What's New

Globally, half of students aged 13–15 experience peer-to-peer violence in and around school. This violence has short-term effects on their educational achievement and leaves a long-term impression on their futures. This report outlines the prevalence of violence in and around schools and highlights students’, partners’ and UNICEF efforts to #Endviolence in schools

The 2018 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Tuberculosis and the current revision of the Roadmap for childhood tuberculosis together present an important moment to consolidate and advance advocacy, commitment, resource mobilization and joint efforts by all stakeholders to provide health care and address the burden of TB among children.

The Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030 are meant to be a transformational agenda to eradicate poverty, achieve gender equity or save the planet through their implementation. This implementation, based on coherent public policies, is still lacking at the national, regional and international levels. This is most visible in drug policy, where voices from health, human rights and science call for reform, while most countries continue to privilege ideology through law-enforcement and militarization. The members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy draw from their experience at the highest policy and political levels to provide an analysis of how - beyond powerful words and slogans - sustainable development is impeded by drug control while providing a single, forceful recommendation to address this situation.

Nearly a quarter of the world’s new HCV infections occur among people who inject drugs (PWID): lack of access to sterile needles, syringes and other injection equipment renders them highly vulnerable to HCV. Legal and structural barriers also greatly increase HCV risk among PWID. Worldwide, more than 50% of the 15.6 million PWID are HCV antibody positive. Without urgent, strategic and measurable action that includes PWID, HCV will continue to inflict a staggering, and increasing, burden of preventable illness and death among families, communities and countries. 

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is presents the final report on the 2017 Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The survey provides information on fertility, fertility preferences, family planning practices, childhood mortality, maternal and child health, knowledge and attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS, and violence against women. These indicators are crucial in policy-making, program planning, and monitoring and evaluation of population and health programs, including those anchored on the attainment of related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This is the seventh round of the IBBS survey conducted among FSWs in 22 highway districrs (Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Dhading, Makwanpur, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur) of Nepal. In line with the objectives of the previous rounds of IBBS surveys, the seventh round of survey was undertaken to determine the prevalence of HIV and STIs, assess HIV and STI related risk behaviours, explore the level of awareness and understanding of HIV/STIs, record STI symptoms, account incidence of violence, as well as assess exposure to HIV intervention programs and services among FSWs in 22 highway districts of Nepal. 

This is the first round of the IBBS survey conducted among MLM in six eastern districts (Illam, Panchthar, Dhankuta, Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts) of Nepal. The first round of survey was undertaken to assess the burden of HIV, ither STI prevalence, and its associated factors. This baseline data will also help to analyye trends of HIV prevalence and its associated factors in future.

This is the second round of Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (IBBS) survey among MSM/TG conducted in eight districts of Tarai Highway Districts in Nepal. The primary objectives of the IBBS surveys were: to determine the prevalence and trend of HIV, Syphilis, Chlamydia Trachomatis (CT), Neisseria Gonorrhoea (NG) and associated HIV-related risk behaviors among MSM/TG, collect information related to socio-demographic characteristics and explore the association between the risk behaviors and HIV and other specific STIs among MSM/TG population.

The report is the third round of the Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance Survey (IBBS) among the wives of migrant labourers in Province 7 (Far-Western) of Nepal. The survey is based on the data of 400 wives of those migrant labourers in the four districts (Achham, Doti, Kanchanpur, and Kailali) who temporarily migrate or used to migrate to India to work as labourers. The survey was conducted only among women aged 16 years and above who are current wives or widows of male, who had migrated to India for work for at least three months in the last three years and had returned home at least once within the last three years. 

In July 2018, there were 859 new HIV antibody seropositive individuals reported to the HIV/AIDS & ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP) . Twenty-two percent (193) had clinical manifestations of advanced HIV infection (WHO clinical stage 3 or 4) at the time of diagnosis.