Canada can lead in helping countries implement the International Health Regulations (IHR) that govern the global response to public health emergencies, but it must first get its house in order, writes Dr. Kumanan Wilson.

In eastern Chad, violence along the Sudanese border has forced more than 100,000 Chadians into camps. Squeezed into these tents and straw huts, they compete for water at the well and a limited number of latrines. Clinics run by international agencies try to contain and treat diseases that circulate in these often waste-infested, tight living conditions.

Infant mortality rates have dropped in China during the past two decades, but international health experts say that, despite the economic boom, general health conditions remain extremely poor - especially in rural areas where 70 percent of the population lives.

- A study carried out by researchers from the University of Granada's Institute of Biotechnology proves that consuming melatonin neutralizes oxidative damage and delays the neurodegenerative process of ageing.