AFRICA

The Survey is used to estimate the national prevalence of HIV and Syphilis infection among pregnant women and then establish HIV prevalence estimate among the adult population of 15-49 year olds. The study also determines the geographical distribution pattern of HIV and Syphilis infection among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at national and provincial level by both district and age groups.

Climate change will exacerbate the existing vulnerabilities of children in South Africa, unless mitigation and adaptation strategies are child-sensitive and implemented swiftly.

‘Exploring the Impact of Climate Change on Children in South Africa’ study, made public recently, highlights the likely impact of climate change on children’s health, education, nutrition, safety and access to adequate housing and sanitation in South Africa – both directly and indirectly.

South Africa has one of the world's highest HIV rates but for many years was accused of ignoring the problem. Two years ago, President Jacob Zuma introduced some radical changes to the country's Aids policy. To marks World Aids Day, the BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg asks what has changed.

Moses Sechedi lives in Soweto, one of South Africa's biggest townships.

Outside the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital - the largest hospital in Africa - Mr Sechedi, 62, tells me that he has seen the benefits of the new policy.

"A few months ago, my younger sister became gravely ill and we rushed her to hospital. After a number of tests the doctor told us she had Aids," he says.

Access to HIV treatment has improved greatly in sub-Saharan Africa -- the region which has long been worst hit by the Aids epidemic -- leading to a steady drop in deaths, the United Nations said on Monday.

"The most dramatic increases in anti-retroviral therapy coverage have occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, with a 20% increase between 2009 and 2010 alone," said UNAids, noting nevertheless that about 1.2-million people died of Aids-related illnesses in the region in 2010.

Universal access to treatment -- defined as coverage of more than 80% -- has been achieved in Botswana, Namibia and Rwanda, while Swaziland and Zambia have reported coverage levels of between 70% and 80%.

Home-based tuberculosis (TB) education and testing reduced community TB prevalence by about 20 percent, according to findings of a large, two-country study released at the International Lung Health Conference in Lille, France.

Conducted among almost 963,000 people in Zambia and South Africa, the ZAMSTAR study rolled out household education and TB testing to some communities while others received enhanced TB case detection, which included activities such as community dramas to raise TB awareness.

A period of major change is unfolding in health and HIV services in South Africa, carrying opportunities and risks for delivering effective, integrated health services that improve health outcomes and save lives. South Africa is decentralizing HIV services to the primary health care level, paving the way for greater integration to address women’s health and to reduce maternal mortality. The United States can find feasible, flexible ways to support this process, even though its health program through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is scaling down.

Two new reports have revealed the cost of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa, estimating that they cause economic losses of nearly $500-billion a year.

The reports, by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), were launched the day before the United Nations' high-level meeting on NCDs in New York last week and include a global analysis of the economic impact of NCDs by the WEF and the Harvard School of Public Health.

An analysis of the costs of scaling up a core intervention package to prevent and treat such diseases in low and middle-income countries by the WHO found that it would cost less than $12-billion a year.

A United Nations-backed initiative designed to accelerate efforts to attain social development and eradicate extreme poverty in rural Africa today launched its second phase, aiming to improve the living standards of an estimated half a million people across the continent.

The Millennium Villages Project, a science-based partnership between academia, business and UN agencies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), moves into the next – and final – phase with more than $72 million in new pledges, including nearly $50 million announced by George Soros, the founder and chairman of the Open Society Foundations.

During his seven-day visit to South Africa, the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé had the opportunity to meet His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelethini, in his home province of Kwazulu Natal.

The King is a key figure in the response to HIV in the Province, home to the Zulu nation. In what was lauded as a bold move, in mid-2009 the King called for Zulu men and boys to undergo medical male circumcision (MMC) in a bid to protect themselves against HIV. Studies have shown that MMC can reduce the sexual transmission of HIV by approximately 60%.

At the time of the King’s announcement it was mainly Xhosa, Sotho, Ndebele and Shangaan people who underwent traditional circumcision as part of a boy’s initiation into manhood.