2004

Churches back MP's HIV campaign: BBC News - December 27, 2004; A Teesside MP s campaign to tackle the problem of HIV in Africa has won the support of local churches. Vera Baird, Redcar s MP, is collecting signatures asking the European Commission to find another Ł3bn a year to help tackle the disease. She says about 23m people live with HIV and Aids in Africa, and money is needed
Alcohol 'aids HIV cell infection': BBC News - December 24, 2004; Exposure to alcohol makes mouth cells more susceptible to HIV infection during oral sex, research has shown. Earlier studies focused on how alcohol consumption increased the chance of someone having unprotected sex and therefore risking HIV infection. But the team from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
Mandela plans second Aids concert: BBC News - December 22, 2004; Queen will headline a second Aids benefit concert in South Africa , which is being backed by former president Nelson Mandela. The 46664 South Africa show will raise awareness of the Nelson Mandela Foundation s continued fight against the disease. The full line-up of international and South African artists will be unvei
Erasure's Bell reveals he has HIV: BBC News - December 15, 2004; Erasure singer Andy Bell has revealed he is HIV positive. The star told a Finnish newspaper he was diagnosed six years ago after falling ill on a trip to Majorca. I found out I was HIV positive in June 1998 when I had a bout of pneumonia in Majorca, the 40-year-old singer said in a statement on the Erasure website.
'I didn't think I could have HIV': BBC News - December 12, 2004; Jane Elliott, BBC News Health Reporter; When the doctor told DJ he was HIV positive, he was sure they had made a mistake. It did not cross my mind that I could be HIV positive. It was the last thing I had ever thought of, DJ, not his real name, said. I was not expecting this diagnosis. I was respectably married. I had not gone with prostitutes. I was quite h
Return to frontline of India's Aids battle: BBC News - December 10, 2004; Last year BBC World Service s Outlook programme spent a week at the Tamburam Sanatorium in Madras (Chennai) talking to patients, doctors and councillors about HIV/Aids. Now it has returned to see what changes, if any, have occurred. The Tamburam Sanatorium is one of the largest Aids care centres in Indi
HIV claim man cleared of rape: BBC News - December 10, 2004; A man accused of raping a woman with the aim of deliberately giving her the HIV virus has been cleared of all charges. Peter Ioannou, 39, from Pembrokeshire, denied two counts of rape and one of indecent assault. He told Swansea Crown Court he had had sex with the woman, but always argued it had been with her consent.
Move to cut Libya Aids sentences: BBC News - December 9, 2004; Rana Jawad, BBC, Tripoli; A European Union medical delegation is visiting Libya to assess the plight of some 400 children infected with HIV. In May, five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were sentenced to death for intentionally infecting them. This week, Foreign Minister Abdelraham Shalgam said the verdicts could be re-examined if vic
Brown aims to help world's poor: BBC News - December 8, 2004; Next year will be make or break for development in poorer countries Gordon Brown said as he set out UK goals for its EU and G8 presidencies. The chancellor outlined a series of key targets the government will be judged on in 2005, during a speech in London. They will include doubling aid from donor countries and elimin
One billion 'denied a childhood': BBC News - December 7, 2004; More than one billion children around the world face a brutal existence because of poverty, war and Aids, the UN children s agency reports. The conditions in effect deny them a childhood, Unicef says. More than half of under-18s are affected, according to its report, The State of the World s Children. Too many governme
Key HIV-fighting genes identified: BBC News - December 7, 2004; The key genes which lead the body s fight against HIV infection have been pinpointed by scientists. The work provides a greater understanding of how some people can survive symptom free for years, while others rapidly develop Aids. Researchers hope it may also aid the development of a vaccine to prevent HIV infection.
Man accused of rape 'to give HIV': BBC News - December 7, 2004; A man has gone on trial at Swansea Crown Court accused of raping a woman to infect her deliberately with HIV. Peter Ioannou, 39, from Pembrokeshire, denies two counts of rape and one of indecent assault. The woman, who cannot be identified, said Ioannou threatened to kill her and waved a baseball bat to force her to su
Libya may review Aids sentences: BBC News - December 6, 2004; Libya says it may review death sentences imposed on five Bulgarian nurses convicted of starting an Aids epidemic, which killed 40 children. Foreign Minister Abdelraham Shalgam said that if victims were compensated, the verdicts could be re-examined . The five nurses and a Palestinian doctor, who was also convicted, h
Couple forced to shut HIV charity: BBC News - December 6, 2004; A charity set up by a couple whose son died after contracting HIV has folded due to lack of funding. Doreen and Reg Langbridge, both 74, from Workington, Cumbria, set up the Philip Langbridge Trust in 1991 following the death of their son. But after raising more than Ł15,000 to raise awareness of the disease they are c
Call for Ugandan virgin census: BBC News - December 2, 2004; Uganda s First Lady has called for a census of the sexual habits of the country s younger generation as part of the fight against HIV/Aids. We need to find out the percentage of the youth who never had sex, those who have reverted to secondary abstinence, said Janet Museveni. Uganda is often held up as a model of how t
Aids: A South African success story: BBC News - December 1, 2004; Martin Plaut, BBC, Freedom Park; A year ago, when I visited a squatter camp called Freedom Park, north-west of Johannesburg, I met a seven-year-old orphan called Bongani. Bongani and his grandmother A year ago Bongani was off school and sick It s a rough, tough area, that is home to 20,000 people - and Aids has decimated this community. Half the women
Experts deny HIV drugs 'hold-up': BBC News - December 1, 2004; The World Health Organization says there are enough HIV drugs available despite four in five failing quality tests. It has set a target of getting antiretrovirals (ARVs) to 3m in the developing world by the end of 2005. Only 440,000 of the 6m people who need these drugs are now receiving them. Speaking on World Aid
Britain backs HIV vaccine studies: BBC News - December 1, 2004; Britain will work with other countries to speed up the development of an Aids vaccine, Chancellor Gordon Brown said on World Aids Day. He added Britain would buy up stocks to guarantee a market for vaccines being developed by researchers. Earlier Prime Minister Tony Blair said dealing with problems in Africa, including
Haiti Aids orphans find refuge: BBC News - December 1, 2004; Hannah Hennessy, BBC News, Port-au-Prince; When she grows up, Magdala wants to teach children who cannot afford to pay for school. Dressed in her own school uniform of a blue dress and a white blouse, she wears her hair neatly pulled back in a bun. This delicate little girl, who reminds me of a ballerina, pauses and adds: I would also like to be a lawyer so I c
S Asia rallies on World Aids Day: BBC News - December 1, 2004; Thousands of people have taken to streets in South Asia to mark World Aids Day. India , which is second only to South Africa for HIV infections, announced a major health awareness campaign and will distribute 1.5bn condoms. Rallies were staged nationwide by Aids activists, students and sex workers.
Tough challenges remain in Aids fight: BBC News - December 1, 2004; Karen Allen, BBC Health correspondent; By the time World Aids day has run its course an estimated 14,000 more people in the world will have become infected with HIV. Nearly 40 million people globally are living with the Aids virus and within two years, six million more are expected to die. The statistics make grim reading and with infections continuing to r
'One cannot expect a drastic change': BBC News - December 1, 2004; Last December, as part of the BBC s series on Aids, people living with HIV from around the world told their own stories in their own words. Here, one year on, they tell us how their lives have changed since. Amir Reza, an Iranian who contracted Aids through transfusions for a blood disorder, talks about how he has been
Battle to beat Pakistan's Aids taboo: BBC News - December 1, 2004; Paul Anderson, BBC correspondent in Islamabad; Pakistan is a good example of a country that is learning fast but late about the threat of HIV/Aids. Unlike India , recorded prevalence in Pakistan is small and the authorities are working to keep it that way. However, there are still plenty of complaints that government departments and NGOs have done little to help
'Ignorance' causing HIV prejudice: BBC News - December 1, 2004; South West HIV and Aids campaigners are warning that many people remain prejudiced against those living with the virus. There is also concern that people are still not doing enough to protect against the disease. The number of known cases of HIV infection in Devon and Cornwall was 319 people in 2003, the Health Protect
Ghana election diary: The Aids stigma: BBC News - December 1, 2004; The BBC s Kwaku Sakyi-Addo is keeping a diary as Ghana prepares for presidential polls on 7 December. Here he reflects on the high unemployment rate among HIV/Aids sufferers I am back in the sunshine after four days in the London chill. And on Tuesday I went to visit people living with HIV at the Korle Bu Teaching Hosp
Mozambique faces HIV cash dilemma: BBC News - December 1, 2004; Orla Ryan, BBC News business reporter in Mozambique; It is hard to imagine now, but at the peak of her illness Ana Maria Muhai was a skeletal 29 kilos. Her husband left her and her neighbours shunned her when they realised she was HIV positive, leaving her struggling to support her six children. Now she is full of fighting talk and enthusiasm, fuelled by the knowledge th
HIV ignorance still common in UK: BBC News - December 1, 2004; HIV/Aids still carries a high level of stigma and misunderstanding in the UK despite education programmes, a survey has found. A fifth of the UK public agreed that: It is people s own fault if they get HIV/Aids . One in 10 believes the virus can be caught by kissing. Marie Stopes International, who commissioned NOP to
Texts aim to fight Aids in Kenya: BBC News - December 1, 2004; A new mobile phone text message service is joining the battle against HIV/Aids in Kenya . People will be able to text questions on the subject to a special number and receive a prompt answer for free. Subscribers will also get daily tips on how to prevent the infection and to deal with the pandemic. The non-governm
Living with the threat of HIV: BBC News - December 1, 2004; Michelle Roberts, BBC News health reporter; In Sub-Saharan Africa, where three in every five people has HIV, the future may not look bright. But people living in the township of Humera in northwest Tigray, Ethiopia , are working together to fight the disease and the prejudice that surrounds it. Mebrat Gebreyesus is a single mother of three and grandmother of two
Exhibition charts history of HIV: BBC News - December 1, 2004; World Aids Day is being marked by a special exhibition charting the history of HIV in Brighton and Hove. The event organised by the Terrence Higgins Trust at the Friends Meeting House, in Brighton, on Wednesday will include items of personal memorabilia. The Brighton Aids memorial quilt will be the centrepiece of the e
Female focus for World Aids Day: BBC News - December 1, 2004; The Scottish Executive has added its voice to concerns about the global impact of HIV and Aids on women. Speaking on World Aids Day, which is focussing on females this year, Deputy Health Minister Rhona Brankin said the condition was a concern for everyone. She added: Women and children are often the victims of the ter
Aids: A South African success story: BBC News - December 1, 2004; Martin Plaut, BBC, Freedom Park; A year ago, when I visited a squatter camp called Freedom Park, north-west of Johannesburg, I met a seven-year-old orphan called Bongani. Bongani and his grandmother A year ago Bongani was off school and sick It s a rough, tough area, that is home to 20,000 people - and Aids has decimated this community. Half the women
Tackling Iran's growing drugs problem: BBC News - November 30, 2004; Frances Harrison, BBC correspondent in Tehran; If I wasn t here I would be dead or in prison, says Behrouz Shahkuri, one of 200 drug addicts who receive methadone tablets daily at the Persepolis centre in south Tehran. Drug addicts at Persepolis Addicts are given clean equipment and medical checks It is the first methadone programme in Iran in a non-go
'Why we are failing African girls': BBC News - Tuesday, 30 November, 2004; Princess Kasune Zulu is infected with HIV and has lost both her parents to Aids. She works and campaigns for people infected with HIV/Aids in Africa through the aid and development agency World Vision. Here she argues that we are failing a generation of women who are now on the frontline of the pandemic. Africa is in t
Girl-trafficking hampers Aids fight: BBC News - Tuesday, 30 November, 2004; Matthew Grant, BBC correspondent in Calcutta; The trafficking of young girls who are forced to work as prostitutes has been identified as a key factor in the steep rise in Aids in India . The country already has about 5.1m people who are HIV-positive - the second highest number in the world after South Africa . Some estimates predict this could rise to 20m
Cultural norms fuel HIV in Malawi: BBC News - Tuesday, 30 November, 2004; Julian Siddle; Earlier this year the World Health Organisation and the UN published a series of reports looking at reasons why women might be more susceptible to HIV than men. They weren t medical reports, but ones that looked at the structures of society. One of the areas blamed was marriage. This seemed something of a contradiction
'Now everybody seems to know': BBC News - Tuesday, 30 November, 2004; -- Last December, as part of the BBC s series on Aids, people living with HIV from around the world told their own stories in their own words. One year on, they tell us how their lives have changed. Taxi driver Huang lives in a village in Henan, China and contracted HIV through a government blood-selling scheme in the
'Life is generally improving': BBC News - Tuesday, 30 November, 2004; -- Last December, as part of the BBC s series on Aids, people living with HIV from around the world told their own stories in their own words. Here, one year on, they tell us how their lives have changed since. Mally, 53, lives near the town of Nelspruit in South Africa . Last year he told us about his full life with h
China faces up to Aids challenge: BBC News - Tuesday, 30 November, 2004; Louisa Lim, BBC, Yunnan; In a picturesque village of bamboo huts near China s border with Burma , 37-year-old Sha Wang complains he has been sick for over a year. I always feel tired, and I can t work in the fields. I haven t been to the doctor as I don t have any money, he said. Other villagers know what is wrong, they say Sha Wang has Aids.
