Category: Medical

There has been a significant decline in HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Namibia, the Executive Director in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ben Nangombe has said.

The prevalence, which was as high as 22 per cent in 2002, decreased to less than 14 per cent by 2022, Nangombe said last week when he briefed the United States Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador John Nkengasong on the significant and positive impact of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

“The coverage of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) among HIV-positive pregnant and breastfeeding women has consistently remained above 98 per cent. Moreover, the efforts have led to a remarkable achievement in viral load suppression, with approximately 90 per cent of individuals achieving suppression,” Nangombe added.

As a direct result of these advancements, the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV has substantially decreased.

In 2010, the transmission rate stood at 13.72 per cent, but by 2022, it had dropped to 4.14 per cent.

This reduction, Nangombe said, signifies an impressive 70 per cent decline in the number of new infections resulting from mother-to-child transmission.

Dr Nkengasong emphasised that innovation is a key strategy of PEPFAR.

“The Pelebox innovation is a notable example of problem identification and solution-oriented thinking,” he added, referring to the self-service medication system.

Last week, Nkengasong hosted an event attended by Dr Kalumbi Shangula, Minister of Health and Social Services, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the founding of PEPFAR, coinciding with 18 years of PEPFAR’s presence in Namibia.

Shangula commended Namibia for the progress towards the eradication of HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 and for achieving 92-99-94 on the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Saturday called for people to be vigilant over a significant rise in new HIV infections last year.

‘Some 1,400 people became newly infected with HIV in 2022, about 300 higher than those infected in 2021,’ he said during a meeting with thousands of factory workers in Phnom Penh.

The new infections were mostly detected among men having sex with men, he said, urging people having many sexual partners to use condoms in order to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

According to a National AIDS Authority’s report, roughly four people become infected with HIV every day, and 83 percent of total new HIV infections were female entertainment workers, men having sex with men, transgender women, people using and injecting drugs, and their sexual partners.

Source: NAMPA

A Memorandum of Understanding that envisions ensuring sustainable healthy diets through food systems was signed yesterday between three stakeholders and the Sustainable Healthy Diets through Food Systems Transformation (SHiFT) initiative.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, Ethiopian Public Health Institute and SHiFT signed the MoU.

The cooperation and collaboration between the ministries will contribute to the success of Sekota Declaration that aims at curbing chronic malnutrition that result from inadequate nutrient intake over a prolonged period of time.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Sustainable Healthy diets through Food systems Transformation (SHiFT) Global Director, Inge Brouwer said the MoU will help the signatories to contribute to achieving the national and global Sustainable Development Goals related to food security, nutrition, health, and poverty reduction.

According to her, the MoU will also help SHiFT to support the planning and implementation of food systems in Ethiopia.

Furthermore, it would enable to establish and strengthen the cooperation and collaboration between the parties to strengthen stakeholder engagement in food systems transformation in Ethiopia.

Food systems transformation is the process of changing food systems to deliver better outcomes for people and the planet.

Recall that Ethiopia was an active participant in the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) dialogues. The development of the Ethiopian Food Systems National Roadmap and the prioritization of 22 game changing solutions were direct outputs of that process.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

An Interministerial Committee that will examine the complaints of grieving Health Workers in Cameroon and propose concrete solutions to their problems, has been put in place by Prime Minister, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute in a decision he signed on June 20.

The Interministerial committee is structured in three chapters thus the creation, organization, and functioning chapters, and is made up of diverse personalities and stakeholders.

Members of the Interministerial committee are the Ministers of Public Health, Public Service and Administrative Reforms, Labour and Social Security, Finance and Decentralization, and Local Development.

Among other missions the Ad hoc committee will have, are:

to update the list of workers who are in precarious situations (a list that stands at 27 000)

to define objective criteria to be fulfilled in the progressive contextualization process of health workers in precarious conditions.

to examine all revendication’s tabled by the health workers within the framework of the Social inclusive dialogue and propose real solutions to the problems. “The proposed solutions will be submitted to the hierarchy for appreciation” reads the decision.

This decision from the PM, according to some trade unionists, is a positive progress made to resolve the 1-month social tension.

” We are presently seeking solutions that will calm down the situation. This is already a step forward because all Government ministries that are concerned with this case, have been included in the Ad Hoc Committee,” Declared Sylvain Ngah Onana, president of the CAP/Santé trade union.

