HIV – Windhoek Observer

20 Jul

HIV, pregnancy tests required for Cuban scholarship

ObserverNational NewsHIV, Kennedy Kandume, Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF), pregnancy tests required for Cuban scholarship

Tujoromajo Kasuto The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) invites Namibians to compete for two fully funded scholarships for undergraduate studies in medical sciences offered by the Cuban government for 2023. Some of the requirement for the scholarship are pregnancy and HIV testing. Given the advanced technological era in which the world finds itself, these two requirements have raised eyebrows about why this is required for academic purposes. Consequently, when quizzed about the impact of the results on the selection process, NSFAF Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kennedy Kandume stated that the conditions of the scholarship are set by Cuba,…

Botswana loses out on TRIPS flexibilities

ObserverUncategorisedCancer, Covid-19, HIV, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), TB

Soraya Mentoor and Tebogo Gareitsanye COVID-19 has highlighted and exacerbated pre-existing inequalities including poverty, unemployment and struggling public health care systems between rich and poor countries. With many countries in Africa struggling with high levels of HIV, TB and other chronic conditions (regarded as comorbidities), the UNAIDS Global AIDS Update shows that people living with HIV are at a higher risk of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, yet many cannot access life-saving vaccines. Lack of access to affordable essential medicine has been, and continues to afflict many people in developing countries due to monopoly and high pharmaceutical prices driven by patents…

12% of Namibian adults HIV positive

ObserverObserver MoneyHIV, US Centre of Disease Control (CDC)

Andrew Kathindi The Country Director for the US Centre of Disease Control (CDC) in Namibian, Eric Dziuban says over 200,000 people in Namibia are living with HIV. “There are 200,000 people living with HIV in this country and that is around 12 percent of all adults in this country being HIV positive. The numbers are lower in young children, because we have such a successful programme in preventing mother to child transmission,” said the CDC Country director. “The latest data shows that people who are on treatment, taking their medicine every day virally suppressed, their life expectancy is basically exactly…