2007

Esther Lalam, a teacher in northern Uganda - an Xmas feast and reunion: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 28, 2007; KITGUM, This is part of a special IRIN series: Uganda Diaries December 14 We ve had a great change here over the last few months. More people are leaving since the last time we spoke and some are even going to their real original place. It happened with the harvests. People started not only digging but harvesting, and
Mozambique: Property grabbing leaves orphans destitute: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 27, 2007; CATANDICA, 27 December 2007 (PlusNews) - On a farm in the district of Barue, in the central province of Manica, 16-year-old Helena Ivan hurries home with a small bundle on her head. After hours packaging potatoes, she s allowed to take a few for herself and the two brothers she has been supporting since her parents die
Lesotho: Holiday gifts pave the way to self-sufficiency: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 24, 2007; TURUPU, 24 December 2007 (IRIN) - When Mamanuel Rampai heard she would receive a free pig for Christmas a few years ago, purchased by an anonymous donor in the US through an aid group s online gift catalogue, she all but dismissed the present. But the gift, a seven-month-old sow named Pinki, has since made her a role m
MALAWI: Government proposes mandatory HIV test for pregnant women: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 24, 2007; BLANTYRE (PLUSNEWS) - Malawi s government is planning to table a controversial bill in Parliament which would require pregnant women to undergo HIV testing. The move is aimed at reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, but opponents of the proposed bill argue it would violate women s rights. Malawi s current polic
Malawi: Malnutrition still a threat: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 20, 2007; LILONGWE, 20 December 2007 (IRIN) - Despite two years of bumper harvests, malnutrition, partly a consequence of Malawi s famine in 2005, still lingers. The scale of the malnutrition problem in Malawi is clearly very large and, given its consequences for economic development and child survival, calls for immediate and l
GUINEA-BISSAU: Testing without treatment: an island's dilemma: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 20, 2007; BUBAQUE (PLUSNEWS) - Saico Djau is a very frustrated laboratory technician and HIV counsellor. After testing people for HIV and informing them of their status there is nothing else he can do for them if they are HIV-positive, because there is no antiretroviral (ARV) treatment available on Guinea Bissau s Bijagos Island
Zambia: Fear of violence blocks access to HIV/AIDS services: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 19, 2007; LUSAKA, 19 December 2007 (PlusNews) - The high level of gender-based violence in Zambia is preventing many women from accessing HIV/AIDS services, according to a new report by global watchdog Human Rights Watch. The researchers warned that the ability of Zambian women to get HIV/AIDS counselling, testing and informatio
Africa: Odds stacked against HIV-positive Muslim women: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 18, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 18 December 2007 (PlusNews) - Over a five-year period, Indonesian Heldina Irayanti, 28, was in and out of drug rehabilitation clinics more times than she can remember. But there is one particular stay she recalls vividly: it was 2002 and her HIV test had just come back positive. That was when I finally st
Swaziland: Risky business: report sheds new light on sex trade: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 14, 2007; MANZINI, 14 December 2007 (PlusNews) - Not much has been known about sex workers in Swaziland , but a recent report has begun to shed some light on the sex industry in a country with the highest rate of HIV infection in the world. The study, conducted for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) by the National Emergency Respons
Global: Many hands make healthcare more efficient: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 12, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 12 December 2007 (PlusNews) - The world is running a deficit of more than 4 million healthcare workers, but a proposed new shift in healthcare delivery may alleviate the shortage and bring new players to the field. An article in the 13 December edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, Rapid Expansi
Burundi: HIV/AIDS programmes dealt a severe blow: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 12, 2007; BUJUMBURA, 12 December 2007 (PlusNews) - Burundi s AIDS programme has been dealt a severe blow after its request for funding from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria was rejected. Health officials warned that nearly 6,000 people will be short of life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in
Angelina Lino: "I tell people I have HIV so they can know it's real": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 12, 2007; JUBA, Angelina Lino, 23, works as a volunteer at People Living with AIDS in Southern Sudan (PLASS), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Juba, the provincial capital. A trained mechanic and driver, she discovered that she was HIV-positive in March 2007 and declared her status in an effort to keep more young p
Global: Imams wake up to HIV/AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 7, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 7 December 2007 (PlusNews) - In her bright orange clothing, South African Riana Jacobs, 31, stands out from the crowd at the recent International Consultation on Islam and HIV/AIDS, organised by the charity, Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has been HIV-positive for the l
Zufan Alebachew: "I must stay healthy for my baby's sake.": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 6, 2007; ADDIS ABABA, Zufan Alebachew, 22, a sex worker in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, grew up in the Amhara region in the north. She told IRIN/PlusNews how a forced, early marriage affected the course of her life. I am the first-born of my parents; my father used to beat my mother. Until she got sick and died, she ensu
Global: Positive fatwas - using religious rulings in the AIDS struggle: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 6, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 6 December 2007 (PlusNews) - To most Westerners, a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, evokes the imposition of a death sentence on author Salman Rushdie and the wearing of head-to-toe coverings, or burkas, on women. Yet fatwas can also be progressive and bring widespread change. Issued by respected Islamic scholar
Angola: To tell or not to tell, that is the tricky question: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 6, 2007; LUANDA, 6 December 2007 (PlusNews) - Maria Antonia* began to wonder about her husband s frequent trips to neighbouring South Africa , especially when he was away for 15 days without contacting her on one occasion. She decided to investigate whether he was going to South Africa to see another woman, but discovered that
Pakistan: Dangerous traditions: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 5, 2007; KARACHI, 5 December 2007 (PlusNews) - Bound by watta satta , a cultural tradition of exchanged marriage between two families, Nuzhat (not her real name), 22, cannot disclose her HIV status. I know well what will happen - I ll be thrown out of my husband s home and my own family will never accept me either. It will also
TOGO: Haphazard ARV supplies threaten lives: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 4, 2007; LOME, 4 December 2007 (PlusNews) - A desperate shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in the West African country of Togo has temporarily eased with the arrival of a two-month supply of the life-prolonging medication. The stopgap consignment of the generic drug, Triomune, arrived from its Indian manufacturer on 28 Nove
Sudan: HIV, sexual violence messages struggle to penetrate: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 4, 2007; EL FASHER, DARFUR, 4 December 2007 (PlusNews) - A short skit on HIV grips the attention of the audience; the HI virus, dressed in bright red and wearing what is intended to be a horrifying mask, warns of the doom that is sure to follow anyone who dares to take sexual risks. The skit s protagonist contracted HIV from a
Global: Doors of tolerance begin to open for gay Muslims: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 3, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 3 December 2007 (PlusNews) - Suhail AbualSameed looked calm, yet he was shaking inside. He was seated before a row of ulama, distinguished Islamic scholars, from Afghanistan to Yemen at the International Consultation on Islam and HIV/AIDS, organised by the charity, Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), in Johan
Lesotho: Grassroots solutions flourish in hard times: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 3, 2007; MASERU, 3 December 2007 (PlusNews) - The worst drought in 30 years, combined with one of the world s highest HIV rates, has left the mountain kingdom of Lesotho struggling to cope, but there are glimmers of hope as the government and aid agencies come up with innovative responses to the humanitarian crisis. 2007 be
Thailand: New report punctures AIDS prevention image: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 30, 2007; BANGKOK, 30 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Thailand has excluded injecting drug users (IDUs) from HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programmes, rejecting proven strategies that can cut HIV transmission and save lives, a new study says. The report, compiled jointly by Human Rights Watch and the Thai AIDS Treatment Action Gr
South Africa: Risky sex on drugs a challenge for HIV prevention: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 30, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 30 November 2007 (PlusNews) - South Africa s status as the country with the highest number of HIV infections in the world is well known; its rapidly emerging roles as a major transit route for trafficking illegal drugs and the leading consumer in the region is less well documented. Injecting drug users ar
Africa: The route to the end-game: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 30, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 30 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Sub-Saharan Africa is an ideal transit area in the international drug trafficking network. Increasing volumes of illicit drugs, particularly heroin and cocaine, are being shipped through the region en route to their final destination: the thriving markets of Europe and North
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS causes 40 percent of all deaths for children under 5 in South Africa, (UNICEF): UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 29, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 29 November 2007 (PlusNews) - AIDS causes 40 percent of all deaths for children under 5 in South Africa , (UNICEF). PDF
SOUTH AFRICA: 67 of every 1000 South African babies will die before the age of 5. AIDS will most likely be the cause.: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 29, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 29 November 2007 (PlusNews) - 67 out of every 1000 South African babies will die before the age of 5, most likey of AIDS-related causes, (UNICEF). pdf
DRC: Campaign against sexual violence in South Kivu: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 29, 2007; KINSHASA, 29 November 2007 (IRIN) - A campaign to combat gender violence is under way in South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a province that has become notorious for the high incidence of rape and other sexual violations. Activities ranging from conferences to marches have been taking place s