Pupils quiz MLAs on AIDS: BBC News - Tuesday, 30 November, 2004; One person was diagnosed with HIV every week in Northern Ireland last year and infection rates are still rising, according to a leading charity. Save the Children is highlighting the disease by giving schoolchildren the chance to discuss the problem with local politicians at Stormont on Tuesday.
Top authors unite for 'Book Aid': BBC News - Monday, 29 November, 2004; United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is to launch a new collection of stories donated by leading authors to help combat the fight against Aids. Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and John Updike are among the writers whose short stories appear in Telling Tales. The project was put together by Nobel laureate Nadine
Aids hits South African profits: BBC News - Thursday, 25 November, 2004; Miners in a Harmony Gold mine in South Africa One in three miners at Harmony Gold are HIV positive The effect of Aids has started to hit South African firms profits, a survey suggests, with mining and manufacturing the worst affected. More than 60% of mines surveyed by the Bureau for Economic Research had lower profits
Record number are treated for HIV HIV cells: BBC News - Thursday, 25 November, 2004; The number of cases of HIV has gone up by a third More than 500 people in the north-east of England are being treated for HIV - an increase of 33% in just one year, a new report reveals. The number of cases of other sexually transmitted diseases including genital warts and syphilis, has also risen by 8% compared with 4
Ł300m to halt sex disease crisis: BBC News - Thursday, 25 November, 2004; A Ł300m campaign to tackle the growing sexual health crisis in the UK is being launched. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are continuing to grow, with over 700,000 new cases last year in the UK. Clinics will receive Ł130m for modernisation while Ł50m will go on an advertising campaign for under 25s - the largest
Health warning as HIV rate rises: BBC News - Thursday, 25 November, 2004; A sexual health charity has called for a comprehensive overhaul of services in response to a growing HIV problem in Wales. The Terrence Higgins Trust Cymru said infection rates in the virus, which can lead to Aids, had risen 45% in the last two years, from 398 in 2001 to 575 in 2003. The charity said the rise outstripp
London home to half of HIV cases: BBC News - Thursday, 25 November, 2004; Nearly half of all those diagnosed with HIV in the UK last year were Londoners, figures show. In 2003, 2,973 people from London were diagnosed out of 6,606 across the UK, bringing the total number of infected Londoners to 19,000. The figures are published by the Health Protection Agency on Thursday. Dr Helen Maguire, f
Thousands 'unaware they have HIV': BBC News - Thursday, 25 November, 2004; The number of people with HIV in the UK is still rising with 53,000 adults now living with the virus, figures show. More than a quarter - 27% - do not know they have the infection, which could be as many as 14,300 people. There were 6,606 new HIV infections diagnosed, the Health Protection Agency said, but that could r
Actor Gere leads Aids fight at UN: BBC News - Wednesday, 24 November, 2004; Actor Richard Gere has spoken at the United Nations in New York about his work to fight Aids in India . Gere was at the first-ever global creative meeting on HIV/Aids, attended by the media as well as activists. He is part of the Heroes Project, which is campaigning to combat the illness in India. He said they were a
China condom handout halted: BBC News - Wednesday, 24 November, 2004; Louisa Lim, BBC correspondent in Beijing; An Aids prevention campaign distributing free condoms on Chinese campuses has been halted by authorities at Beijing s top two universities. Administrators at Peking University and Tsinghua University said the campaign was unacceptable. It is a sign of how Aids prevention work on the mainland is being hampered by bureau
Recording the African HIV tragedy: BBC News - Wednesday, 24 November, 2004; Jane Elliott, BBC News health reporter; Over the last four decades Don McCullin has been to the world s most troubled areas and photographed harrowing scenes of death and destruction. His iconic pictures chart the wars in Vietnam , the Congo, Biafra, Cambodia , Bangladesh , El Salvador , and the Mi
Record numbers of women with HIV: BBC News - Tuesday, 23 November, 2004; Nearly half of 37.2 million adults living with HIV are women, figures show. The steepest increases have been in East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with rates in women outstripping those in men in some regions. As well as being biologically more vulnerable to infection than men, women are forced to have sex thr
The women living with HIV: BBC News - Tuesday, 23 November, 2004; Catherine is 33, and too weak to move. She is one of the 13.3 million women worldwide living with HIV. She has been in hospital three times since January 2004 and knows she is very ill. Catherine lives at Nkwazi compound in Ndola, Zambia . She despairs over the future of her three sons, aged 14, nine and two. Yes,
'Drugs will not stem global HIV ': BBC News - Tuesday, 23 November, 2004; The global HIV pandemic cannot be controlled by cheap drugs alone, the charity Christian Aid warns. It says a multi-pronged approach is needed, tackling poverty as well as providing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in the worst hit areas. A report due later on Tuesday from UNAIDS will highlight the ever-growing problem of HI
HIV warning over reggae lyrics: BBC News - Monday, 22 November, 2004; Reggae stars using homophobic lyrics are stoking the spread of HIV, a UK minister is warning in the Caribbean. International Development Minister Gareth Thomas fears that discrimination against homosexuals is deterring people from being tested for HIV. Mr Thomas will tell a conference in St Kitts there must be free spe
Antibiotic halves HIV/Aids deaths: BBC News - Friday, 19 November, 2004; Giving Africa s HIV-positive children a cheap antibiotic could nearly halve the death rate, research shows. The Medical Research Council trial in Zambia was stopped early when it became obvious how effective daily co-trimoxazole treatment was. The World Health Organization and Unicef are altering their drug advic
New low-cost HIV treatment hailed: BBC News - Friday, 19 November, 2004; The World Health Organization has recommended a new treatment for HIV-positive children which researchers say can dramatically cut death rates. The drug - a common antibiotic called co-trimoxazole - costs less than 10 cents per person a day. A trial on children in Zambia suggests it can nearly ha
Deadly disease fight 'underfunded': BBC News - Wednesday, 17 November, 2004; African leaders have called for more funding for the UN s Global Fund, which fights Aids, tuberculosis and malaria. For the first time, the fund is holding its board meeting in Africa, where the three deadly diseases are widespread. African leaders are pressing for the two-year old fund to launch a fresh appeal to dono
Sexually Transmitted Infections: BBC News - Tuesday, 16 November, 2004; The government has published its long-awaited white paper on public health. Sexual health is one of the issues covered in the document. What does the government plan to do? * There will be a new national campaign targeted on those at greatest risk of catching a sexually transmitted infection or having an unplanned preg
Murderer stabbed man in the neck: BBC News - Monday, 15 November, 2004,; A man suffered catastrophic injuries when he was stabbed in the neck as he went to the aid of his fiancee, the High Court in Edinburgh heard. Stuart Robertson has to be fed through a tube as a result of the attack by convicted murderer Thomas McCammon. The previous day McCammon wounded an HIV positive man in a city hos
Hepatitis C at 'epidemic levels': BBC News - Friday, 12 November, 2004; Hepatitis C among young drug users in London is reaching epidemic levels while HIV cases are worryingly high , researchers have warned. A study in the British Medical Journal found two in five new drug users have hepatitis C, which damages the liver. It also showed 3% of injecting drug users have HIV. Researchers blame
Timeline: South Africa: BBC News - Thursday, 11 November, 2004; -- A chronology of key events: 4th century - Bantu speaking groups settle, joining the indigenous San and Khoikhoi people. 1480s - Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Dias is the first European to travel round the southern tip of Africa. 1497 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama lands on Natal coast. 1652 - Jan van Riebeec
Pitt joins Mandela Aids campaign: BBC News - Wednesday, 10 November, 2004; Brad Pitt joins a growing list of stars involved in the campaign Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has become a special ambassador in Nelson Mandela s fight against HIV and Aids after a four-day fact-finding trip to Ethiopia . Aids is a tragedy that affects us all, Pitt said. The world cannot be allowed to stand by any longer
Indian firm withdraws HIV drugs: BBC News - Tuesday, 9 November, 2004; India s largest drugs firm, Ranbaxy Laboratories , is withdrawing its HIV medicines from a list approved by the World Health Organisation. The firm has decided to pull all seven of its anti-retroviral drugs from the WHO list. Studies failed to prove the generic versions produced by the company were equivalent to the pa
South African writer Kente dies: BBC News - Monday, 8 November, 2004; Kente was jailed in the 1970s for trying to film one of his plays South African playwright Gibson Kente, who announced last year he was HIV positive, has died aged 72. Based in Soweto, Kente was one of the first writers to deal with life in South Africa s townships. He produced 23 plays and three television dramas betw
TB poses major threat to millions: BBC News - Tuesday, 26 October, 2004; Tuberculosis will continue to kill millions in developing countries unless radical action is taken, an aid organisation has warned. TB can be easily treated, but Medecins San Frontieres says inadequate attempts to control the disease mean it is now spiralling out of control. MSF says drug-resistant strains, coupled wit
Report shows DR Congo rape horror: BBC News - Tuesday, 26 October, 2004; Fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo have raped at least 40,000 women over the past six years, human rights agency Amnesty International reports. All groups involved in the civil war committed extreme sexual violence during the civil war throughout the east of the country, it finds. Despite a year of peace, sur
UN calls for more effort on Aids: BBC News - Saturday, 23 October, 2004; Britain must take a lead in trying to ensure greater access to HIV drugs in the developing world, the UN says. Stephen Lewis, special envoy to the UN Secretary General, launches his Stop Aids campaign in London on Tuesday. He is calling for Tony Blair to use Britain s upcoming presidency of the G8 group of rich nations
Asian community warned over HIV: BBC News - Saturday, 23 October, 2004; Jane Elliott, BBC News Online health staff; Surrinder found she was HIV positive six months ago. She came to the UK three years ago from the Punjab region of India after an arranged marriage. What she didn t know was that her husband had HIV and that he had infected her. Because of the close links between the UK and the Asian sub-continent, where more that 4.5 m
'Biggest' Africa HIV centre opens: BBC News - Thursday, 21 October, 2004; One of Africa s biggest HIV/Aids training centres has been opened in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. The Infectious Diseases Institute, largely funded by drug company Pfizer , will train up to 200 doctors a year. It will also treat some 300 HIV patients a day with the latest anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). Uganda has b
HIV figures reach record number: BBC News - Wednesday, 20 October, 2004; The number of people in Scotland diagnosed with HIV has risen to the highest quarterly total on record. Figures for July to September this year show 105 people were found to have the virus, which can lead to Aids. The Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health said the main cause of the increase was the ris
German sparks Thai HIV scare: BBC News - Monday, 18 October, 2004; A German man living in northern Thailand claims to have infected dozens of local women with the HIV virus. Hans-Otto Schiemann, 56, says he is HIV-positive and has paid women in the town of Chaiyaphum for sex. A provincial health officer said Mr Schiemann s actions put up to 90 women at risk of contracting the disease.
