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07 Jan

Posted at 09:36h in Blog, Uncategorized

JPS Africa is collaborating and supporting the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Department of Health and in undertaking HIV Drug Resistance (HIVDR) surveillance across provinces in South Africa. In recent years, the rapid scale up of ART for HIV infection in resource-limited countries has been identified as an international healthcare priority. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region with a total of 24.7 million which is 73% of the total number of people estimated to be living with HIV around the globe. At the end of 2015, SANAC estimated that 6.4 million South Africans are living with HIV with approximately 2.8 million on anti-retroviral therapy. Scaling-up ART in SA comprises the use of standardized and simplified treatment regimens that are consistent with international guidelines. The emergence and transmission of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) is an unavoidable consequence of ART, even when appropriate drugs are prescribed and adherence is maximally...

15 Dec

Posted at 08:50h in Blog, Uncategorized

Medical male circumcision involves the surgical removal of the foreskin, which is important in HIV transmission because the inner part of the foreskin is highly susceptible to HIV transmission. Since 2007 the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that Medical Male Circumcision (MMC) can reduce the sexual transmission of the HIV virus from females to males by up to 60 percent. The WHO and UNAIDS identified South Africa as one of the fourteen priority countries that need to scale up MMC, through encouraging medical circumcision as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention package. In response to this, the South African Government in 2010 has encouraged boys and men (aged 15 to 49) to undertake Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) and has rolled out large-scale MMC service delivery sites across the country. The target for 2016 is to reach 80 percent of eligible HIV negative men. Like any surgery, MMC does pose risks, but...

14 Dec

Posted at 14:32h in Blog, Uncategorized

Through The Looking Glass - JPS Africa on What’s Happening in the NGO and Public Health Sector in South Africa It’s easy to just use the umbrella term ‘NGO’ for all the positive and uplifting events, programmes and workshops taking place in this country. But what we forget, is that there are numerous categories and different sectors that deserve individual attention. We are talking about the game-changers, the innovators, those that will stop at nothing to be the change they want to see in this world. JPS Africa is proud to list some of these organisations/programmes and sharing with you the latest news. This article will celebrate some of these trending companies, causes and discuss the concerns within the NGO and Public Health Sector in South Africa: Mothers2Mothers During October 2015, M2M featured and promoted their latest findings at the Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference in Mexico City. At this conference strategies for improved...

14 Dec

Posted at 14:13h in Blog, Uncategorized

When the topic of HIV/AIDS is brought up, people tend to think the worst. Of course, it is a very serious, and deadly disease - but that shouldn’t prevent us from celebrating our positive approach in preventing the disease and caring for its many victims. Allow JPS Africa to share with you the latest news in the HIV/AIDS and health sector, so we can educate ourselves and stand together in the fight against AIDS. The current state of the country Unfortunately, not all news is good news, but maintaining a positive, proactive approach is important in dealing with this deadly disease. HIV/AIDS remain as the leading cause of death in South Africa as reported by researcher, Debbie Bradshaw, MSc, DPhil and the South African Medical Research Council team. According to UNAIDS there are more than 2000 new infections per week amongst girls in South Africa aged 15-24. Luckily organisations such as PEPFAR and the...

07 Dec

Posted at 14:15h in Blog, Uncategorized

During a press conference last week in Cape Town, TB Alliance and its partners announced the availability of the first child-friendly TB medicines. Each year, at least one million children get TB and 140,000 die from the disease in part because of the difficulty of providing them with the correct treatment. Up until now, healthcare providers and parents have had to approximate the correct dose for a child by crushing or chopping the available drugs to piece together a treatment regimen. This has resulted in imprecise doses, poor health outcomes and the development of more difficult to treat drug-resistant TB in children. The improved treatments are the first to meet the dosage guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2010. They are dispersible and palatable, simple to administer and affordable. The new TB medicines are fixed dose combinations (FDCs) of the three most commonly used drugs to treat drug-sensitive TB (rifampicin, isoniazid,...

07 Dec

Posted at 13:37h in Blog, Uncategorized

Cape Town 4 December 2015 - JPS Africa was launched in Cape Town last night to continue the fight against HIV & AIDS. With the support and in collaboration with the National Department of Health, Jhpiego Corporation and Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing run programmes that include, but are not limited to, Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis [MDR TB] and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision [VMMC]. Until recently, this service driven organization fell under the international nonprofit health organization, JHPIEGO, based in Baltimore and an affiliate of the Johns Hopkins University. But the changing donor landscape and unprecedented success of the programmes in South Africa has lead to JPS Africa becoming the first global branch to break away and form an independent entity called JPS Africa. Having operated as a country office of JHPIEGO for 20 years, JPS Africa stepped out of the shadows at an official launch at the Westin Grand Hotel,...

25 Nov

Posted at 14:27h in Blog, Uncategorized

Violence, or the threat of violence, is a lived reality for many South African women, children, and men. Between April 2014 and March 2015, over 65 000 sexual offences were reported to the South African Police Services, and over 264 000 new applications were made for interim protection orders with the Department of Justice in terms of the Domestic Violence Act. Whilst these statistics don’t always give a picture of who was reporting the crime, and many women never report violence against them, what they do point to is a significant culture of domestic and sexual violence. The 16 days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children takes place annually from November 25th (The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) and December 10th (International Human Rights Day). This period also covers World AIDS Day on 1 December, which is appropriate given the strong links between HIV and gender-based...