SOUTH AFRICA: 40 percent of pregnant women in Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa were HIV-positive in 2004, (UNICEF): UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 29, 2007; 40 percent of pregnant women in Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa were HIV-positive in 2004, (UNICEF). [This is an excerpt from a UNICEF Report on HIV/AIDS in South Africa, entitled: SAVING CHILDREN, ENHANCING LIVES - Combating HIV and AIDS in South Africa (Second Edition, 2006)]
SOUTH AFRICA: More than 11 percent of South Africans are HIV-positive, (UNICEF): UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 29, 2007; More than 11 percent of South Africans are HIV-positive, (UNICEF). [This is an excerpt from a UNICEF Report on HIV/AIDS in South Africa, entitled: SAVING CHILDREN, ENHANCING LIVES - Combating HIV and AIDS in South Africa (Second Edition, 2006)]
Ali Mohammed: "If I go back to the drug, I will die": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 29, 2007; MALINDI, Ali Mohammed*, 36, who lives in the coastal Kenyan town of Malindi, has been addicted to heroin for 18 years, and is now HIV-positive. He spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about his life. The first drug I tried smoking was bang [marijuana], and then I moved on to brown sugar [heroin]. When white crest [crystal heroin] ca
SOUTH AFRICA: Corruption harms HIV/AIDS efforts: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 29, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 29 November 2007 (PlusNews) - No one can say for sure why South Africa , which has devoted more resources to combating HIV/AIDS than any other country on the continent, still has the highest number of infections in the world. A new study published jointly by the South African Institute for Security Studie
SOUTHERN AFRICA: New PMTCT drug regimen catching on: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 29, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 29 November 2007 (PlusNews) - HIV-positive mothers in South Africa will have a better chance of not passing the virus to their babies, after the government announced it was switching to a more effective drug regimen, which can reduce the risk of transmission to as little as five percent. Eight of the
SOUTH AFRICA: Social Grants - dependency or development?: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 29, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 29 November 2007 (PlusNews) - As South Africa s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party gears up for its annual conference in little more than two weeks, many wonder if a possible change in leadership will signal an accompanying change in social policy, especially social grants - one of the most impo
Mauritius: Clean needles out of reach for injecting drug users: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 28, 2007; PORT LOUIS, 28 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Every weekday afternoon, two outreach workers go to a derelict apartment block that used to house men working on the docks at nearby Tombeau Bay, on the outskirts of Mauritian capital, Port Louis. Officially no-one has lived here for about 40 years and Tombeau Bay locals say th
Nepal: Its okay to talk about sex on the radio: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 28, 2007; KATHMANDU, 28 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Nepalese are supposed to be too shy to talk about sex, but judging by the popularity of a groundbreaking radio show, Sanga Manka Kura ( Chatting With My Friend ), they don t mind hearing about the subject. Nearly six million mainly young Nepalese tune in each week to catch an ho
Myanmar: HIV does not recognise traditions: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 27, 2007; MAE SOT, 27 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Zar Zar s husband was a womaniser. Throughout their five years of marriage he was a regular in the brothels around the city of Rangoon in Myanmar ( Burma ), drank heavily, was violent, and more than once gave her a sexually transmitted infection. She tried telling his parents,
Mauritius: Dangerous paradise - sex, drugs and HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 26, 2007; PORT LOUIS, 26 November 2007 (PlusNews) - It is hard not to resort to cliches when writing about Mauritius : the white, sandy beaches, sunny blue skies and swaying palm trees. This Indian Ocean island paradise is the stuff travel brochures are made of. Stepping off a plane filled with eager tourists and a group of hone
MOZAMBIQUE: Rains, pregnancy and AIDS - a recipe for malaria: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 23, 2007; MAPUTO, 23 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - On a cloudy Monday morning in Maputo, capital of Mozambique , Cremilda Bulha, 28, dressed in a white T-shirt and traditional capulana cloth skirt, waits in the outpatient line at Maputo Central Hospital. With the same certainty as she comments there s going to be more rain today,
KENYA: The rise and fall of injection drug use in Malindi: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 23, 2007; MALINDI, 23 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Hard drugs first came to Kenya s beautiful tropical coast almost 30 years ago; men in their fifties in the resort town of Malindi can still recall the first few people trying brown sugar after befriending European tourists. I remember one young Italian, the son of one of Italy s r
MOZAMBIQUE: Abdullah Ali: "I need to get off the drug to remain HIV-negative": UN Integrated Regional Information System - November 23, 2007; MALINDI, 8 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Abdullah Ali*, 55, has been hooked on heroin for close to 15 years. In rehabilitation for the fifth time in as many years, he spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about his struggle with addiction. The first time I smoked the cocktail of white crest [crystal heroin] and marijuana, I didn t know
CAPE VERDE: The road to safer sex and HIV prevention: UN Integrated Regional Information System - November 22, 2007; PRAIA, 22 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Some turn their gaze away, others laugh nervously; a few can t stop staring, or else try to feign shyness. The reactions are never the same, but no one remains indifferent when Daniel Delgado, with enviable enthusiasm, takes the wooden penis out of his little black bag to demonstrat
ZIMBABWE: Workplace AIDS programmes feel the pinch: UN Integrated Regional Information System - November 22, 2007; HARARE, 22 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Zimbabwe s seven-year economic crisis has forced private companies to make some difficult decisions about workplace programmes for HIV-positive staff. How do you provide life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medication, care and support, when you re struggling to keep your business
Kenya: Lower intravenous drug use, but HIV risks remain: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 21, 2007; MALINDI, 21 November 2007 (PlusNews) - In the 1990s Kenya s seaside resort of Malindi was the place to be for injecting drug users looking for a ready supply of cheap heroin. However, the rapid spread of HIV through needle sharing put paid to the popularity of mainlining, and by 2004 most heroin users had switched to m
Mozambique: Condom mythology: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 20, 2007; NAMPULA, 20 November 2007 (PlusNews) - In the city of Nampula in northern Mozambique , Custodio (last name withheld), 25, who earns his living as a hawker, believes he can prove that condoms contain the HI virus: all you have to do is put one in a container with water and a few hours later several little bugs will ap
Global: New numbers give better picture of epidemic: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 20, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 20 November 2007 (PlusNews) - New HIV prevalence figures released on Tuesday suggest the global AIDS epidemic may be waning in many countries, but that UNAIDS also overestimated the number of people living with HIV in its earlier reports. The 2007 AIDS epidemic update, jointly published by UNAIDS and the
Lesotho: A desire to learn stifled by hunger: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 20, 2007; MASERU, 20 November 2007 (PlusNews) - The hunger of the seemingly healthy and well-groomed school students at Moruthane Secondary School, about 80km south of Lesotho s capital, Maseru, is at first not apparent, but as the morning progresses they become listless and their concentration lapses. Their teacher, Nigerian na
Kenya: HIV-positive and bringing sexy back: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 16, 2007; MOMBASA, 16 November 2007 (PlusNews) - People tend to think that contracting HIV can spell the end of their sex lives, but HIV-positive Africans of all ages are now being urged to reclaim their sexuality and live healthy, normal lives. I got this [HIV] through sex, so [I thought] my sexuality was gone and I felt I need
Swaziland: Business and labour fight AIDS together: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 16, 2007; MBABANE, 16 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Ten years ago, attempts by businesses to talk about AIDS in the workplace were enough to make workers down tools. But after a decade in which Swaziland s AIDS epidemic has devastated its workforce, labour and management are finally starting to work together to reduce the spread of
Florence Anam: "HIV hasn't stopped me from enjoying sex": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 16, 2007; NAIROBI, Florence Anam works for the Kenya Network of Women with AIDS. Diagnosed with HIV in 2005 at the age of 26, she spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about how living with HIV has affected her sex life. A friend of mine had walked into her boyfriend s room and found him with another chick, so she asked me to escort her to the
Global: UK media could do more to combat HIV stigma: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 15, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 15 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Instead of challenging the dual stigmas attached to HIV/AIDS and African migrants, UK media coverage may have contributed to them by painting HIV as primarily an African disease, failing to include the voices of HIV-positive African migrants, and relying on racist stereotypes
Wilson Moyo: "If it was easier to access documents, it would make our lives more bearable": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 15, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, A year and a half ago, *Wilson Moyo, 45, was a white-collar worker enjoying a comfortable life in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe s second city. After fleeing the country for political reasons he is now homeless, jobless and living in a shelter in Johannesburg s inner city. He is also HIV-positive, but with no documen
Global: Simple measures could radically reduce TB: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 14, 2007; CAPE TOWN, 14 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Better healthcare measures could curb the tide of tuberculosis (TB) and other lung diseases, even with existing drugs and technology. This was the final message from the 38th World Conference on Lung Health, in Cape Town. At the conclusion of the 4-day meeting this week, Nils Bi
Africa: Africans in the UK account for the greatest number of new HIV diagnoses: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 14, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 14 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Africans in the UK account for the greatest number of new HIV diagnoses but during a 2006 study (http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/DE4B812C-7DEE-4158-8F53-C9C6EA35BD3E.asp), researchers found about 50 percent of African men and 40 percent of African women surveyed had never unde
Bangladesh: HIV prevalence rising fast: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 13, 2007; DHAKA, 13 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Borhanuddin Mia, a casual labourer in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, earns just US$2 a day, but in the evening always manages to meet his fellow users at a small park opposite Dhaka medical college. We buy one vial of pethidine for five users and inject it, the 24-year-old said.
