Trending To Day

[ Listen or download this audio podcast ] This is the recording of a special webinar in lead up to World TB Day 2017 where experts shared experiences on the role of faith in the fight against TB, and explored opportunities of how faith can help to expedite efforts to #endTB by 2030. [ Listen or download this audio podcast ]

[ Listen or download this podcast ] Catherine Mwauyakufa is an award-winning journalist and CNS Correspondent from Zimbabwe as well. She is among CNS Fellow awardees too. She shared her personal experience of role of faith in caring for the HIV affected communities and cautions against blind faith while acknowledging the pivotal role faith can play in "road to recovery" as well. Listen to her experience here (or download the podcast ). This audio podcast was broadcasted on a webinar on 28th February 2017 on "Does faith help in fighting TB? " [ Listen or download this podcast ]

Alice Sagwidza-Tembe, CNS Correspondent, Swaziland On September 25th 2015, countries adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all, as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years. For the goals to be reached, everyone needs to do their part: governments, the private sector, civil society and ordinary people. Of these 17 goals, the 3rd goal is dedicated to Good Health and Well-being. One of its targets envisages to reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—like cancer—by 2030. It has been more than 1 year since then, but with 8.8 million cancer related deaths in 2015, there does not seem to be any major change towards reduction and prevention of cancers. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about one third of cancer cases are preventable.  Anne Jones , Senior Tobacco Control Expert with t...

[ Listen or download this podcast ] Dr BB Rewari is widely acknowledged for his decade-long stewardship of Indian government's roll-out of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme beginning from ART provision to the first person living with HIV to over a million now. Now he is the focal person for HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Office and helping accelerate ART and other efforts to #endAIDS by 2030 (#SDGs). This interview is part of CNS Inspire Series . [ Listen or download this podcast ]

Josephine Chinele, CNS Correspondent, Malawi Over 50% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Malawi develop TB at some point of time and 7% of TB patients die whilst on treatment. International Union against TB and Lung Disease Press Statement titled TB 2016 and AIDS 2016: Jointly Tackling the Co-epidemic released in July this year says that these diseases together make up a co-epidemic, posing unique challenges to individuals and communities that bear the burden of both diseases at the same time. This is deeply entangling, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries like Malawi, as TB has become the leading cause of death among those who are HIV-positive, despite the fact that today HIV infection can be managed with antiretroviral therapy (ART), and TB can be cured in the vast majority of cases. When a person develops HIV, the immune system loses its ability to fight off infections, making him/her more vulnerable to developing other diseases like TB. PLHIV are especially vulnerable t...

Alice Sagwidza-Tembe, CNS Correspondent, Swaziland Leafing through my birthday good wishes from friends, family and foes, on my Facebook, WhatsApp, Tweet, Instagram, Skype and other social media accounts, I realised hundreds of postings were well designed cards, songs, articles about the World AIDS Day commemoration. Companies, churches, schools, governments, non-state actors, groups, individual of every creed, race and religion were gathering and posting pictures and speeches remembering their loved ones lost to HIV/AIDS, those living with HIV and those caring for the sick. It reminded me that some couple of decades ago the 1st of December would have been a very different day for me, characterised by a birthday cake, friends and family gathered, lots of fried chicken, non-stop telephone calls with well wishes. Well there was no Facebook then. But today my birthday wishes are juxtaposed with grim reminders of the devastation caused by the deadly HIV. According to the WHO, in 2015 th...

Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service - CNS Both TB and HIV pose serious health risks. But when these two infections join together, the result is a potentially lethal co-epidemic of TB-HIV. Their coexistence is similar to opposites attracting each other despite glaring differences like two unlike poles of a magnet. They are two linked epidemics that must be fought together, in order to make significant progress in ending both.  The facts are alarming. People living with HIV (PLHIV) are 26 times more likely to develop TB than those without HIV infection and TB is the predominant cause of death for PLHIV, responsible in 2015 for 1 in 3of these deaths. In 2015, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide, 1.2 million (11%) being in PLHIV. Also of the estimated 1.4 million TB deaths in 2015, 400,000 deaths were among PLHIV. 40-80% of HIV infected people with TB have extra pulmonary disease, compared with 10-20% of people without HIV. PLHIV also face increased threat of ...

Dr Diana Wangari, CNS Special Correspondent, Kenya Jacqueline Wambui On the frontlines of advocating for people living with HIV and AIDS in Kenya is Jacqueline Wambui . Gambol is an activist working with the National Empowerment Network of People living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV) in Kenya and is an AVAC fellow. She shares with CNS special correspondent, Dr Diana Wangari, her personal experience of dealing with HIV. “I am HIV positive and it took me six months to find that out.” This is the beginning of Jacqueline Wambui’s story who tested positive in 2004. “It started off as what one might refer to as the constant cold—I always seemed to have a cold, or at least similar symptoms. My friends would often ask me ‘How is it that you are always unwell’. Then I started experiencing fever and chills and concluded that perhaps it could be malaria. Those days you could get anti-malarials over the counter, whether or not you had done a malaria test and I hadn’t. It was the peak period of ‘and h...

