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News Releases

Africa cuts HIV infections, deaths but key targets still elusive

Africa has made significant progress against HIV over the past decade, reducing new infections by 43% and nearly halving AIDS-related deaths. However, the continent is unlikely to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 with many countries falling behind key elimination milestones and COVID-19 aggravating challenges, an analysis by World Health Organization (WHO) finds.
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Botswana is first country with severe HIV epidemic to reach key milestone in the eli...

Botswana has become the first high-burden country to be certified for achieving an important milestone on the path to eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV by the World Health Organization (WHO). High-burden HIV countries are defined as those with more than 2% of pregnant women living with the virus. Botswana has achieved the “silver tier” status, which moves it closer to eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission. WHO awards this certification to countries which have brought the mother-to-child HIV transmission rate to under 5 %; provided antenatal care and antiretroviral treatment to more than 90 % of pregnant women; and achieved an HIV case rate of fewer than 500 per 100,000 live births.
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Striving for safer roads in Senegal

The 69-year-old father was travelling from Dakar, Senegal’s capital, to neighbouring Mauritania with four of his children for Eid al-Fitr, his eldest son at the wheel. But about 90 km outside the capital, his son suddenly lost control of the vehicle, crashing into a tree. “I blacked out,” Dieng recalls, “and woke up in the hospital.” When he inquired about his four children, he received tragic news: they had all been killed on impact. “It’s been 10 years,” he says. “But it feels like yesterday.”
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Stronger governance needed to fight superbugs in Africa: Antimicrobial Resistance th...

17 November 2021, Accra – The leaders of six regional organizations in Africa are calling for stronger governance to fight antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, on the eve of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (18-24 November).

The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance in Africa – where micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are resistant to antimicrobial treatment – is complicating the management of many infectious diseases, and endangers animal health and welfare, and food production, safety and security.

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Less than 10% of African countries to hit key COVID-19 vaccination goal 

Brazzaville - Just five African countries, less than 10% of Africa’s 54 nations, are projected to hit the year-end target of fully vaccinating 40% of their people, unless efforts to accelerate the pace take off. This comes as the Region grapples to meet rising demand for essential vaccination commodities, such as syringes.

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