A draft charter on “family, sovereignty and values”, which would significantly undermine the rights of African women and girls, is not likely to be presented to the African Union (AU) General Assembly next February – despite a push from its conservative sponsors. “That draft instrument has not got to the AU yet, and it is […] Continue reading ->
Namibia has rejected the United States’ demands for sharing health data and pathogen information during negotiations for renewed US support for its HIV programme, according to The Namibian newspaper. In the past few years, the country has received around $45 million a year in support from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), […] Continue reading ->
The United States plans to cut its health funding to 18 countries by 59% of pre-2025 levels by 2030, according to a Public Citizen and Partners In Health analysis of the bilateral agreements the US has signed with these countries. The bilateral Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) were signed as part of the ‘America First Global […] Continue reading ->
The antiretroviral medicine lenacapavir, delivered via injection every six months, is almost completely effective in preventing HIV. But it is expensive at present, and millions will need to be initiated on it every year to make a dent on HIV transmission in South Africa. CAPE TOWN – South Africa has the biggest population of people […] Continue reading ->
Four of the 58 health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) affected by the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak have had no new cases in the past 42 days, while five others have been case-free for at least three weeks. “The message is that it is definitely possible in that environment to break the transmission,” […] Continue reading ->
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s Ebola outbreak passed the 100-day mark on Monday with over 5,515 confirmed cases and 2,642 deaths – and health experts warn that the response needs to be accelerated to bring the world’s fastest Ebola outbreak under control. While the case fatality rate is almost 48%, the DRC’s Ministry of […] Continue reading ->
Over 5,000 people have been infected with the Ebola Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but the outbreak may be three times the officially reported size, warned the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has said. Speaking at a press briefing, Africa CDC’s Prof Yap Boum said the estimation of various […] Continue reading ->
The United States (US) National Institutes of Health (NIH) has lifted its ban on funding research projects in South Africa, according to a report by the journal, Science. The journal quotes an internal NIH memo sent to staff on Wednesday by director Dr Jay Bhattacharya, which says the NIH is exempt from an executive order […] Continue reading ->
The Political Declaration to be adopted at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) on 25 September has been modified since being placed under the “silence procedure” in late July. This is according to those following the process. Most changes are relatively minor, bar the removal of reference to tuberculosis […] Continue reading ->
The United States has assumed the secretariat of the Geneva Consensus Declaration (GCD), a global anti-abortion initiative launched by Donald Trump’s administration weeks before he was voted out of office in 2020. Hungary took over the secretariat after Trump was voted out, but the US rejoined the initiative in January 2025, a week after Trump […] Continue reading ->