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The Pink Awards celebrates efforts to fight breast cancer among Black women

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Pink Awards, breast cancer awareness, Black women’s health, Carl Payne, Kenny Burns, Queen Afua, April Love, Ricki Fairley, Roxanne McIver


The highly anticipated sixth Annual Pink Awards took center stage on October 12, 2024 on the TheaterPlex at The House of Hope Atlanta, serving as a highlight of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Hosted by Carl Payne and Kenny Burns, the star-studded event brought together leaders within the fight against breast cancer, with a special concentrate on advocating for Black women’s health.

Grammy Award-winning artist Rudy Currence set the soulful tone with a robust opening performance, followed by a dance tribute from the Jazze Pha dancers, and honored the legendary producer with the celebrated Vanguard Award. Crowd-pleasing performances by Vott, Kaelyn Kastle, B. Chase & Shabach, Y’anna Crawley, Monica Lisa Stevenson and Zebulon Ellis added to the event.

The Pink Awards honored a variety of groundbreaking achievements within the fields of health, activism and entertainment. Queen Afua, referred to as “The Visionary,” has been recognized for her contributions to the holistic health of the black community. Video tributes from Erykah Badu and Doug E. Fresh added heartfelt support to her appreciation.

Dr. Terrence Lester was awarded the title of “Samaritan” and praised for his leadership in helping people experiencing homelessness. Devon Franklin received the Game Changer award for his influential work in Hollywood. Meanwhile, LaSonjia “LJ” Jack, recognized as “The Warrior,” was honored for her perseverance as owner of the Allen Americans hockey team. Bishop William Murphy III, honored as “The Trailblazer,” has been recognized for his Grammy-nominated profession and ministry within the gospel field.

Two breast cancer survivors, Ricki Fairley and Roxanne McIver, have been within the highlight for his or her continued support, highlighting the health care disparities that Black women face. Their emotional stories were a robust reminder of the necessity for change in the way in which breast cancer care is provided to women of color.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award to Pink Awards founder April Love, who has been battling breast cancer for 13 years. Love’s commitment to raising awareness of breast cancer has empowered countless women, and her creation of the Pink Awards has develop into a beacon of hope.

With the support of sponsors including Leo Marshall Creative, IBest Wines, Luc Belaire Champagne, the Pink Awards Foundation continues its mission of providing resources and support to breast cancer survivors.

More information will be found on the web site www.thepinkawards.com.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Health and Wellness

Poverty in Lagos is not just about money – here’s why

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Lagos is The economic power of Nigerianevertheless it has some certainty worst slums in the country.

Lagos slums are characterised by high levels of poverty – a state of lack of sufficient resources to fulfill basic living needs comparable to food, water, shelter, health care and education.

Poverty is multidimensional. It’s not just about money. However, poverty in Lagos slums has often been studied using traditional methods that focus mainly on income thresholds. An individual is considered poor if his or her income falls below a certain level. This approach takes into consideration financial difficulties. However, it ignores other elements of poverty, comparable to lack of access to education, health care, clean water and decent living conditions.

Measuring poverty requires: multidimensional approachand not simply income approach. Multidimensional poverty means taking a look at all elements of poverty to get a fuller picture of what it means to live in poverty. It helps policymakers and researchers understand that even with a certain income, an individual should struggle because they lack other essential services.

IN test poverty in the slums of Lagos State, two other development economists and I used a mathematical framework to model multidimensional poverty. We used the so-called fuzzy set approach. It was developed in the Nineteen Nineties as a substitute for purely monetary measures of poverty.

The traditional monetary approach often classifies people as “poor” or “non-poor” based on specific cut-off points. In fact, poverty covers a large spectrum, and other people may experience different levels of poverty in different elements of their lives. A fuzzy set approach explains this by assigning membership grades to different poverty rates.

Using a multidimensional index, we found significant differences in poverty rates in slums in Lagos State. Our insights will enable economists and policymakers to see the various ways in which individuals in slums are deprived. This, in turn, should help them understand the best way to improve their lives in a more focused and effective way.

Context and methodological approach

Our study focused on five large slums situated near the coastline in Lagos State. They belong to the slums World Bank decided to upgrade as a part of a $200 million loan project to enhance water drainage and solid waste management.

