sub-Saharan Africa

While donor funding for health in low and middle-income countries rose significantly in the last decade, the era of rapid growth has come to an end. Health increased as a share of Official Development Assistance (ODA) during the early part of the past decade, largely spurred on by the creation of several new funding initiatives and mechanisms such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). However, this share has remained essentially flat in recent years, with year-to-year increases in donor funding for health peaking in 2007, and declining each year since.

The global war on drugs is driving the HIV/AIDS pandemic among people who use drugs and their sexual partners. Throughout the world, research has consistently shown that repressive drug law enforcement practices force drug users away from public health services and into hidden environments where HIV risk becomes markedly elevated. Mass incarceration of non-violent drug offenders also plays a major role in increasing HIV risk. This is a critical public health issue in many countries, including the United States, where as many as 25 percent of Americans infected with HIV may pass through correctional facilities annually, and where disproportionate incarceration rates are among the key reasons for markedly higher HIV rates among African Americans.

Globally, the total number of maternal deaths decreased by from 543 000 in 1990 to 287 000 in 2010. Likewise, the global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) declined from 400 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births in 1990 to 210 in 2010, representing an average annual decline of 3.1 per cent.

Meeting of the Committee of Experts of the 5th Joint Annual Meetings of the AU Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
22–25 March 2012

This report, released at a conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, showed that while North African nations are making good progress on maternal, infant, and child mortality indicators, countries in sub-Saharan Africa still lag behind U.N. goals for reducing mortality.

HIV/AIDS imposes enormous economic, social, health, and human costs and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The challenge is particularly acute in Sub-Saharan Africa, home to two-thirds (22.5 million) of the people living with HIV/AIDS globally, and where HIV/AIDS has become the leading cause of premature death. But now, after decades of misery and frustration with the disease, there are signs of hope. HIV prevalence rates in Africa are stabilizing. This book sheds light on these concerns by analyzing the fiscal implications of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa, the epicenter of the epidemic. It uses the toolbox of public finance to assess the sustainability of HIV/AIDS programs.

Contents of Newsletter

Welcome to the 95th issue of HIV This Week ! In this issue, we cover the following topics:

1. Young people
• Sexual risk for HIV in South Africa and the USA: it is not at all what you think

Background: Due to intensified measles immunization efforts, measles mortality has decreased substantially worldwide, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated a 92% decrease in measles-related deaths in the WHO AFRO region for the period 2000–2008. Recently, the AFRO region established a measles pre-elimination goal and experts have suggested engaging in a measles eradication campaign at the global level. However, recent large-scale outbreaks in many Sub-Saharan African countries present a challenge to measles control efforts. This paper examines measles immunization and the impact of measles supplemental immunization activities (SIAs) on routine immunization coverage in South Africa (SA).

A global review of the key interventions related to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child Health

Executive Summary

Why reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health?

Poor maternal, newborn and child health remains a significant problem in developing countries. Worldwide, 358 000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth every year and an estimated 7.6 million children die under the age of five. The majority of maternal deaths occur during or immediately after childbirth. The common medical causes for maternal death include bleeding, high blood pressure, prolonged and obstructed labour, infections and unsafe abortions.

Progress in health and development in the poorest countries is in serious danger if the world does not make a concerted effort to reduce inequities, protect the environment and promote sustainability. This is the stark warning highlighted in the 2011 Human Development Report, launched on Wednesday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).