Health
18.2m People On Antiretroviral Therapy—UNAIDS
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A new report by the UNAIDS has shown that countries are getting on the Fast-Track, with an additional one million people accessing treatment in just six months (January to June 2016).
The reports revealed that by June 2016, around 18.2 million [16.1 million–19.0 million] people had access to the life-saving medicines, including 910 000 children, double the number five years earlier. If these efforts are sustained and increased, the world will be on track to achieve the target of 30 million people on treatment by 2020.
Yesterday, the Get on the Fast-Track: the life-cycle approach to HIV, was launched in Windhoek, Namibia, by the President of Namibia, Hage Geingob and the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé.
“Just under two years ago, 15 million people were accessing antiretroviral treatment—today more than 18 million are on treatment and new HIV infections among children continue to fall,” said President Geingob. “Now, we must ensure that the world stays on the Fast-Track to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 in Namibia, in Africa and across the world.”
The report contains detailed data on the complexities of HIV and reveals that girls’ transition to womanhood is a very dangerous time, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. “Young women are facing a triple threat,” said Mr Sidibé. “They are at high risk of HIV infection, have low rates of HIV testing, and have poor adherence to treatment. The world is failing young women and we urgently need to do more.”
HIV prevention is key to ending the AIDS epidemic among young women and the cycle of HIV infection needs to be broken. Recent data from South Africa shows that young women are acquiring HIV from adult men, while men acquire HIV much later in life after they transition into adulthood and continue the cycle of new infections.
The report also shows that the life-extending impact of treatment is working. In 2015, there were more people over the age of 50 living with HIV than ever before—5.8 million. The report highlights that if treatment targets are reached, that number is expected to soar to 8.5 million by 2020. Older people living with HIV, however, have up to five times the risk of chronic disease and a comprehensive strategy is needed to respond to increasing long-term health-care costs.
The report also warns of the risk of drug resistance and the need to reduce the costs of second- and third-line treatments. It also highlights the need for more synergies with tuberculosis (TB), human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, and hepatitis C programmes in order to reduce the major causes of illness and death among people living with HIV. In 2015, 440 000 of the 1.1 million people who died from an AIDS-related illness died from TB, including 40 000 children.
“The progress we have made is remarkable, particularly around treatment, but it is also incredibly fragile,” said Mr Sidibé. “New threats are emerging and if we do not act now we risk resurgence and resistance. We have seen this with TB. We must not make the same mistakes again.”
Get on the Fast-Track: the life-cycle approach to HIV outlines that large numbers of people at higher-risk of HIV infection and people living in high-burden areas are being left without access to HIV services at critical points in their lives, opening the door to new HIV infections and increasing the risk of dying from AIDS-related illnesses. The report examines the gaps and approaches needed in HIV programming across the life cycle and offers tailored HIV prevention and treatment solutions for every stage of life.
“Ending AIDS is possible only if we join hands—by each doing what is within our scope, creatively and aggressively embracing the 90–90–90 targets,” said Eunice Makena Henguva, Youth Economic Empowerment Project Officer for the Namibian Women’s Health Network.
From birth
Globally, access to HIV medicines to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV has increased to 77% in 2015 (up from 50% in 2010). As a result, new HIV infections among children have declined by 51% since 2010.
The report highlights that of the 150 000 children who were newly infected with HIV in 2015, around half were infected through breastfeeding. It stresses that infection through breastfeeding can be avoided if mothers living with HIV are supported to continue taking antiretroviral medicines, allowing them to breastfeed safely and ensure that their children receive the important protective benefits of breastmilk.
Testing also remains a major issue. The report shows that only four of 21 priority countries in Africa provided HIV testing for more than half the babies exposed to HIV within their first weeks of life. It also shows that in Nigeria, which accounts for more than a quarter of all new HIV infections among children globally, only half of pregnant women living with HIV are tested for HIV.
Get on the Fast-Track: the life-cycle approach to HIV stresses that more efforts are needed to expand HIV testing for pregnant women, expand treatment for children and improve and expand early infant diagnosis by using new diagnostic tools and innovative methods, such as SMS reminders, to retain mothers living with HIV and their babies in care.
The report also encourages countries to adopt the targets of the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free framework led by UNAIDS and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to reduce the number of new HIV infections among children, adolescents and young women, and ensure lifelong access to antiretroviral therapy if they are living with HIV.
Through adolescence
The report shows that the ages between 15 and 24 years are an incredibly dangerous time for young women. In 2015, around 7500 young women became newly infected with HIV every week. Data from studies in six locations within eastern and southern Africa reveal that in southern Africa girls aged between 15 and 19 years accounted for 90% of all new HIV infections among 10–19-year-olds, and more than 74% in eastern Africa.