Can musicians save Africa?: BBC News - Friday, 15 October, 2004; Some of Africa s most famous musicians are launching a continental song to help fight poverty and HIV/Aids. The song - We are the drums - is part of an initiative by the United Nations to accelerate the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015. Senegalese singer and UNDP Youth Emissary, Baaba
HIV in monkeys 'blocked by drug': BBC News - Friday, 15 October, 2004; Scientists believe they are a step closer to understanding how to block HIV transmission between men and women. A US and Swiss team used an experimental drug to protect monkeys from their equivalent of the virus. It appeared to stop transmission across the vagina by binding with a cell surface molecule called CCR5 to p
China sports star in Aids campaign: BBC News - Thursday, 14 October, 2004; Francis Markus, BBC, Shanghai; China s basketball star Yao Ming is to take centre stage in the first National Basketball Association game to be played in China, later on Thursday. The pre-season game in Yao s home town, Shanghai, will pit his Houston Rockets against the Sacramento Kings. A coalition of anti-Aids groups hopes to use his superstar pro
Comic recruits superhero with HIV: BBC News - Thursday, 14 October, 2004; A superhero with HIV has joined the long-running Green Arrow comic, the first major comic book series to deal with the virus. Mia is a teenage runaway who discovers she contracted HIV during time spent as a homeless prostitute. The DC Comics character adopts the name Speedy and becomes a crime-fighter. Mia is coming to
Being cruel to be kind to HIV sufferers: BBC News - Sunday, 10 October, 2004; Geeta Pandey, BBC correspondent in Manipur; According to a United Nations estimate, Manipur has 0.23% of India s population but accounts for more than 8% of the total HIV cases in India. So what measures are being taken to tackle the crisis. At the Gilead s Balm Care Centre for recovering drug addicts in the town of Churchandpur, inmates are chained up to keep t
Award for pioneering priest: BBC News - Sunday, 10 October, 2004; A priest from Northern Ireland who was the first person in Africa to be injected with a HIV vaccine, has won a major award. Fr Kieran Creagh from Belfast was made the Irish International Person of the Year at a ceremony in Dublin at the weekend. He was honoured because of his work with people suffering from Aids an
Beijing installs condom machines: BBC News - Sunday, 10 October, 2004; The Chinese are among the world s least well informed about Aids The authorities in China s capital Beijing have announced plans to install 1,000 new condom vending machines to fight the spread of HIV and Aids. Machines selling high-quality condoms will be placed in hotels, bars and universities, Chinese media said.
Funding reprieve for Aids charity: BBC News - Tuesday, 5 October, 2004; A Jersey charity which was told three months ago it would have to close due to a lack of funding is to stay open after all. Staff at Aids and HIV charity Aids Care Education and Training (ACET) were told they were to be made redundant after funding was withdrawn by the States. But the charity s director, Rosemary Ruddy
Will new laws help people with HIV?: BBC News - Saturday, 2 October, 2004; Nick Triggle, BBC News Online health staff; New disability discrimination legislation has come into force. BBC News Online examines whether it will help the 50,000 people with HIV in the UK. Dean was diagnosed HIV-positive in April 1999. At the time he had a high-flying career as a stockbroker in London. But that soon changed once he told his employers. Wor
Police forces widen recruitment: BBC News - Friday, 1 October, 2004; The police service is to consider job applications from people who are HIV positive or epileptic under new laws. The measures are part of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) which applies to uniformed services except the armed forces across the UK. The police, fire and prison services will no longer be able to reje
'Get real' on Africa, urges Bono: BBC News - Wednesday, 29 September, 2004; Bono, lead singer with the Irish rock band U2, has urged Labour to get real and deal with the problems of world poverty and the Aids crisis. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were the John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the global development stage, he said praising their achievements. But he urged the pair to finish what they
War threatens Uganda Aids success: BBC News - Monday, 27 September, 2004; HIV/Aids is twice as common in the war-torn north of Uganda as in the rest of the country, an aid agency says. Uganda has been widely praised for its fight against Aids but the conflict in the north is threatening its success, says World Vision International. The Lord s Resistance Army rebels often abduct boys to becom
HIV warning over Asian drug users: BBC News - Friday, 24 September, 2004; Ania Lichtarowicz, BBC News health reporter; Not enough is being done to prevent the spread of HIV among injecting drug users, particularly in Asia, according to the British Medical Journal. Researchers from Australia and the UK say the health of the world s most populous region depends on how fast countries implement prevention schemes. More than 60% of inje
SA leader urges virginity tests: BBC News - Thursday, 23 September, 2004; South African s deputy president has encouraged young girls to take virginity tests to curb the spread of HIV/Aids and teenage pregnancy. Jacob Zuma said it was an African custom for a woman to value her virginity. Early pregnancy leads to children being abandoned, he said. But human rights groups say the practice of v
Kenyan firm to make Aids drugs: BBC News - Wednesday, 22 September, 2004; A Kenyan firm has signed an agreement to make it the first African company outside South Africa to produce anti-retroviral drugs, used to fight Aids. The firm, Cosmos, says it will sell the drugs for around half the current cost of $38 a month. It will make patented copies of the drugs under licence from British compan
India to cross-check Aids numbers: BBC News - Tuesday, 21 September, 2004; India s health ministry is to appoint private consultants to determine how many people in the country are infected with the Aids virus. Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said a number of firms, including international consultants McKinsey, had been short-listed. India says more than five million of its citizens are inf
Call for combined HIV and TB care: BBC News - Tuesday, 21 September, 2004; Health experts say combining TB and HIV testing and treatment could save the lives of up to 500,000 HIV positive Africans a year. The World Health Organization and UNAids issued the call to a health conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia . Of an estimated 25 million Africans living with HIV, up to four million will develo
Uganda's HIV success questioned: BBC News - Tuesday, 21 September, 2004; Will Ross, BBC correspondent in Kampala; An organisation helping people living with HIV/Aids in Uganda has questioned the authenticity of the government s statistics on the disease. Uganda is often held up as a success story and the government lauded for the progress it has made with the official prevalence rate put at only 6%. But after conducting resear
Europe unites for new Aids battle: BBC News - Friday, 17 September, 2004; European health ministers and experts have gathered to discuss how to combat a resurgent HIV/Aids epidemic in the enlarged European Union. The conference in Vilnius, Lithuania , heard calls for European leaders to do more to fight Aids, described by one as the silent plague of our times .
Kenyan sues over 'HIV sacking': BBC News - Friday, 17 September, 2004; A Kenyan woman, who says she was sacked for being HIV-positive, has won the right to sue for alleged discrimination - the first such case in Kenya. A high court judge ruled on Thursday that there was a reasonable cause of action and the case could go ahead. The waitress worked for a catering firm for eight years, befor
Aids epidemic a threat to Europe: BBC News - Thursday, 16 September, 2004; Europe s social and economic stability is being seriously threatened by the Aids epidemic, warn experts. Some 1.8 million people in Europe and Central Asia have HIV, according to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/Aids and the World Health Organization . Both say the epidemic continues to spread unchecked and that European
EU vows to fight Aids epidemic: BBC News - Wednesday, 8 September, 2004; Oana Lungescu, BBC correspondent in Brussels; The European Union has said it will redouble its efforts to avert an epidemic of HIV/Aids across Europe. A new EU report says rates of new infections in some Eastern European states that have recently joined the bloc are now the highest in the world. It also says the proportion of new HIV cases has doubled in Western E
Patients warned of infection risk: BBC News - Tuesday, 7 September, 2004; A leading hospital has admitted it has taken two years to warn hundreds of patients they could have contracted HIV or hepatitis after shoulder operations. The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust has written to 551 patients outlining a very low risk of cross infection from a shoulder joint check. Staff had rai
Needle prick girl gets HIV clear: BBC News - Saturday, 4 September, 2004; The mother of a young girl pricked by a needle in a Derby park has spoken of her relief after her daughter was given the all clear. Topanga Price was playing in Normanton Park when she found the syringe. The five-year-old had to undergo a series of blood tests and months of waiting to see if she had been infected with
Living with Aids and HIV examined: BBC News - Saturday, 4 September, 2004; The UK s largest conference for people living with Aids and HIV begins in Leicester on Saturday. More than 400 people, including those who have the virus and health workers are expected to attend. The four-day event, Changing Tomorrow: Am I doing something? will examine topics such as employment issues and criminalisat
Prince Harry makes Aids docu-film: BBC News - Saturday, 4 September, 2004; Prince Harry has made a documentary film about the Aids-stricken nation of Lesotho , it has emerged. The 19-year-old spent eight weeks in the impoverished southern African country as part of his gap year. Some of the footage for The Forgotten Kingdom: Prince Harry in Lesotho was shot by the teenage royal using his own
China acts to tackle Aids spread: BBC News - Saturday, 28 August, 2004; China has for the first time introduced laws specifically targeting the spread of Aids and outlawing discrimination against victims of infectious diseases. The laws passed by parliament guarantee funding from central government to local authorities to tackle the fast-spreading disease, state media said. China s r
Vietnam chief visits Aids patients: BBC News - Wednesday, 25 August, 2004; The president of Vietnam , Tran Duc Luong, has called for an end to the stigmatisation of people with Aids. Following a high-profile visit to an Aids hospital in Hanoi, the president told reporters that HIV-infected people should be treated like any other member of Vietnamese society. He said that HIV-Aids was not
Bollywood film tackles Aids taboo: BBC News - Tuesday, 24 August, 2004,; Zubair Ahmed, BBC correspondent in Mumbai; Bollywood s first full-fledged film on Aids is being released in India on Friday. Phir Milenge (We ll Meet Again) is a sensitive look at a subject which remains a taboo for most Indians. The film has earned high praise from the United Nations, which is supporting the film, for choosing to focus on the issue of Aids.