Global: Asylum seekers struggle to access ARVs: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 13, 2007; LONDON, 13 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Zimbabwean Lazarus Moyo is a failed asylum seeker to the UK who got lucky. Diagnosed HIV positive a few years ago, he has been receiving free antiretroviral (ARV) treatment at a London clinic thanks to his involvement in a drug study programme. But his luck could be about to turn:
Thailand: Migrant workers unprotected and uninformed: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 12, 2007; MAE SOT, 12 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Seven years ago, in her small Myanmar hometown, Tha Zin, 30, a garment factory worker, watched as one of her closest friends - a girl just a few years younger - sickened and finally died of an AIDS-related illness. As her condition worsened, most people in the community stayed awa
Global: Uncounted and unheard - HIV-positive immigrants in the US: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 12, 2007; WASHINGTON DC, 12 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Immigrants make up more than 12 percent - about 35 million people - of America s population, but the US federal government has almost no idea of how HIV is affecting them, especially the Africans. As the federal government debates who is American enough to receive federal he
ETHIOPIA-SOMALIA: Uncounted and unheard - HIV-positive immigrants in the US: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 12, 2007; WASHINGTON DC, 12 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Immigrants make up more than 12 percent - about 35 million people - of America s population, but the US federal government has almost no idea of how HIV is affecting them, especially the Africans. As the federal government debates who is American enough to receive federal he
THAILAND: Migrant workers unprotected and uninformed: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 12, 2007; MAE SOT, 12 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Seven years ago, in her small Myanmar hometown, Tha Zin, 30, a garment factory worker, watched as one of her closest friends - a girl just a few years younger - sickened and finally died of an AIDS-related illness. As her condition worsened, most people in the community stayed awa
GLOBAL: In the land of the free - HIV restrictions in the US: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 9, 2007; WASHINGTON DC, 9 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are constitutionally guaranteed rights in the United States , but when immigrants go searching for Lady Liberty, HIV status may affect their chances of chasing down the American dream. In 1987 HIV was declared a dangerous disease a
GLOBAL: Conference throws spotlight on growing TB threat: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 9, 2007; CAPE TOWN, 9 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - The 38th World Conference on Lung Health started in Cape Town on 9 November, bringing together more than 3,000 scientists in the ongoing battle against tuberculosis (TB) and other respiratory diseases. The 4-day event, usually held in Paris, pulls together international donors, s
NIGERIA: Local government slow to react to AIDS crisis: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 9, 2007; BENUE, 9 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Nigeria s east-central state of Benue holds the unenviable record of having the highest HIV infection rate in the country. According to a 2005 survey, 10 percent of its estimated 2.8 million inhabitants are HIV-positive. Once the bread basket of Nigeria, many agrarian communities in
KENYA: Old but not cold: older people also at risk: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 8, 2007; NAIROBI, 8 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - James Kioko*, 55, a manager at a 4-star hotel in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, dismisses condoms as dirty, fuelling prostitution and causing marriage break-ups . I don t want to know anything about them, he added, echoing the opinion of many Kenyans in the over-50 age bracket, who h
GLOBAL: Teodros Mekonnen: "As a refugee you have to start from zero. I have nothing left": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 7, 2007; WASHINGTON DC, 7 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - *Teodros is an Ethiopian refugee living in Washington DC. When he had to flee Ethiopia for political reasons, a job offer in the United Arab Emirates seemed like the perfect way out. But Teodros was diagnosed as HIV status, failing to meet the country s immigration laws, whic
SWAZILAND: Declare HIV/AIDS a "humanitarian emergency": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 6, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 6 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - The impact of HIV/AIDS in southern Africa, which has nine of the world s most affected countries, needs to be reassessed as a humanitarian emergency on its own, enabling interventions to be made timeously, a leading AIDS researcher argues in a new paper. For this to happen, Al
GLOBAL: Fear and hope for HIV-positive illegal immigrants: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 5, 2007; LISBON, 5 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - The large window in Margarida Martins office looks out over Jos� Lu�s Champalimaud Square in a central Lisbon neighbourhood where many immigrants reside. It s not uncommon to find her attention drawn to African women with their children in their arms, standing across the street with
IRIN: ZIMBABWE: HIV rate falls again: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 4, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 4 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - When Zimbabwe registered a decline in HIV prevalence rates in 2004, and again in 2006, the news was met with scepticism, but new official figures released on Wednesday indicate the downward trend has continued, with rates falling by 10 percent over the past 5 years. The Zi
GUINEA-BISSAU: Paying the price for disclosing their HIV status: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 2, 2007; BISSAU, 2 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - If they could go back in time, perhaps they would do things differently. Three women who revealed their HIV-positive status on local television have seen their lives fall apart since they spoke out. The programme was produced by international non-governmental organisation (NGO) Acti
IRIN: PAKISTAN: Male sex workers play Russian roulette with HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks; RAWALPINDI, 2 November 2007 (PlusNews) - Shujaat* plies his trade well. As dusk falls on the Pir Wadhai bus station in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, the slender 19-year-old gauges disembarking passengers for that look - a responsive glance or wink suggesting a desire for more than just a quick bus ride home. Here
HAITI: Treatment centre reports rising sexual violence and HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - November 1, 2007; PORT-AU-PRINCE, 1 November 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Port-au-Prince - Apart from HIV, sexual violence against women in Haiti is another virus that has so far proved resistant to a cure. Activists say they are unsure whether the rise in cases over the last few years is due to violence becoming more widespread, or the result of
HAITI: Children start getting specialised AIDS services: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 31, 2007; PORT-AU-PRINCE, 31 October 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Erika, 17, (not her real name) is one of an estimated 17,000 children living with HIV in Haiti , the Caribbean island most affected by AIDS. After years of ill-health and many medical consultations, she was tested for HIV at the age of 13 and referred to the paediatric and y
SOUTH AFRICA: Women take sexual risks to feed their families: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 31, 2007; NAIROBI, 31 October 2007 (PLUSNEWS) -- Women in food insecure southern Africa are putting themselves in danger of contracting HIV in their desperation to feed themselves and their families, a new study has found. For people in sub-Saharan Africa, insufficient food for their daily needs and infection with the human immu
Southern Africa: HIV-induced famine's impact on agriculture: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 31, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 31 October 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Hunger and HIV/AIDS are reinforcing each other in Southern Africa, leading to a potentially tragic new level of famine , says a book published by a regional agricultural think-tank. The World Bank s annual report, released last week, also raises concerns over the pandemic s im
ANGOLA: An end in sight to travelling abroad for second-line ARVs: UN Integrated Regional Information Newtork - October 30, 2007; Photo: INLS Instituto Nacional de Luta contra a Sida - logo LUANDA, 30 October 2007 (PlusNews) - Every month, Carolina Pinto has to rely on friends in another continent to collect, send on and deliver her lifesaving antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to Angola s capital Luanda. One person picks up the medication at a hospital
HAITI: "We must try our best": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 29, 2007; Photo: Anne Isabelle Leclercq/IRIN There is pressure on the government to establish a solidarity fund for HIV in case of political turmoil PORT-AU-PRINCE, 29 October 2007 (PlusNews) - Combating AIDS in Haiti is almost exclusively financed by international organisations; what would happen if the funding dried up? It is
ZAMBIA: Zimbabwe's sex workers look to their neighbour for business: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 26, 2007; LUSAKA, 26 October 2007 (PlusNews) - An influx of Zimbabwean sex workers into the Zambian capital, Lusaka, is testing the government s patience with its neighbour. Although there are no official figures for the number of Zimbabweans resident in Lusaka, unofficial estimates have put the figure at 10,000 or more, and man
