Dear subscriber,
There are new preventive and treatment strategies coming up but we worry they may not be fast enough to tackle two among the biggest health concerns in Africa.
Treezer Michelle Atieno - Editor
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative has started the first vaccinations of an experimental HIV vaccine in South Africa. The vaccine approach is trying to train the immune system to make very powerful antibodies that can block many different strains of HIV, a goal that scientists have chased, to reduce the burden of treatment and preventive drugs.
According to Mark Feinberg, the President of IAVI, fewer resources are currently going into HIV treatment and prevention because of the recent aid cuts, making the launch of this trial essential to sustaining the fight against HIV.
While promising, the trial could take six to ten years to complete, even as HIV services across Africa are already strained and millions of lives remain at risk.
Our take: The IAVI trial is one of the most credible HIV vaccine strategies to date but overinvesting in this rather than current care may reverse hard-won gains…Read more (2 min)
We tracked 105 open healthcare positions across Africa this month. Southern Africa leads with new hiring for 55 roles. Companies that top the hiring list in Southern Africa are Mediclinic with 21 roles and Clicks Group with 13 roles. These organisations are mostly interested in nursing and pharmacy. East Africa comes second with 31 roles.
West Africa offers 15 positions, mostly in Nigeria, where Sigma Consulting Group and Elizabeth Maddeux Limited are recruiting mostly pharmacists while Central Africa accounts for only 4 roles.
The top roles this month are nurses at 44, pharmacists at 23, clinical specialists (doctors, surgeons, anaesthesiologists) at 22 and occupational therapists at 5.
Click to see the full list…Read more (2 min)
Genomic surveillance in Africa, which means using DNA to track infections, can detect the spread of drug-resistant bacteria that routine laboratory testing does not capture. A new study shows resistance genes can move between patients and hospitals without being identified as linked cases, unless through DNA tracking.
According to the study titled, Databases and Tools for Antimicrobial Resistance Detection and Surveillance, genomic surveillance analyses the DNA of bacteria to identify shared resistance genes. This allows scientists to link cases that appear unrelated in routine testing.
The likelihood of falling ill or dying from diseases that resist treatment has escalated in Africa. The continent faces the highest mortality rate from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as compared to the death toll from HIV-AIDS, TB and Malaria combined.
Our take: There is a huge data blindspot in AMR detection in hospitals which in turn leads to inadequate care…Read more (2 min)
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Source: WHO
Mpox study in Africa gets new backing to test treatments across countries
Events
🗓️ Attend the Regional Global Health Security Summit in Kenya (January 27)
🗓️ Participate in World Health Summit in Kenya (April 27)
🗓️ Register for the Africa Health Business in Kenya (April 21)
Various
💉 New study links four African countries with over half of global malaria deaths
💉 Sudan doctors network reports over 3,000 new measles cases
💉 OpenAI launches ChatGPT health
Seen on LinkedIn
Antony Joseph, a Medical Doctor, says, “Too often, healthcare in emerging markets is approached the same way: more clinics, more beds, more doctors. But real impact requires strategy, innovation, and a fresh angle.”_________________