HIV test for needle-prick girl: BBC News - Thursday, 19 August, 2004,; A mother wants warning posters in parks around Derby after her five-year-old daughter was pricked by a discarded hypodermic needle. Topanga Price from Normanton has undergone a series of blood tests and will have an HIV test on Thursday. Her mother Patricia said it would be hard waiting for the results. If she s got it
Heart drugs 'may slow down HIV': BBC News - Tuesday, 17 August, 2004; Drugs used to treat high cholesterol may also fight HIV, according to doctors in Spain . They gave six people who were HIV positive statins for one month. They found that levels of the virus dropped while they were taking the drug. They rose when they stopped taking it. Writing in the Journal of Experimental Medicine,
Clue to stopping killer viruses: BBC News - Sunday, 15 August, 2004; Scientists believe they may have found a new way to fight diseases like Aids and some forms of leukaemia. Researchers in the United States say they have identified a chemical, which may be able to stop so-called retroviruses in their tracks. These viruses spread by permanently inserting their genetic material into heal
Major HIV drug trial to be halted: BBC News - Saturday, 14 August, 2004; A major HIV drug trial in Cambodia has been shelved amid claims it violated people s human rights. The trial was supposed to be one arm of an international study to see if Tenofovir , which is used to fight HIV, can also protect against the disease. But sex workers refused to participate unless they wer
Key to speed of HIV progression: BBC News - Tuesday, 10 August, 2004; Research may help explain why some people infected with HIV rapidly develop Aids while others remain free of symptoms for more than a decade. The key seems to be genetic variation in molecules that trigger the destruction of cells infected by HIV. Oxford University researchers have found HIV is more likely to scupper t
Aids kills Zulu leader's daughter: BBC News - Sunday, 8 August, 2004; Veteran South African politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi has been to the funeral of his daughter - revealing she was his second child to die from Aids. The leader of the Zulu-dominated Inkatha Freedom Party, said he felt despair and hopelessness at the death of 48-year-old Mandisi Sibukakone. She died on Thursday, months
Pacific Forum opens Samoa talks: BBC News - Sunday, 8 August, 2004; Leaders of some of the world s smallest nations have opened the 35th Pacific Forum in the Samoan capital, Apia. Politicians from 14 tiny island states, plus Australia and New Zealand , are discussing plans for improved economic and political co-operation. They will also seek to agree a new Pacific-wide initiative t
Government 'failing to tackle HIV': BBC News - Sunday, 8 August, 2004; A leading HIV/Aids charity has accused the government of doing too little to tackle the disease in the UK. The National Aids Trust says the UK is breaking a pledge made to the United Nations as part of an international commitment to tackling HIV/Aids. There were an estimated 7,000 new cases of HIV in the UK last year.
Anger as Aids charity is closed: BBC News - Friday, 6 August, 2004; The head of Jersey charity Aids Care Education and Training (Acet) has said its closure could have been avoided. The HIV and Aids charity has been told to shut down because of funding problems. Eighteen full and part time staff are being made redundant. It got Ł83,000 a year, mostly from the Health Committee with more
Man-to-man advice on sexual health: BBC News - Friday, 6 August, 2004; Melissa Jackson, BBC News Online health staff; A sexual health clinic set up by men for men has found worrying rates of sexually transmitted infections, suggesting the safe-sex message is not getting through. The 374 Clinic, which opened in Brixton at the beginning of the year, is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. But it has found 25% of men who have
Asylum policy sparks HIV concern: BBC News - Friday, 6 August, 2004; Doctors are concerned that the UK policy of dispersing asylum seekers may lead to increased HIV transmission. More than 100,000 asylum seekers have been dispersed from London and the South East to alternative locations to try to spread the cost of care. But doctors responding to a British Medical Journal survey warned
New Light for Pakistan HIV sufferers: BBC News - Friday, 6 August, 2004; Ayesha Javed Akram in Lahore; Nazir Masih is HIV positive and has been for more than a decade. He is one of few Pakistanis willing to talk candidly about a still highly taboo subject. After being diagnosed in 1990, Nazir adopted a new mission in life as founder of the Aids charity New Light. The charity provides much-needed financial and emotional
Aids drugs 'can curb HIV spread': BBC News - Thursday, 5 August, 2004; Richard Black, BBC science correspondent; Medical research from Taiwan has found that giving Aids drugs to people infected with HIV can reduce transmission of the virus. Researchers say it is strong evidence that providing Aids drugs to infected people can be an effective way of curbing the epidemic. In 1997, Taiwan began providing modern, highly effective
'HIV groom' sues Tanzania hospital: BBC News - Thursday, 5 August, 2004; Vicky Ntetema, BBC correspondent in Dar es Salaam; A Tanzanian man, who claims a wrong HIV diagnosis wrecked his wedding, has sued the hospital responsible for $50,000. Ramadhani Kaya was about to go on his honeymoon when he received his positive tests results. Mr Kaya, who says he is a very religious man and could not have HIV/Aids, retook the test three times elsewhe
Brief encounter for fell walkers: BBC News - August 2, 2004; Most fell walkers smother themselves in hi-tech, protective clothing when they take to the hills. But visitors to the Lake District fells in Cumbria are in for a shock over the next few days. Two scantily-clad female students are walking hundreds of miles - in their underwear. Ruth Williams, 20 and Pridie Davies, 24, a
Aids warning for Indian children: BBC News - Thursday, 29 July, 2004; Sanjeev Srivastava, BBC correspondent in Delhi; An international rights group says India s failure to prevent widespread abuses against children affected by HIV is putting millions of lives at risk. US-based group Human Rights Watch says this is undermining Delhi s anti-Aids policy. It calls upon the government to introduce legislation to ensure that HIV infected ch
Nigeria to make cheap Aids drugs: BBC News - Tuesday, 27 July, 2004; Sola Odunfa, BBC, Lagos; Nigeria is to get its first plant for manufacturing anti-retroviral drugs for people living with HIV and Aids. The plant is expected to bring cheaper medication for the millions of Nigerians afflicted by the disease. It is wholly owned by a group of Nigerians living in the US who answered an appeal by President Oluse
The real story of HIV rates in the UK: BBC News - Monday, 26 July, 2004; As the latest sexually transmitted infection figures are released by the Health Protection Agency, Ford Hickson looks at the big picture concerning HIV. People living with HIV in Britain There are now about 50,000 people living with HIV in Britain, almost a third of who have not yet had their infection diagnosed. T
Aids centre faces closure threat: BBC News - Monday, 26 July, 2004; The only Aids centre in Wales offering social care to people affected by HIV could be forced to close. Staff say a change in funding priorities and a rise in numbers infected could shut Swansea s Aids Trust Cymru centre. An HIV consultant says the lack of strategy for HIV care is increasing the burden on her workload.
China launches gay Aids survey: BBC News - Monday, 26 July, 2004; China is conducting its first survey of the number of homosexual carriers of HIV, the virus that can lead to Aids. A health centre in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang has collected 1,300 questionnaires, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The centre has teamed up with a website dedicated to Aids
UK outlines Ł1.5bn Aids strategy: BBC News - Monday, 19 July, 2004; The UK government is to spend Ł150m helping children around the world whose parents have died from Aids. It will also double its contribution to the Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and Malaria over the next three years to Ł150m. The plans were announced by Prime Minister Tony Blair and International Development Secretary
'Women must take a lead against HIV': BBC News - Friday, 16 July, 2004; Ludfine Anyango is an HIV positive activist, who runs ActionAid s Aids programmes in Kenya . She believes that big International conferences like the one currently drawing to a close in Bangkok have an important role to play in the fight against the epidemic. But she is also convinced that we must constantly reassess t
What has the HIV conference achieved?: BBC On-line - Friday, 16 July, 2004; Karen Allen, BBC Health correspondent; As the delegates stagger through the heat of Bangkok to catch their flights and disperse to the corners of the world, assessments are already being made about what this conference has achieved. History will be the judge, but meetings of this size are seen as important events, setting the global agenda for the next two
'Women must take a lead against HIV': BBC On-line - Wednesday, 16 July, 2004; Ludfine Anyango is an HIV positive activist, who runs ActionAid s Aids programmes in Kenya . She believes that big International conferences like the one currently drawing to a close in Bangkok have an important role to play in the fight against the epidemic. But she is also convinced that we must constantly reassess t
Cuba to help Caribbean fight Aids: BBC News - Friday, 16 July, 2004; Stephen Gibbs, BBC correspondent in Cuba; The Cuban government has offered to train nurses and doctors throughout the Caribbean as part of the region s fight against Aids. Cuba also says it will provide anti-retroviral drugs to its neighbours at well below market prices. The offer has been enthusiastically accepted by representatives of Caricom - the Caribbean
Mandela calls for more Aids funds: BBC News - Friday, 16 July, 2004; On the final day of the largest-ever conference on Aids, Nelson Mandela has said he cannot rest until the tide against the HIV pandemic is turned. He urged rich countries to inject more cash into the Global Fund, a body created in 2002 to fight epidemics. UN General Secretary Kofi Annan earlier criticised the
Gandhi vows to step up Aids fight: BBC News - Friday, 16 July, 2004; Sonia Gandhi has admitted that India must do more to fight Aids and vowed the country would step up its fight against the disease. The leader of India s ruling Congress party was addressing a conference in Bangkok, where India has been accused of dragging its feet over Aids. Mrs Gandhi dismissed the criticism, saying t
Better protection for work sick: BBC News - Friday, 16 July, 2004; Workers suffering from long-term illness, such as HIV, MS and serious cancers, are to gain new rights. Under new proposals, these conditions would be classed as disabilities as soon as they have been diagnosed. Existing legislation does not protect workers until their symptoms become visible. The loophole has led to co
Developing world takes centre stage: BBC News - Friday, 16 July, 2004; Lisa Power of the HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust gives a personal view of the week s events in Bangkok. For the past week, almost 20,000 people have congregated at Bangkok s Impact Centre to work towards solving the global HIV/AIDS crisis. How have they done? With 38 million people infected worldwide and numbers co
What has the HIV conference achieved?: BBC News - Friday, 16 July, 2004; Karen Allen, BBC health correspodent; As the delegates stagger through the heat of Bangkok to catch their flights and disperse to the corners of the world, assessments are already being made about what this conference has achieved. History will be the judge, but meetings of this size are seen as important events, setting the global agenda for the next two
Mandela urges action to fight TB: BBC News - Thursday, 15 July, 2004; Chris Hogg, BBC, Bangkok; Mandela said fighting TB should be a top priority Nelson Mandela has made an appeal at the international Aids conference for a greater effort to fight tuberculosis. He said the battle against Aids would not be won unless the international community did more to fight TB as well. The former South African president, who h
Fighting India's Aids apathy: BBC News - Wednesday, 14 July, 2004; Sanjoy Majumder, BBC News Online correspondent, in Bombay; India is looking at ways to contain the spread of the Aids epidemic - but many of its citizens don t want to talk about the issue. The world s second most populous country has one of the highest infection rates - and more than five million HIV/Aids cases. To counteract the spread of the virus, the government recently
Zimbabwe denies banning red on TV: BBC News - Wednesday, 14 July, 2004; Zimbabwe s government has denied banning the colour red from TV because it is the symbol of the opposition. The HIV/Aids red ribbon was apparently the first casualty of the edict, reported South Africa s Star newspaper on Tuesday. But Zimbabwe s state-run Herald newspaper denied this and described the suggestion as di
Children missing out on HIV drugs: BBC News - Wednesday, 14 July, 2004; Children with HIV/Aids are missing out on treatment because of a shortage of specially designed drugs, doctors have said. Although more than two million children have HIV, few live in wealthier countries. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warns the resulting lack of a profitable market means custom-made drugs for children
Nigeria wakes up to HIV reality: BBC News - Wednesday, 14 July, 2004; Nnenna Obibuaku, BBC Africa Live, Lagos; Nigeria has recently embarked on extensive Aids awareness campaigns in response to criticism that the country has not done enough to tackle the epidemic. The country has one of the world s highest numbers of people living with the HIV virus. According to the latest UNAids report, about 5% of Africa s most populous co
US Aids chief heckled at summit: BBC News - Wednesday, 14 July, 2004; The US Aids co-ordinator was heckled by about 50 activists as he addressed a global Aids summit in Thailand . Protestors chanted Bush lies, millions die before Randall Tobias launched his defence of US policy on combating Aids. Critics have attacked US trade deals with poorer nations, and say strings are attached to US
France raps 'US Aids blackmail': BBC News - Tuesday, 13 July, 2004; In a veiled attack on the US, France has criticised bilateral trade deals that force poor nations to give up rights to make cheaper anti-Aids drugs. President Chirac said such deals undermined an international accord that lets poor countries produce such drugs. In a statement to an Aids conference in Bangkok, he said s
Diseases forgotten in wake of HIV: BBC News - Tuesday, 13 July, 2004; Millions of the world s poorest people are suffering needlessly from diseases that are being ignored, disease expert Professor David Molyneux warns. The focus on HIV, TB and malaria has meant other diseases have been neglected, he says in the Lancet. Professor Molyneux, from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, a
Hope out of pain: Botswana's Aids story: BBC News - Tuesday, 13 July, 2004; Alastair Leithead, BBC correspondent in Botswana; For the last few years Botswana has been known as the country with the highest rate of HIV/Aids in the world. And even though Swaziland has now overtaken the diamond-rich nation as world s worst , the pandemic in Botswana is still cutting a swathe through families and making orphans of thousands of children.