HAITI: Using the power of the cinema to spread the word on AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 26, 2007; Photo: Anne Isabelle Leclerc/IRIN Movie magic PORT-AU-PRINCE, 26 October 2007 (PlusNews) - More than one in four Haitians believes HIV can be transmitted by supernatural means, so using the magic of the movies may be one way of opening people s eyes to the reality of the pandemic. Haiti is a country dominated by the id
HAITI: Fighting HIV a task as tough as the island: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - 26 October 2007; Photo: Anne Isabelle Leclerc/IRIN Getting onboard for AIDS struggle PORT-AU-PRINCE, 26 October 2007 (PlusNews) - A fall in HIV rates in Haiti over the last few years is welcome news but celebrations may be premature: the country s political fragility and endemic poverty are serious challenges to maintaining those gains
ASIA: Drug users face extra dangers: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 25, 2007; BANGKOK, 25 October 2007 (PlusNews) - Public health experts and rights groups at a conference for community groups working on HIV/AIDS prevention among drug users in Bangkok, Thailand , have warned Asian governments that abuse and persecution by police are undermining harm reduction initiatives by deterring drug users
BENIN: AIDS stripping farmers of their land: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 25, 2007; COTONOU, 25 October 2007 (IRIN) - Comlan Houessou certainly knows what he is talking about when it comes to the impact of AIDS on rural communities. He is a farmer in Benin who has lost everything because of HIV: the respect of his neighbours, his savings and his land. He is now fighting to rebuild his life. Just f
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE: Unseen and unwelcome - living with HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 24, 2007; SAO TOME, 24 October 2007 (PlusNews) - The taxi driver snapped when he overheard two women passengers whispering, Watch him, he is HIV-positive. Poignant stories of prejudice were told by everyone in the group of 22 HIV-positive people who recently talked to PlusNews in Sao Tome , capital of the tiny archipelago of
AFRICA: Slum Survivors - new IRIN film released: Most slum dwellers never finish school and end up trapped in poverty: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 24, 2007; NAIROBI, 24 October 2007 (IRIN) - Worldwide, more than a billion people live in slums, with as many as one million in Kibera, Africa s largest such settlement, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Slum Survivors, IRIN s first full-length documentary, tells some of their stories. Meet Carol Meet Carol, a single mother of thre
Alem Tilahun: "I was lured by clothes and cars and now I am HIV-positive": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 24, 2007; ADDIS ABABA, *Alem Tilahun is a high school drop out living in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. She told IRIN/PlusNews how, lured by the desire for a better lifestyle, she became involved with a much older man. There was a girl who used to live next door and while I spent my days sitting by our gate, she used to dre
SOMALIA: Conflict frustrates efforts to manage HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 23, 2007; GALKAYO, 23 October 2007 (PlusNews) - Ongoing clashes coupled with a lack of central government control are crippling attempts to develop a national AIDS strategy in Somalia , where thousands have been displaced and are living in temporary shelters, with little access to basic healthcare. Fighting continues on the
South Africa: Sugar Daddies find plenty of sweet teeth: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 22, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 22 October 2007 (PlusNews) - It is 10 o clock on a Friday night in Soweto, Johannesburg s most famous township, but it s still early for The Rock, a nightclub popular with the young and upwardly mobile, and most potential patrons are drinking at a shebeen [informal bar] operating in the parking lot. Mapul
Namibia: HIV/AIDS dulls shine of good development scores: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 19, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 19 October 2007 (PlusNews) - A sharp drop in life expectancy, with HIV/AIDS the primary driver, has sent Namibia s human development indicators plummeting; gains in other areas will continue to be undermined by the epidemic unless treatment and prevention programmes are stepped up, a new report warns. T
Zimbabwe: Dangerous sex in "small houses": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 18, 2007; HARARE, 18 October 2007 (PlusNews) - There s a weekly television soap about the phenomenon, and even a hit rap song, as Zimbabweans begin to own up to small houses - long-term illicit sexual relationships - and their impact on HIV transmission. The small house is a house of peace where I can rest mentally and physicall
Swaziland: Coping strategies wear thin in ongoing food crisis: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 17, 2007; MBABANE, 17 October 2007 (PlusNews) - While aid agencies and the Swazi government scramble to keep a major catastrophe at bay, the mounting food crisis means more and more Swazis can only cope by drastically scaling down food intake and scouring the fields for edible weeds. About 40 percent of Swaziland s one million p
Zimbabwe: Home-based care succumbing to economic burnout: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 17, 2007; HARARE, 17 October 2007 (PlusNews) - Zimbabwe s sinking economy and reduced donor support are threatening home-based care (HBC) programmes for people living with HIV and AIDS, according to a new report. The survey, jointly produced by the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) and the
Africa: Design of effective HIV prevention trials the first hurdle: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 16, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 16 October 2007 (PlusNews) - We ve long known how to protect ourselves from HIV, but the options are limited and not available to everyone: women who are powerless to refuse sex or insist on condoms, and can only trust that their partner will be faithful, pay the heaviest price. In sub-Saharan Africa, tho
Africa: Major improvements needed to retain patients on ARVs: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 16, 2007; NAIROBI, 16 October 2007 (PlusNews) - About a third of patients on antiretroviral (ARV) programmes in sub-Saharan Africa are being lost within two years of enrolment, a new study has found. According to the survey, conducted by the Boston University School of Public Health and published in the October edition of the Pu
Swaziland: Coping strategies wear thin in ongoing food crisis: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 16, 2007; MBABANE, 16 October 2007 (IRIN) - While aid agencies and the Swazi government scramble to keep a major catastrophe at bay, the mounting food crisis means more and more Swazis can only cope by drastically scaling down food intake and scouring the fields for edible weeds. About 40 percent of Swaziland s one million peopl
Malawi: Achieving MDGs will be a close run thing: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 12, 2007; BLANTYRE, 12 October 2007 (IRIN) - Malawi will have a difficult time meeting its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, despite achieving improved food production, while rebuilding a battered economy against a background of high levels of poverty and maternal mortality. It would be wrong to conclude that Malawi w
Nigeria: Local ARV manufacturers want state support: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 12, 2007; LAGOS, 12 October 2007 (PlusNews) - Local manufacturers of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are calling for the government to increase tariffs on imported anti-AIDS medicines, and discourage aid agencies and foreign governments from donating free drugs, to help them continue producing medicines for Nigerians living with HIV.
South Africa: When microbicide trials go wrong - Part 2: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 12, 2007; DURBAN, 12 October 2007 (PlusNews) - It s an overcast Thursday morning in the port city of Durban, on South Africa s east coast, and some of the former participants in a microbicide trial, discontinued earlier this year, have gathered at the now deserted research site behind a busy downtown taxi rank, to be interviewed
Global: MSF urges new approach to malnutrition treatment: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 10, 2007; NAIROBI, 10 October 2007 (IRIN) - Medecins Sans Frontieres has called for a radical shift in the way child malnutrition is treated across the world, saying therapeutic ready-to-use foods (RUF), such as Plumpy nut, should be supplied much more extensively than is the case now. Plumpy nut is one of several brands of nutr
Uganda: Factory to boost ARV rollout: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 9, 2007; KAMPALA, 9 October 2007 (PlusNews) - A new Ugandan pharmaceutical factory has begun producing antiretroviral medication drugs locally, something the government says will significantly increase the number of HIV-positive people accessing the life-prolonging drugs across the country and the East African region. The US$38
South Africa: When a microbicide trial goes wrong - Part 1: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 9, 2007; DURBAN, 9 October 2007 (PlusNews) - This is the fourth article in a six-part series on the challenges of HIV-prevention research in South Africa . On Wednesday 10 October IRIN/PlusNews will look at the impact of a failed trial on the participants, followed by the challenges of designing an HIV-prevention trial on Thurs
Kenya: Treatment literacy lagging behind ARV rollout: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 8, 2007; NAIROBI, 8 October 2007 (PlusNews) - The Kenyan government s free antiretroviral (ARV) programme has reached more than 160,000 people in need of the life-prolonging therapy, but experts say unless this momentum is accompanied by an equally aggressive treatment literacy campaign, widespread drug resistance could result.
Swaziland: Rural clinic gives AIDS patients a lifeline: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 8, 2007; SIGOMBENI, 8 October 2007 (PlusNews) - Thab sile Nkambule, 29, struggles with her breathing and endures crippling headaches, chronic diarrhoea and weakness that make carrying water from the stream to her homestead in rural Swaziland her most difficult task, yet this mother of three says she is one of the lucky ones.
