For more than 35 years, the world has grappled with an AIDS epidemic that has claimed an estimated 35.0 million [28.9 million-41.5 million] lives and at its peak threatened global stability and security.

In low-income Sub-Saharan Africa countries, peripheral blood HIV RNA levels monitoring twice a year in antiretroviral (ARV) drugs treated patient is a major WHO recommendation since 2013.

In 2019, approximately 38 million people were infected with HIV worldwide [1]. Although there is still no cure that successfully eradicates the disease, combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has improved to a point where undetectable viral loads have become achievable and HIV carriers often live almost normal lives with very substantially increased average life expectancies compared to historical data.

In Burkina Faso, despite the decline in HIV prevalence to below 1% in the general population since 2013, it remains high among key populations composed primarily of female sex workers (FSWs). FSWs are a heterogeneous group with various risks and practices. Within this composite group, less attention has been paid to female bar waitresses (FBWs). We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate HIV prevalence and associated factors among FBWs in Bobo-Dioulasso. 

At the invitation from the editor of the Journal of Mental Health Disorders, the following commentary reflects on the possible ways in which a radical and progressive model of secondary education—the Seychelles National Youth Service—held out the prospect of changing the conditions for mental health and wellbeing of Seychellois people, both young and old. This invitation was prompted by the editor’s reading of an essay I wrote entitled ‘The Seychelles National Youth Service (NYS): Fragments, Thoughts and Reflections on an Experiment in Democratic Education’ for an edited collection entitled Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments a Global Perspective.