Children run past a mural painting of an Aids ribbon at a school in Khutsong Township, west of Johannesburg

Is COVID-19 making it harder to treat other diseases in Africa?

United Nations agencies warn decades of progress on HIV/AIDS could be reversed.

The coronavirus pandemic is putting enormous strain on health systems worldwide.

In some countries, that means resources are being diverted from other treatments.

Keep reading

Will the US unemployment rate continue at historic lows?

Mexico’s teachers seek relief from pandemic-era spike in school robberies

‘A bad chapter’: Tracing the origins of Ecuador’s rise in gang violence

Why is the US economy so resilient?

Patients with illnesses such as HIV, tuberculosis or malaria risk having their treatment interrupted.

A joint study by the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) says deaths from HIV-related illnesses could double in sub-Saharan Africa if therapies are disrupted for six months.

What should be done to ensure health services don’t neglect other critical diseases?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Shannon Hader – deputy executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme UNAIDS

Regina Osih – senior technical expert in tuberculosis and HIV at The Aurum Institute

Anna Marriott – health policy leader for Oxfam International