Japan's Aids time bomb: BBC News - Tuesday, 13 July, 2004; Jonathan Head, BBC correspondent in Tokyo; The focus of most of the delegates to the International Aids Conference in Bangkok is on the enormous problems posed by the disease to developing countries. But it is not just the poor who are unprepared to deal with Aids. In Japan , one of the world s wealthiest societies, awareness of the risks posed by the disease i
HIV charity in Ł95,000 cash call: BBC News - Tuesday, 13 July, 2004; Jersey s health authority will be told to find savings from its own budget to save an HIV and Aids awareness charity. Acet Jersey, which works with the authority, says it needs guaranteed funding from the States, otherwise it could close in three weeks. It currently gets Ł83,000 a year mostly from the Health Committee
Annan urges US to fight Aids: BBC News - Tuesday, 13 July, 2004; UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called on the United States to show the same commitment to the fight against HIV/Aids as to the war on terror. Terrorism could kill thousands but here we have an epidemic that is killing millions , he said in an exclusive interview with the BBC. Mr Annan appealed to the US to dev
'I don't want others to die like my wife': BBC News - Tuesday, 13 July, 2004; Dr Leonard Okello is the Ugandan head of ActionAid s HIV/Aids work and is leading the agency s team at the International Aids Conference. He is also an Aids widower bringing up three daughters following his wife s death. My day starts when most dads are nicely cuddled up in their beds. As early as 5am I am up to check
Bush's Aids policy faces scrutiny: BBC News - Monday, 12 July, 2004; The US policy on Aids prevention has sparked fresh controversy on the second day of an international summit on the disease in the Thai capital Bangkok. The Bush administration advocates sexual abstinence as the best way to stop the disease spreading. Many scientists and activists, however, favour encouraging the use of
Bush's affair with abstinence: BBC News - Monday, 12 July, 2004; Clare Murphy, BBC News Online; The foreign forays of the Bush administration have rarely been without controversy, and the president s global Aids initiative is no exception. It may be the most expensive effort ever mounted by a government to fight Aids internationally, but the $15bn programme comes with strings attached - notably in diverting a thi
End workplace Aids bias, UN says: BBC News - Monday, 12 July, 2004; The United Nations agency responsible for workers rights has called for global action to stop discrimination in the workplace against people with Aids. The International Labour Organization (ILO) said that in some developing countries such as Thailand , as many as half of all businesses forced people to take HIV tests.
'We can learn so much from others': BBC News - Monday, 12 July, 2004; Dong Ruixiang is the ActionAid China HIV/Aids coordinator. He is attending this week s 15th international Aids conference in Bangkok and wrote this diary about the opening weekend. Last December China s Premier, Wen Jiabao visited Aids patients in hospital in Beijing and vice premier Madam Wu Yi visited villagers in He
China finally faces up to Aids: BBC News - Monday, 12 July, 2004; Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC correspondent in Beijing; China s Aids epidemic has already created many orphans When it comes to Aids, attitudes in China are finally changing. There are to be no more lies and cover-ups. Frankness is the new watchword, and that comes right from the top. The top in this case is China s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. In a statement on the eve of Su
The brutal truth of Aids in Cambodia: BBC News - Monday, 12 July, 2004; The International Aids Conference in Bangkok is pushing for greater availability of HIV drugs under the slogan Access for All . Patrick Nicholson, a press officer with the aid agency Cafod, has travelled to Cambodia to investigate what that means for a poor country struggling to keep the HIV epidemic in check. The
HIV funds failing to reach target: BBC News - Monday, 12 July, 2004; Chris Hogg, BBC correspondent in Bangkok; Some poor countries do not have the infrastructure to be able to put money donated to fight HIV to good use, experts have said. The International Aids Conference in Bangkok heard the health systems in sub-Saharan African and Asia in particular are in a poor state. Consequently, the World Bank has warned, money is not g
Cambodian wives at risk from Aids: BBC News - Monday, 12 July, 2004; Kylie Morris, BBC News, Bangkok; Aids has long been a problem in Cambodia , although married women have never been seen as a particular risk category. But the latest figures paint an alarming picture - wives now account for 42% of all new HIV infections in Cambodia. Across the country, monogamous married women must now consider whether their husbands
US criticised over Aids conference: BBC News - Monday, 11 July, 2004; Ania Lichtarowicz, BBC health reporter in Bangkok; The editor of the leading medical journal in the United States has accused the US administration of being petty by not allowing many of its scientists to attend the 25th International Aids conference in Bangkok. Far fewer US government employed scientists are attending the conference than in previous years. But a g
UN head urges action against Aids: BBC Online - July 11, 2004; The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has warned the international community it is not doing enough to fight Aids. Mr Annan said several of the targets world leaders set three years ago for tackling the virus had not been met. He was speaking at the opening of the 15th international Aids conference in the Thai capital, B
China's premier issues Aids alert: BBC News - Saturday, 10 July, 2004; Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has acknowledged that Aids has reached every level of society in China . In an unusually frank appeal, Mr Wen said the government needed to make fighting Aids its top priority, and called on the Chinese public to help. His comments came on the eve of a global conference on Aids in the Thai ca
Aids drugs aim 'will not be met': BBC News - Friday, 9 July, 2004; Richard Black, BBC Science Correspondent; The target of giving Aids drugs to three million people in the developing world by the end of 2005 will not be met, a leading expert warns. Professor Joep Lange, co-chair of the UNAids conference in Bangkok, told the BBC the target was inflated and unrealistic . The Three by Five initiative is part of UNAids and World
Vietnam gets first condom machine: BBC News - Friday, 9 July, 2004; Vietnam s first condom vending machine has been put into operation at a bar in the capital, Hanoi, as part of a national campaign to reduce HIV rates. Correspondents say the use of condoms in Vietnam is low, partly due to the stigma of buying them, and a perception amongst men that they degrade virility. Some 80,000 pe
Drug offers new way to fight HIV: BBC News - Thursday, 8 July, 2004; Tests of a new HIV drug on monkeys have shown promising results, scientists have said. The drug targets the HIV enzyme called integrase, which helps the virus invade immune cells and replicate. Researchers at the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co, which is developing the drug, published their results in Science.
Asia warned of 'Aids catastrophe': BBC News - Tuesday, 6 July, 2004; Thirty-eight million people around the world are now living with HIV, the UNAids agency reports. Five million new cases were diagnosed last year alone - the largest number in any one year since the epidemic began. The UNAids report says efforts need to be focussed in Asia, which it warns needs to act now to prevent a
Origin of 'HIV cancer' identified: BBC News - Saturday, 3 July, 2004; A virus reprogrammes cells in the lining of the lymph vessels and turns them cancerous, scientists have found. The cancer Kaposi sarcoma develops in lymph vessels, which are the transport network for the body s immune system. It is common in people who are HIV positive or have had organ transplants, and therefore have
Timeline: South Africa: BBC News - Friday, 2 July, 2004; A chronology of key events: 4th century - Bantu speaking groups settle, join the indiginous San and Khoikhoi people. 1480s - Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Dias is the first European to travel round the southern most tip of Africa. 1497 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama lands on Natal coast. 1652 - Jan van Riebeeck
Cheaper HIV drugs 'just as good': BBC News - Friday, 2 July, 2004; Cheaper HIV drugs just as good Doctors say they have shown for the first time that cheap generic Aids drugs are safe and effective. Generic - non-branded - drugs are recommended by the World Health Organization to curb HIV in the developing world. But critics say they have not been proven to be as good as more expensiv
Multivitamins 'slow HIV progress': BBC News - Friday, 2 July, 2004; Taking multivitamins may help stop HIV infection developing into full-blown Aids, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in the US say. In a six-year study, 538 African women with HIV were given a daily supplement of a multivitamin or a dummy pill. Of the 267 taking dummy pills, 12% developed Aids compare
Sexual health 'at crisis levels': BBC News - Thursday, 1 July, 2004; The sexual health of people living in the North West has reached crisis levels, according to experts. The warning comes as a study by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University revealed an increase in HIV infections. The number of new HIV infections in the region was the biggest since regional mon
Aids threat changes focus: BBC News - Thursday, 1 July, 2004; Kevin Anderson, BBC News Online in Washington; The World Bank is warning that unless steps are taken to aggressively prevent and treat HIV/Aids in Russia and South Asia, the epidemic there could soon rival that of the worst hit countries in Africa. The warning comes ahead of an International Aids conference to be held this month in Bangkok,
Bombay police launch HIV scheme: BBC News - Thursday, 1 July, 2004; Police in India s western city of Bombay (Mumbai) have announced a no discrimination policy against employees who have tested HIV-positive. The initiative is the first by a government agency in the country. It comes in the wake of an increase in incidents of discrimination against HIV-positive policemen in the 40,000 s
'Women must take a lead against HIV': BBC News - Friday, 16 July, 2004; Ludfine Anyango is an HIV positive activist, who runs ActionAid s Aids programmes in Kenya . She believes that big International conferences like the one currently drawing to a close in Bangkok have an important role to play in the fight against the epidemic. But she is also convinced that we must constantly reassess t
Life expectancy plummets in Africa: BBC News - Thursday, 15 July, 2004; The Aids crisis has slashed the life expectancy in some parts of Africa to less than 33 years, according to the UN s Human Development Report 2004. Twenty countries have suffered severe reversals in human development in the last 10 years because of HIV/Aids, lead author Sakiko Fukada-Parr said. The report ranks over 17
Ugandans fight Aids depression: BBC News - Tuesday, 29 June, 2004; Orla Ryan, BBC, South-western Uganda; Juliet Nakayembe takes great pleasure in the many plants which now adorn her house in south-western Uganda . Months earlier, her garden had been overgrown. She struggled not only to grow food, but also to find a reason to live. Then, she did not know what was wrong, she did not know the word for depression. She just kn
EU criticises Vatican's condom 'bigotry': BBC News - Sunday, 27 June, 2004; Mukul Devichand, BBC Panorama; The European Union has condemned Catholic Church bigotry over the use of condoms to fight HIV. European Commissioner Poul Nielsen made his comments on the BBC s Panorama programme, broadcast on Sunday. Mr Nielsen said: They are hurting and bringing into great danger the lives of millions out there. His comments were in
Doctor wins Nigerian fraud case: BBC News - Friday, 25 June, 2004; A Harley Street psychiatrist who paid Ł188,000 to a couple who promised him $2m from an African bank account has won his fraud case at the High Court. Dr Omar Ahmed paid the two GPs, hoping to finance an Aids research project. The doctor was told the money would release millions of pounds the couple held in
US gives Aids relief to Vietnam: BBC News- Thursday, 24 June, 2004; Jannat Jalil, BBC correspondent in Washington; US President George W Bush has added Vietnam to the list of countries due to benefit from a $15bn (Ł8.2bn) US fund to fight Aids. Vietnam is the first Asian country to be included in the five-year plan. Mr Bush made the announcement at an African-American church in Pennsylvania, a key state in this year s presidential
No drugs for Zimbabwe's HIV patients: BBC News- Thursday, 24 June, 2004; Alastair Leithead, BBC correspondent on the Zimbabwe border; How is Zimbabwe coping with Aids? Better or worse than its neighbours? The BBC s Alastair Leithead, banned from the country along with other BBC reporters, has been inside to find out. AIDS is cutting a swathe through southern Africa, but the economic crisis in Zimbabwe is placing the country in a terrible position.
