The African continent is the only region to have recorded a consistent drop in new HIV infections since 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. Speaking to Al Jazeera on World AIDS Day on Tuesday, Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said the continent continued to make remarkable strides in ending the AIDS pandemic – with the latest statistics showing that new infections reduced by 41 percent between 2000 and 2014. “Over the past 15 years, there has been substantial progress, both curbing deaths from HIV/AIDS and reducing new infections across the WHO Africa Region – which includes…
Author: AMA
In a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the eve of World AIDS Day on December 1, the global health body claimed the world was poised to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. According to the stats released by WHO, the number of HIV deaths had reduced by 42 percent – from a peak of more than 2 million in 2004 to an estimated 1.2 million in 2014. But with overburdened health systems, poor infrastructure and life-long treated needed, is the world really headed towards an AIDS-free generation by 2030? Al Jazeera talks to Dr Matshidiso Rebecca…
Nduta Camp, Tanzania – A bright purple bus roars into the dusty compound carrying scores of Burundians who have left their country to seek refuge in neighbouring Tanzania. Tit-for-tat attacks between the government and opposition have escalated over the recent post-election months, prompting thousands of people to flee. Among the new arrivals escaping the daily violence and arriving at Nduta Camp in remote western Tanzania are 18-year-old Fulpence Ndikumwenayo and his cousin, 16-year-old Eliose Kabule. Afraid of being recruited into the Imbonerakure, the violence-prone youth wing of the ruling party, they decided to leave their home and to follow their…
A security drill at a Nairobi university has caused mass panic among staff and students after security forces used what many thought was live ammunition to stage a pretend attack on the school. Social media went into overdrive on Monday afternoon as security forces simulated an attack against Strathmore University’s Madaraka campus in the Kenyan capital – with many believing the incident was real. A number of students from Strathmore were injured on Monday when they attempted to flee from the school – with the Kenyan Red Cross confirming that at least two patients were hospitalised. Their condition is unknown,…
Kenya has started construction on a 700km-long wall along its porous border with Somalia, in an attempt to shield itself from the armed group al-Shabab. The ambitious project, which consists of brick walls, fences and observation posts, will stretch from the town of Mandera in the north to Kiunga in the south. The goal is to lock out al-Qaeda-aligned fighters who have repeatedly crossed into Kenya to wage attacks. Kenya, an al-Shabab target due to its military involvement in Somalia, has seen an upsurge in large scale attacks recently. Earlier this year, 148 people, including 142 students, were killed after…
Thousands of enthusiastic Ugandans have greeted Pope Francis as he held a mass youth rally and honoured martyred Christians during the second leg of his historic three-nation trip to Africa. The 78-year-old pope preached a message of love and peace on Saturday as he ditched his prepared remarks to address the rally for young people in the capital Kampala. “Overcome difficulties, transform the negative into positive, and pray,” preached the pontiff, who was visibly moved after hearing the stories of Winnie Nansumba, a young Ugandan born with HIV, and Emmanuel Odokonyero, who was kidnapped and forced to be a child…
Kenya has arrested two men it says are connected to an Iranian intelligence network that was planning an attack inside the country. A Twitter account run by the Kenyan interior ministry said the men were planning a “terror attack” in the capital Nairobi and had travelled to Iran last month. The men were identified as 69-year-old Abubakr Sadiq Louw and 25-year-old Yassin Sambair Juma, who it said were both from Nairobi. A statement by the ministry described Louw as a “senior figure” in the city’s Shia Muslim community, adding the pair were working on behalf of Iranian state intelligence. Go-between…
Burkina Faso voters are heading to polls on Sunday, in a closely watched election that could mark the beginning of a new chapter in the country’s political history. The vote comes a year after a popular uprising toppled longstanding President Blaise Compaore, following his attempts to extend his 27-year rule. The elections were initially scheduled by an interim government for October, but a failed coup in September led by Compaore loyalists delayed the vote. As Burkinabe prepare for the presidential and legislative vote, described by many as the most open the West African country has ever experienced, here’s what you…
Unidentified gunmen have attacked a base for UN peacekeepers in the northern Mali town of Kidal, a peacekeeper at the base said. Residents of Kidal heard mortar fire as the attack occurred on Saturday morning, a witness told Reuters news agency. There was no immediate comment from the UN force (MINUSMA). French troops and the UN force are struggling to stabilise the former French colony where rebels attacked a hotel in the capital on November 20 and killed 20 people. [Al Jazeera]
Tanzania has banned government officials from sending Christmas and New Year cards paid for by public funds as part of cost-cutting measures introduced by the newly elected president. President John Magufuli is nicknamed “The Bulldozer” for his no-nonsense, results-driven way of doing politics. He was elected in October as the East African country’s new leader. The president’s chief secretary, Ombeni Yohana Sefue, issued a statement on Thursday that “prohibited the printing of Christmas and New Year cards at the government’s expense”. “Anyone who wants to create or publish those cards, do so at his or her own expense,” Sefue’s statement…