Will world leaders at UNGA act on urgent interconnected threats posed by NCDs and AMR?

World leaders will meet at the upcoming 80th United Nations General Assembly and UN High Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) next month. But would they take stronger action to prevent NCDs and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is yet to be seen. The draft text that would be up for their discussion next month is sadly weak and disappointing given the threat NCDs (and AMR) poses to global health and SDGs.

Include males too in addressing human papilloma virus and related cancers

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection. Since an effective HPV vaccine exists and HPV screening and treatment of pre-cancer lesions can save lives, no one should be suffering from any of the HPV related cancer or had to die of it.

We can do better so that all people with HIV live healthy normal lifespans

Love oneself. Stay healthy. And have a health-seeking behaviour to ensure all of us get to age with rights and remain disease-free.

Despite being preventable and curable cervical cancer remains 4th biggest cancer in women

Cervical cancer (cancer of the cervix) is preventable and curable, only if it is detected early and managed effectively. Yet it is the 4th most common cancer among women worldwide, with the disease occurring in 660,000 women and claiming the lives of 350,000 women in 2022 worldwide, as per the World Health Organization (WHO).

[video] Lifesaving importance of cancer screening and linkage to care for women with HIV

Strong local actions are pivotal to reduce NCDs, TB and tobacco use in Bangladesh

Unless global goals do not become a reality in the lives of every person worldwide, we will fail to deliver on those promises. Local actions are key. That is why the Mayors of several municipalities in Bangladesh and other local government leaders and experts had united to form the Bangladesh Mayors’ Alliance for Healthy Cities in 2019.

[video] Bolster the implementation of #OneHealth approach to address major health threats in Indonesia, says Deputy Health Minister Indonesia

[video] Stronger action against tobacco and NCDs is vital, Han Kosal, Deputy Governor, Kampong Cham, Cambodia

[video] Bogor City Mayor of Indonesia leads from the front to reduce tobacco use, prevent NCDs, TB, COVID-19

#APCAT2022 Declaration: Is it the clarion call to #endTobacco?

Tobacco use is among the unhealthy behaviours that result in preventable burden of cancers, strokes, and heart diseases, said Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Indonesia’s health minister. In Indonesia tobacco use is the second largest risk factor for untimely deaths, he added. World Health Organization had earlier underlined that without clamping tobacco use, we cannot deliver on the promises enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals.

[video] It is vital to prevent and manage both: non-communicable diseases as well as infectious diseases for global health security

Local coordinated actions firewall the HIV response from threats posed by TB, hepatitis, NCDs

[watch recording here | slides of Dr Paula Fujiwara] Over 28.7 million people living with HIV were receiving lifesaving antiretroviral therapy by end of 2021. While we push for efforts to ensure every person living with HIV is receiving full spectrum of HIV care and remains virally suppressed (so that undetectable equals untransmittable becomes a reality), we also have to safeguard against threats that can wither away gains made in fighting AIDS.

[video] Coordinated action is must to prevent NCDs, TB, hepatitis, and weight-gain associated with HIV medicines

Substantial weight gain as dolutegravir is rolled out in Africa

Study finds women gain more weight; underlines need to watch out for weight-related diseases

Shobha Shukla, Bobby Ramakant

(published in NAM aidsmap on 21 June 2022)

A study analysing data from four African countries found that people living with HIV who switched to a dolutegravir-based antiretroviral regimen had a four-fold increase in average weight gain, compared to the year before the switch.

[video] AIDS 2022 | People living with HIV but at risk of dying of TB, NCDs, Viral Hepatitis

Far from the promise of endgame, tobacco epidemic continues...

Tobacco industry-propelled epidemic of tobacco-caused diseases and untimely deaths continue to plague human development. Despite significant progress on tobacco control, endgame of tobacco - which is a human rights and social justice imperative - is not yet in sight. The recently released 7th edition of Tobacco Atlas shows that while global smoking prevalence in adults has declined from 22.7% in 2007 to 19.6% in 2019, we still have 1.3 billion tobacco users in the world. The progress on the endgame of tobacco is also threatened by the growing tobacco smoking rates among children aged 13 to 15 years in many countries, and by tobacco industry tactics targeting poorer countries with weak regulatory environments and pushing so-called 'novel' products in previously untapped markets.

[podcast] People living with HIV must stay virally suppressed and manage NCDs to reduce severe COVID risk

Listen to another episode of CNS #endAIDS Dialogues featuring Dr N Kumarasamy, who has been involved with HIV medical care and advancing HIV science since 1994, is Director of Infectious Diseases Medical Centre Voluntary Health Services Hospital, and Secretary General of AIDS Society of India (ASI). He is in conversation with CNS Managing Editor Shobha Shukla at 13th National Conference of AIDS Society of India (13th ASICON). He is also the Scientific Co-Chair of 13th ASICON.

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, aCast, Podtail, BluBrry, Himalaya, ListenNotes, American Podcasts, CastBox FM, Ivy FM, and other podcast streaming platforms.

[video] People living with HIV must take lifesaving antiretroviral medicines, stay virally suppressed, and manage NCDs to reduce severe COVID risk

Are we ready to give it all to #endTB?

[हिंदी] First-ever United Nations High Level Meeting to end TB by 2030 was held four years ago. It culminated in an important political declaration that galvanised accelerated action towards eliminating TB by 2030. With less than a year to deliver on intermediary 2022 promises, progress has been there but dismal. More importantly, latest Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that COVID-19 gave a major jolt to the efforts to fight the ancient disease forcing to reverse gains that were made in the past decade. 

Asia Pacific local leaders unite with renewed pledge to end viral hepatitis by 2030

Hepatitis-B is vaccine preventable, reliable tests and treatment is available for those infected, and hepatitis-C can be diagnosed, treated and even cure is a reality now. Then why 3 persons are dying every minute of hepatitis? Over 350 million people are living with hepatitis B and C virus globally. Asia Pacific region is home to more than half of world’s total number of people with Hepatitis B and C virus (about 200 million). That is why, local leaders of 79 cities in several countries of Asia Pacific region have united to power the agenda for stronger integrated action towards ending viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 (a promise enshrined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals).