Isn't it about time Africa started to manufacture its own ARV treatment for HIV/AIDS?

The UN has warned against the high dependency by African countries on external sources for HIV and Aids funding.The organisation’s agency mandated to tackle the disease, UNAids, described the continent’s over-reliance on donor aid as unsustainable.

"African governments invest less on HIV/Aids than expected. For the continent as a whole, about five per cent of health budgets are allocated to the scourge, despite its causing a median of more than seven per cent of the overall burden of disease across countries," stated part of a brief posted on the agency’s website early this week.

The brief, titled Aids Dependency Crisis: Sourcing African Solutions, reveals that two-thirds of all HIV and Aids expenditure in Africa comes from external sources.

International support for the disease in the continent dropped by 13 per cent between 2009 and 2010 from $8.7 billion to $7.6 billion (Sh667 billion to Sh583 billion).The cut in funding, the first time in its ten-year history, was attributed to the global economic crisis. About Sh900 billion will be needed annually by 2015 to prevent new HIV infections and scale up treatment in Africa. Additionally, Sh307 billion more than the current expenditure is needed to effectively fight the disease.

The agency also noted that procurement of anti-retroviral drugs was highly dependent on external funding. In 27 countries for which accurate data was available, 84 per cent of expenditure for ARV therapy originated from international sources.

In Kenya, where it is estimated that 1.5 million people are infected with HIV, development partners support 85 per cent of the HIV budget. Over 400,000 people are receiving ARVs while another 600,000 require the drugs but cannot access them.Among the measures mooted by UNAids to help reduce over-dependence on donor support is development of a common drug regulatory authority that would ensure access to quality, life-saving medicines.

"Investing in local manufacturing and simplifying market access to drugs across the continent will boost the economy, reduce costs and ultimately save lives and money,"

Read More Here http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000051305&cid=4&ttl=UN+wants+Africa+to+manufacture+its+own+ARVs

Image from Panos.org

Rwanda has no cancer specialists

The country has no oncologist, even as Rwanda joins the world to mark the breast cancer awareness month. This is was revealed by the Minister of Health, Minister of Health, Dr Agnes Binagwaho, who however hastened to add that the country would hire one before the year ends. An oncologist is a specialised doctor trained in the management of cancer. “Besides that, we are also working on a strategic plan to train more health professionals like we have done for the other infectious diseases,” the minister said.

An official from the Ministry of Health, who preferred anonymity, said that there is an urgent need for the country to have cancer specialists. “There is urgent need for radiotherapy treatment because right now, patients are being referred to Mulago in Uganda or India. There is a very big gap in terms of medical personnel to cater for cancers,” he added. According to the Ministry of Health, breast cancer is on the rise in the country. This is attributed to dietary habits, lifestyle such as smoking, drinking alcohol and physical inactivity. The official noted that the ministry had devised strategies to reduce breast cancer such as the implementation of the cancer control activities, in accordance with the National Cancer Plan that will run from 2012 to 2016.

“There has been primary prevention by screening and auto–palpitation of the breasts as organised by MoH in various communities. Palliative care has also been strengthened whereby oncology courses have been incorporated in the curricula of nurses, lab technicians and doctors,” he said.

The Director of Kanombe Military Hospital, Lt. Col. Dr Ben Karenzi, revealed that his hospital is also working on modalities to address this glaring gap. “Currently there are no medics who are specialised in treating cancer. However, we hope to start offering radiotherapy cancer treatment in the near future and also get cancer medical specialists,” Karenzi said. Genetic factors such as females with a history of cancer are also some of the other attributes.

Environmental factors like exposure to radiation and hormonal factors in girls who start their periods at an early age of 12 years or younger, are also other causes of this cancer. Breast cancer comprises of 22.9 percent of all cancers worldwide among women. In 2008, it caused 458,503 deaths worldwide (13.7 percent of cancer deaths in women). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is one of the leading causes of death, but that 30 percent of cancer deaths can be prevented with proper medication. According to the Dr. Binagwaho, there are no current statistics on breast cancer. The minister said that her ministry would have to first conduct a survey to ascertain the number of cases. Breast cancer is predominantly prevalent among women, though at a small rate, estimated at one percent; it can be found in men. In order to prevent this form of cancer, it is advisable to encourage routine self and clinical breast examination, eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and avoid smoking and drinking alcohol. Breastfeeding is also another preventive measure against breast cancer. The ministry official pointed out a few challenges such as little public awareness on cancer, generally, and breast cancer specifically being a big challenge. “Treatment is also limited, insufficient drugs and a reagent in the diagnosis .There is also no reliable data on cancer,” Karenzi added.

Read More Here http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14786&article=46447

Virgin Founder Sir Richard Branson joins UNAIDS-led effort to end HIV-related travel restrictions

News worth sharing...The British business pioneer Sir Richard Branson has thrown his support behind a global drive to rid the world finally of the remaining discriminatory laws that keep people from visiting, or living and working in countries solely because they are HIV positive. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has called for the global freedom of movement for people living with HIV.
Sir Richard Branson said, “I applaud UNAIDS' tireless efforts to encourage countries to remove travel restrictions on people living with HIV. Everyone should have the chance to travel freely, and I welcome the opportunity to work together on such an important issue.”
Last month, Fiji became the latest country to lift its restrictions on entry, stay or residence based on HIV status.