We chosen 400 respondents from five slums: Makoko, Iwaya, Ilaje, Ijora Badia and Amukoko.

According to Avijit Hazra and Nithya J. Gogtaybiostatistics and research methodology researchers, a minimum of 384 samples is appropriate for a big population. Nevertheless, the sample chosen for this study limits the generalizability of the outcomes to other slums, especially those with different characteristics.

Arrangements

The multidimensional poverty rate was highest in Makoko and Iwaya. These results indicate severe poverty as they exceed the 0.50 threshold.

In contrast, Amukoko had the bottom multidimensional poverty rate, showing relatively less severe deprivation across all indicators.

Makoko and Iwaya are particularly poor in areas comparable to education, sanitation and nutrition. This explains the upper level of poverty in comparison with other communities.

Makoko’s location on the coast, with makeshift buildings and poor infrastructure, increases its vulnerability. Iwaya faces similar challenges in education and health care. These aspects make each areas more deprived than other slums.

Of the three broad dimensions of poverty measured, education was found to be probably the most deprived in all communities. This highlighted the limited formal education amongst residents.

In particular, Makoko and Iwaya showed the best deprivation at college. Despite some improvements, particularly in child enrollment, these communities still face severe deprivation.

The second dimension characterised by severe deprivation was the way of life. There were differences in different slums. Makoko and Iwaya had greater sanitation challenges.

The third dimension in the severe deprivation category was health. Indicators included mortality and nutrition. They were high in many slums, contributing significantly to their multidimensional poverty rates.

Other communities comparable to Amukoko (0.0312) showed higher sanitation performance. On the opposite hand, indicators for electricity, flooring and cooking fuel generally showed lower levels of poverty, with most slums scoring around 0.03 or below in these categories.

The occurrence of each serious and minor diseases combined with insufficient medical care contributed to high mortality.

Poor sanitation can even cause health problems. In Makoko and Iwaya, toilets and waste management were poor, and waste was often dumped into waterways.

Despite this, personal hygiene practices comparable to using clean water, soap, and regular brushing were common. This helped keep the sanitation index relatively low in comparison with other aspects that affect health.

Other slums had relatively higher organized garbage collection systems and usually higher sanitation practices.

What ought to be done

Policymakers should prioritize education-focused initiatives. This should include improving access to high-quality schools, providing scholarships and creating adult literacy programs.

The study also highlighted sanitation challenges, especially in Makoko and Iwaya. There is a necessity to enhance infrastructure in these areas, comparable to higher sanitation, waste management systems and access to wash water.

Policies should concentrate on improving sanitation services to scale back health risks and improve living conditions.

However, differences in poverty rates across slums indicate different levels of poverty, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all approach will not be effective.

Coastal slums comparable to Makoko and Iwaya require more intensive interventions in comparison with slums situated directly on the coastal lines comparable to Amukoko.

Policymakers should focus resources where they’re needed most to have the best impact.

Slums comparable to Ilaje and Ijora Badia are near the acute poverty line. Policymakers must take proactive motion to forestall the severe deprivation of those communities.

Finally, it is necessary to make use of data to discover priority areas and develop targeted interventions to enhance the standard of lifetime of slum dwellers.

Rather than counting on generalized approaches, findings from this study can facilitate the design of specific policies that address the distinct needs of every community.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

Does eyelash lifting replace eyelash extensions? – Essence

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Rosdiana Ciaravolo/Getty Images

In 2019, fluffy eyelash extensions gained huge popularity and have become an explosive trend that dominated the eyelash industry for the following few years. Delicate hybrids, classic sets, 35 mm minks and more, eyelash extensions were a semi-everlasting alternative to strip lashes and mascara. With this latest technique, you possibly can get up and luxuriate in a flowing look that may last for weeks. The extensions varied in style, from sensual yet subtle cat eye hybrids to theatrical, thick, dark fans. The appeal of extensions is that you may prepare-made makeup on a regular basis, without each day application.

