Indonesia to host AIDS congress; smoking ban in Ghana

Indonesia will host the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific region, August 3 – 13 in Bali, organizers of the event announced Wednesday, Xinhua reports.

Indonesia was selected to host the congress because it "was one of the first Asian countries to develop a far-sighted national policy that provided legal immunity for people living with HIV to seek medication officially in appointed institutions," according to Xinhua (Xinhua, 6/3).

Minister of Health Calls for Tougher Enforcement of Public Smoking Ban in Ghana

Ghana's Minister of Health George Sipa Yankey on Monday called for increased enforcement of the regulations that ban smoking in public spaces to help reduce the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, the New Times reports. “Government in line with its commitment to move Ghana forward strongly supports all earlier directives that sought to ban tobacco use in public places and assures us of our commitment to lead the crusade against the tobacco epidemic,” Sipa Yankey said (Baidoo, New Times, 6/2).