Fresh trial for HIV accused man: BBC News - Wednesday, 23 June, 2004,; A man charged with infecting women with HIV is to face a fresh trial after the jury hearing the case was discharged. Mohammed Dica, 37, denies two counts of inflicting biological grievous bodily harm. Kenyan-born Mr Dica from Mitcham, south-west London, is accused of passing the virus onto two women. Three days into th
Aids 'killing Africa's soldiers': BBC News - Monday, 21 June, 2004; HIV/Aids has decimated African populations Aids is the leading cause of death in military and police forces in Africa, according to research. A study carried out by scientists in Nigeria says Aids could now be responsible for more than half the deaths in these services. The researchers interviewed about 500 Nigerian na
Man 'recklessly' gave women HIV: BBC News - Monday, 21 June, 2004; A man recklessly infected two women with HIV they were unaware he had the virus, a court has been told. Inner London Crown Court heard Mohammed Dica, 37, went on to have unprotected sex with the second woman after the first told him he had infected her. Kenyan-born Mr Dica, from Mitcham, south-west London, denies two c
Watchdog slams UK's Aids policy: BBC News - Friday, 18 June, 2004; The UK government s efforts to fight the spread of Aids in developing countries have been slammed by the National Audit Office. The watchdog says the Department for International Development is unaware how much it spends fighting Aids. In a report, it said officials also had little way of knowing if the money was havin
China 'plans Aids orphanage': BBC News - Wednesday, 16 June, 2004; Francis Markus, BBC correspondent in Shanghai; China is set to build its first Aids orphanage, according to state media. It is one of the most open pronouncements so far on a subject still loaded with taboos. The home is to be built in the central province of Henan. Villagers throughout whole swathes of countryside there became infected with the HIV virus through
Patients 'may need HIV tests': BBC News - Wednesday, 16 June, 2004; Patients from across Northern Ireland may have to be tested for hepatitis and HIV if an investigation finds surgical equipment has not been properly cleaned. The Department of Health said on Tuesday that 17 gastroscopes out of more than 1,000 used in Northern Ireland had queries over their decontamination process .
HIV/Aids touches Mugabe's family: BBC News - Wednesday, 16 June, 2004; Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has become the latest African leader to reveal that members of his own family have been affected by HIV/Aids. Without naming anyone, he told the country s first conference on Aids that sufferers included the extended family of... the president himself . Mr Mugabe said HIV/Aids was on
S Africa's new 'sexed up' condoms: BBC News - Monday, 14 June, 2004; South Africa has launched sexy and fun free condoms to combat Aids. The Choice condom comes in a bright blue and yellow package, replacing the nameless, grey strip of condoms that had been distributed since 2000. The relaunch came after studies found that South Africans thought the government-issued sheaths were less
Institute will aid drug research: BBC News - Monday, 14 June, 2004; A multi-million pound medical research centre is to be based in the north-east of England, the government has said. Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt was revealing details of the project on Monday. The government is ploughing almost Ł4m into the new Institute for Bioinformatics (IfB). The institute, the firs
Man denies HIV infection charges: BBC News - Monday, 14 June, 2004; A man has denied causing biological grievous bodily harm by infecting two women with HIV. Mohammed Dica, 38, from Mitcham, in south-west London, gave two not guilty pleas at Inner London Crown Court. Kenyan-born Mr Dica is accused of passing the virus on to one woman between 1997 and 1998 and to another between January
G8 backs global HIV vaccine work: BBC News - Friday, 11 June, 2004; World leaders at the G8 summit have backed a global initiative to develop a vaccine which is effective against the HIV virus. They called for an international system for clinical trials to be set up and information-sharing technologies to speed research. Scientists around the world are currently working to develop a va
Auction offers lunch with Cruise: BBC News - Saturday, 5 June, 2004; Highest bidder will meet Cruise on set of Mission Impossible 3 A lunch date with Tom Cruise and visit to the Mission Impossible 3 set is the star lot at an auction supporting a food programme for people with Aids. Sharon Stone will also be auctioning off a kiss as part of the Project Angel Food Hollywood 100 auction in
'Morning-after' pills for HIV?: BBC News - Thursday, 3 June, 2004; Jennifer Quinn, BBC News Online Magazine; A course of drugs is available to help combat possible HIV infections, but not everyone knows about it. Now, the Terrence Higgins Trust is making sure gay men know it s available - and how to get it. The advertisements were splashed all over San Francisco. There were flyers and posters on buses, all making people aware
Jail to treat inmates with HIV: BBC News - Wednesday, 2 June, 2004; An East Midlands jail is setting up a centre for prisoners needing specialised health care. Inmates with disabilities, and HIV and Aids will be transferred from other jails in the region to Lincoln Prison. A temporary unit was set up by a team from the prison, St Barnabas Hospice and the primary care trust when they we
Outrage at SA Aids drug shortage: BBC News - Tuesday, 1 June, 2004; Activists have expressed outrage at South Africa s decision to stop a roll-out of anti-Aids drugs for children. The radical Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) accused the authorities of putting people s lives at risk. The health department is advising hospitals not to enrol new children on the programme in case there are
Many gay men with HIV 'unaware': BBC News - Tuesday, 1 June, 2004; A third of gay men with the HIV virus do not know they are infected, research has suggested. A team at the Royal Free and University College Medical School gathered saliva samples from 1,206 gay men. The study in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections found 10.9% were HIV positive, but in a third of these cases th
China Aids visit 'stage-managed': BBC News - Friday, 28 May, 2004; A prominent Chinese Aids activist says he has been placed under house arrest to stop him meeting the US ambassador. Hu Jia said it came ahead of a visit by a US delegation led by ambassador Clark Randt to villages in central China that have been badly hit by Aids. Tens of thousands there were infected after selling blo
Brazil faces condom shortage: BBC News - Thursday, 27 May, 2004; The head of Brazil s Aids programme warns an impending shortage of condoms will have serious implications for Aids prevention in the country. All purchasing contracts at the Health Ministry have been suspended as part of a corruption investigation. Alexandre Grangeiro said the measure will affect condom distribution pr
Friendly bacteria may block HIV: BBC News - Tuesday, 25 May, 2004; Strains of friendly bacteria found in the human mouth could be used to block HIV infection, suggest US scientists. Laboratory tests showed the bacteria latched on to the virus and stopped it invading other cells. The University of Illinois team says this opens up a possible way to prevent HIV transmission from mother t
Inquiry into Aids court blunder: BBC News - Monday, 24 May, 2004; A blunder has resulted in a witness learning he had Aids during questioning in a packed Leicester courtroom. The man did not know lawyers had ordered a sample of his blood be tested for HIV, and only became aware he had Aids when a lawyer told him. He was being cross-examined by a defence barrister who assumed the witn
Aids memorial unveiled in grove: BBC News - Sunday, 23 May, 2004; A memorial to hundreds of victims of the Aids virus was officially unveiled in Swindon on Sunday. In the early 1980s, 1,200 haemophilia patients in the UK were infected with HIV through contaminated blood products. Two thirds died. An engraved stone among a grove of 1,200 trees has been installed in Stratton Woods.
Sexual tourism increases HIV risk: BBC News - Wednesday, 19 May, 2004; There is concern that a rise in sex tourism could be putting people in Jersey at risk from contracting HIV. AIDS Care, Education and Training (ACET) Jersey, the HIV and AIDS charity, says some groups are putting themselves at serious risk. There are 35 people known to be living with HIV in Jersey, 24 of whom have been
Sexual tourism increases HIV risk: BBC News - Wednesday, May 19, 2004; There is concern that a rise in sex tourism could be putting people in Jersey at risk from contracting HIV. AIDS Care, Education and Training (ACET) Jersey, the HIV and AIDS charity, says some groups are putting themselves at serious risk. There are 35 people known to be living with HIV in Jersey, 24 of whom have been
Teens 'more ignorant about HIV': BBC News - Monday, 17 May, 2004; Fewer teenagers know about the risks of catching HIV, putting them in increased danger, experts have warned. Surveys of more than 140,000 young people aged 12 to 15 across the UK found a decline in the level of knowledge about HIV and Aids. The research by the Schools Education Unit shows fewer teenagers understand the
US boost for new Aids treatments: BBC News - Sunday, 16 May, 2004; Imogen Foulkes, BBC correspondent in Geneva; The United States has announced plans to speed up the approval process for antiretroviral drugs - the life-saving medicines for Aids patients. Health Secretary Tommy Thomson said the US wanted sufferers worldwide to have access to safe and effective treatment. The new, faster procedure should ensure much more rapid dis
Bulgarians march over HIV ruling: BBC News - Saturday, 15 May, 2004; Hundreds of health staff have marched through the Bulgarian capital Sofia and other cities to protest against Libya s controversial HIV court verdict. Libya has sentenced to death five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor for deliberately infecting around 400 children with HIV. Critics say the Libyans extracted co
Women warned after HIV man jailed: BBC News - Saturday, 15 May, 2004; Police on Teesside are urging women who may have had a relationship with Feston Konzani to seek medical help. The warning comes a day after Konzani was jailed for 10 years for infecting three women with HIV by having unprotected sex with them. He was living in Middlesbrough when he infected the women between November 2
Russia campaigns against Aids fear: BBC News - Friday, 14 May, 2004; Sarah Rainsford, BBC correspondent in Moscow; A new nationwide campaign has been launched in Russia aimed at fighting prejudice and fear surrounding HIV and Aids. Russia has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world. But in a poll conducted for the campaign, almost 70% of those surveyed in Moscow said they felt fear, anger or disgust towards people liv
HIV man is jailed for 10 years: BBC News - Friday, 14 May, 2004; A 28-year-old man has been jailed for 10 years at Teesside Crown Court for infecting three women with HIV. Feston Konzani, an African asylum seeker living in Middlesbrough, infected the women between November 2000 and last August. He originally faced accusations of infecting four women but was cleared of one charge by
Gene therapy may block HIV spread: BBC News - Wednesday, 12 May, 2004; Three people with HIV have had a new experimental treatment to try to help them fight the disease. Scientists in the United States have used gene therapy techniques to try to boost their immune systems. Initial results from the trial have been promising, according to a report in New Scientist magazine. VIRxSYS, the
HIV accused cleared of one charge: BBC News - Wednesday, 12 May, 2004; A Teesside man accused of deliberately infecting four women with HIV through unprotected sex has been cleared of one charge on the directions of a judge. But Feston Konzani, 28, from Middlesbrough, continues to be tried on charges of infecting three other women. The charges relate to women aged between 15 and 27 in the
Chilean fired for condom hand-out: BBC News - Wednesday, 12 May, 2004; Clinton Porteous, BBC News, Santiago; The public affairs chief of Chile s HIV/Aids unit has been sacked by the centre-left government after condoms were given away in a state newspaper. Chile s health minister said the condom distribution and accompanying articles, with a government insignia, had not been authorised. The condom giveaway has outraged the co
Malawi rolls out free Aids drugs: BBC News - Tuesday, 11 May, 2004; Malawi has announced that it will provide free anti-retrovirals drugs to thousands of Aids sufferers. Health Minister Yusuf Mwawa said he hoped to reach an extra 30,000 people over the next year under the $196m five-year programme. Some 14% of Malawi s 11 million people have the Aids virus, HIV. Critics have accu
Aids-hit nations 'face collapse': BBC News - Tuesday, 11 May, 2004; Imogen Foulkes, in Geneva; The long-term economic and social cost of Aids has been seriously under-estimated, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHO s recently-published World Health Report says some African countries could face economic collapse unless the Aids pandemic is controlled. The report, Changing History , says much
HIV accused 'kept girl captive': BBC News - Friday, 7 May, 2004; A teenage girl was kept captive by a musician who infected her with the HIV virus when he had unprotected sex with her at the age of 15, a court heard. The girl, now 18, said she met Feston Konzani, 28, in a Middlesbrough street and moved in with him within weeks. The girl told Teesside Crown Court Mr Konzani took her
Libya death sentence for medics: BBC News - Thursday, 6 May, 2004; Libya has sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death by firing squad for deliberately infecting some 400 children with HIV. Prosecutors demanded the death penalty, claiming the accused gave patients HIV in a bid to find an Aids cure. The medics, who worked at a children s hospital in the city o
New HIV case in US porn industry: BBC News - Thursday, 6 May, 2004; A US pornographic film actress is the fifth person to test positive for the HIV virus in an outbreak which has halted most work in the industry. The new case involves an industry veteran, one of up to 14 people believed to have been infected during on-camera sex with a male actor. He is thought to have been infected wh
Diplomat was lover of HIV accused: BBC News - Thursday, 6 May, 2004; A British diplomat paid for his gay African lover to travel to England and claim asylum, a court has heard. High Commission attache Christopher Henderson met Feston Konzani while he was on government business in Malawi . The revelation came during the trial of Mr Konzani, 28, who denies causing grievous bodily harm to
Cambodian drama to fight Aids: BBC News - Wednesday, 5 May, 2004; A soap opera with a difference is about to hit Cambodia s TV schedules. Taste of Life, a medical drama aimed at increasing Aids awareness, is being launched on Wednesday. Cambodia has one of the highest rates of Aids/HIV in Asia, and discussions about safe sex and condom use run counter to traditional cultural taboos.
