It is important to assess whether regional progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has contributed to human development and whether this has had an effect on the triple burden of disease in Africa. This analysis investigates the association between the human development index (HDI) and co-occurrence of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria as measured by MDG 6 indicators in 35 selected sub-Saharan African countries from 2000 to 2014. The analysis used secondary data from the United Nations Development Programme data repository for HDI and disease data from WHO Global Health observatory data repository. Generalized Linear Regression Models were used to analyze relationships between HDI and MDG 6 indicators. HDI was observed to improve from 2001 to 2014, and this varied across the selected sub-regions. There was a significant positive relationship between HDI and HIV prevalence in East Africa and Southern Africa. A significant positive relationship was observed with TB incidence and a significant negative relationship was observed with malaria incidence in East Africa. Observed improvements in HDI from the year 2000 to 2014 did not translate into commensurate progress in MDG 6 goals.
Equity in Health
In this latest edition of the Atlas of African Health Statistics, the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides the latest available data on Health status and trends for various countries, including Life expectancy, Adult mortality, Child mortality, Maternal mortality, and Age standardised death rates. It also contains data on Africa’s burden of disease and various aspects of the health system, such as health financing, the health workforce, medical products and equipment, health information and health technology. Specific programmes and services run on the continent are also included, such as HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, immunisation and vaccines development, child and adolescent health, maternal and newborn health, gender and women's health, neglected tropical diseases, and non-communicable diseases and conditions. The Atlas also considers the key determinants of health, including risk factors for health, food safety and nutrition, demography, resources and infrastructure, poverty and income inequality, environment, science and technology and emergencies and disasters. Progress so far on the Millennium Development Goals is included. All data is presented in visual format, such as graphs and maps, for easier reading.
Théodore MacDonald's latest book, ‘Removing the Barriers to Global Health Equity’, presents an urgent call to bolster international organisations and cooperation in healthcare. Its shocking findings demonstrate how profitable it has become for corporate interests to undermine the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this week celebrating its 60th anniversary. The book indicates steps which can be taken to avert disaster, involving a much higher level of international cooperation than the world has known before. The book provides a meticulously critical analysis of the written record and sharply probing interviews with key figures in UN agencies. It will be officially launched on 21 January.
The authors studied the determinants of condom procurement at 12 health facilities in four health regions. Potential barriers to condom procurement included female gender and perceived risk of HIV. The authors conclude that because barriers to condom procurement vary from region to region, national-level interventions to promote condom procurement and use may be less appropriate than specialised interventions addressing locally relevant factors.
Conflicts, civil unrest, emergence of drug-resistant strains of parasites and insecticide-resistant vectors, mass population movements worsened by the refugee situation, and disintegration of health services, is exacerbating the malaria situation in sub-Saharan Africa. A one week workshop held in Nairobi between July 30 and August 4, bringing together regional heads of malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa, concluded that malaria is still "an unfinished agenda in sub-Saharan African countries, and needs more attention than it has so far received".
The tobacco industry claims to employ 30 million people worldwide. But it produces a product that has serious health implications for millions more. Governments are negotiating new international controls. This website helps you to understand the health, political and economic issues at stake as tobacco goes on trial.
The lives of 7 million women, newborns and children could be saved each year if health programmes were refocused to overcome inequality and scaled up to provide wider access to proven, cost-effective measures, experts agreed at a recent conference. Health officials, medical professionals, and advocates from around the world took part in "Lives in the Balance: The Partnership Meeting on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health".
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic. As the tragedy unfolds, there is growing evidence that HIV affects fertility and may influence fertility change across the sub-region. But what are the mechanisms underlying these changes and how should data be used to calculate more accurately the effect of HIV on fertility?
British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Commission for Africa released its report, which criticized international donors for "not paying what they promised" to fight HIV/AIDS, the Financial Times reports. The 460-page report calls for a doubling of international aid to Africa to $50 billion annually, the removal of trade barriers, debt forgiveness and increased efforts to address poor governance, corruption and war throughout the continent. The report also calls for annual funding for HIV/AIDS to be increased to $10 billion annually within the next five years.
Three high-profile organisations are throwing their weight behind the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in its protracted legal battle with the government to widen access to the anti-HIV drug, Nevirapine. Cotlands, one of SA's best-known baby sanctuaries, the Institute for Democracy in SA (Idasa) and the Community Law Centre (CLC) are hoping to add their arguments to next month's Constitutional Court case, which will settle the long-running dispute between TAC and the government over the provision of Nevirapine to HIV-positive pregnant women in public healthcare facilities.