VMMC Eswatini

New Publication Alert! CHAPS - The Centre for HIV and AIDS Prevention Studies Research Team and CHAPS Eswatini published in the latest Taylor and Francis online journal.

"Towards a context-specific understanding of masculinities in Eswatini within voluntary medical male circumcision programming"

Click on the link to read more:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691058.2021.1933185

and recent events in India have revealed, or rather confirmed, that the most basic of human needs is not guaranteed. How did oxygen become a luxury? Read more below from Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism:

All about the air: How COVID turned oxygen into a luxury – Bhekisisa Access to oxygen could mean the difference between living or dying for a COVID patient. But developing countries lack the infrastructure to produce liquid oxygen and transport it to hospitals. Now scientists at Cambridge University have come up with a solution.

Who're you gonna call? Mythbusters! Fake news, conspiracy theories and rumours are still rife and COVID-19 is the hot topic. Check your facts before spreading the potential misinformation. The World Health Organization (WHO) has extensive, comprehensive public resources - click on the link for access:

COVID-19 Mythbusters – World Health Organization Highlighting some of the misinformation circulating on COVID-19

Further great news - the J&J vaccine has resulted in some significant health benefits in many of the health workers who have already received it. This and more in a webinar hosted by Daily Maverick, Wits - University of the Witwatersrand Prof. Barry Schoub and Prof. Koleka Mlisana:

MAVERICK CITIZEN WEBINAR: Tremendous benefits of J&J vaccine seen in health workers, says Wits Professor Barry Schoub With only a few breakthrough infections noted, researchers are seeing ‘tremendous benefits’ of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered to health workers as part of an implementation trial, Professor Barry Schoub said during a webinar on Covid-19 vaccines on Wednesday night.

What will it take for the government to take gender based violence seriously? This pandemic is entirely preventable and 100% human. Read more below from Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism:

‘If men are these monsters’: Life in the fray of SA’s gender-based violence projects – Bhekisisa South Africa is rushing to roll out its first national gender-based violence action plan. But as bureaucracy and the coronavirus pandemic stall progress, violence against women continues unabated. And the hot spots that will receive extra resources, it seems, have been wrongly identified.

What would a breakthrough in the development of a new malaria vaccine mean? Proven 77% effective, this could change the lives of millions. Read more below from CNN:

Breakthrough as highly effective malaria vaccine raises hopes of controlling disease A vaccine against malaria has shown record efficacy in a Phase II trial, a pre-print study released on Friday by Oxford University shows, raising hopes that one of the world's most deadly diseases could be brought under control.

Relief for Eswatini as vaccine from is expected to arrive in the country from 1 May. Read more below from Times Of Swaziland1:

Times Of Swaziland RELIEF FOR ESWATINI AS ASTRAZENECA EXPECTED END OF MAY

Good news for eSwatini response - funding has been secured for additional vaccines. Read more from Eswatini Observer below:

Swazi Observer With government having confirmed this week that the country is left with only 200 AstraZeneca vaccine doses as out of the 32 000 doses received by government last month, 31 800 have been distributed in all the four regions, there is good news after all.

16 Days a year is not enough to highlight the fear, pain and extreme violence that many women experience on a daily basis. In some cases it's too late. Read more about the femicide epidemic South Africa is facing below from Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism:

#SayHerName: The faces of South Africa’s femicide epidemic – Bhekisisa This is an ode to the women whose names made it into news outlets between 2018 and 2020. It’s also a tribute to those who didn’t – the faceless, nameless women whose stories will remain untold. This project is a collaboration among Bhekisisa, Media Hack and the Canon Collins Trust.

Stigma. In the world of free access to verifiable information, how is this still a problem? COVID-19 sufferers choosing to keep their diagnosis private for fear of the reaction of their peers and family - read more below from Health-e News Service:

Fear and stigma stymie COVID-19 prevention | Health-e Misinformation and fear are creating a stigma around COVID-19, with some refusing to disclose a positive diagnosis.