Status and challenges of ART adherence in SA: How the UN can help

UN agencies have agreed to develop a joint work plan on antiretroviral (ART) adherence after the WHO in South Africa presented the current status and challenges of ART adherence to UN agencies. This followed a request by the UN Resident Coordinator on how UN agencies could contribute to improving adherence rates.

ART adherence is particularly important in South Africa which has the largest treatment program in the world and is rapidly expanding ART to over 3 million people and introducing new policies for earlier treatment initiation.

Malaria Case Investigators Training

Malaria Case Investigators discussing various scenarios of reading a RDT

Mpumalanga, September 2015 - The World Health Organization with South Africa’s National Department of Health and partners including the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases have begun training Malaria Case Investigators to strengthen malaria surveillance efforts for the 2015/2016 malaria season.  The training is being held to ensure that case investigators are able to classify all malaria cases.

WHO strengthens the Ministry of Health supply chain management system

 A group photograph of the MOH and WHO Officials at the   handover ceremony.

30th September 2015, Monrovia - The Liberian Ministry of Health is working to strengthen the supply chain management system, a key strategic area of theInvestment Plan for Building a Resilient Health System (2015- 2021). This is to ensure accessibility and availability of drugs and medical supplies at all levels to reduce wastage. To build the county health teams supply chain management system, 15 County Pharmacists and 17 Supply Chain Coordinators have been recruited and deployed by the Ministry of Health.

Meeting of International Climate and Health Experts in Africa 30 Sept - 2 Oct 2015

Johannesburg, 30 September 2015 - Climate change is a major global health threat, posing immediate and long-term threats to human health and survival. Nowhere is this anticipated to have greater impact than in Africa, where social, political, environmental and economic conditions already create serious health vulnerabilities for many communities.

Partners Sensitized on the ENGAGE-TB Approach

Participants engage in group work during the ENGAGE-TB sensitization workshop.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society (CSOs) members expressed their interest to integrate Tuberculosis (TB) in their respective program areas to contribute to the fight against Tuberculosis and contribute to the reduction of incidence, prevalence and death related to TB. This was during a one-day sensitization workshop on the ENGAGE-TBapproach held on 27 August 2015 in Adama, bringing together 30 participants from NGOs and CSOs working in different programmatic areas, including HIV/AIDS, Maternal Health, Child Health and other community-based programs.