In many African countries, drinking tea affords the opportunity to take a break in the day, to relax and to connect with what is going on in the world. Here are this week’s headlines that caught our attention to pair with your morning or afternoon break in the day.
Country Profiles:
BBC News: How South Africa is reducing AIDS suffering
1 December
This video highlights a childcare centre that has closed its paediatric hospice unit due to a lack of patients as a result of its success in HIV treatment and reduction in mother-to-child transmission.
Kenya: The Star: Quality checker blames poor tests on food for cancer rise
3 December
The Kenya Accreditation Service attributes a rise in the prevalence of cancer to Kenya’s uncontrolled quality assurance sector.
Nigeria: Leadership: ‘Prostrate cancer kills 14 men in Nigeria daily’
4 December
An estimated 14 men die every day from prostate cancer in Nigeria, says Lagos-based urologist and lecturer, Dr Emmanuel Ajibolajeje.
Nigeria: Leadership: NCPP urges government to provide cancer vaccines for citizens
2 December
The National Cancer Prevention Programme (NCPP) has urged the government to make budgetary provisions for vaccines to protect people against the cancer-causing virus, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
Uganda: The Independent: Movember Uganda-changing the face of men’s health
3 December
Movember Uganda, the prostate cancer awareness campaign was a success based on the increasing number of Ugandan men seeking early detection services.
New resource:
International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN): A new resource on End-of-Life-Care available from Together for Short Lives
13 November
In partnership with the Together for Short Lives charity, the ICPCN launched a new set of resources (free for download or available via mail-order) designed to support professionals working in children’s palliative care. The End of Life Planning series centres around A Guide to End of Life Care, which acts as a comprehensive manual for best practice at end of life in any care setting, for example in a hospital, a children’s hospice, or in the home.
Research & Policy:
IRIN Plus News: HIV/AIDS: New blueprint charts PEPFAR’s future
30 November
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) released a “blueprint” which outlines the next phase of the U.S. State Department’s response to the HIV epidemic worldwide.
Cancer Care:
BBC News: Cancer: Not only a rich-world disease
4 December
Cancer has long been mistaken as a “disease of the rich,” but that is no longer the case. This article addresses the obstacles and misconceptions to treating cancer in the developing world.
BBC News: How a simple infection can trigger cancer
6 December
A recent study in The Lancet reveals that 1 in 4 cancers found in developing countries are caused by infections due to poor sanitation and lack of vaccinations against cancer-causing viruses.
HIV and AIDS:
SciDev.Net: Mobile phone texts can help HIV patients cut viral load
3 December
Study reveals that communication between clinicians and HIV patients via cell phones can improve drug adherence.
IRIN Plus News: The beginning of the end of AIDS? Not quite
29 November
The advocacy group, ONE, released a report stating that the world is “not on track” towards meeting its HIV/AIDS goals for 2015.
The Guardian: AIDS drugs increase South African life expectancy by five years
3 December
South Africa has witnessed an “unparalleled” five-year increase in life expectancy since 2005 thanks to the world’s biggest HIV/AIDS drug treatment programme, researchers say.
Human Interest:
All Africa: The fight against AIDS – no time to ‘rest on our laurels’
30 November
Stephen Lewis, chair of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, speaks about the way forward in combating HIV/AIDS, saying that the human face of the disease needs to be restored and that there is no time for “resting on our laurels”.
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