The following will be published in the July 10 issue of The Lancet:

Meningitis hope A new meningitis A conjugate vaccine approved last week by WHO could be the first to prevent outbreaks in Africa. The existing poly­saccharide vaccine confers only short-term immunity and is not suitable for children younger than 2 years. The vaccine costs US$0·40 per dose and will be delivered first to Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali by WHO and the GAVI Alliance.

HIV drug aid lacking Nearly 1800 US patients with HIV or AIDS have been placed on federal waiting lists for antiretroviral drugs that less than 3 years ago were freely available to anyone who could not afford to buy them. Reduced govern­ment resources and increased demand caused by unemployment have limited access to the US$12 000-per-year drugs.

Organ transplantation In a further attempt to curb the country’s black market in organ transplants, China’s Ministry of Health has mandated that from now on medical centres must report details of every transplantation within 72 h of the operation. Timely reporting will make falsification of patients’ details more difficult, ministers argue. Violators could have their medical licences revoked.

Assisted dying Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has upheld an appeal by a lawyer convicted of attempted manslaughter after he helped a woman to withdraw her terminally ill mother’s feeding tube. The mother had earlier expressed a verbal wish not to be kept alive artificially. The court ruling brings clarity to cases involving such patients who express a clear wish to die, said Germany’s Justice Minister.

Age-friendly cities Last week WHO launched the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities to encourage cities to promote active lifestyles for their ageing populations. Research in 33 cities identified factors that encourage healthy ageing, including access to public transport, appropriate housing, health services, and con­nections to allow elderly people to take an active part in society.

Condom shortage Uganda is in the throes of another shortage of free condoms owing to reduced stockpiling and irregular deliveries. Condoms are still commercially available, but many Ugandans cannot afford them. The Ministry of Health advises abstinence or faithfulness to one sexual partner for the duration of the shortage or use of a female condom.

Mental abuse outlawed The French Parliament has approved a law that makes psychological violence a criminal offence, punishable by up to 3 years in jail and a €75 000 fine. The law aims to improve protection of victims of domestic abuse and outlaws repeated acts or words that “degrade one’s quality of life and cause a change to one’s mental or physical state.”

Football and HIV On July 2, Brazil’s Ministry of Health launched a 2-week campaign in South Africa named Score a Goal—Brazil and South Africa in the Field Against AIDS. The Brazilian Government wants to share its experience in AIDS prevention with the South Africans by distributing condoms around towns and educating the local population about AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.

Banned trailers return Trailer homes that were banned from use as long-term housing owing to high levels of formaldehyde after US Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are being used as living quarters for some workers involved in the cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Formaldehyde aggravates respiratory problems, can cause nasal cancer, and can be linked to leukaemia.

Switching to saliva Salivary sampling is being adopted as a convenient and non-invasive method of tissue-type assessment for bone-marrow donation. The Anthony Nolan Trust, which finds stem-cell matches for leukaemia patients, hopes to double the number of donors registered by replacing conventional blood testing with the new kits.

Eyeglasses app Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, have developed a smart phone application that allows users to align a cheap lens with patterns on the screen to produce accurate eyeglasses prescriptions. Although not a substitute for optometrists, the scientists say that the app could provide cheaper prescriptions to millions worldwide.

Sleeping sickness success For the first time in 50 years, the annual number of new cases of human African trypanosomiasis has fallen below 10 000. According to Pere Simarro, of WHO’s Human African Trypano­somiasis Programme, the drop is due to improved screening and partner­ships with drug companies. Scientists say rapid testing and safe drugs are needed to eliminate the disease.

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