OPINION: Investing in Adolescent Girls for Africa’s Development

Adolescence is a time of transition from childhood to adulthood. It is also a time of change and challenge. 

How Niger’s Traditional Leaders are Promoting Maternal Health

It is a long, 14-hour drive from Niger’s capital city Niamey to the village of Bande. And the ride is a dreary one as the roadside is bare. The occasional, lone goat herder is spotted every few kilometres and the sightings become a cause of both confusion and excitement since there aren’t any trees, or watering holes in sight.

How Midwives on Sierra Leone’s Almost Untouched Turtle Islands are Improving Women’s Health

Emmanuel is a male midwife. At the age of 26, he lives and works on one of eight islands off the southwest peninsular of Sierra Leone, an hour by speedboat from Mattru Jong, the capital of Bonthe District.

No Hope for AIDS-Free Generation in Uganda as Controversial HIV Bill is Signed into Law

HIV/AIDS activists are adamant Uganda will not achieve an “AIDS-free generation” now a “backwards” HIV/AIDS Bill criminalising the “wilful and intentional” transmission of the disease has been signed into law.

Helping Uganda’s HIV positive Women Avoid Unplanned Pregnancies

Barbara Kemigisa used to call herself an “HIV/AIDS campaigner”. These days she would rather be known as an “HIV/AIDS family planning campaigner”.

One Woman’s Struggle to Find the Right Contraceptive

Beatrice Njeri had just come home from her job as a janitor at a primary school in Nairobi. It was August 2009.

The Weakest Link of HIV Prevention in Africa – Contraception

In the rush to save babies from HIV infection and treat their mothers, experts warn that a key element of HIV prevention is being neglected in Africa – contraceptives for HIV positive women.

What’s More Important, the War on AIDS or Just War?

They say there is a war on and its target is the deadly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).   

How Mozambique Is Coping With AIDS

Mozambique struggles to contain the HIV epidemic with one in ten among its 24 million people infected. Helping them is not easy when only 60 percent of people have access to health services.

Nigeria Wakes Up to its AIDS Threat

Tope Tayo’s marriage broke up 11 years ago after she tested positive for HIV. Her angry and embarrassed husband took away their only child. Three months later, when the one year old boy tested positive, the husband dumped him with Tayo and absconded.

Children, the Biggest Losers in Senegal’s Fight Against AIDS

Children living with HIV in Senegal suffer because of the taboo associated with this disease in a country which is, however, praised for its fight against the pandemic.

Zambia Makes Progress in the Prevention of HIV Transmission From Mother to Child

Chisha Mutale reports from Lusaka that substantial progress has been made against the transmission of HIV from mother to child by the the Zambian government and its cooperating partners.

Looking to Africa’s LDCs to Learn How to Save the Lives of Millions of Mothers and their Babies

Every year, three million newborn babies and almost 6.6 million children under five die globally, but if the rest of the world looked towards the examples of two of Africa's least-developed countries (LDCs), Rwanda and Ethiopia, they would perhaps be able to save these children.

Maternal Deaths Due to HIV a Grim Reality

An African proverb says that every woman who gives birth has one foot on her grave. Sadly, this is still true today, especially within the context of the AIDS epidemic.

Policy and Attitudes Hampering Fight Against HIV and Aids Amongst Sex Workers in Kenya

New HIV infections remain high among sex workers in Kenya. In this report from Nairobi, Mary Itumbi says attitudes towards sex workers and policies that criminalize sex work are largely to blame.

ARV Shortages Hit Mozambique’s HIV Treatment Programme

Chronic shortages of antiretrovirals across Mozambique are endangering the health and the lives of tens of thousands of HIV positive people on treatment.

Marriage a Barrier to ARV treatment for Swazi Women

For months, Nonkululeko Msibi could not find her voice each time she wanted to share the news to her husband. She had learned that she was infected with HIV at the age of 16 when delivering her firstborn baby at Swaziland's Mbabane Government Hospital.

Divided Opinions on Feasibility of Kenya’s Option B+ Roll Out

Kenya’s health sector has been facing significant challenges, ranging from a shortage of health care providers to a series of labour strikes. The problems have not only disrupted health services, but have HIV experts divided on whether to roll out Option B+ nationwide or just to pilot it in high volume facilities such as major referral hospitals. 

OP-ED: Violence Leaves Women, Girls, and Young People on the Edge in South Sudan

As with many conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies around the world, those who suffer the most are women, young girls and children. The current terrible crisis in South Sudan is no exception. 

Viral Load Testing Dismally Absent in Africa

As Africa scales up lifesaving antiretroviral therapy for HIV positive people, concerns are rife that the absence of mass routine viral load testing will hamper extending treatment to the millions who need it.

Gender-based Violence Widespread in Zimbabwe

Rutendo Mawere reports from Harare on the link between gender-based violence and HIV and efforts to stop the practice. *with additional reporting by Ish Mafundikwa