Second HIV patient cleared of AIDS-causing virus

The French healthcare system is often held up as an example for its quality of treatment and universality of coverage. But disparities exist across the country, with a severe shortage of doctors in certain areas seriously limiting access to care, a phenomenon the French call "medical deserts". Although the government has decided to increase the number of students accepted to medical school, this measure will take almost a decade to bear fruit. FRANCE 24's reporters Pauline Godart and Claire Paccalin went to find out what it's like to live and work in a "medical desert".

Abortion is legal in Spain yet a number of doctors in the public system still refuse to carry out the procedure, calling themselves "conscientious objectors." Their stance forcing women to use private clinics. We also head to Kibera in the Kenyan city of Nairobi which is Africa's largest urban slum; and where women outnumber men, as they struggle to exit a life of poverty. Plus we meet the Lebanese gay female stand-up comic who has no fear when it comes to breaking taboos.

The World Health Organization's European chief said on Tuesday that at least 3,000 people had died in Ukraine because they had been unable to access treatments for chronic diseases. So far, the global health agency has documented some 200 attacks in Ukraine on healthcare facilities, and few hospitals are currently functioning, the official, Hans Kluge, told a regional meeting attended by 53 member states as well as senior colleagues from WHO.

North Korea reported the outbreak of an unidentified intestinal epidemic, while it already faces food shortages and coronavirus infections. The outbreak was in the isolated nation's key agricultural region.

Canada is hosting this year's International AIDS Conference. The event has been billed as a chance for "the world to come together." However, visa issues are causing frustration for would-be attendees from Africa.

Estimated to account for up to 70 percent of dementia cases, Alzheimer's is a severe neurodegenerative disease.

Since their return to power last August, the Taliban have focused on policing the life of Afghanistan's women. Most of them are barred from work, but there are some exceptions. DW's Sandra Petersmann met with a female doctor in Kabul.

The UN children's agency UNICEF renewed its appeal for $39 million to help the most vulnerable flood victims as the country's Prime Minister called for food and medicine.

Hundreds of mothers and their children are destitute as a severe drought continues to threaten death on a scale not seen in half a century, a spokesperson for UNICEF said on Tuesday.

Last year in Turkey, some 30,000 healthcare professionals were assaulted at work. Part of the problem is overburdened public hospitals. But many of Erdogan's supporters are also hostile to highly educated doctors, which also fuels the violence.

Young Cameroonians living with HIV/AIDS are fighting to end the stigma associated with the virus. Many patients still lack access to life-saving anti-retroviral drugs.

World AIDS Day is dedicated to raising awareness and remembering those who lost their lives to the illness. Although the world has come a long way in terms of both destigmatising and treating HIV/AIDS, much remains to be done.