APIN Public Health initiatives and the Ondo state government are expanding access to HIV and AIDS services.

In a Shanghai basement gym, amateur weightlifters strain under two loads: the steel bars and plates that they lift, and a stigma rooted in the Chinese belief that the sport leaves its practitioners stunted and fat.

African children are neglected when it comes to HIV treatment. Without any intervention, many will die before their second birthday, according to a UN report.

According to the latest figures, obesity levels are on the rise, especially among France's youngsters. They're up by at least 75 percent, with 34 percent of 2 to 7-year-olds currently considered overweight or obese. But what actually qualifies as childhood obesity, what stigma does it carry and how does it affect children and their health? We speak to Professor Patrick Tounian, an advisor to the Anti-Obesity League.

Kenya's constitution eased access to abortions in 2010 but the overwhelming stigma surrounding the procedure means that many women resort to traditional practices or backstreet clinics that put their life in jeopardy. Every week, 23 women die from botched abortions, according to a 2012 study by Kenya's health ministry. Campaigners say the real number is even higher.

This year's World AIDS Day puts the spotlight on ongoing inequalities in the fight against HIV, the virus that impacts some 38 million people worldwide. Dr. Alexandra Calmy, the head of the HIV/AIDS Unit of Geneva University Hospitals, says the inequalities surrounding HIV/AIDS are much like those witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic, with access to treatments and prevention spread unevenly across the world's population. Forty years after the first case of HIV was detected, stigmatisation also remains a major obstacle to eradicating the virus. Dr. Calmy's message for anyone worried they might have HIV is "don't be afraid of yourself".

In Africa, where many countries outlaw homosexuality, LGBT people live in fear of attacks and imprisonment.

A cluster of monkeypox cases have been detected among men who have sex with men, but the disease can spread among any group of people in close contact, say WHO officials.

Ever since Gerald Muwonge tested positive for HIV eight years ago, keeping his viral load in check has meant carrying around vials of pills for his daily treatment regimen while dodging the stigma his condition could invite on a gay man in Uganda. He hopes that could soon change thanks to an injectable treatment that only needs to be taken once every two months.

Drugs have been developed against HIV but global stigma is still high and, in some areas, it is hindering prevention strategies.

Cancer diagnoses are on the rise in Kenya, but with less than a fifth of people enrolled in a national insurance scheme, getting a diagnosis can force families to make huge financial sacrifices. Stigma only makes things worse.

For many children in Ghana, cerebral palsy can mean a lifetime of exclusion, particularly from the world of sports. But one club in the country is trying to change all that.