Owiny Lakaragic, northern Uganda - "you can't live with hatred": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 8, 2007; OMUNGUBI, GULU DISTRICT, This is part of a special IRIN series: Uganda Diaries I have heard [LRA deputy leader Vincent] Otti on the radio saying he will not die alone, he will take us down with him. We don t want to risk more war. So I m begging the International Criminal Court to drop their case and let peace come to
Zimbabwe: HIV-positive pastor shouts from the pulpit: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 4, 2007; HARARE, 4 October 2007 (IRIN) - Rev Maxwell Kapachawo is the only known pastor in Zimbabwe who publicly admits to being HIV-positive; he is also encouraging any of his peers infected and affected by the disease to speak openly about HIV/AIDS from the pulpit. Churches in Zimbabwe tend to approach HIV/AIDS as a moral iss
South Africa: Hospital project attempts to revive Johannesburg inner city: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 3, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 3 October 2007 (PlusNews) - A new focus on healthcare in South Africa s most densely populated inner-city suburb, is to help regenerate a community hard hit by HIV/AIDS, poverty and crime. Hillbrow used to be the most trendy and cosmopolitan area in Johannesburg; today it is thought to be one of the most
Zimbabwe: People living with HIV/AIDS use new ways to handle hard times: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 2, 2007; HARARE, 2 October 2007 (PlusNews) - Dire shortages of such essentials as electricity and water are forcing Zimbabweans living with HIV/AIDS to combat the country s hardships with new and novel approaches. According to the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey, 18.1 percent of the population of about 11.5 million are i
Zimbabwe: Bulawayo's water crisis cripples AIDS efforts: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - October 1, 2007; BULAWAYO, 1 October 2007 (PlusNews) - Zimbabwe s economic woes have taken their toll on Thembelihle House, (meaning Good Hope in Ndebele) an HIV and AIDS nursing home in Mpopoma, a high-density suburb in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe s second largest city, but the severe water shortage has been even more crippling. This is the ni
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE: Claims of putting the virus to sleep worry activists: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 28, 2007; SAO TOME, 28 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Dorviro-Sida, or Put AIDS to sleep in Portuguese, is the name of the new anti-AIDS herbal remedy produced by Amancio Valentim, 52, President of the Association of Traditional Medicine in S�o Tome and Principe , the tiny archipelago off the coast of
Indonesia: Injecting more than drugs: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 28, 2007; JAKARTA, 28 September 2007 (PlusNews) - For heroin addicts in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, the cheapest way to get a fix is entirely legal and provided by the government. Five public clinics in the city supply methadone, a synthetic opiate recommended by the World Health Organisation, which recovering drug users ta
Rufus Mwandiki: "At the end the patient dies, and I am left feeling affected.": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 27, 2007; NAIROBI, Rufus Mwandiki, 32, is a palliative carer specialising in the care of HIV/AIDS patients at the Chogoria Mission Hospital in Kenya s central Meru district. Palliative care is the term used for the type of nursing provided to terminally ill patients in the last phase of life. Mwandiki talked to IRIN/PlusNews abo
South Africa: The trials and tribulations of community involvement in research: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 27, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 27 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Francinah Ndala, pastor and chairperson of the township Ladies Forum, is no ordinary member of the community; she is a statuesque woman with a slightly intimidating air, who proclaims that when I talk, everybody listens . Altogether an ideal candidate to participate in the c
Swaziland: Foetuses in a stream highlight plight of women: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 26, 2007; MBABANE, 26 September 2007 (IRIN) - The discovery of about eighty foetuses in a stream used by a peri-urban community in Swaziland has raised disturbing questions about the desperation of women in a country where unwanted pregnancies are common, abortion is illegal and two-thirds of the population live in poverty.
Angola: HIV positive people demand rights: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 26, 2007; LUANDA, 26 September 2007 (PlusNews) - For Father Luis Fernandez, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Luanda, Angola s capital, a visit to the market is often an eyeopener to what life is like for people living with HIV. How many times have we been called to intervene because a poor woman can no longer sell or buy s
Global: UNAIDS counts the cost of universal access: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 26, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 26 September 2007 (PlusNews) - UNAIDS has attached a price tag of US$42 billion to achieving the goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010, more than four times the amount currently being spent on fighting the global pandemic. In a report released on Wednesday, UNAIDS
Mozambique: Businesses invest in AIDS fight: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 25, 2007; MAPUTO, 25 September 2007 (PlusNews) - The offices of CETA-Construction and Services in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, are more reminiscent of a health centre than of a company that builds houses, schools and roads. There are boxes of condoms on the reception desk and health-awareness posters hang in the corridors.
Africa-Nigeria: Workshop: HIV/AIDS and Healthcare Safety: Capacity Building on Medical Waste Management: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 25, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 25 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Every year, an estimated 3 million healthcare providers worldwide are at risk of injury at work. Nigeria �s country-specific data on injection safety and medical waste showed 45 percent of health workers had at least one needle stick injury within the preceding year. In atte
Global: Vaccine failure a setback for anti-AIDS efforts: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 24, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 24 September 2007 (PlusNews) - News that one of the most promising and advanced HIV vaccine trials has been halted has dealt a serious blow to global AIDS prevention efforts. The vaccine s developer, Merck, announced that it was ending enrollment and vaccination of volunteers in the US National Institutes
Indonesia: Cheap sex, high risk - the challenge of AIDS prevention: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 24, 2007; JAKARTA, 24 September 2007 (PlusNews) - We were kerb-crawling for sex workers near the railway station in the grimy Cipinang district of Jakarta, Indonesia s sprawling capital, with Endang Supriyati providing a running commentary from the back seat of the car. There, do you see those women there, sitting next to the dr
Esther Lalam, 40, a teacher at Padibe East, Kitgum district: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 24, 2007; KITGUM, This is part of a special IRIN series: Uganda Diaries Updated: 24 September 2007 Teaching I teach classes P2, P3 and P4 at Padibe Boy s school. It s called a boy s school but it s actually mixed and my pupils are of all ages. I have 240 pupils in one of my classes. It is really very difficult to teach a class t
Zambia: Government discards the elderly: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 20, 2007; LUSAKA, 20 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Zambia s elderly population are faced with a double jeopardy: they are either shunned by communities as witchcraft practitioners or, with little or no understanding of the disease, are burdened with caring for HIV/AIDS orphans, says a non-governmental organisation concerned with t
Nigeria: Treatment scale-up urgently needed: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 20, 2007; LAGOS, 20 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Nigeria is lagging behind in the provision of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS, and only one out of five people who need the drugs have access to them, according to a new study. Nigeria has a five-year plan to scale up ARV therapy, aimed at providing o
Southern Africa: A winning recipe for PMTCT but few follow it: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 19, 2007; GABORONE/JOHANNESBURG, 19 September 2007 (PlusNews) - A success story, at last: Botswana has lowered the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to less than four percent, coming close to developed countries that have almost eliminated paediatric AIDS. In Europe and the USA, fewer than two percent of babies with HI
Malawi: HIV creates TB crisis: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 18, 2007; BLANTYRE, 18 September 2007 (PlusNews) - When the first cases of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) were reported in South Africa in 2006, the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged other countries in the region to improve their laboratory capacity and implement infection control measures, but
Pakistan: Roadside dentists pose HIV, hepatitis threat: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 17, 2007; LAHORE, 17 September 2007 (IRIN) - Holding a chunk of ice wrapped in a handkerchief firmly to his right cheek, Saleem Jawad, 34, looks rather pleased with himself. From time to time he turns away to spit out a stream of red blood, before sipping from a glass of cold water beside him. Saleem, a car mechanic, has just ha
Youssef Ahmed, Iraq, "Now I understand how hard life is for people living with HIV": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 17, 2007; BAGHDAD, Youssef Ahmed (not his real name), aged 27, says he was ostracised by his family after they discovered he was HIV-positive. Unemployed and forced to leave his family home, Ahmed could not find anywhere to stay so lived on the streets for months, always fearful of being attacked in the night by militias or insu