HIV man wins right to a retrial: BBC News - Wednesday, 5 May, 2004; A man jailed for eight years for inflicting biological grievous bodily harm by infecting two lovers with HIV has won the right to a retrial. The Court of Appeal in London quashed Mohammed Dica s convictions, but refused to release him on bail pending retrial in about six weeks. Mr Dica, from Mitcham, south-west London,
Zulu leader breaks SA Aids taboo: BBC News - Monday, 3 May, 2004; The leader of South Africa s Zulu-dominated Inkatha Freedom Party, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, has revealed that his son Prince died of Aids. I reach out to all the other people who died of HIV/Aids. My son did, the country s Sunday Independent quoted the former home minister as saying. The comments have been hailed as a mov
HIV man 'no duty to reveal virus': BBC News - Thursday, 13 May, 2004; A man accused of infecting three women with HIV had no legal duty to tell the women his condition, a court has heard. Feston Konzani, 28, an African asylum seeker living in Middlesbrough, is accused of infecting the women between November 2000 and last August. He was diagnosed HIV positive in 2000 and the prosecution c
Aids 'has killed 2m Nigerians': BBC News - Friday, 30 April, 2004; Nigeria has one of the world s highest numbers of people living with the Aids virus, the health minister has said. Eyitayo Lambo said that some 2.3m Nigerians have already died from Aids, while 3.8m were HIV-positive. Only South Africa and India have more people infected with HIV.
Uganda Aids education 'working': BBC News - April 30, 2004; A scientific study says there has been a significant drop in the number of Aids cases in Uganda . The study in the journal, Science, attributes the decrease to a successful public education campaign. This has led to a reduction in the number of people having casual sex, as well as the willingness of Ugandans to openly
SA reshuffle prompts Aids anger: BBC News - Thursday, 29 April, 2004; Aids campaigners and opposition parties have criticised the reappointment of South Africa s controversial health minister in Wednesday s new cabinet. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who has suggested that those with HIV should eat beetroot and garlic, said she was humbled and honoured to carry on. South Africa has more peopl
UK urged to spend more on Aids: The UK government is being urged to increase the amount of money it spends fighting Aids in Africa.: BBC News - April 27, 2004; The trade union Unison, the National Union of Students and Action for Southern Africa say the UK should triple the amount it spends. The groups will urge MPs to join their campaign at a meeting in the House of Commons later on Tuesday. They are trying to influence the government s spending review, which is due to be a
'Homophobia favours Aids spread': BBC News - Monday, 26 April, 2004; Homophobia among British Africans is hampering the fight against Aids, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality is to warn in a speech. The fastest-growing rate of HIV infection in the UK is among heterosexuals in African communities. Trevor Phillips will announce zero tolerance towards those whose homophobia and
Cheaper test for monitoring HIV: BBC News - Friday, 23 April, 2004; Scientists have developed a test which can measure HIV levels in the blood much more quickly and cheaply. The test could transform the treatment of millions with the disease, not least those in developing countries. Doctors need to be able to test HIV levels to find out if patients are responding to drugs. But the cost
Vaccine link to Aids 'dismissed': BBC News - Wednesday, 21 April, 2004; Scientists have rejected claims that a contaminated vaccine triggered the HIV pandemic in humans. According to one theory, HIV jumped to humans after polio vaccine became infected with a similar virus found in chimpanzees in the Congo. However, a team of international scientists has now carried out genetic tests on chi
Demand for safe sex in US porn: BBC News - Tuesday, 20 April, 2004; Health officials in California have said the recent infection of two porn actors with the HIV virus means they may force performers to wear condoms. Los Angeles County officials said they believed existing regulations gave them the authority to require condom use. And the state Division of Occupational Health and Safet
HIV link to dementia 'explained': BBC News - Tuesday, 20 April, 2004; The link with dementia has been hard to uncover Scientists say they now know why around a quarter of people with HIV develop dementia. The team at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, said the virus produces proteins that cause brain cells to die. The finding, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy
Genes 'may affect HIV treatment': BBC News - Sunday, 18 April, 2004; A person s genetic make-up may determine how well they respond to some anti-HIV drugs, a study suggests. Doctors in Australia studied 248 HIV patients who were taking the anti-retroviral drug Abacavir . They found that 17 of the 18 people who were hypersensitive to the drug had similar variations in tw
Timeline: South Africa: BBC News - Friday, 16 April, 2004; A chronology of key events: 1910 - Formation of Union of South Africa by former British colonies of the Cape and Natal, and the Boer republics of Transvaal, and Orange Free State. South Africa s wildlife is a major draw for tourists 1912 - Native National Congress founded, later renamed the African National Congress (A
US porn film-makers face shutdown: BBC News - Friday, 16 April, 2004; Lawrence Pollard, BBC arts correspondent; The American pornographic film industry is facing a possible two-month shutdown after two performers tested positive for HIV, the virus that can cause Aids. The California-based industry is worth billions of dollars a year and is said to be more profitable than Hollywood. It is now being urged to suspend filming so tha
New Aids research facility opens: BBC News - Thursday, 15 April, 2004; A new Aids research centre focusing on the social, economic and political effects of the disease is opening in Southampton. Working closely with the United Nations the centre, at the city s university, aims to produce studies to help policy makers deal with the disease. The UN s new Commission on HIV and Governance in
HIV 'crisis' under scrutiny: BBC News - Thursday, 15 April, 2004; A conference in Cardiff will consider the fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS. Experts on the virus will be speaking at the event organised by the British HIV association, some of them travelling from as far afield as Africa to attend. It follows appeals that there should be no let up in efforts to curb the world
Mbeki confident of ANC poll win: BBC News - Tuesday, 13 April, 2004; South Africans are sure to re-elect the ruling African National Congress on Wednesday, President Thabo Mbeki says. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Mbeki conceded that for many people, life had not seen great material improvements. But he insisted voters could see change was coming , and said there was a tremendous pos
Promiscuity 'fuelling HIV spread': Thursday, 8 April, 2004; More needs to be done to persuade people to have fewer sexual partners, according to leading HIV experts. They said encouraging people to have fewer partners would result in fewer HIV infections. Writing in the British Medical Journal, they said little effort has gone in to tackling the issue in recent years. They s
China sounds alarm on Aids: BBC News - April 8, 2004; China s government has called for an increased effort to stop the spread of HIV/Aids, warning of severe punishment for any attempt at a cover-up. Health Minister Wu Yi told officials the epidemic was at a critical point where it could spread from high-risk groups to the wider public. China admits to having more than 80
Cheaper Aids drug deal extended: BBC News - Tuesday, 6 April, 2004; A deal giving cheaper Aids drugs to the developing world is being made available to hundreds of thousands more patients. Previously available in 16 countries in the Caribbean and Africa, the deal will now cover up to 122 nations. The agreement is with five drug manufacturers and five firms which make Aids and HIV diagn
Genocide victims' Aids drug call: BBC News - Tuesday, 6 April, 2004; Groups representing survivors of the Rwandan genocide have urged the developed world to provide free drugs for thousands of women with HIV/Aids. Many of them contracted HIV after they were raped during the mass killings. One group said the women were being wrongly described as survivors - they were dying as a result of
Activist detained over Tiananmen: BBC News - Monday, 5 April, 2004; A Chinese Aids activist who was planning a commemoration of the 4 June 1989 Tiananmen Square killings has been detained. The activist, Hu Jia, has not been seen since Saturday morning, when he was taken away for questioning by police. His family said he sent text messages to friends saying he had been detained. There i
S Africa gives out free Aids drugs: BBC News - Thursday, 1 April, 2004; South Africa has started distributing anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to Aids patients in public hospitals, health officials have said. Hundreds of people have been queuing in hospitals across Johannesburg for tests before getting the drugs that help suppress the HIV virus. Gauteng province health services spokesman Papa
Jackson meets black politicians: BBC News - Wednesday, 31 March, 2004; Singer Michael Jackson has met leading black US politicians to discuss the Aids crisis in Africa before receiving a humanitarian award on Thursday. The star, facing trial on child abuse charges, is in Washington DC to visit Congress and be honoured by the African Ambassadors Spouses Association. Democrat Chaka Fattah s
S Africans fight for Aids drugs: BBC News - Wednesday, 31 March, 2004; Justin Pearce, BBC News Online, South Africa; Cynthia Nkuna feels she has been given another lease of life. Mrs Nkuna, 38, is HIV positive, and last year started receiving the anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs that suppress the effects of the virus. She lives with her husband and six children in Orange Farm, a poor community of shacks and self-built houses, south of Joh
Trials to begin on anti-HIV gel: BBC News - Saturday, 27 March, 2004; Large scale human trials of two gels designed to combat the Aids virus are being planned by British scientists to be carried out in Africa. Millions of people around the world could soon protect themselves against the HIV virus with the simple dosage. Experts say around 60 gels, known as microbicides, are now in develo
SA election row over Aids drugs: BBC News - Friday, 26 March, 2004; South Africa s opposition parties have accused the ANC government of using the Aids crisis to gain votes in next month s general election. A plan to distribute Aids drugs was announced after months of delay on Wednesday, two week before the poll. Following the announcement, the radical Aids lobby group Treatment Action
Aids risk 'cut by circumcision': BBC News - Friday, 26 March, 2004; Ania Lichtarowicz, BBC Health correspondent; Men who have been circumcised may be six times less likely to contract the HIV virus than uncircumcised men, research carried out in India suggests. The study in the Lancet journal says that the thin foreskin tissue could be highly prone to HIV infection. The latest study, which backs up earlier research in Africa, was
SA group to sue over Aids drugs: BBC News - Wednesday, 24 March, 2004; Pressure is mounting on the South African government to hasten the distribution of drugs to combat HIV/Aids at public hospitals. The lobby group Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has threatened to go to court before the 14 April elections to push for the roll out to begin. The government says the programme to distribute
Minister's suicide over HIV fear: BBC News - Wednesday, 24 March, 2004; A Baptist minister who covered his body in secret tattoos hanged himself in the belief he had infected his family with the Aids virus, an inquest has heard. The Reverend Thomas Griffiths, 52, from Mumbles near Swansea, believed he had contracted the virus at a tattooist, despite later testing negative. A second Aids te
World population growth 'falling': BBC News - Tuesday, 23 March, 2004; The growth rate of the world population has slowed down, according to the US Census Bureau. Its report says there were 74 million more people in 2002 - well below the 87 million added in 1989-90. The rate of growth peaked 40 years ago, when it stood at about 2.2% a year. The bureau partly attributes the drop to women h
Gels 'could protect against HIV': BBC News - Tuesday, 23 March, 2004; Millions of people around the world could soon protect themselves against HIV using a simple gel or cream. Experts say around 60 microbicides are now in development with about 14 in clinical trials. The gels or creams are applied internally and aim to stop the virus from entering the body. Speaking ahead of a major con
Action taken over sexual health: BBC News - Monday, 22 March, 2004; Ways to deal with the rise in sexually transmitted infections in Cumbria are due to be discussed at a conference. There are now more than three times as many cases of chlamydia in North Cumbria than three years ago. And last week, North Cumbria Primary Care Trust revealed on average one new person a month contracts the
Burma HIV sufferers get food aid: BBC News - Friday, 19 March, 2004; The United Nations has begun distributing food to people infected with HIV in Burma in an attempt to help stop the spread of the virus. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is handing out food to around 400 families affected by HIV/Aids. It is hoped the aid will reduce practises such as resorting to sex work to pay for fo
HIV 'ignorance' threatens London: BBC News - Wednesday, 17 March, 2004; Hard-hitting awareness campaigns are needed to wake up Londoners to the dangers of HIV, says the London Assembly. Its report has found 60% of Britons with HIV live in London. The virus is reportedly spreading fastest among heterosexual Londoners and the assembly blames a lack of prevention campaigns since the 1980s.
