Tea break reading

29^th June 5^th July:

News and views:

Editor’s pick:

Africa: Bone marrow ‘frees men of HIV drugs’ – Two patients have been taken off their HIV drugs after bone-marrow transplants seemed to clear the virus from their bodies, doctors report. From BBC Health.
Africa: Seven African countries cut HIV infections in half – Seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s worst-hit region in the global AIDS epidemic, have cut the number of new HIV infections in children by 50 percent since 2009, the United Nations AIDS program said on Tuesday. From Reuters.
South Africa: With Mandela, end-of-life dilemmas amplified – The emotional pain and practical demands facing Nelson Mandela’s family are universal: confronting the final days of an elderly loved one. There are no rules for how or when the end may arrive. From Associated Press.

Elsewhere in the news:

Africa: Record number of people with HIV now accessing ARVs, UN – Nearly 10 million people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral treatment last year, says a new United Nations report, which notes that even more people can be reached with smart planning. From All Africa.
Africa: Facing facts: Dealing With Lipodystrophy – While newer antiretrovirals have reduced the prevalence of lipodystrophy, a significant proportion of the HIV population still suffers from the disfiguring loss or gain of fat in key areas of their bodies. From AIDMEDS.
East Africa: Scottish doctor runs ultra marathons to fundraise for palliative care in Africa – Endurance athlete Dr Andrew Murray is set to embark on a spectacular challenge across East Africa to raise money for the African Palliative Care Association UK. From the Africa edition of ehospice.
Uganda: Learning from teaching Serbia, Uganda and internationally – Professor Julia Downing speaks to ehospice about the lessons she has learned through providing palliative care education in diverse contexts. From the International edition of ehospice.
Uganda – When patients would rather die than endure life on ARVs – Who can forget the days when the possibility of catching HIV was so real and fearsome, and casual sex was frowned upon? Then, hallelujah, the life-saving antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) came… From Observer.
Kenya: Tackling HIV on Kenya’s transport corridors – The Kenyan government has launched a strategic plan to help revitalize HIV prevention programmes for mobile populations working along country’s transport corridors. Kenya’s mobile populations have long been regarded as highly vulnerable to HIV. From IRIN News.
Kenya: Oxford Brookes University honors Dr Zipporah Ali – After leading Kenya Hospices and Palliative Association (KEHPCA) to win the Red Ribbon Award in 2012, Dr Zipporah Ali has received an Honorary Doctorate (HonDUniv) from Oxford Brookes University. From the Kenya edition of ehospice.
Nigeria: Nigeria’s HIV reduction rate slowest in the world – The world’s most populous black country lags behind five other African countries – Lesotho, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad and Angola – all classified as countries with slow declining HIV infection rates. From All Africa.
Nigeria: Palliative care in Nigeria: Helping people die in peace – A country of about 160 million people, 36 States and 774 Local Government Areas (LGA), palliative care in Nigeria is disheartening, given that in 1996, a-small-amount-of Nigerians initiated a crusade for palliative care. From Gong News.
Malawi: Of Malawi’s painfully slow palliative care roll-out – The excruciating pain of an AIDS-related terminal illness has robbed fourteen-year-old Chifundo of normal childhood. Her parents never lived long to give her every child’s birthright – parental care and love. The father died before she was born and her mum passed on a year after birth – both to AIDS-related illnesses… From Mkali Journalist.
South Africa: In my culture we talk about death – It is now time to talk about the myths and beliefs that are being unthinkingly and enthusiastically ascribed to many of us Africans and black people in general. I have, over the past few weeks, heard many ascribe customs and practices to black people that I am at quite a loss to understand. The number of times I have heard people say “in African culture we don’t .” has made me gag. From Times LIVE.
Botswana: Palliative care training essential – A Consultant Surgeon at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital’s Palliative Care clinic, Dr Celeste Mbangtang has called on government to consider including palliative care in clinical professionals’ training programme. From Daily News.

Research:

Africa: Malaria vaccine breakthrough – AUSSIE researchers are closing in on a potential vaccine against malaria, with a study showing their treatment has protected mice against strains of the disease. From NT News.
Africa: Study supports WHO recommendations for second-line HIV therapy in resource-limited countries – A second-line regimen consisting of a protease inhibitor (PI) plus two nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) led to good outcomes for people with HIV in Africa after initial regimen failure, according to data from the EARNEST study presented on Wednesday at the 7th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Kuala Lumpur. From AIDSMAP.
Africa: Living with breathlessness: A survey of caregivers of breathless patients with lung cancer or heart failure – Breathlessness is a common, distressing symptom in patients with advanced disease. With increasing focus on home death for patients, carers are expected to support breathless people at home. Little is known about how carers experience breathlessness and the differences in caring for someone with breathlessness and malignant or non-malignant disease. From SAGE Journals.
Africa: New report shows steady progress in research and development for HIV vaccines – Recent breakthroughs in HIV prevention research have confirmed the promise of new options to help end the AIDS epidemic and highlight the urgent need for ongoing research to develop additional prevention options and support rapid rollout of proven ones… From News Medical.
DRC: Blood safety: how to prevent contamination by HIV, Hepatitis B and C and Syphilis to blood donor in Lubumbashi – Blood transfusion is an essential part of healthcare requiring equitable access to safe blood. In DR Congo, millions of patients do not have timely access to safe blood for lack of blood donors with reliable risk products contaminated with HIV, hepatitis and other chronic infections. From the US National Library of Medicine.

Inspiring stories:

Africa: Films tell life-affirming stories of children living with serious illnesses – A new series of films about the surprisingly life-affirming stories of children around the world living with life-shortening illnesses have been launched by the director of LIFE Before Death. From the International 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: Lecturer in palliative care – Damelin is looking for lecturer for their Durban campus. From Gumtree.
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:

Uganda: The 5^th Biannual Palliative Care Association of Uganda conference – Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala Uganda. 29^th – 30^th August 2013. From PCAU.
Botswana: ehospice looks ahead to the APCA/HPCA conference – ehospice talks to Luzibo William 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.
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.