Zimbabwe: Chiefs fight violence in the home: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 17, 2007; MASVINGO, 17 September 2007 (IRIN) - Traditional leaders in Zimbabwe s Masvingo Province, in the southeast of the country, are partnering with gender activists in a bid to curb domestic violence. Our partnership with traditional leaders started when we approached them [for help] in publicising the Domestic Violence Bil
Swaziland: Two-thirds of women beaten and abused: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 17, 2007; MBABANE, 17 September 2007 (IRIN) - One in every three female Swazis has experienced some form of sexual violence before turning 18, and two out of three aged 18 to 24, according to the first national survey to chart the scope of sexual and other types of violence perpetrated against women and girls. From infancy to un
Kenya: Muslim opposition to condoms limits distribution: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 17, 2007; MANDERA, 17 September 2007 (PlusNews) - The strong anti-condom stance of religious leaders in northern Kenya means few people there are using them and traders are refusing to stock them, which AIDS activists warn is jeopardising the fight against the pandemic. I will never sell condoms in my shop; it is like promoting
Zimbabwe: Chiefs fight violence in the home: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 17, 2007; MASVINGO, 17 September 2007 (IRIN) - Traditional leaders in Zimbabwe s Masvingo Province, in the southeast of the country, are partnering with gender activists in a bid to curb domestic violence. Our partnership with traditional leaders started when we approached them [for help] in publicising the Domestic Violence Bil
DRC: Call to address sexual violence in the east: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 14, 2007; NAIROBI, 14 September 2007 (PlusNews) - The international community must take urgent action to eliminate rampant sexual violence in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Stephen Lewis, former UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa, has said. The contagion of sexual violence on the African continent is blood
Kenya: What about the female condom?: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 14, 2007; NAIROBI, 14 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Unpopular and misunderstood, the female condom has failed to take off in Kenya , depriving women of one of the few means over which they have control of protecting themselves against HIV infection in male-dominated societies. The introduction of the female condom in Kenya has fai
Swaziland: Tradition as a force against HIV/AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 14, 2007; MBABANE, 14 September 2007 (IRIN) - Circumstance, rather than planning, has placed the battle against HIV/AIDS firmly in the hands of Swaziland s 355 chiefdoms. The decentralisation strategy has evolved from government s failure to command the fight against the disease, or even deliver healthcare at its urban hospitals
ZAMBIA: Bibles and condoms: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 13, 2007; LUSAKA, 13 September 2007 (IRIN) - It is mandatory that Zambia s hotels, lodges and guest houses stock at least two Bibles in each of their rooms, but it is rare to come across condoms or even condom-vending machines, despite many of these establishments being used by commercial sex workers and their clients. About one
The Effect of Migration on HIV Rates: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 12, 2007; Francistown - Trying to measure the impact of the Zimbabwean exodus on HIV/AIDS rates in the region is so fraught with ifs, buts and maybes that the only reasonable assumption is that, like other migrants, economic migrants may run a higher risk of infection than they would have if they had not left their homes. The sc
Uganda: Time to address love and sexuality among teens born with HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 12, 2007; NAIROBI, 12 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Paediatric HIV care is high on the agenda of most HIV programmes today, but less talked about are the social aspects of life as a child born with the virus, and later on, as an adolescent facing the challenges of relationships and sexuality. The focus has been on the medical aspe
Kenya: MPs must push for women's access to health services: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 12, 2007; African parliamentarians need to push public policy to focus more on women s health issues, delegates attending a regional workshop organised by the Parliamentarians for Women s Health (PWH) [www.womens-healthcare.org] in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, heard this week. MPs [members of parliament] have the potential to dr
South Africa: Vaccine trial volunteers contributing to AIDS fight: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 10, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 10 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Although scientists hope that a vaccine will eventually offer the best protection against HIV infection, the complex biology of the virus has posed constant challenges and even a partially effective vaccine is still some years away. A number of potential HIV vaccines have ma
Malawi: Young people still reluctant to test: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 7, 2007; BLANTYRE, 7 September 2007 (PlusNews) - In July this year, Malawi conducted what has become an annual event - a Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) Week. Over the course of the week, 185,000 people tested at VCT centres throughout the country, almost double the number who tested in 2006. But according to Marjor
Uganda: Campaigning against cross-generational sex: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 7, 2007; NAIROBI, 7 September 2007 (PlusNews) - In most of Uganda , as in many parts of the world, it is acceptable for a man to be several years older than his partner or wife, so when Population Services International (PSI), a social marketing non-governmental organisation (NGO) recently launched a campaign against cross-gene
Kenya: Food shortages complicating ARV programme in the north: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 6, 2007; ISIOLO, 6 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Food shortages in arid, remote northern Kenya are making it impossible for HIV-positive people in the region to adhere to their antiretroviral (ARV) medication regime, relief workers say. The life-prolonging ARV drugs have been labelled death drugs because of the effect they have
Angola: TB threatens both workers and patients at Luanda Hospital: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 6, 2007; LUANDA, 6 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Luanda Sanatorium Hospital, which has a reputation as being Angola s leading tuberculosis (TB) treatment centre, should be a place of relief and recovery for patients with the disease in the capital, Luanda. But with a lack of protective materials for healthcare workers and crumbli
Kenya: Risk HIV or remain childless, the dilemma of discordance: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 6, 2007; NAIROBI, 6 September 2007 (PlusNews) - HIV-discordant couples in their child-bearing years face a life-changing decision: to remain childless or risk the HIV-negative partner contracting the virus for the sake of having a child. People get married to procreate, so when couples find out that they are discordant, the big
South Africa: Microbicide trials - what's in it for participants?: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 5, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 5 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Why would a woman volunteer to use a product that may or may not protect her from HIV infection, undergo a lengthy screening process and then commit to regular clinic visits for up to two years? South African women make up a significant number of the thousands in the African
Kenya: Specialised counsellors needed for effective counselling: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 5, 2007; NAIROBI, 5 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Untrained counsellors in HIV health centres could harm rather than help the voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) process, delegates attending a Kenya Association of Professional Counsellors (KAPC) conference in the capital, Nairobi, heard this week. There is a need to dist
Zimbabwe: Child migrants seek a better life in South Africa: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 4, 2007; MUSINA, 4 September 2007 (PlusNews) - He is only a teenager, but he is already a seasoned border jumper. Dressed in a torn t-shirt and blue work trousers, Robert, 16, (not his real name) told IRIN/PlusNews he had crossed the border from Zimbabwe four times since he first decided to come to
Edward Gene, Kenya, "I couldn't believe she was HIV-positive and I was HIV-negative": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - September 4, 2007; NAIROBI, Edward Gene* lives in the sprawling slum of Kibera, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. He is HIV-negative but his common-law wife, Josephine*, is HIV-positive. IRIN/PlusNews spoke to the couple. When we met in 2000, I didn t know Josephine was HIV-positive. We started living together and had a son later that same
Mozambique: Islamic leaders try to come to terms with AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks- September 3, 2007; PEMBA, 3 September 2007 (PlusNews) - Sheik Muhamade Aboulai Cheba s call to prayer wafts over the thatch-and-coral houses behind their four-metre high bamboo fences. The Indian Ocean shimmers between the tall slender trunks of palm trees at the turns and ends of the narrow, sandy alleys they shade. This is Paquitequete
Burundi: Sexual violence, cultural prejudice put women in HIV crosshairs: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks- September 3, 2007; BUJUMBURA, 3 September 2007 (PlusNews) - The low social status of Burundi s women leaves them vulnerable to sexual violence, while cultural taboos prevent them from seeking help. This is compounding their risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, according to local non-governmental organisation
Global: Encouraging news in vaccine development: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 31, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 31 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The long road to developing an effective HIV vaccine has been fraught with false leads and disappointing outcomes, but promising preliminary results from a vaccine study conducted in South Africa and the United States suggest scientists may finally be on the right path.