Today, extensions, while continuously changing, are regularly declining in popularity in light of even lower-maintenance alternatives. Rising costs and rapidly declining economic opportunities triggered by the arrival of the pandemic in 2020 resulted in an entire suspension of the supply of beauty services, which is noticed by many professionals in various specializations. Due to those aspects and the general change in each day life, customers are selecting lower maintenance costs with even lower costs. Thanks to the introduction of eyelash lifting, clients can achieve a mascara-like effect for an extended time.

Esthetician Jas Imaniwhich specializes and recommends elevators, breaks down the differences between each services. “With a lash lift, there is no significant lifestyle change. After 24 hours, you can resume your usual activities, including soaking your skin or using oils. Eyelash extensions require more care. In general, you should avoid oils, wash them thoroughly with an eyelash shampoo, do not sleep on them and do not rub your eyes,” she explains. “A lash lift requires no ongoing maintenance and lasts 6 to 8 weeks and costs between $150 and $200. Eyelash extensions require refilling every 2-3 weeks. “The initial set averages $150 to $250, depending on style and fillings, ranging from $80 to $150.”

Looking on the contrast in pricing and maintenance between the 2 methods, it’s comprehensible why this shift is going on. However, when considering eyelash health, neither method is healthier than the opposite, reasonably it relies on individual care. Aestheticians Jas Imani AND Raven Roth advise lift clients to keep up proper hydration, e.g. by utilizing coconut oil, and emphasize the importance of washing extensions each day to avoid everlasting damage to natural eyelashes.

Rothwhich focuses on each extensions and facelifts, still has regular clients choosing each techniques and believes the choice ought to be dictated by the occasion. Many clients prefer eyelash lifting every day, but when styling for special occasions, they’ll select eyelash extensions. “When it involves eyelash extensions, most frequently [clients] additionally they do makeup and hair, get married, go to birthday parties – they’re more impressive.

Sometimes eyelashes will be too heavy, depending on the style you select, in your on a regular basis look, so clients will go for a lash lift simply because it is simpler,” she contextualizes. She also notes the evolution of eyelash extension styles. Most of her eyelash extension clients today are also turning to lash styles which can be more natural-looking, soft and compliment their eye shape, versus the usual, thicker styles.

Additionally, Roth highlights a method that is becoming increasingly popular but hasn’t been widely discussed yet: tufted lashes. Eyelash kits are pre-assembled eyelash fans (a set of false eyelashes attached together) that will be applied individually to the lash line for a fuller look. A hybrid of extensions and strips, lash clusters offer consumers the flexibility to recreate the soft look of eyelash extensions at home and at a fraction of the price. Easy to use and with a much shorter shelf life, the clusters provide consumers with roughly every week’s use which will be removed and reduce the danger of construct-up when used accurately.

Both beauty professionals point to no-makeup makeup and clean girl aesthetic trends for aesthetically moving toward lash lifts and simpler styles. These trends find appeal in a beauty look that gives an easy look despite the realities of the applying process. We can agree that these “effort-intensive” beauty trends are the precursors of the “undetectable” era that we’re also entering because of cosmetic improvements. Girls wish to look flawless and at the identical time natural – a seemingly contradictory look that professionals from various services have managed to attain because of the art of subtlety.

Imani’s final advice for clients is to try a lash lift. “A lash lift is a great way to understand your natural lashes and develop better lash growth and thickness habits.”

Roth’s recommendations rely upon clients’ goals and the condition of their current eyelashes, but above all, she emphasizes the importance of proper care, whatever the technique.

The decision to decide on an eyelash style depends entirely on the client, but adequate knowledge of all techniques, required care and understanding the health of your personal eyelashes could make a difference.


This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Health and Wellness

How light helped shape the color of our skin, eyes and curly hair

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For most of our evolutionary history, human activity has been linked to sunlight. Technology has liberated us from these ancient sleep-wake cycles, but there’s evidence that sunlight has left and continues to go away its traces.

Not only are we still awake during the day, but we sleep at night, we will thank light for a lot of other facets of our biology.

Light could have made our ancestors walk upright on two legs. Light helps explain the evolution of our skin color, why some of us have curly hair, and even the size of our eyes.

As we’ll learn in future articles on this series, light helps shape our mood, our immune system, our gut function, and way more. Light could make us sick, tell us why we’re sick, and then heal us.

