We want the ring...

Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service)
That seemed to be the resonating refrain of women at the HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P2018) held recently in Madrid, Spain. And no, they were not talking about the engagement ring. Their focus of interest was the intra-vaginal dapivirine vaginal ring - a long acting female-initiated, self-administered product that has been found to be highly effective in reducing the risk of HIV infection.

[SABC Newsbreak] Alarming incidence of breast cancer warrants urgent action, says Dr Pooja Ramakant

[SABC News and Current Affairs] By Newsbreak Producer Taliesha Naidoo
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer among Indian women. Details have the proportional prevalence in younger age-groups in the world's largest democracy is higher than the global average. According to the Indian Ministry of Health Welfare, the incidence of breast cancer is 25.8 per 100,000 women and is expected to rise to 35 per 100,000 women in 2026. Newsbreak's Taliesha Naidoo asked renowned breast cancer surgeon and Associate Professor in Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery of King George's Medical University, Dr Pooja Ramakant - how big a problem breast cancer is in India...

WHO prioritizes AMR: A key issue tackled through multi-sectoral partnership

Manjari Peiris, Sri Lanka
[First published in Asian Tribune]
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a multi-sectoral problem affecting human and animal health, agriculture, as well as the global environment and trade. Clean water, sustainable food production and poverty alleviation are but a few of the challenges it poses. It is learnt that AMR threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.

[Call to register for 26/10 CNS Live Hour] Is fight against TB in the Middle East on track?

[Click here to register] Is fight against TB in the Middle East countries (Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon) on track to end TB by 2030 or earlier? Are there unique challenges in socio-economic and political context in these Middle East nations that are weighing upon the fight to end TB?

HIV prevention: Bridging the gap between research and impact

Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service)
[Podcast] We are at an incredible moment in the history of the HIV/AIDS response, which reflected in the vibrancy of the HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P 2018) - the only global scientific conference focused on the fast-growing field of biomedical HIV prevention research. Today, the latest research in different areas of biomedical HIV prevention, including vaccines, rings, microbicides and other female-controlled forms of prevention, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and long-acting delivery systems, offer the greatest promise of significantly slowing the toll of the disease.

[Podcast] Research & development & "delivery" all key to #endAIDS: Translating scientific advancements into public health gains must not be delayed


[Podcast] What inspired 4 women scientists towards HIV science and care?


Can we end tobacco pandemic without holding industry liable?

[हिंदी] The disease burden, death toll and economic loss caused by tobacco is mountainous enough to warrant urgent action globally. Over 7 million deaths every year and more than US$ 1.4 trillion economic cost cripples the global economy - can this be ignored? Also more evidence piles up on how tobacco threatens sustainable development.

Governments meet in Geneva to get tough on the tobacco industry

(First published in Le News, Switzerland on 11 October 2018)
Governments of 181 countries and the European Union met in Geneva for the 8th conference of the parties to the global tobacco treaty, formally called the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Antimicrobial resistance and human health

Beryl Osindo, CNS Correspondent, Kenya 
The emergence of drug resistant bacteria, viruses, and parasites, is challenging modern medicine to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at an entirely new level. The administering of antimicrobial drugs to treat infections is a common practice that has been used over the years.

[Podcast] SABC Newsbreak: Geneva conference continues to strive towards averting the harmful effects of tobacco use


Unmask the complexities of TB, a pigeonholed curable disease

Roger Paul Kamugasha, CNS Correspondent, Uganda
The time is closing fast to prevent millions of people dying from susceptible and multi drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). We need an initiative that will go beyond the intermittent paper declarations that have failed to end TB. We need a marshal plan to generate investments with the potential to lessen the interstate barriers to end deaths caused by this disease and increase productivity—a plan embedded in a multi sectoral framework working towards one global goal. Hundreds of declarations to end the disease have been made, global targets are set every 3-5 years, extensive research and studies have been done.

[Podcast] First ever cross-sectional study on heart disease to be conducted in India: SABC interviews Prof Rishi Sethi