 per cent of all plastic is recycled, it added. Dr Landrigan said that the world's plastic 'crisis' is connected to its climate crisis. Plastic is made from fossil fuels. 'There is no understating the magnitude of both the climate crisis and the plastic crisis,' Dr Landrigan said. 'They are both causing disease, death and disability today in tens of thousands of people, and these harms will become more severe in the years ahead as the planet continues to warm and plastic production continues to increase,' he said. The report also announced a new effort to track the impact plastic pollution has on health, the latest in a series called The Lancet Countdown. AFP