Millions of years of evolutionary history mean that humans are still largely creatures of light.

We got up and left Africa

The first modern humans evolved in the warm African climate. And reducing exposure to brilliant sunlight Is one explanation why people began walking upright, on two legs. When we stand up and the Sun is directly above us, much less sunlight reaches our body.

They also can have curly hair he protected us from the hot sun. The idea is that it provides a thicker layer of insulation than straight hair to guard the scalp.

Early had additional sun protection in the form of highly pigmented skin. Sunlight breaks down folic acid (vitamin B9), accelerates aging and damages DNA. In our light ancestral climates, dark skin was protected against this. But this dark skin still confessed enough UV light to stimulate the obligatory production of vitamin D.

However, as humans colonized temperate zones with lower light, this occurred lighter skin has evolved again and againthrough different genes in several populations. This happened quickly, probably inside the last 40,000 years.

With reduced UV radiation closer to the poles, less pigmentation was needed to guard sunlight from breaking down folic acid. Lighter skin also let in additional thin light, allowing the body to provide vitamin D. But there was one big drawback: less pigmentation meant less protection against sun damage.

How our skin’s pigmentation adapts to migration patterns and changing light.

This evolutionary background is why Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.

Our colonial history signifies that over 50% of Australians are of Anglo-Celtic descent, have fair skin and are transplanted to an environment with high levels of UV radiation. No wonder we’re described as “a rustic scorched by the sun“.

Sunlight has also contributed to changes in human eyes. People living in high latitudes have less protective pigment of their irises. They have too larger eye sockets (and probably eyeballs), perhaps let in the more precious light.

Again, these characteristics make Australians of European descent particularly liable to our harsh light. So it’s no surprise that Australia has this unusual thing high rate of eye cancer.

We cannot move our biological clock

Our circadian rhythm – the wake-sleep cycle driven by our brains and hormones – is one other piece of heavy evolutionary baggage triggered by light.

Humans are adapted to sunlight. In the brilliant light people can see well and improved it color vision. But we see poorly in dim light, and we lack senses like acute hearing or acute smell to make up for it.

Our closest relatives (chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans) are also lively during the day and sleep at night, supporting the concept that early humans exhibited similar daytime behaviors.

This lifestyle probably goes back further in our evolutionary history, before the appearance of great apes, to the origins of primates.

The earliest mammals were generally nocturnal, using their small size and cover of darkness to cover from dinosaurs. However, the meteorite impact that worn out these fearsome reptiles allowed some surviving mammals, especially primates, to largely evolve each day lifestyle.

If we inherited our daylight activity pattern directly from these early primates, then this rhythm would have been part of the evolutionary history of our lineage for nearly 66 million years.

This explains why it is vitally difficult to maneuver our 24-hour clock; it’s so deeply rooted in our evolutionary history.

Next improvements in lighting technology they freed us more and more from our dependence on daylight: fire, candles, kerosene and gas lamps, and finally electric lighting. So theoretically we will work and play at any time.

However, our cognitive and physical performance deteriorates when our internal circadian cycles are disruptedfor instance, because of lack of sleep, shift work or jet lag.

Futurists have already considered the required circadian rhythms life on Mars. Fortunately, a day on Mars lasts about 24.7 hours, which is analogous to ours. This slight difference must have been the least of the worries of the first intrepid Martian colonists.

How would humans cope on Mars? At least they would not should worry an excessive amount of about their biological clock.
NikoNomada/NASA/Shutterstock

The light continues to alter us

Over the last 200 years, artificial lighting has helped (partially) disconnect us from the circadian rhythms of our ancestors. However, in recent many years this has come at the expense of our eyesight.

Many genes are related to myopia (nearsightedness). develop into more common in only 25 years, a striking example of rapid evolutionary change in the human gene pool.

And if you’ve a genetic predisposition to myopia, reduced exposure to natural light (and spending more time in artificial light) increases your likelihood of developing myopia. These noticeable changes have occurred over the course of many individuals’s lives.

Light will undoubtedly proceed to shape our biology for millennia to return, but the long-term effects could also be difficult to predict.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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