Read more here http://www.unaids.org/

BBC Report New device makes circumcision safer and cheaper

PrePex Circumcision Device

Circumcision reduces one chances from being infected by HIV. The good news is that a new, safer, simple, plastic device, no anaesthetic, no surgery no stitches circumcision devise has been created. The devise stops the flow of blood to the foreskin, it dries up and it cut of after one week.

Rwanda government hopes to circumcise 2 million men by 2012. Staff need very little training to fit it - something extremely important in a country with only 300 doctors for ten million people.

Read more here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-radio-and-tv-14231466

Infographic: The Successes and Failures of the Fight Against AIDS

Read more here http://www.good.is/post/infographic-public-attitudes-about-aids/

HIV-positive patients in Swaziland eating cow dung before taking anti-retroviral drugs

Mbabene, Swaziland

BBC alarming report of some HIV-positive patients in Swaziland unable to afford to buy food have resorted to eating cow dung before taking anti-retroviral drugs.

"Some people are now saying they are going to stop taking anti-retroviral drugs because it [requires] that they have food in their stomachs," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. Swaziland, with a population of about 1.2 million, has one of the highest HIV/Aids rates in the world. About 230,000 people are HIV-positive, of whom 65,000 get free drugs from government hospitals. Mr Dlamini said the protesters urged the government not to cut health spending. "We want the government to stick to its word and to prioritise health," he said.

Sad state of affairs indeed!!!

Read more here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14312425

Lucky Mazibuko- Living with HIV/AIDS for 20 years +

Making Health Progress: Clinic for Neurophysiology in Hargeisa

Essa Kayd, a chief neurodiagnostic specialist of Somaliland origin based in Boston, U.S. announced he will be opening a state of the art Clinic for neurophysiology in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa. The clinic will be a joint investment between Kayd and Ethiopia’s leading neurologist Dr. Sisay Gizaw from Addis Ababa Medical School. Kayd received his education in Ottawa University and Harvard Medical School. Mr. Kayd is the chief Neurodiagnostic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School in Boston. He occasionally travels to Africa to offer his time; gives training to leading doctors in the continent. He is also trains physicians at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Medical School. Brigham and Women’s Medical Hospital is ranked one of the top hospitals in the US by U.S. News & World Report Top Hospitals. He has been helping Addis Ababa’s main hospital for the past several months, where he noticed most of their patients were Somalis who had travelled miles for the treatment. He opened his first clinic in Addis Ababa early this year and plans to open one in Hargeisa in early April. Before they open their clinic, the two doctors will be offering three day neurodiagnostics training at Edna Adan Hospital in Hargeisa. Interested individuals are advised to call Edna Hospital or contact Dr Essa Kayd Email: Kayd_1@hotmail.com or Tel: 1-617-304-1270

Read more here http://somalilandpress.com/

Youth Guide to Action On Maternal Health

Download the "Youth Guide to Action on Maternal Health"

One-third of the world’s population, approximately 1.7 billion people, is between the ages of 10 and 24 years.1 Today’s generation of young people is the largest the world has ever known. In general, young people are healthier and more educated today than the generations before them. Nonetheless, young people, particularly young women, face significant challenges that prevent them from meeting their full potential. Half of all new HIV infections occur in young people ages 25 and under, and 14 million adolescent girls give birth every year. Over 70,000 teenage girls are married each day. Complications from pregnancy, childbirth, and unsafe abortions are the major causes of morbidity and mortality for young women between the ages of 15 – 19 years in the developing world. Girls under 16 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s, while mothers under 20 years are twice as likely to die as women in their 20s. People between 15 – 24 years have the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Furthermore, approximately 20% of women under 24 years of age have been infected with the specific strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), an STI that cause almost all cervical cancers.

Women Deliver: Fact Sheets on Young People in Africa

• In sub-Saharan Africa, a woman has a 1 in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth.
• In most Sub-Saharan African countries, fewer than one-third of sexually experienced adolescent girls report using a condom during their most recent sexual experience.
• An estimated 4.3% of women ages 15–24 in sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV, compared with 1.5% of men in that age-group.
• In West Africa, 55% of women give birth before the age of 20 years.
• In Kenya, married women have higher rates of HIV infection than their unmarried peers. Married adolescents’ HIV rate is 6.5 percent, compared to a rate of 2.5 percent for their unmarried peers.
• In Niger, Guinea, Central African Republic, and Mozambique, 25% or more of girls ages 15 –19 had their first experience with vaginal intercourse before age 15.
• In Ghana, 1 in 5 adolescents who have heard of AIDS believe that sharing food can transmit the AIDS virus.
• In Uganda nearly half the number of young people who have had an STI did not seektreatment – mostly because they were embarrassed, did not want other people to know,did not know where to go, or thought it cost too much.
  

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