Tea break reading

15^th – 21^st June:

News and views:

Editor’s pick:

Africa: The truth about mental health – Claudia Hammond, in a 6 episode series, looks at mental health issues from across the world. From BBC World Service.
Africa: The price of preventing cervical cancer – Gavi Alliance says cost of HPV vaccine to developing countries will be $4.50 a dose – a big discount on rich country prices but campaigners say it is too high. From The Guardian.
Uganda: Refugees also have a right to adequate palliative care – On UN World Refugee Day, the African Palliative Care Association writes about the challenges facing refugees in accessing adequate palliative care provision. From the Africa edition of ehospice.

Elsewhere in the news:

Africa: Mandela: When is it time to let go? – As nurses at the Pretoria hospital bustle about making the 94-year-old former president of South Africa as comfortable as it is possible to be amid the oxygen masks, tubes and beeping machines of a modern intensive care unit, the world anxiously awaits the next bulletin on the frail anti-apartheid hero’s health. From the Independent.
Africa: US programme marks birth of one millionth HIV-free baby – This month somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa the one millionth baby will be born without HIV to a mother who suffers from the disease, thanks in large part to a decade-old US aid programme. From Times Live.
Kenya: Palliative care steps into prison – Over 30 officers stationed at the Kamiti Medium Security Prison underwent a three days training in palliative care. From the Kenya edition of ehospice.
Malawi: Having a passion for palliative care – When Dr Jane Bates saw people dying of AIDS everyday whilst working as a young doctor in South Africa, she felt time was ripe to make her dream come true. From All Africa.
South Africa: There’s no end to caring with HospiceWits and The Brand Union – HospiceWits is a NPO that provides world-class palliative care and support to the residents of greater Johannesburg and Soweto. From Biz Community.
South Africa: Ten years on, the AIDS struggle has much to celebrate – A decade ago, South African scientists, healthcare workers and AIDS activists met in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, to discuss ways to halt the Aids pandemic… From City Press.
South Africa: Eastern Cape HIV drugs stocksout: Patients at risk – 5 Months Later: Thousands of HIV & TB patients’ lives remain at risk as health department dithers on resolving Eastern Cape drug stock-outs – From Medecins Sans Frontieres.
South Africa: Comment: Vital service reaches far too few – The work of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and others (for the many with no idea of what we do) is about bringing people back to function, in spite of disability. From the Mail and Guardian.
Nigeria: Abuja’s HIV/AIDS prevalence drops by 10 percent – Efforts by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and other stakeholders to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the territory are yielding results as the disease prevalence has dropped by 10 per cent in the last two years. From All Africa.
Nigeria: Nigeria records 50 per cent decline in polio in second quarter of 2013- UNICEF – The World Health Organisation, WHO, and the United Nations Children’s Fund,UNICEF, said Nigeria recorded a 50 per cent decline in the number of polio cases in the second quarter of this year. From the Premium Times.

Research:

Africa: Early treatment may do more harm than good in poor regions – While U.S. treatment guidelines recommend universal treatment of HIV, the benefits of such a policy may not outweigh the costs in resource-poor areas around the globe. From AIDSMEDS.
Africa: Naked mole rat offers cancer clues – A rodent that never gets cancer could hold the key to preventing or treating malignant tumours, say scientists. From BBC Health.
Uganda: Drug before sex halves risk of HIV infection – Results of a trial in Bangkok, Thailand have revealed that using Tenofovir, an ARV, daily, can reduce the risk of acquiring HIV by almost 50%. From The New Vision.
Uganda: Tests can detect sexually-transmitted cancers – Antibodies to a high-risk type of a virus that causes mouth and throat cancers when transmitted via oral sex can be detected in blood tests many years before onset of the disease, according to a World Health Organisation-led team of researchers. From The New Vision.
South Africa: Bigotry and oppressive laws in Africa drive HIV in men who have sex with men – The paper highlights several important findings, including that HIV prevalence amongst South African MSM also has public health implications for South African women, given high levels of bisexuality and sexual concurrency amongst South African MSM. From PLOS ONE.
Burkina Faso: Study pinpoints risk factors for TB in people with HIV – A low CD4 count, a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and past or current pulmonary asthma were among the many independent risk factors for tuberculosis identified in a cross-sectional study in Burkina Faso. Some TB risk factors differed by region. From the International AIDS Society.
Nigeria: Alzheimer’s: Reversing loss of brain connections – The first experimental drug to boost brain synapses lost in Alzheimer’s disease has been developed by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. From Punch News.

Inspiring stories:

Uganda: Living with happiness, hope and HIV: Annie’s story – “One of the reasons I am so keen to help,” says Annie quietly, “is that I am also HIV positive.” From the International edition of ehospice.
South Africa: Daniel’s story – Daniel is a two–year old boy from one of the impoverished informal communities in East London, South Africa. He was born with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and only weighed 4.5kg when he was referred to us from Frere Hospital in March 2012. From the Africa edition of ehospice.

Scholarships and awards:

Africa: 2013 palliative care public health policy and advocacy awards for Africa – The awards seek to recognize the cumulative contributions of an African Ministry of Health, an individual and an institution whose public policy advocacy efforts at the national, regional, or international level have improved patient access to palliative care in Africa. From APCA.
Africa: 2013 APCA palliative care journalist award for Africa – The African Palliative Care Association (APCA), with funding from the Open Society Foundations (OSF), is pleased to announce the 2013 APCA Palliative Care Journalist Award for Africa. From APCA.

Jobs:

Uganda/Kenya: VSO are looking for a range of health care professionals – Do you have qualifications and/or experience as a Doctor, Nurse, Midwife, Midwife trainer, nurse trainer, hospital administrator, hospital manager, hospital management information system specialist or maternal and child health care specialist? Apply today. From VSO.
South Africa: Health advisors: National Department of Health – Provide leadership support within the national Department of Health (DoH) for the bilateral Partnership Framework Implementation Plan (PFIP) between the US and South African governments for the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief. From ehospice.

Events:

Kenya: ehospice looks ahead to the APCA/HPCA conference – ehospice talks to Dr Zipporah Ali about what she is looking forward to at the upcoming African Palliative Care Association (APCA) and Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa (HPCA) conference in South Africa. From the Africa edition of ehospice.
Uganda: The 5^th Biannual Palliative Care Association of Uganda conference – Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala Uganda. 29^th – 30^th August 2013. From PCAU.
South African: The African Palliative Care Association and Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa’s palliative care conference – September 17th – 20^th 2013, Johannesburg, South Africa. From APCA.
UK: Seminar: How is palliative care part of the right to health? Evidence from South Africa – Cicely Saunders Institute Seminar by Dr Liz Gwyther, CEO & Chairperson of Hospice Palliative Association of South Africa, Cape Town. From Cicely Saunders Institute.