Kenya: Slow response to high HIV rates in prisons: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 31, 2007; NAIROBI, 31 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The problem of HIV in Kenya s prisons - where prevalence is about twice the national average - will remain unsolved as long as homosexuality is illegal, and prevention efforts remain out of reach, experts have warned. We know homosexuality exists in the prisons, but our hands are ti
Colombia: Giving youngsters an alternative to exploitation: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 31, 2007; BOGOTA, 31 August 2007 (PlusNews) - What do cards made of recycled paper, decorated with colourful fish, have to do with HIV prevention? At first glance, absolutely nothing. But at the Little Worker Foundation they are part of a project that aims for a better life in Bogota, capital of
Mali: Child marriage a neglected problem: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 30, 2007; NIORO DU SAHEL, 30 August 2007 (IRIN) - Two years ago, in the western Malian village of Korera-Kore, a 13-year-old girl was forced into marriage during her school summer holiday. She died after complications during sex on her wedding night. This young Malian, whose case was documented by a local organisation called the
Zimbabwe: Disability is much more than a physical contraint: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 30, 2007; HARARE, 30 August 2007 (IRIN) - The disabled are becoming increasingly marginalised, with the state and civil society neglecting their basic needs, says The forgotten tribe, people with disabilities in Zimbabwe , a new report. Data for the report, recently published by Progressio, an international development agency, i
Kenya: Paediatric care still facing major drawbacks: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 30, 2007; NAIROBI, 30 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Kenya s antiretroviral programme has grown by leaps and bounds since a presidential declaration made the drugs available free of charge in 2006, but infected children are still not accessing medication as easily as adults. We have 160,000 people on antiretroviral drugs across the co
Uganda: Lack of rural health services keeps HIV-positive IDPs in camps: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 29, 2007; KITGUM, 29 August 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - After attacks by the rebel Lord s Resistance Army in northern Uganda tailed off last year, the government said it would begin closing the camps housing more than one million people displaced by the 21-year conflict. But, despite continued calm, only a trickle of people has retur
Nigeria: College slammed for HIV testing: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 29, 2007; LAGOS, 29 August 2007 (PlusNews) - A private Christian university in Nigeria has come under fire from activists and health officials over its policy of compelling students to undergo HIV and pregnancy tests. Earlier this year, Covenant University, in Otta, a town near the port city of Lagos, in Ogun State, introduced m
South Africa: Condom recall hurts prevention drive: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 29, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 29 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The lives of millions of South Africans could be at risk, as South Africa s health department recalls 20 million government condoms and scrambles to do damage control after allegations of corruption in the country s quality-assurance and standards body. The condoms were recalle
Swaziland: The elderly have no time to retire: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 28, 2007; MBABANE, 28 August 2007 (IRIN) - At a time when Swaziland s elderly are taking on an increasingly vital role as household heads or caregivers to AIDS orphans, they often slip through the nets of humanitarian organisations, and government stipends are too small to cover basic needs. The elderly are rife for exploitation
In the wake of the LRA: HIV in Uganda and Sudan: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 28, 2007; Out of the turbulence in northern Uganda in the late 1980s, a new rebel group emerged led by Joseph Kony, a former altar boy and spirit medium. His Lord s Resistance Army (LRA) grew out of the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena, which galvanised an insurgency in Acholiland against President Yoweri Museveni before he
Indonesia: Female condom programme falters: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 28, 2007; JAKARTA, 28 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Ningsih [not her real name], 22, was taken aback when she was handed a pack of two female condoms in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia , but was even more surprised when she opened one. Measuring 17cm long and 7cm in diameter with a sponge attached inside, the female condom is indeed la
Cote D'Ivoire: Rural areas neglected by AIDS response: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 28, 2007; ABIDJAN, 28 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Rural areas in Cote d Ivoire seem to have fallen off the map in HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, and although the HIV prevalence rates are still lower than those found in cities, experts fear they could climb. We have observed an imbalance in terms of the approach to the fight against A
Liberia: HIV Rates Lower Than Feared: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 27, 2007; Monrovia - Reliable statistics on HIV/AIDS have been hard to come by in Liberia , slowly recovering from years of conflict, but two recently released surveys indicate a much lower HIV/AIDS prevalence rate than was previously thought. This is a reliable survey, involving 7,000 households across the country, where indivi
Guinea-Bissau: Two thousand girls a year suffer genital mutilation: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 27, 2007; BISSAU, 27 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The annual female genital mutilation season in Guinea-Bissau begins when schools close for the winter holidays from July to September. The UN Children s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that each year the parents of around 2,000 girls send them to fanatecas to be ritually circumcised. Si
Uganda: Overview: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 27, 2007; GULU, 27 August 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - Out of the turbulence in northern Uganda in the late 1980s, a new rebel group emerged led by Joseph Kony, a former altar boy and spirit medium. His Lord s Resistance Army (LRA) grew out of the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena, which galvanised an insurgency in Acholiland agai
Malawi: Fish farming eases living with HIV/AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 27, 2007; ZOMBA, 27 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Widowed Esnat Singano, 54, did not know her husband was HIV positive until almost two years after his death in 2000, when she also tested positive for the virus. After one of her four children also died as a result of the disease, she was left to care for two of her grandchildren and
Nigeria: Construction of hundreds of local health centres suspended: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 24, 2007; DAKAR, 24 August 2007 (IRIN) - Recently-elected Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar Adua has suspended the construction of 774 healthcare centres throughout his country, drawing questions on how his administration plans to tackle the increasingly dire health care situation in Africa s most populous nation. Whatever the r
Uganda: State homophobia putting gays at HIV risk - activists: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 24, 2007; NAIROBI, 24 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The Ugandan government s hostility towards the gay community leaves them out of health programmes, putting them at greater risk of HIV, the New York-based lobby group, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned this week. In a climate where silence about sexuality is enforced by state action,
Zimbabwe: Fake ARVs threaten lives: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 24, 2007; HARARE, 24 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The high cost antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and inadequate control mechanisms in Zimbabwe are driving a flourishing trade in fake ARVs by unlicensed dealers, activists have warned. The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) recently issued a statement warning the public that the
Sudan: AIDS education not reaching booming Yei fast enough: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 23, 2007; YEI, 23 August 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - It s the middle of the afternoon and a group of teenagers are playing cards in a homestead in the town of Yei, southern Sudan . The girls are heavily made up and the boys sport cowboy hats and basketball vests. You can smell the cigarettes and vodka they are passing around, and the
Global: Microbes don't know geography - WHO report: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 23, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 23 August 2007 (IRIN) - Regardless of capability or wealth, no country is immune to the increasing risk of disease outbreaks, epidemics, industrial accidents and other health emergencies, according to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report. Public health is threatened on a global scale, and the pros
Uganda: A glimpse into the HIV prevention policy of the LRA: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 23, 2007; YEI, 23 August 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - Almost nothing is known about life in the ranks of northern Uganda s cult-like rebel group, the Lord s Resistance Army (LRA), but their track record of violence and abduction is no secret. In the Acholi region, boys are recruited as soldiers and forced to commit vicious crimes, oft
Ethiopia: Almaz Hailu, Ethiopia, "My husband told me his ARVs were vitamins": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 23, 2007; ADDIS ABABA, 23 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Almaz Hailu*, 35, is an HIV-positive widow living with an aunt and struggling to raise two young children in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. Three years ago, I started to see my husband taking pills every night after dinner. I did not question him for a while, but I became m
Liberia: HIV rates lower than feared: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 23, 2007; MONROVIA, 23 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Reliable statistics on HIV/AIDS have been hard to come by in Liberia , slowly recovering from years of conflict, but two recently released surveys indicate a much lower HIV/AIDS prevalence rate than was previously thought. This is a reliable survey, involving 7,000 households acros
Global: Sexing-up safer sex: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 23, 2007; COLOMBO (PLUSNEWS) - Male delegates hunched over a crudely drawn outline of the female body, attempting to reach consensus on a woman s places of sexual pleasure . On the other side of the conference room, female delegates marked a sketch of the male body with liberal sprinklings of heart symbols to denote his hot spot
South Africa: New report confirms nutrition no substitute for treatment: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 23, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 23 August 2007 (IRIN) - There is no evidence that better nutrition can substitute for antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, a new report has found. These findings might seem unremarkable anywhere else in the world, but not in South Africa , where the issue of nutrition has been tainted by a damaging debate that
Burkina FASO: Census shows population growth rising: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 22, 2007; OUAGADOUGOU, 22 August 2007 (IRIN) - Burkina Faso s population is growing increasingly rapidly largely because every woman in the country bears on average seven children, according to national census results published in August. Burkina Faso has a population of 13.31 million which is expanding by 2.95 percent every yea
Somalia: Somaliland rolls out ARV treatment, but HIV/AIDS education lagging: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 22, 2007; HARGEISA, 22 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Almost two years after appointing a national HIV/AIDS commission, the self-declared republic of Somaliland, in northwestern Somalia , has slowly begun rolling out antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. The ARV programme, funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, start
Rahma Hirsi, Somaliland, "I will never tell my children I am HIV positive": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 22, 2007; HARGEISA, Twenty-nine-year-old Rahma Hirsi is trying to raise three children on her own following the death of her husband in 2006. She was diagnosed with HIV the same year and has been on antiretroviral (ARV) medication at Somaliland s Hargeisa Group Hospital since then. I first found out I was HIV-positive in January
