Abidjan, December 5, 2017 – The important role of the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA) in Ending Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV has been under discussion at a special session or…
Read moreThe South African Parliament has taken a brave and powerful step towards promoting the health of the country’s citizens and reducing diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, by passing a bill yesterday to implement a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, according to Dr Rufaro Chatora, WHO’s Representative to South Africa.
Read more04 December 2017 - The 19th ICASA International Conference for Africa opens today in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire on the theme “Africa: Ending AIDS-delivering differently”. The conference will be opened by his Excellency Mr &n…
Read moreAt the margins of the ICASA 2017, the WHO Regional office for Africa in collaboration with the WHO headquarters and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) as well as other members of the AIDS FREE working group (UNICEF, PEPFAR, CIFF, ELMA) gathered in Abidjan. With the participation of delegations from the 21 priorities countries, they assessed progress, identified remaining gaps and shared good practices for accelerating efforts to scale up timely diagnosis and treatment for children and adolescents living with HIV. “Indeed, we have made remarkable progress. This progress is a result of meaningful community engagement, increased knowledge of HIV status of our population and strong leadership, ownership and commitment from governments and partners. However, considerable gaps remain. We have to invest more in HIV services that will reach populations and locations in greatest need. In order to achieve the targets we set ourselves to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Agenda, , we have to address the big challenges head-on’, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa.
Read moreAs thousands of international delegates converge in Abidjan, Côte d’ Ivoire for the bi-annual Conference on International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) from December 4 to 9, the scene has been set, with some of the key issues that will be deliberated and discussed. The World Health Organization (WHO) and Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) today convened a special forum on accelerating efforts to scale-up timely diagnosis and treatment for children and adolescents living with HIV.
Read moreAs we mark World AIDS Day on 1 December, whose theme this year is “Right to Health”, I would like to share the story of Alex, a 14 year old high school student who lives with his grandmother in Douala, Cameroon. He was d…
Read moreIn Madagascar, where a severe plague epidemic has unfolded since August 2017, the number of new infections is finally in decline. WHO is supporting health authorities to respond to the outbreak, from setting up specialized plague treatment units in health centres, to distributing medicines across the country. A particularly effective action has involved training teams to find people who have been in contact with a plague patient – a system known as "contact tracing" – to help ensure these contacts are protected from falling sick themselves.
Read moreThis World AIDS Day, December 1, the Government of Sweden, together with the regional offices of UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNICEF and WHO, announces the start of a USD45 million Joint United Nations (UN) four-year Regional Programme to reduce unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), new HIV infections, maternal mortality and sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) across East and Southern Africa.
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