Globally, between 2010 and 2015, the number of new HIV infections among young women aged between 15 and 24 years was reduced by just 6%, from 420 000 to 390 000. To reach the target of less than 100 000 new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women by 2020 will require a 74% reduction in the four years between 2016 and 2020.
Many children who were born with HIV and survived are now entering adulthood. Studies from 25 countries in 2015 show that 40% of young people aged between 15 and 19 years became infected through mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This transition is also magnifying another major challenge—high numbers of AIDS-related deaths among adolescents. Adolescents living with HIV have the highest rates of poor medication adherence and treatment failure.
A range of solutions are needed to respond to the specific needs of adolescents, including increased HIV prevention efforts, keeping girls and boys in school, increasing HIV testing and voluntary medical male circumcision, pre-exposure prophylaxis and immediate access to antiretroviral therapy.
Key populations
In 2014, an estimated 45% of all new HIV infections globally were among members of key populations and their sexual partners. The report warns that new HIV infections are continuing to rise among people who inject drugs (by 36% from 2010 to 2015) and among gay men and other men who have sex with men (by 12% from 2010 to 2015) and are not declining among sex workers or transgender people.
The report outlines the critical need to reach key populations with HIV prevention and treatment programmes that meet their specific needs throughout their lives; however, total funding levels are far below what is needed for HIV programmes to reach key populations, particularly funding from domestic sources.
Adulthood
In July 2016, in the HIV prevention gap report, UNAIDS warned that HIV prevention efforts are not working for adults and that new HIV infections among adults have failed to decline for at least five years. Get on the Fast-Track: the life-cycle approach to HIV cites concerns that western and central Africa is off-track in responding to HIV. The region accounts for 18% of people living with HIV, but a serious lack of access to treatment means that the region accounts for 30% of all AIDS-related deaths globally.
The report sheds new light on HIV infection and treatment among adult men, showing that men are much less likely to know their HIV status and access treatment than women. One study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, showed that just 26% of men were aware of their HIV status, only 5% were on treatment and that the viral load among men living with HIV was extremely high, making onward transmission of the virus much more likely.
Into later life
The report shows that antiretroviral therapy is allowing people living with HIV to live longer. In 2015, people more than 50 years old accounted for around 17% of the adult population (15 years and older) living with HIV. In high-income countries, 31% of people living with HIV were over the age of 50 years.
Get on the Fast-Track: the life-cycle approach also shows that around 100 000 people in low- and middle-income countries aged 50 years and over are estimated to newly acquire HIV every year, confirming the need to include older people in HIV prevention, as well as treatment, programming.
As people living with HIV grow older, they are also at risk of developing long-term side-effects from HIV treatment, developing drug resistance and requiring treatment of co-morbidities, such as TB and hepatitis C, which can also interact with antiretroviral therapy. Continued research and investment is needed to discover simpler, more tolerable treatments for HIV and co-morbidities and to discover an HIV vaccine and cure.
Finding solutions for everyone at every stage of life
The report concludes that investments must be made wisely across the life cycle, using a location–population approach to ensure that evidence-informed, high-impact programmes are available in the geographical areas and among the populations in greatest need.
It strongly urges countries to continue to Fast-Track HIV prevention, testing and treatment in order to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 and ensure that future generations are free from HIV.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended its planned indefinite strike following the federal government’s reversal of the implementation of the reviewed Professional Allowance Table (PAT) and renewed assurances on outstanding payments.
The decision was announced in a communiqué issued at the end of an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held virtually on Saturday.
NARD had earlier resolved to embark on a total and indefinite strike over the government’s suspension of the reviewed allowance structure and other unresolved welfare concerns affecting resident doctors nationwide.
However, the association said it reconsidered its position after reviewing the outcomes of high-level engagements with key government officials and health-sector stakeholders.
According to the communiqué signed by NARD President, Dr Mohammad Usman Suleiman; Secretary-General, Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim; and Publicity and Social Secretary, Dr Abdulmajid Yahya Ibrahim, the Federal Government has now reversed its earlier decision on the allowance table.
“The NEC observed that the earlier decision to halt the implementation of the reviewed Professional Allowance Table (PAT) has been reversed, with implementation expected to reflect in the April salary and beyond,” the statement read.
The association also noted the government’s renewed commitment to settling outstanding promotion and salary arrears owed to resident doctors in affected institutions.
In addition, NARD said initial approval had been secured for the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), with assurances that the disbursement process would be concluded.
“The NEC observed that the Budget Office has indicated its readiness to commence the process for the payment of the outstanding nineteen months’ arrears of the Professional Allowance,” the communiqué added.
Despite the progress, the doctors expressed concern about the continued delay in paying house officers’ salaries and called for urgent action to address the issue.
Following its deliberations, the NEC demanded the sustained implementation of the reviewed allowance structure, the prompt payment of all outstanding arrears, and the expedited disbursement of the residency training fund.
