With cancer cases rising fastest in poorer countries, Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, president-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control, says Africa needs investment in research, diagnosis and prevention

When Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu last saw Gloria in Abuja, the young breast cancer patient was so ill that she was in hospital. The cancer had spread to her bones and lungs, and she was struggling with complications from the disease.

Then, at a global conference on cancer thousands of miles away in Hong Kong last month, Bagudu saw her again. Gloria was walking with a stick because of the cancer in her hips, but she was attending sessions, speaking about her experience and advocating for other patients.

Erika Castellanos has beaten the life expectancy of 35 for a transgender woman in the region, but warns aid cuts and a rollback in human rights risk reversing efforts to end Aids

Erika Castellanos has outlived what she describes as one of the cruellest statistics in Latin America. The life expectancy of a transgender woman in the region is estimated to be 35 years. “I am 50 years old. A lot of trans women are killed very early in life, either because of HIV or because of transphobia, so reaching 50 is a success story,” she says.

When Castellanos was diagnosed with HIV in 1995, doctors gave her six months to live. She had already spent years watching Aids devastate her community, with effective treatment beyond the reach of most people in low-income countries.

Community groups say some fear they could lose homes, jobs and access to healthcare if the new law is ratified by President John Dramani Mahama

Ghana’s LGBTQ community is living in fear after the country’s parliament approved a sweeping bill that criminalises the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities and identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, rights groups have warned.

The legislation, which was passed on Friday, mandates prison sentences of three to 10 years.

New law proposes up to 20 years in prison for promoting ‘foreign interests’, and restricts those who work with or are funded by overseas partners

Ugandan opposition figures, human rights organisations and legal experts have condemned a sweeping bill that proposes up to 20 years in prison for promoting “foreign interests”, and imposes restrictions on a broad range of people and organisations that work with or receive funding from overseas partners.

The protection of sovereignty bill 2026 is being fast tracked through parliament, with debate expected to conclude before the presidential swearing-in on 12 May.