ICASA Honours Dr Matsidiso Moeti

By Michael Gwarisa The Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) secretariat has awarded the World Health Organisation African Region (WHO-Afro) Director, Dr Matsidio Moeti the prestigious SAA Excellency award. The prize was handed to her during a plenary session at the ongoing International Conference for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted (STIs) in Africa (ICASA) conference running from December 4 to December 9 at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC). Presenting the award, SAA president, Dr David Parirenyatwa said it was in appreciation for her dedicated years of leadership and a symbol…

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All Hands On Deck To Reach Zero Dose Children With Immunisation In Africa

By Michael Gwarisa Despite immunisation being one of the most impactful and cost-effective public health interventions, responsible for preventing over 4 million deaths every year, the African continent is currently lagging behind other world regions in terms of access to vaccines. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, every year, more than 30 million African children under the age of five suffer from Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDs); and over half a million die due to limited access to immunisation services. This translates to 58 percent of global deaths from VPDs.…

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Africa Warms Up To Single-Dose HPV Vaccine

By Michael Gwarisa Following the relaunch of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) programme by GAVI the Vaccine Alliance, in line with the new World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations for a single-dose HPV vaccine, African states are embracing the administering of the one dosage in eligible populations. The developments come amidst indications that GAVI has set an ambitious target to reach 86 million girls with the HPV vaccine by 2025, as immunisation partners outline an ambitious plan to protect millions of girls in lower- and middle-income countries against cervical cancer. Speaking during…

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