It also called for the immediate commencement of the process to clear the 19-month arrears and the convening of an urgent stakeholders’ meeting to resolve delays affecting house officers’ salaries.
“In light of the above developments, the NEC resolves to suspend the proposed total, indefinite, and comprehensive strike action, with a review of progress to be undertaken at the May Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) in Kano,” the statement said.
NARD expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and several ministers, government agencies, and stakeholders for their interventions in resolving the dispute.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
More than 1.5 million children under the age of 15 are living with sickle cell disease in Nigeria, a new international study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, one of the world’s leading medical journals, has revealed.
In the report made available to Business Post, it was disclosed that Nigeria carries the highest burden of disease globally, far exceeding other high-burden countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.
The findings highlight both the scale of the challenge in Nigeria and the opportunity for the country to lead Africa in tackling one of the most preventable causes of childhood illness and death.
The study shows that nearly nine million children across sub-Saharan Africa are living with sickle cell disease in 2023, including around 1.17 million infants and 2.75 million children under five, who face the highest risk of early death without treatment.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder present at birth. With early diagnosis and access to simple, low-cost interventions such as newborn screening, penicillin prophylaxis, routine vaccinations, malaria prevention, and hydroxyurea, most complications and deaths can be prevented.
However, in Nigeria, access to these essential services remains limited. Many children are only diagnosed after severe and avoidable complications, while others are never diagnosed at all, contributing to high levels of preventable illness and early childhood deaths.
The researchers emphasise that strengthening Nigeria’s health system response will be critical. This includes expanding newborn screening programmes, improving access to essential medicines, and integrating sickle cell care into primary healthcare services.
They called for urgent and coordinated action across government, health institutions, and development partners, including expanding newborn screening programmes, improving access to essential medicines and vaccines, and embedding sickle cell care within primary healthcare services.
The researchers, led by Professor Davies Adeloye, Professor of Public Health at Teesside University, United Kingdom, and Director of the International Society of Global Health (ISoGH), also called for increased domestic investment, supported by international partnerships, as well as stronger data systems to improve surveillance and guide policy decisions.
They concluded that even modest improvements in early-life screening and treatment in high-burden countries like Nigeria could transform child survival and significantly reduce preventable deaths.
“Nigeria now stands at the centre of the global sickle cell crisis. With over 1.5 million children affected, the scale is enormous, but so is the opportunity to act. We already know what works. Newborn screening and early treatment are effective, affordable, and can be delivered through existing health systems.
“If Nigeria prioritises sickle cell disease within its national health agenda and integrates care into routine maternal and child health services, we could save hundreds of thousands of young lives and significantly reduce avoidable deaths.” Professor Adeloye noted.
It was learned that the study analysed data from 40 studies across 22 African countries to produce the most comprehensive country-level estimates of childhood sickle cell disease to date.
By Dipo Olowookere
A $10 million capital has been raised by Helical to support expansion across more top-20 pharma programmes and growth of its deployed science engineering team.
The firm will also use the money to build the compounding evidence layer that improves performance across diseases, as its mission is to make every scientist able to test hypotheses at the speed of inference and to turn in-silico discovery into a reliable engine for R&D throughput.
The funding package was from redalpine, Gradient, BoxGroup, Frst and notable angels, including Aidan Gomez (CEO Cohere), Clement Delangue (CEO HuggingFace) and Mario Goetze (pro soccer player).
Helical has a product known as the virtual AI lab for pharma, an application layer that turns biological foundation models into decision-ready, reproducible in-silico discovery workflows.
The platform has two product surfaces — the Virtual Lab for biologists and translational scientists, and the Model Factory for ML engineers and data scientists — built on the same data, the same models, and the same results.
By putting both sides in the same system, Helical closes the gap between computational predictions and biological decision-making, so teams that traditionally worked in silos can collaborate on the same evidence.
Helical was founded in early 2024. It was created by three school friends who took different paths to the same problem.
Rick Schneider built tech at Amazon and later helped the German enterprise Celonis scale in France and Japan. Maxime Allard led data science teams at IBM before pursuing a PhD focused on reinforcement learning and robotics. Mathieu Klop became a cardiologist and genomics researcher.
When bio foundation models emerged, the trio saw the chance to build the missing application layer that would let pharma teams move from model experimentation to reproducible, production discovery.
“The models alone don’t discover drugs. The system does. Pharma teams need a system that turns foundation models into workflows scientists can run, validate, and defend.
“We built Helical to make in-silico science reproducible at pharma scale, so teams can go from hypothesis to decision in days instead of months,” the co-founder of Helical, Mr Rick Schneider, said.
“We are at a unique point in time where biological foundation models and general language reasoning models are converging.
“We backed Helical because we strongly believe they have what it takes to build the pharma AI orchestration platform that will drive this transition from siloed AI models to integrated virtual AI labs,” the General Partner at redalpine, Mr Daniel Graf, stated.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn