Half of UNAIDS Employees Set to Lose Jobs Amid Major Restructuring

By Michael Gwarisa UNAIDS is set to cut half of its workforce as the organization grapples with significant funding shortfalls and a shifting global donor landscape. According to internal communications, staff were informed during a town hall meeting on Tuesday that the number of employees will be reduced from around 600 to between 280 and 300. The move is part of a broader restructuring effort triggered by deep funding cuts from traditional donors, including the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia. In response, UNAIDS is considering relocating many positions…

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US Cuts UNFPA Funding, Threatening Millions of Lives and Maternal Health Gains Globally

By Michael Gwarisa  The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, has expressed deep regret following the United States government’s decision to halt future funding to the organization, a move that could reverse decades of progress in maternal health and reproductive rights. The US government announced its intention to cut funding by invoking the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, citing long-debunked claims about UNFPA’s alleged involvement in coercive reproductive practices in China. Multiple independent investigations, including by US government agencies, have found no evidence to support these allegations.…

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Global Fund Procures African-Made First-Line HIV Treatment

By HealthTimes Reporter  The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) has reached a historic milestone by procuring – for the first time – a first-line HIV treatment manufactured in Africa. The treatment – lifesaving, quality-assured antiretroviral medicines (ARVs) called TLD (tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir), prequalified by the World Health Organization – was sourced from a leading Kenyan pharmaceutical company and delivered to Mozambique. The volume supplied can treat over 72,000 people per year in the country. This historic milestone highlights the Global Fund’s strong commitment…

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Research Reveals How Daily Driving Could Be Saving You From Dementia

By Staff Reporter  Your car keys might actually be the key to maintaining your memory as you age. That’s according to health expert Dr. Steve Burgess, who has highlighted research linking a common daily habit—driving—with a significantly lower risk of dementia. “Most people have no idea that something they do every day could be protecting their brain,” says Dr. Burgess, CEO and founder of CME Vacations, a company that organizes continuing medical education conferences for healthcare professionals. The surprising finding? Regularly driving a car may help preserve cognitive function and…

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IKE BLE System Proves Effective in Preventing Underage Vaping, New Study Finds

By Michael Gwarisa A new multi-center study has validated the effectiveness of the IKE Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) System in preventing underage access to Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), signaling a potential breakthrough in youth vaping prevention efforts. The study was made possible through a partnership between Ispire Technology Inc., an innovator in vaping technology and precision dosing; Touchpoint World Wide Inc., doing business as Berify (“Berify”), a cutting-edge platform that connects physical products to the digital world while enhancing digital engagement and brand protection; and Chemular International Inc. (“Chemular”),…

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#Breakin: Pope Francis Dies

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, has died Monday. He was 88. “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,″ Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said in an announcement. Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of…

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WHO proposing to cut jobs and slash budget by a fifth, memo shows

GENEVA, March 29 (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is proposing to reduce staff numbers and the scale of its work as it slashes its budget by just over one fifth due to the impact of U.S. funding cuts, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew from the WHO upon taking office in January, saying the global health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises. The U.S. is by far the U.N. health agency’s biggest financial backer, contributing…

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CheckUp Health’s AI-Powered Healthcare Innovation Earns International Recognition

By Staff Reporter  CheckUp Health, a pioneering AI-powered healthcare platform founded by Zimbabwean entrepreneur Fungai Ndemera, has gained international acclaim after being shortlisted as a finalist in two categories at the prestigious Medilink Midlands Business Awards 2025 in the UK. The nominations—Delivering Innovation into Health and Care and Advances in Digital Healthcare—underscore CheckUp Health’s commitment to transforming primary healthcare through cutting-edge digital solutions. With a mission to improve healthcare accessibility and efficiency, CheckUp Health has made significant strides in digital health innovation. The platform, which has been successfully implemented in…

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Two more people with HIV may be cured after stem cell transplants

Two more people appear to be free of HIV after stem cell transplants for cancer treatment, according to a pair of posters presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2025) this week in San Francisco. If the men remain in remission, they will be the eighth and ninth cases of a functional cure after the procedure. The first man, dubbed the ‘Chicago patient’, experienced viral rebound after an initial antiretroviral treatment interruption but remains in remission 10 months after stopping antiretrovirals a second time. The second man, the ‘Oslo…

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China Discovers New Coronavirus Similar To One That Caused COVID-19 Pandemic

A new bat coronavirus that has the capacity to spread to humans, similar to the one that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, has been discovered. HKU5-CoV-2 was found by a Chinese research team led by virologist Shi Zhengli, known as “Batwoman” for her work on coronaviruses, especially at the Wuhan Institute, which has been at the center of the theory suggesting COVID-19 came from a lab leak—something Shi has denied. Why It Matters Hundreds of coronaviruses exist but only a few can infect humans, including SARS, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes…

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