Aarti Dhar, CNS Correspondent, India (First published in theindiasaga.com) Tuberculosis (TB) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) pose a serious health risk. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) , the risk of developing TB is estimated to be between 26 and 31 times greater in people living with HIV (PLHIV). In 2015, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide, of which PHLIV accounted for 1.2 million (11%) cases. TB caused 400,000 deaths among the PLHIV of the 1.4 million who died of TB in the same year. The TB-HIV co-infection is potentially lethal combination. When a person develops HIV, his/her immune system loses its ability to fight off infections, making him/her more vulnerable to other infections like TB. PLHIV are especially vulnerable to TB in countries where TB is common. Roughly, 75% of PLHIV who contract TB live in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries of this region, up to 80% of individuals with active TB disease are also HIV-positive. TB-HIV...

Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service) Dr Suwat Chariyalertsak, Director, RIHES, CMU Pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, is a relatively new concept of "treatment as prevention" against HIV for those HIV uninfected persons who might be at risk of contracting the virus. Currently, only Truvada, a two-drug (Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate/ Emtricitabine - TDF/FTC) combination pill, is available to be taken for PrEP.  Approved by US FDA in July 2012, Truvada is 100% effective in preventing HIV in those who take this once a day pill at least 4 or more days a week. But studies have revealed that many find it difficult to comply with a daily pill regimen.The development of alternatives for daily PrEP, and more adherence-friendly schedules, could increase prevention choices and increase acceptability. Because of the potential issue of adherence to a daily regimen, as well as the stigma issues around a daily pill regimen, an injection shot given once every two months, that would reduc...

[ Click here to listen or download the podcast ] This webinar for media was held on 30th November 2016 featuring experts from the AIDS Society of India; People's Health Organisation; and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union); who shared why TB and HIV collaborative activities are so critically important to help the world end TB and AIDS both by 2030. [ Click here to listen or download the podcast ]

Shobha Shukla, CNS ( Citizen News Service) [ Watch this video interview ] [ Listen or download the audio podcast ] Mahatma Gandhi had once said, "If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning". Gandhi's thought resurfaced after listening to Dr Ishwar Gilada , President of AIDS Society of India (ASI). He could not have been more sincere in demanding action to the fullest to #end AIDS by 2030 as promised by our governments. Fragmented actions in silos and scattered across sectors are just not enough to build up the pace on the ground to help governments keep this promise to #endAIDS. At the 2015 UN General Assembly, our governments had committed to end AIDS, TB and malaria by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dr Ishwar Gilada spoke with CNS (Citizen News Service) at the sidelines of the 9th National Conference of AIDS Society of India (ASICON 2016). This interview is p...

[ Listen or download the podcast ] Dr Ishwar Gilada is among the first medical doctors who came forward to care for people living with HIV in India. Success breeds complacency and complacency may breed failure. Dr Gilada calls on NOT letting off our feet from gas pedal and instead keep striving hard to keep the promise to end AIDS by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs).This interview is part of CNS Inspire Series . [ Listen or download the podcast ]

Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service) Alarming rates of pulmonary diseases in India are warranting urgent action as well as well-coordinated and inter-sectoral comprehensive health responses across the country to ensure every citizen enjoys lung health. "Recent smog in parts of north-central India had worsened the air quality in a dangerous manner sending lives of people in jitters and leaving behind disproportionately high economic impact. Emergency public health measures must be in place because healthy lungs are an indispensable need if we want a healthy country" said Director Professor (Dr) KC Mohanty , Organizing Chairman of 18th Joint National Conference on Pulmonary Diseases (NAPCON 2016) in Mumbai, India. NAPCON 2016 is organized by India’s two eminent professional associations: National College of Chest Physicians (India) and Indian Chest Society, and has scientific or educational collaboration with the Tuberculosis Association of India, Environmental Medic...

Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service) [ Watch this video interview ] [ Listen or download the audio podcast ] Success breeds complacency and complacency breeds failure. When the number of people affected by a disease decreases, there is a tendency to disregard it as a public health problem. Even as the HIV/AIDS epidemic is on the decline in India, we have to intensify, and not dilute, our efforts to have virtual elimination of the disease, emphasised Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar , Director-in-charge at National AIDS Research Institute (NARI), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). He spoke with CNS (Citizen News Service) at the sidelines of the 9th National Conference of AIDS Society of India (ASICON 2016). This interview is part of CNS Inspire series – featuring people who have decades of experience in health and development, and learning from them what went well and not-so-well and how can these learnings shape the responses for sustainable development over the next decade. ...