” We are now waiting for what we can term policy mediation which can be real before July 15. Let’s wait and see” He added.

” We were already waiting for a reaction from the government and the reaction can be seen through this Prime Ministerial decision. We shall reach out to other workers so that they get the information and also decide which position we have to take. Our fight is to find long-lasting solutions so as to improve the living and working conditions of health personnel in Cameroon, ” concluded Onana

Health workers in some hospitals in Yaounde, on May 22, 2023, began protesting against low wages, lack of funds, burnout, lack of working equipment, and unsafe working conditions. The strike action in Cameroon’s Capital is currently in its second month, and the workers promised to continue the strike till their problems are solved.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that it is necessary to create a capacity to respond quickly to an epidemic by supporting the health sector with technology.

The premier officially opened a National Health Exhibition which will remain open for one month at the Science Museum today.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that one of the issues that threaten our world in the future is epidemic.

Abiy cited as an example the COVID-19 pandemic that made the world pay price, adding that it is therefore necessary to build capacity to quickly respond to an epidemic.

The PM stated that the health exhibition shows the preparations that Ethiopia is making in this regard.

According to him, the work done to support the health sector with technology and research should be linked to generation building.

Mentioning that health is usually related to lifestyle, the premier advised that the society make its lifestyle healthy.

He finally pointed out that apart from health, Ethiopia is working to prevent major disasters caused by climate change through the Green Legacy Initiative.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) has revealed that only 10 regions in the country have fair staffing of health care workers, representing 71 per cent in areas of key service delivery, district hospitals, health centres and clinics.

A Health Care Workforce Status Report for 2022 issued recently indicated that only three regions, Khomas, Erongo and Otjozondjupa have good staffing, while none of the regions have ‘very good’ staffing as per the scoring model.

The report indicated that the staffing levels vary across district hospitals with Mariental, Lüderitz, Nankudu, Okakarara, Karasburg, Okahao, Tsandi, and Omaruru having very low staffing levels.

It said by 31 July 2022 MoHSS had a total of 21 138 approved posts of which 13 029 representing 62 per cent were filled, while 1 463 representing 56 per cent were temporarily filled.

“The vacancies on the approved establishment that are not filled are mainly due to funding constraints and difficulties finding and recruiting certain cadres on the market,” the report said.

The report also noted that Government funds 81 per cent of the filled posts while the United States of America President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funds 17 per cent of the healthcare workforce. The Cuban volunteers constitute less than 2 per cent.

It said the ministry has a total of 92 volunteers from Cuba of whom the majority are specialists (59 per cent), pharmacists (16 per cent), and biomedical engineers (13 per cent), while others include, dentists, anaesthetists, physicians, gynaecologists, maxillofacial surgeons, paediatricians, surgeons, dermatologists, and prosthodontists.

“Government supports the majority of health care workers in all 14 regions, though the donors play a significant role in a few regions such as in Kavango East, Khomas, Oshana, and Oshikoto,” it said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula on Monday announced the end of the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever outbreak in the country, which claimed the life of one person last month.

Shangula made the announcement in Windhoek during the launch of the national Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response technical guidelines.

“As we all know, a suspected case of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever was reported to the ministry on 17 May 2023. Unfortunately, the person succumbed to the disease on 18 May 2023. The case was laboratory confirmed on 21 May 2023 and subsequently declared an outbreak on 22 May 2023,” the minister said.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever is a severe viral haemorrhagic disease with a fatality rate of up to 40 per cent.

It is primarily transmitted to humans through tick bites, handling and crushing of ticks with bare hands, or contact with the tissue of infected livestock.

The minister said Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever transmission is considered interrupted when no new case is identified for a period equal to double the incubation period, namely, 28 days following the last exposure.

Shangula further explained that several public health interventions were implemented to contain the outbreak such as the activation of a health emergency management committee for the Khomas and Omaheke regions.

Other interventions implemented were contact tracing, monitoring of 56 high risk contacts and assessing possible livestock tick infestations to roll out effective tick control measures by veterinary services.

The minister said tick treatment was administered to a total of 4 885 cattle, 1 778 sheep and goats and 228 equines.

He noted that 15 June 2023 marked the 28th day following the demise of the confirmed case and the date considered the last day of possible exposure.

“There has been no additional cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever detected in the country, thus the declaration of the end of the fever outbreak,” Shangula declared.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency