Latest news with #Delport
The Citizen
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Duncan Delport a happy man after moving to Alberton
Duncan Delport is a happy man after moving to Alberton to further his rugby career. Delport, formerly with the Randburg-based Pirates Rugby Club, is no stranger to club rugby circles in the country. He has played over 100 games for the Pirates. 'Achieving the 100th cap was great because not many players reach that milestone,' Delport was quoted as saying at the time. His love for rugby started at the age of eight while he was a learner at Laerskool Theo Wassenaar, steadily progressing during his high school years at Hoërskool President in Johannesburg. 'Now that I am getting older and since moving to the Alberton Rugby Club (ARC), my focus is purely on enjoying the game, having fun, and appreciating every moment on the field,' Delport told the Alberton Record. 'I chose to stay involved in rugby after leaving Pirates because the ARC is closer to home, which makes it easier to stay connected with the community.' Delport acknowledges James Small as a significant influence in his rugby career. 'Being coached by and learning from James Small was a great privilege. His guidance shaped me both on and off the field.' On his plans for Alberton, Delport said: 'I want to give back to the local rugby community by sharing my knowledge and experiences with younger players at the club and in schools.' Besides rugby, Delport participates in local charity initiatives. He also wants to contribute to ARC's growth, build more connections within the community, and eventually pursue a coaching role. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Global vaccine reserves helped avert 5.8 million infections, over 300,000 deaths since 2000: Study
Global stockpiles of vaccines under programmes supported by 'Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance,' helped prevent more than 5.8 million cases and 327,000 deaths from outbreaks in low- and middle-income countries since 2000, according to a new study. The alliance, established in 2000, funds the roll-out and scale-up of new vaccines through routine healthcare systems and preventive campaigns. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health, highlight life-saving impacts and economic benefits of nearly USD 32 billion due to outbreak response immunisation programmes aimed at containing vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. Importance of population immunity, insurance coverage and aid "For diseases with routine vaccination programs, maintaining high levels of population immunity is vital for preventing large outbreaks," lead author Dominic Delport, a PhD candidate at Burnet Institute, an Australian-based medical research institute and NGO said. "But when outbreaks do occur, a rapid vaccine response typically provides the greatest protective impact for the population at risk -- and the faster the response, the greater the impact," Delport said. The researchers added that with routine vaccination declining and also impacted by cuts to the US' foreign aid, the study highlights the ongoing need for an insurance policy against major outbreaks of diseases like cholera, Ebola and measles. The study analysed 210 outbreaks across 49 low- and middle-income countries that occurred between 2000-2023 for five diseases -- cholera, Ebola, measles, meningitis and yellow fever. Challenges in routine vaccine coverage Globally, routine vaccine coverage has been shown to falter, with a recent study published in The Lancet journal attributing this to persistent inequalities, challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a growth of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy -- factors which increase the risk of vaccine-preventable outbreaks, it said. Low- and middle-income countries have been studied to bear the major brunt of these outbreaks. Senior author Nick Scott, associate professor and head of modelling and biostatistics, Burnet Institute, said the global decline in routine vaccine coverage highlights the value of vaccine stockpiles as insurance against major outbreaks. "Routine vaccine coverage is declining due to many factors including vaccine hesitancy and funding cuts for organisations like USAID and Gavi, and in many places gaps in coverage due to COVID-19 disruptions haven't been filled yet," Scott said. "And as routine coverage declines, the prospect of more major outbreaks means there's a growing need for global vaccine stockpiles," the senior author said. Impact of outbreak immunisation programmes The authors wrote, "Across 210 outbreaks, ORI (outbreak response immunisation) programmes are estimated to have averted 5.81 million cases 327,000 deaths." The team also looked at the impact of outbreak response immunisation programmes in helping control large outbreaks in low- and middle before they became overly disruptive. Larger outbreaks are linked with worse health and economic outcomes, often requiring more disruptive public health measures that involve travel interruptions and school and business closures. "We found here that the presence of the (outbreak response immunisation) consistently resulted in smaller outbreaks (eg, reducing the percentage of measles outbreaks with more than 100,000 cases from 41 per cent to eight per cent)," the authors wrote. "(Outbreak response immunisation) programmes are critical for reducing the health and economic impacts of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases," they wrote.
