medicines for africa (mfa)

💊 Have you ever wondered why you react differently to a medication from the next person and what not every medication works as well for each of us as individual? The reason for that is pharmacogenetics, which is a fancy way of saying how a person's individual genes affect a person’s response to medication. In African countries, available data available on pharmacogenetics, is so limited that the way medicines are used can at times amount to guess work because there is no relevant reference data to guide how to best use medication for certain conditions in African population. Find out in the short video clip how your genetics affects how you react to medication. We need to do more to ensure that clinical studies are more inclusive and generate more information from individuals of African ethnicity. This matters because gene variants differ in different ethnicities, which means that the way their bodies can react to medication can also differ. Read more about this in this Nature publication: https://lnkd.in/eQ3cBSM6 #africa #health #healthcare #medicines #vaccines #publichealth #safemedicines #qualitymedicines #pharmacogenomics #pharmacogenetics

🌍 medicines for africa (mfa) congratulates and celebrates this daughter of Africa - Prof Linda-Gail Bekker on her momentous discovery that is expected to have an enormous impact on the trajectory of the HIV pandemic. That such a discovery was made by a daughter of Africa is worthy of celebration. Most Africans will relate to her reaction because the HIV/AIDS pandemic has touched African lives so deeply. “I literally burst into tears.” Prof Linda-Gail Bekker told delegates at the AIDS2024 conference in German explaining how she could not contain her emotions when she heard the results of the new clinical trial that she and her team were running. “I’m 62, I’ve lived through this epidemic … I had family members who died of HIV, as did many, many Africans – many people around the world.” She says that the problem of how to prevent HIV infection, particularly in teenage girls and young women, had seemed “intractable” and lenacapavir offer thousands of women aged 16 to 25 in South Africa and Uganda 100% protection. #africa #health #healthcare #medicines #vaccines #hivaids #southafrica #uganda #safemedicines #qualitymedicines #counterfeitedmedicines

🌍 🇩🇪 Melody Chironda's has kept us informed on recent developments on the cutting edge of HIV domain with her brilliant reporting in Munich, Germany . Chironda has shared with us how close we are to an HIV cure, why people with disabilities face double the challenge when they live with HIV, what it means that more and more older people are testing positive for HIV, why men are more likely to die after contracting HIV. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ekDGYKew #africa #health #healthcare #publichealth #safemedicines #vaccines #safemedicines #qualitymedicines #hivaids #germany #medicinesforafrica #leniashwenda

🌍 Despite South Africa's impressive HIV testing figures, a subset of people start taking antiretroviral therapy far later than is ideal for their health, shows new data from the leading mathematical model of HIV in the country. These new estimates present a synthesis of the best sources of data of HIV in the country as it factors in numbers from multiple sources. 🇸🇸 Of the estimated 7.8 million people living with HIV in South Africa in 2023 (12.6% of the population), just under 5.9 million were on treatment. This translates to treatment coverage of 75%, or one in every four people living with HIV not being on treatment. Antiretroviral treatment is recommended for all people living with the infection. This is according to new estimates from Thembisa, the leading mathematical model of HIV in South Africa. Governments must do more to put more people on treatment earlier to prevent unnecessary suffering. We have the tools and the means to treat people and we must deploy them to maximum effect. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/egeEN5fU #africa #health #healthcare #medicines #vaccines #publichealth #hivaids #safemedicines #qualitymedicines #counterfeitedmedicines #sunstandardmedicines #medicinesforafrica #leniashwenda

The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded the alarm on the global surge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including syphilis, with new cases surpassing eight million among adults aged 15-49, and 230,000 resulting in syphilis-related deaths. The Americas and Africa experienced the highest increases. The rise in STIs, coupled with inadequate declines in new HIV and viral hepatitis infections, poses a significant threat to health targets within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed grave concerns over the escalating incidence of syphilis, emphasizing the urgent need for action. This sets us back significantly and we need to be more vigillant against STIs as individuals, families and communities to reduce community transmission. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eAF-Bg75 #africa #health #healthcare #medicines #vaccines #publichealth #hivaids #safemedicines #qualitymedicines #counterfeitedmedicines #hivpandemic #medicinesforafrica #leniashwenda

A report from UNAIDS which brings together new data and case studies which demonstrate that the decisions and policy choices taken by world leaders this year will decide the fate of millions of lives and whether the world’s deadliest pandemic - HIV- is overcome. Will leaders around the world make the right choice? Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eYFZJrhC #africa #health #healthcare #meicines #vaccines #publichealth #safemedicines #qualitymedicines #counterfeitedmedicines #medicinesforafrica

🌍 A cure for HIV is critically important for Africa due to the continent's heavy burden from the disease. Africa bears a disproportionately high HIV prevalence, with around 8 million people living with HIV in South Africa alone. Life expectancy and quality of life improved significantly with antiretroviral therapy, but the search for a cure continues. 🌐 Most HIV research focuses on strains prevalent in Western countries, particularly subtype B, affecting mainly men who have sex with men. In contrast, fewer studies examine the strains circulating in Africa, where women are disproportionately impacted. 📌 Dr. Guinevere Q. Lee, assistant professor of virology in medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine developed a new assay that helps researchers home in on the intact proviral genomes relevant to HIV cure research for patients affected by these under-studied strains. 💡 Tests with this assay revealed that similar to findings in developed countries, HIV strains in Africa create viral reservoirs in the human body. While antiretroviral therapy can reduce HIV to undetectable levels in the blood, these dormant reservoirs persist. They contain many defective proviral DNA genomes incapable of producing new infectious viruses. However, a small number of genomes remain genetically intact and can produce active viruses if antiretroviral treatment is halted. #africa #health #healthcare #publichealth #vaccines #medicines #safemedicines #counterfeitedmedicines #medicinesforafrica #leniashwenda

Following the launch of the Continental Procedure for Evaluation of Medicinal Products Pilot in November 2023, the Evaluation of Medicinal Products Technical Committee (EMP-TC) held its first historic continental dossier plenary session in Durban. Over 100 dossier assessors from across Africa participated both on-site and virtually, to discuss the assessment reports from the assessors commissioned by the EMP-TC to evaluate products accepted in this phase. The meeting marked significant progress of the pilot. #africa #health #healthcare #medicines #vaccines #publichealth #safemedicines #qualitymedicines #counterfeitedmedicines #substandardmedicines #medicinesforafrica

💡 🌍 Prof. Linda-Gail Bekker's message is one that Africa needs to take to heart. "To truly and sustainably control and end the HIV epidemic, it's imperative that we close the tap of new infections. For too long, [governments] have said we have to do treatment, but prevention can be left to others… If we don’t start preventing, this HIV epidemic will go on for decades and decades.” #africa #medicines #vaccines #healthcare #publichealth #safemedicines #qualitymedicines #medicinesforafrica #AIDS2024 #endAIDS

medicines for africa (mfa) congratulates Dr. Dr. Waqo Ejersa, OGW on his appointment as CEO of Kenya Medical Supplies Authority and wishes him a successful tenure of serving the needs of Kenyans with medical products of assured quality that are safe and effective. Dr Waqo replaces Dr Andrew Mulwa who has been serving in an acting capacity since May, 2023. Kemsa is a state-owned corporation under the Ministry of Health mandated with the procurement, storage and distribution of medical supplies and commodities to public health facilities. #africa #medicines #vaccines #health #healthcare #publichealth #safemedicines #qualitymedicines #medicinesforafrica #kenya #counterfeitedmedicines #effectivemedicines