'I took 30 pills a day for three years': BBC News - Tuesday, 16 March, 2004; A report by the World Health Organisation has highlighted the problem of drug-resistant TB. BBC News Online talks to one man who battled the disease. Paul Mayho, from Newham, east London, was infected with multi-drug resistant TB in 1995. He had contracted HIV five years earlier. I was in hospital being treated for an
HIV 'raises heart disease risk': BBC News - Tuesday, 16 March, 2004; HIV infection may increase the risk of heart disease, research suggests. Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco found HIV patients had higher rates of atherosclerosis, or clogged arteries. The condition also progressed more quickly in HIV positive people. Writing in Circulation: the Journal of the
HIV children battle back to school: BBC News - Monday, 15 March, 2004; Geeta Pandey, BBC correspondent in Kerala; People look at my children with hatred. But it s not their fault - their father made the mistake. GeeVarghese John is watching his grandchildren - Benson, 7, and Bensy, 9 - strap their satchels to their backs before the daily trek to school in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Although school is only two kilometres
HIV treatment cuts drug cocktail: BBC News - Saturday, 13 March, 2004; A new HIV treatment will reduce the number of pills patients have to take, researchers say. Patients prescribed Reyataz ( atazanavir ) would take three pills a day, compared to up to 16 if they are on similar existing treatments. Charities said the drug offered another treatment option for people living with HIV.
Virgin teens 'have same STD rate': BBC News - March 9, 2004; Young Americans who pledge to remain virgins until they marry have the same rates of sexually transmitted diseases as those who do not, a new study says. Teenagers who take a public vow to abstain from sex have fewer partners and get married earlier. But they are much less likely to use condoms, the research found.
UN warns women face Aids threat: BBC News - Tuesday, 9 March, 2004; Women are becoming the main victims of the global HIV/Aids epidemic, United Nations chief Kofi Annan has warned. Ten years ago, statistics indicated that women were less affected , but the balance is changing, he said. The UN secretary general blamed social inequalities - including poverty, abuse and violence - for wha
Malawi politicians break silence: BBC NEWS - Monday, 8 March, 2004; Raphael Tenthani, BBC correspondent in Blantyre; Aids - a subject which is often taboo in Africa - is emerging as a dominant theme in Malawi s general election campaign, scheduled for 18 May. One of the leading contenders for the presidency, Brown Mpinganjira, has revealed the devastating impact that the disease has had on his own family. He is not the first top poli
Can HIV drugs protect against HIV?: BBC News - Monday, 8 March, 2004; Ray Dunne, BBC News Online health staff; Does a drug that can protect against HIV already exist? It is a question being asked by a growing number of scientists and doctors. Tenofovir has been given to people with HIV since 2001. It is now routinely used in combination with other drugs to help people with the virus live longer. In 1995, Gilead, the company
Infection may help HIV patients: BBC News - Thursday, 4 March, 2004; Being infected with a strain of hepatitis may help people with HIV to live longer, a study suggests. Scientists in the United States examined data on 271 HIV-positive men who were involved in a 15-year study. They found that those with hepatitis G fared better than those without the virus. They were less likely to deve
SA 'failing rape victims on Aids': BBC News - Thursday, 4 March, 2004; South Africa s government is not giving rape victims drugs to combat HIV/Aids, as it promised, lobby group Human Rights Watch says. It says that since the programme to give anti-retroviral drugs to rape victims was announced in 2002, little has actually been done about it. South Africa has the highest number of HIV pos
Prince Harry meets Aids victims: BBC News - Wednesday, 3 March, 2004; Prince Harry has met Aids victims and TB sufferers on his gap year tour of Lesotho , Clarence House has said. The 19-year-old prince also followed a village doctor on his rounds to see how locals dealt with the diseases. More than a third of people in Lesotho are thought to be living with HIV or Aids - making the south
HIV risk for S Africa's gays: BBC News - February 28, 2004; Ania Lichtarowicz, BBC health correspondent, Johannesburg; Gay men in South Africa are being neglected in safe sex campaigns and are at great risk of contracting HIV, according to research presented at the first African Congress on Sexual Health and Rights. Official government projects target heterosexuals only, so health care workers at the conference are looking at how to ge
Africa sees rise in 'sex terror': BBC News - Friday, 27 February, 2004; Ania Lichtarowicz, BBC health correspondent, Johannesburg; More and more people across Africa are becoming victims of sexual terrorism, according to work presented at a high-profile sexual health conference. The use of sex to control people is most often seen during conflicts. But delegates at the first African Congress on Sexual Health and Rights heard that a new pattern is e
Protein raises hope of HIV block: BBC News - Wednesday, 25 February, 2004; Scientists have discovered a protein in monkeys that can block infection by the virus that causes Aids. The team, from the US Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, hope their work could lead to new ways to prevent humans being infected with HIV. They believe a similar molecule known to exist in humans might have the potential
Group funded for HIV fight: BBC News - Tuesday, 24 February, 2004; The rise in people with HIV in the UK has led to a Powys charity getting funding to help reduce the stigma associated with the infection. Powys Aids Line and Sexual Health Information Service (PALS) was won a ś60,000 lottery grant to employ a development worker and set up a new office at Llandrindod Wells. The number o
US launches anti-Aids programme: BBC News - Tuesday, 24 February, 2004; The United States has officially launched its emergency anti-AIDS programme with the release of its first funds. The $15bn programme targets countries in Africa and the Caribbean. It is hoped the money will help speed up prevention, treatment and care services in some of the world s most badly affected countries. T
Bigger EU 'must face Aids threat': BBC NEWS - Monday, 23 February, 2004; European ministers must act now to help new EU member states to tackle growing rates of HIV and Aids, experts say. A conference in Dublin this week will hear how countries such as Latvia , Lithuania and Esto
National disaster in Swaziland: BBC News - Thursday, 19 February, 2004; A national disaster has been declared in Swaziland as a result of ravaging drought and the spread of HIV/Aids. Swaziland s prime minister Themba Dlamini has announced that the country is facing a humanitarian crisis and appealed for international aid. The World Food Programme (WFP) says some 200,000 people, about a qua
SA Aids activists warn ministers: BBC News - Tuesday, 17 February, 2004; South African Aids activists have threatened to renew their protests against what they say is the failure of government to provide HIV-Aids drugs. The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) says it will take to the streets unless the government begins distribution. It accuses the government of dragging its feet on the issue.
Musician denies HIV allegations: BBC News - Tuesday, 17 February, 2004; A 26-year-old musician has denied deliberately infecting four women with HIV through sexual intercourse. Musician Feston Konzani, an African asylum seeker, denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent at Teesside Crown Court on Monday. Konzani, from Malawi , was living at Albany Street in Middlesbrough when he was a
Ex-Soviet bloc 'faces HIV crisis': BBC News - Tuesday, 17 February, 2004; Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics have some of the fastest- growing rates of HIV-Aids infection in the world, according to a report. Published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it says the disease is a threat to the region s prospects for economic growth. Many of those who carry the virus
China cadres sent to Aids villages: BBC News - Monday, 16 February, 2004; Louisa Lim, BBC, Beijing; China is sending 76 officials to live in villages stricken by Aids in central Henan province. The move comes after premier Wen Jiabao shook hands with Aids patients in December, underlining the government s commitment to fighting the disease. But some say it is too little, too late. Until recently, the fact t
Drug could destroy 'hidden HIV': BBC News - February 15, 2004; Cells that harbour HIV could be picked off by a drug developed by US scientists. One of the major obstacles to efforts to treat HIV is the fact that reservoirs of the virus can persist in certain types of human cell. Doctors at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found a toxin which targets them directl
Africa leaders still shy about Aids: BBC News - Thursday, 12 February, 2004; Grant Ferrett, BBC, Nairobi; Campaigners against Aids have applauded Malawi s President Bakili Muluzi for publicly acknowledging that he has had an HIV test. Announcing that the result was good news Mr Muluzi also revealed that his brother had died as a result of Aids. The UNAids agency said it would like to see more African leaders display such o
Warning over spiralling HIV rates: BBC News - Thursday, 12 February, 2004; The number of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK has risen by 20% in just one year, according to figures released on Thursday. The Health Protection Agency says new cases are growing among both homosexual men and heterosexuals. It says that increases in unsafe sex are the driving force behind the steep increase. H
New HIV drugs 'show promise'</