NDTV
14-07-2025
- Health
- NDTV
Global Vaccine Reserves Helped Prevent 327,000 Deaths Since 2000: Study
New Delhi: Global stockpiles of vaccines under programmes supported by 'Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance,' helped prevent more than 5.8 million cases and 327,000 deaths from outbreaks in low- and middle-income countries since 2000, according to a new study. The alliance, established in 2000, funds the roll-out and scale-up of new vaccines through routine healthcare systems and preventive campaigns. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health, highlight life-saving impacts and economic benefits of nearly USD 32 billion due to outbreak response immunisation programmes aimed at containing vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. "For diseases with routine vaccination programs, maintaining high levels of population immunity is vital for preventing large outbreaks," lead author Dominic Delport, a PhD candidate at Burnet Institute, an Australian-based medical research institute and NGO said. "But when outbreaks do occur, a rapid vaccine response typically provides the greatest protective impact for the population at risk -- and the faster the response, the greater the impact," Delport said. The researchers added that with routine vaccination declining and also impacted by cuts to the US' foreign aid, the study highlights the ongoing need for an insurance policy against major outbreaks of diseases like cholera, Ebola and measles. The study analysed 210 outbreaks across 49 low- and middle-income countries that occurred between 2000-2023 for five diseases -- cholera, Ebola, measles, meningitis and yellow fever. Globally, routine vaccine coverage has been shown to falter, with a recent study published in The Lancet journal attributing this to persistent inequalities, challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a growth of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy -- factors which increase the risk of vaccine-preventable outbreaks, it said. Low- and middle-income countries have been studied to bear the major brunt of these outbreaks. Senior author Nick Scott, associate professor and head of modelling and biostatistics, Burnet Institute, said the global decline in routine vaccine coverage highlights the value of vaccine stockpiles as insurance against major outbreaks. "Routine vaccine coverage is declining due to many factors including vaccine hesitancy and funding cuts for organisations like USAID and Gavi, and in many places gaps in coverage due to COVID-19 disruptions haven't been filled yet," Scott said. "And as routine coverage declines, the prospect of more major outbreaks means there's a growing need for global vaccine stockpiles," the senior author said. The authors wrote, "Across 210 outbreaks, ORI (outbreak response immunisation) programmes are estimated to have averted 5.81 million cases 327,000 deaths." The team also looked at the impact of outbreak response immunisation programmes in helping control large outbreaks in low- and middle before they became overly disruptive. Larger outbreaks are linked with worse health and economic outcomes, often requiring more disruptive public health measures that involve travel interruptions and school and business closures. "We found here that the presence of the (outbreak response immunisation) consistently resulted in smaller outbreaks (eg, reducing the percentage of measles outbreaks with more than 100,000 cases from 41 per cent to eight per cent)," the authors wrote. "(Outbreak response immunisation) programmes are critical for reducing the health and economic impacts of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases," they wrote.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Global vaccine reserves helped avert 5.8 million infections, over 300,000 deaths since 2000: Study
New Delhi: Global stockpiles of vaccines under programmes supported by ' Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance ,' helped prevent more than 5.8 million cases and 327,000 deaths from outbreaks in low- and middle-income countries since 2000, according to a new study. The alliance, established in 2000, funds the roll-out and scale-up of new vaccines through routine healthcare systems and preventive campaigns. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health, highlight life-saving impacts and economic benefits of nearly USD 32 billion due to outbreak response immunisation programmes aimed at containing vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. "For diseases with routine vaccination programs, maintaining high levels of population immunity is vital for preventing large outbreaks," lead author Dominic Delport, a PhD candidate at Burnet Institute, an Australian-based medical research institute and NGO said. "But when outbreaks do occur, a rapid vaccine response typically provides the greatest protective impact for the population at risk -- and the faster the response, the greater the impact," Delport said. The researchers added that with routine vaccination declining and also impacted by cuts to the US' foreign aid, the study highlights the ongoing need for an insurance policy against major outbreaks of diseases like cholera, Ebola and measles. The study analysed 210 outbreaks across 49 low- and middle-income countries that occurred between 2000-2023 for five diseases -- cholera, Ebola, measles, meningitis and yellow fever. Globally, routine vaccine coverage has been shown to falter, with a recent study published in The Lancet journal attributing this to persistent inequalities, challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a growth of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy -- factors which increase the risk of vaccine-preventable outbreaks, it said. Low- and middle-income countries have been studied to bear the major brunt of these outbreaks. Senior author Nick Scott, associate professor and head of modelling and biostatistics, Burnet Institute, said the global decline in routine vaccine coverage highlights the value of vaccine stockpiles as insurance against major outbreaks. "Routine vaccine coverage is declining due to many factors including vaccine hesitancy and funding cuts for organisations like USAID and Gavi , and in many places gaps in coverage due to COVID-19 disruptions haven't been filled yet," Scott said. "And as routine coverage declines, the prospect of more major outbreaks means there's a growing need for global vaccine stockpiles," the senior author said. The authors wrote, "Across 210 outbreaks, ORI (outbreak response immunisation) programmes are estimated to have averted 5.81 million cases 327,000 deaths." The team also looked at the impact of outbreak response immunisation programmes in helping control large outbreaks in low- and middle before they became overly disruptive. Larger outbreaks are linked with worse health and economic outcomes, often requiring more disruptive public health measures that involve travel interruptions and school and business closures. "We found here that the presence of the (outbreak response immunisation) consistently resulted in smaller outbreaks (eg, reducing the percentage of measles outbreaks with more than 100,000 cases from 41 per cent to eight per cent)," the authors wrote. "(Outbreak response immunisation) programmes are critical for reducing the health and economic impacts of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases," they wrote.
IOL News
15-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
South Africa's longest-running SARS criminal trial postponed again
COURT CASE: The trial has been marred by numerous delays, primarily attributed to the defense's requests for access to additional evidence. The protracted criminal trial involving Hendrik Delport and 13 co-accused has been postponed once more, with proceedings now scheduled to resume in October 2025. This case, initiated in 2003, stands as the longest-running criminal trial in the history of the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The accused face a multitude of charges, including fraud, tax evasion, and contravention of customs regulations. Delport, a businessman with extensive interests in aviation and logistics, is alleged to have orchestrated a complex network of companies involved in illicit activities. The trial has been marred by numerous delays, primarily attributed to the defense's requests for access to additional evidence. These delays have drawn criticism from various quarters, including legal experts and public commentators, who express concern over the prolonged judicial process. The latest postponement has intensified scrutiny over the efficiency of the South African judicial system in handling high-profile financial crimes. Observers note that while the legal complexities of such cases are acknowledged, the extended duration of the trial raises questions about the balance between thoroughness and expediency in legal proceedings.
