Also in Global Health News: Fighting Malaria in Nigeria, Polio Vaccine Campaign in Yemen & HIV/AIDS in Swaziland
WHO Allocates $500M for Malaria in Nigeria; Health Minister Addresses Interfaith Effort
The WHO national program officer on malaria control in Nigeria, Bayo Fatunmbi, said that the organization has allocated $500 million for malaria in the country, Punch reports. "One million deaths occur annually as a result of malaria in the world, out of which close to one-third is recorded in Nigeria alone," Fatunmbi said, adding that $1.3 billion is necessary to effectively reduce the malaria burden in the country (Aborisade, Punch, 5/18).
In a This Day/allAfrica.com opinion piece, Nigeria's Health Minister Babatunde Osotimehin writes about the recent Nigerian Interfaith Action Association (NIFAA) meeting, which addressed malaria among other health problems. "We are aware that Nigeria is blazing a trail for interfaith cooperation on malaria and that the eye of the world is upon us," writes Osotimehin (Osotimehin, This Day/allAfrica.com, 5/17).
Yemen Launches Nationwide Polio Vaccine Campaign
On Sunday Yemen's Vice President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi kicked off a country-wide polio vaccination campaign for children under age five, SABA News reports. The initiative is aimed at keeping polio out of the country, which has not seen a case since February since 2006 (SABA News, 5/17).
U.S. Military Works with Swaziland's Soldiers To Fight HIV/AIDS
Stars and Stripes examines how the U.S. DOD has allocated $1.1 million to HIV/AIDS efforts in Swaziland. Stars and Strips writes that DOD "also invests in other initiatives across Africa. So far, prevention messages have been delivered to 575,000 African troops and family members, 160,000 soldiers have been tested for HIV and 73 labs have received equipment" (Vandiver, Stars and Stripes, 5/16).
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