South Africa instituted a 21-day national ‘lockdown’ on 26 March 2020, when the country had fewer than 100 reported cases of COVID-19. After 14 days President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the lockdown for a further two weeks, until the end of April. At the time of publication, South Africa had reported 2,415 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 27 deaths. The Daily…
On April 9, the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria unanimously approved two temporary, extraordinary measures to enable flexibilities within current Global Fund grants in order to ensure continuity of programs, and to provide additional direct support to countries for their responses to COVID-19. A background document provided to the Board described these two decisions…
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be uniting the world’s major powers and donors in a spirit of strong solidarity – with the notable exception of the political powers of the United States and China – and major global health entities are beginning to describe their strategies related to this coronavirus. So far, the World Health Organization is fulfilling its mandate…
As early as 4 March 2020, the Global Fund published on its website its first guidance note on responding to COVID-19, in which it acknowledged the serious threat that this epidemic poses, particularly for the most vulnerable countries. As a major player in global health, and a provider of large grants aimed at strengthening the health systems of implementing countries,…
The first cases of COVID-19 appeared in Africa in March, and the epidemic is spreading, albeit at a slower rate than in European countries – or so it would seem. Civil society organizations (CSOs) in several African countries are organizing their responses, aware of the danger that the pandemic presents for their countries and their populations. These organizations have witnessed…
The COVID-19 pandemic is currently wreaking havoc in Western European countries and the United States of America (U.S.), according to the World Health Organization. As of 31 March, Corona Virus had infected more than 250 000 people in the U.S. and Italy combined, more than the 81 000 in China, where the epidemic originated in December 2019. Italy and Spain each…
When we think of the recent epidemics in Africa, it is of course Ebola that comes to mind. Its virulent nature, its initial lack of a vaccine and treatment, but also its shocking nature for the populations of the affected countries, has left its mark on people’s minds. If there is one thing that we have learned from this episode,…
HIV testing is still the number one challenge in terms of controlling the HIV epidemic by 2030. Despite significant progress since the early 2000s tied to massive investments made by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, it is now estimated that only 79% of people living with HIV…
Alan Whiteside
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