Dec 1, 2008  Africa: Ending AIDS? http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/hiv0811.php
    "The [WHO] findings suggest that HIV transmission could be virtually eliminated by 2020 in countries with high levels of HIV prevalence, such as South Africa, if it were possible to persuade everyone in the community to test for HIV infection once a year and then provide antiretroviral therapy to all who test HIV-positive. ... [But there are many questions that require answers before such a strategy could be implemented.]" - HIV & AIDS Treatment in Practice

Sep 19, 2008  Africa: Malaria Control Up, Majority Not Covered http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/mal0809.php
    "Despite big increases in the supply of mosquito nets ...the number available in 2006 was still far below need in almost all countries. The procurement of antimalarial medicines through public health services also increased sharply, but access to treatment, especially of artemisin-based combination therapy (ACT), was inadequate in all countries surveyed in 2006. ... Supplies of insecticide-treated nets (ITN) ... were sufficient to protect an estimated 26% of people in 37 African countries. Surveys in 18 African countries found that 34% of households owned an ITN; ... 38% of children with fever were treated with antimalarial drugs, but only 3% with ACT." - World Malaria Report, 2008

Aug 2, 2008  USA: AIDS & Black America http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/hiv0808b.php
    "U.S. policy treats AIDS as a foreign policy priority, but virtually ignores the epidemic among Black citizens here at home, U.S. policy makers seem to be much more interested in the epidemic in Botswana than the epidemic in Louisiana. This is an unnecessary and deadly choice. Both need urgent attention." - Rev. Al Sharpton

Aug 2, 2008  Africa: AIDS Updates & Analysis http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/hiv0808a.php
    "The scale up of antiretroviral therapy in the developing world is the most ambitious public health undertaking of our lifetimes, ...We were told it couldn't be done, and shouldn't be done, but we persevered, set ambitious goals and targets, and now 3 million people are on antiretroviral treatment." - Gregg Gonsalves, International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC)

Jul 16, 2008  Nigeria: Curse of the Black Gold http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/nig0807.php
    "This book lays out the dynamics of oil and development in Nigeria and Africa. It reveals the complicity in this perfect storm of international oil companies, foreign governments, corrupt oil-producing states and U.S. consumers. ... the future of oil in Nigeria is now in question in an unprecedented way. As we speak, something like 25 percent of Nigerian oil is locked in or deferred because of the attacks by militants." - Michael Watts

Jul 7, 2008  Africa: G8 Issues Roundup http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/g8-0807.php
    "A staggering 9.7 million children die each year before the age of five. Most would survive if they had the basic healthcare taken for granted in rich nations. ...We're campaigning for a world where all children have an equal chance of reaching their fifth birthday." - World Vision, campaign for G8 Action on Child Healthcare

Jun 9, 2008  Japan/Africa: More but Not Enough http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/jap0806.php
    In recent years, Japan's role in Africa has attracted little attention from international media, in comparison to the high profile of China and, sometimes, India. Nevertheless, with the world's 2nd largest national economy, behind the United States, Japan's relations with the continent are significant - and growing. As host of the G-8 Summit in July, Japan will be in the spotlight and its record on global and African issues under scrutiny.

Apr 28, 2008  South Africa: Women, AIDS, and Violence, 2 http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/ai0804b.php
    "In the Southern African region the results of a large scale household survey conducted in eight countries showed that nearly a fifth of the women interviewed reported being a victim of partner physical violence in the preceding year. ... South African based-studies have found that women who experience intimate partner violence are at long-term increased risk of HIV infection, particularly where their partners were involved in multiple concurrent, unprotected sexual relationships." - Amnesty International

Apr 28, 2008  South Africa: Women, AIDS, and Violence, 1 http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/ai0804a.php
    "Despite gradual improvements in the government's response to the HIV epidemic and the adoption of a widely-welcomed five-year plan, five and a half million South Africans are HIV-infected - one of the highest numbers in any country in the world. Fifty-five percent of them are women. South African women under 25 are three to four times more likely to be HIV-infected than men in the same age group. ... the level of new HIV infections amongst women in South Africa continues to increase, while overall incidence of the disease has levelled off." - Amnesty International

Mar 27, 2008  Africa: "Diagonal" Health Financing http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/diag0803.php
    The dichotomy between "vertical" financing (aiming for disease-specific results) and "horizontal" financing (aiming for improved health systems) of health services in developing countries is both destructive and unnecessary, argue a team of health activists and researchers in a new peer-reviewed policy paper published in the journal Globalization and Health. They propose expanding a "diagonal" approach that recognizes the necessary complementarity between disease-specific programs and improvement in health systems, with costs shared by both international and domestic funding sources.

Mar 3, 2008  USA/Africa: Health Policy Updates http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/heal0803.php
    The House Foreign Affairs Committee last week approved a commitment of $50 billion over 5 years for spending on global AIDS and related diseases, $20 billion more than the President's original proposal. The bill, which also includes other provisions such as funds for training of health care workers, and is expected to pass the full Congress. But health activists note that additional pressure on U.S. presidential candidates is needed to ensure other measures, such as ensuring access to essential medicines.

Feb 21, 2008  USA/Africa: Images and Issues http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/usa0802.php
    As President Bush winds up his 5-day trip to Africa, the initial focus on his legacy in the fight against AIDS and malaria has been enlivened with debate on the new and highly controversial AFRICOM military command (See, for example, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/world/africa/21prexy.html), Commentators have also highlighted the contrast between Bush's itinerary (Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia) and unresolved crises in Kenya and Sudan. But from AIDS to AFRICOM, coverage of the trip was also revealing for points hardly mentioned by either Bush boosters or critics.

Feb 5, 2008  USA/Africa: Health Budget Falls Short http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/pep0802.php
    United States President George W. Bush has asked Congress to vote an U.S. $30 billion for the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) over the next five years. .. But critics say this is only maintaining the current funding levels when large increases are still needed. Physicians for Human Rights, for example, has called for U.S. $59 billion to fund the fight against Aids, tuberculosis, malaria and other global health programs. And Aids-Free World co-director Stephen Lewis has pointed out that the war in Iraq is taking far more: up to $108 billion a year.

Feb 5, 2008  Africa: Dramatic Anti-Malaria Results http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/mal0802.php
    New anti-malaria interventions, when applied together, can have dramatic results, according to a new World Health Organization study. The study reported declines in cases in children under five of 60% in Ethiopia, 64% in Rwanda, 29% in Zambia, and 13% in Ghana, between the period 2000-2005 and the year 2007. The greater impact in Ethiopia and Rwanda was clearly associated with massive campaigns of free distribution of long-lasting insecticidal-treated bednets.