It is estimated that globally, between 100 and 140 million women and girls have undergone some form of female genital mutilation (FGM) with two million being at risk each year.
Equity in Health
AFRICA: Drugs debate takes centre stage at ICASA
The debate over access to affordable drugs has dominated the 12th International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa (ICASA), with participants at the Ouagadougou meeting calling on rich countries to provide the South with the funds to buy life-prolonging antiretrovirals.
AIDS still Africa's biggest killer
HIV/AIDS is still the main cause of deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, but the region has been overtaken by Eastern Europe, especially the Russian Federation, as the place where the epidemic is growing the fastest, according to a new United Nations (UN) report.
Declaration for a Framework for Action:
Improving Access to HIV/AIDS
This declaration is the product of a year-long consultative process involving 155 experts from 27 countries and 57 national and international organizations. It is the consensus of the participants who convened in Paris at the invitation of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of UNAIDS secretariat and WHO on 29 November to 1st December 2001.
Further details: /newsletter/id/28933
Gabon: New Ebola Outbreak Confirmed
The World Health Organization says the Ebola virus has killed several people in Gabon in recent days. Kenya, Uganda, and the DR Congo have also reported the outbreak. The disease, first identified in 1976 near the Congo's Ebola River, has no known cure and is transmitted by direct contact with the blood and secretions of infected persons.
Kwazulu-Natal Cholera Cases On the Increase
The KwaZulu-Natal health department has expressed concern over the upward trend of new cholera infections. The department said yesterday that 15 new cases had been reported over a 24-hour period, adding that although it was considerably less than over the same period last year, it was a matter of concern.
MOZAMBIQUE: PlusNews Country Profile
UNAIDS/WHO Epidemiological Fact sheets on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.
South Africa: Government Welcomes Bank's Decision Not to Evict HIV/Aids Orphans
The Department of Social Development says it welcomes the decision by Cashbank to write off an outstanding housing loan of AIDS orphans living in Protea Glen in Soweto.
South Africa: No Deal Between UK Group And Victims
A LONDON lawyer representing SA's asbestosis victims said yesterday there was no settlement agreement between British group Cape plc and the victims. However, negotiations were proceeding "in a constructive manner" and at a fairly developed stage", said Richard Meeran, lawyer for the victims.
SOUTHERN AFRICA: IFRC appeals for US $13 million
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is appealing for more than US $13 million to fund its humanitarian programmes in southern Africa.