Zimbabwe Among Hardest Hit as New PEPFAR Data Shows Over 6,000 Children Lose HIV Treatment Support
By Michael Gwarisa Zimbabwe is among the countries hardest hit by recent disruptions to the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), with new data released ahead of the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science (AIDS 2026) showing that more than 6,000 fewer children were receiving PEPFAR-supported HIV treatment by the
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WHO Declares Hantavirus Outbreak Over After Final Contact Tests Negative
By Michael Gwarisa WHO has officially declared the recent hantavirus outbreak over after the last person known to have been exposed to the virus completed quarantine and tested negative. Announcing the development, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the final identified contact linked to the outbreak had safely completed the required monitoring period.
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Australia confirms suspected bird flu case in Western Australia amid global H5 outbreak – as authorities ramp up preparedness
By Sky News (reported) Australian authorities are investigating a suspected case of bird flu in Western Australia after a wild migratory bird tested positive for a possible H5 avian influenza infection, raising fresh concerns about the global spread of the virus. The detection was confirmed on Friday by Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie
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“Finish What We Started”: WHO and Brazil Urge Leaders to Finalise Pandemic Agreement
By Michael Gwarisa The World Health Organization and the Government of Brazil have issued a joint appeal to global leaders, urging them to “finish what we started” by finalising the remaining piece of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, warning that the world remains dangerously exposed to the next health emergency. In an open letter addressed to
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Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda – where are the vaccines?
Published First on https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/ LSHTM Vaccine Centre Co-Director Dr Muhammed Afolabi discusses the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, the challenges of developing a vaccine against it and how to prepare for future outbreaks. On 17 May 2026 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda
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World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2026 Opens in Nairobi with Strong Call for Action on Resilient Health Systems
Michael Gwarisa NAIROBI, Kenya — The World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2026 officially opened in Nairobi on Sunday, bringing together more than 2,000 global health leaders, policymakers, researchers, and development partners to push for stronger and more resilient health systems across Africa and beyond. The high-level gathering is being held under the theme, Reimagining Africa’s
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Has Prostate Cancer
Michael Gwarisa Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyau was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer following routine post-surgical monitoring, but doctors say treatment was successful and the lesion has completely disappeared. According to an official medical report dated April 20, 2026, the Prime Minister had previously undergone treatment on December 29, 2024, for benign enlargement of the
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Low Viral Load Doesn’t Mean Zero Risk: What New Uganda Study Means for U=U
Michael Gwarisa For years, the global HIV response has rallied around a simple but powerful message: Undetectable equals Untransmittable, widely known as U=U. Backed by strong scientific evidence, the concept has transformed both HIV prevention and the lives of people living with the virus. But new findings from the Rakai HIV Cohort Study in Uganda
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Manchester Institute of Biotechnology Develops Cheaper, Sustainable Method to Produce HIV Drug Lenacapavir
Michael Gwarisa Amid growing global pressure to make Lenacapavir more affordable, researchers at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology have developed a new method that could significantly reduce the cost and improve the sustainability of manufacturing the long-acting HIV prevention drug. Supported by funding from the Gates Foundation, the scientists applied engineering biology, a rapidly advancing
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Mystery Haemorrhagic Illness Kills Five in Burundi
Michael Gwarisa The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting Burundi’s efforts to determine the cause of an illness that has led to five deaths and infected 35 people in Mpanda district, north of the East African country. While preliminary assumptions linked the ailment to Ebola or Marburg virus diseases, Rift Valley fever, yellow fever and
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