Asia: Migrants find the greener grass has higher risks: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 22, 2007; COLOMBO, 22 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Every year, 200,000 Sri Lankans go overseas in search of better-paying jobs to support their families. Most of them are young women who work as housemaids or in garment factories in the Middle East for around $120 a week; their remittances may help boost the finances of households a
Asia: No room for transgender people in HIV funding: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 21, 2007; COLOMBO, 21 August 2007 (PlusNews) - In Asia, as in many parts of the world, men who have sex with men often hide their sexual preferences for fear of being harassed by police, ostracised by their families or discriminated against by their communities. But transgender people, who do not identify with the sexuality they
Asia: Injecting drug users at the interface between humaneness and the law: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 21, 2007; COLOMBO, 21 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Injecting drug use is driving HIV epidemics in many parts of the Asia-Pacific region: in some countries, injecting drug users (IDUs) make up more than half of people living with the virus. Prof Adeeba Kamarulzaman, of the University of Malaysia s Infectious Diseases Unit, told deleg
Uganda: High sexual violence places women at greater HIV risk: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 21, 2007; NAIROBI, 21 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Almost 40 percent of Ugandan women aged between 15 and 49 have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, a statistic that is unacceptably high , gender experts said. One in four Ugandan women said their first sexual intercourse was against their will, according to
Asia: "Seize the opportunities of hope": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 20, 2007; COLOMBO, 20 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The Eighth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) opened on Sunday in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, with speakers stressing the need for action to prevent a surge in the regional infection rate. UNAIDS , co-sponsor of the congress, along with the AIDS Soci
Madagascar: New law to fight HIV/AIDS stigma: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 20, 2007; ANTANANARIVO, 20 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The HIV prevalence rate in the island nation of Madagascar may be lower than its neighbouring Southern Africa countries, but the levels of stigma and discrimination are just as high. Activists and government officials are hoping that a recently introduced law will alleviate the
Kenya: Activists urge government to implement HIV/AIDS law: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 17, 2007; NAIROBI, 17 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Kenya s HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act was signed into law in December 2006, but eight months on, it is yet to be implemented. We started celebrating and only later realised that the Act did not have a commencement date, said Allan Ragi, executive director of the Kenya AIDS NGO
Somalia: Increased sexual violence raises HIV concerns: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 16, 2007; NAIROBI, 16 August 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Escalating violence in Somalia is increasing the incidence of sexual attacks against women and girls and heightening their risk of HIV infection, say humanitarian workers based in the region. While we do not currently have accurate data on the extent of sexual violence across the co
Chad: AIDS funding flows again: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 16, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 16 August 2007 (PLUSNEWS) - Almost a year after suspending a grant of over US$20 million for Chad s AIDS and tuberculosis response, the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced this week that it had lifted the sanctions, which had severely disrupted efforts to curb the spread of t
Kenya: Lower infection rates creates new challenges: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 15, 2007; NAIROBI, 15 August 2007 (PlusNews) - New statistics showing a decline in Kenya s HIV prevalence demonstrate that the government s fight against the pandemic is having an impact, but they also present fresh challenges, health officials said this week. Prof Alloys Orago, director of the National AIDS Control Council (NAC
Nigeria: Muslim groups join the struggle: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 15, 2007; LAGOS, 15 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Every weekend groups of Muslim women belonging to Al Muminat (The Believing Women) meet in Lagos, Nigeria s commercial capital, and along with discussing spiritual matters, tackle the very temporal issue of AIDS. The Social Advocacy Projects (SAP) arm of Al Muminat introduced the talk
Sudan: ARV shortages slow treatment efforts in the south: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 14, 2007; YEI, 14 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The unavailability of life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in southern Sudan is threatening thousands of lives and forcing many patients to travel to neighbouring Uganda in search of the medication. There are no ARVs here, so once a month we have to travel to Arua [a town in north
Ethiopia: Course: TB/HIV Collaborative Activities Management, German Leprosy and TB Relief Association and All: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 13, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 13 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The course provides TB and HIV/AIDS managers with the necessary skills to plan, budget, implement and monitor TB/HIV collaborative projects and programmes. The course also strives to foster coordination between TB and HIV/AIDS programmes. For more information, please contact Mo
Selam Tesfaye, Ethiopia, 'My own father gave me HIV': UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 12, 2007; ADDIS ABABA, Selam Tesfaye* was born and raised in Mekele, northern Ethiopia . At the age of 13 she was raped by her father, who also infected her with HIV. This is her story. When my parents divorced I was very little and I had to stay with my mother and my two sisters. We were living a good life until my mother died
South Africa: Deputy health minister 'sacked for doing her job': UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 10, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 10 August 2007 (PlusNews) - South African deputy health minister, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, told a media briefing in Cape Town on Friday that President Thabo Mbeki sacked her for just doing my job. Madlala-Routledge was appointed deputy minister in 2004, but it soon became apparent that her views on HIV/
Benin: Internet new frontline in AIDS awareness: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 10, 2007; COTONOU, 10 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Dieudonne Sourou never leaves the cybercafe in Cotonou, Benin s commercial capital, where he comes every week to check his personal emails, without sending what this 25-year-old calls useful messages raising HIV awareness. In this little cybercafe in the northern outskirts of Cotono
Africa: Women still back of the queue on land access: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 9, 2007; NAIROBI, 9 August 2007 (PlusNews) - The yams in the family plot were ripe when Elizabeth Igwenagu s husband died. But at the end of the one-week-long burial rite, his family harvested the entire crop of the thick, potato-like tubers, a staple starch in southern Nigeria . I begged them to leave some for the children, bu
Senegal: Circumcision message could confuse gay community: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 8, 2007; DAKAR, 8 August 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - Experts are warning Senegalese men who have sex with men not to get caught up in the hype about male circumcision after recent research indicated that the procedure could offer some protection against HIV, and are urging them to keep using other means of protection. In 2006, the r
Cape Verde: Sex tourism on the rise?: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 8, 2007; SANTA MARIA, 8 August 2007 (PlusNews) - It is around midnight and the main tourist drag in the pretty beachside town of Santa Maria, on the island of Sal is starting to fill up for a long night of partying. In one of the bars that line the cobbled street a young woman in a miniskirt dances alone to blaring music while
Jacqueline Kingombe, "I couldn't believe that my own sister would throw me out": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 7, 2007; BUKAVU, HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination have featured greatly in the life of Jacqueline Kingombe, 36, a widow struggling to bring up five children in Bukavu, capital of South Kivu Province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). When her soldier husband, Gaston Mufula, died in the capital, Kinshasa,
Africa-Asia: Novartis ruling good news for ARV access: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 7, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 7 August 2007 (PlusNews) - News of the Indian High Court s ruling against Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Novartis, this week, has been welcomed by AIDS activists in the developing world. Novartis had challenged an Indian law that allows the country to refuse a patent for a medicine that is a modified version
DRC: Stigma hampers fight against HIV/AIDS in South Kivu: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 3, 2007; BUKAVU, 3 August 2007 (PlusNews) - In the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where people are often more concerned about their safety than HIV/AIDS, widespread stigma and discrimination are driving the epidemic underground, especially in the province of South Kivu. When my neighbours learnt that I was
Swaziland: Spiralling TB cases overwhelm health sector: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 3, 2007; MANZINI, 3 August 2007 (PlusNews) - Swazi health officials are concerned that the nearly two thirds of tuberculosis patients who do not complete their treatment could spell disaster for containing the spread of drug-resistant strains of the disease, particularly in patients co-infected with HIV. TB treatment completion
Africa: Falling HIV rates tell complex story: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 2, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 2 August 2007 (PlusNews) - When it comes to sub-Saharan Africa s devastating AIDS crisis, there is an understandable tendency to latch onto any scrap of good news. Figures suggesting the epidemic is waning in some countries are being trumpeted by governments and international donor agencies as evidence th
South Africa: Government encouraged by latest HIV figures: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 2, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 2 August 2007 (PlusNews) - After a steep increase in the 1990s, and several years of plateauing, South Africa s HIV prevalence may finally have entered a phase of decline. The first evidence of this downward trend comes from the government s 2006 National HIV and Syphilis Survey, which tested more than 33
Swaziland: Hard times raise levels of abuse: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 1, 2007; MBABANE, 1 August 2007 (IRIN) - Pamela moves lethargically down the queue of trucks waiting for customs clearance at the Lavumisa border post between southern Swaziland and South Africa ; an unlikely place for a 13-year-old but, hungry and hopeless, she says selling herself for food to truckers is her only alternative.
South Africa: Clamping down on botched circumcisions: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 1, 2007; MTHATA, 1 August 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - By the time winter has ended, thousands of young South African boys will have gone through a month-long traditional rite of passage and become men. But becoming a man can be a life-threatening business. The ancient ritual has come under fire in recent years as health authorities
Margaret Zania, "Taking care of my HIV+ grandchild has changed my life": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - August 1, 2007; BUKAVU, Margaret Zania, 60, a petty trader in Bukavu, capital of South Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is all that seven-year-old Mwajuma Rajabu has in the world since her parents died of an AIDS-related illness in 2005. Zania s life has been taken over by caring for her grandchild, who
Botswana: Report delves into HIV risks of sex workers and their clients: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 30, 2007; GABORONE, 30 July 2007 (PlusNews) - They sell sex for money or goods. It s a risky business - and illegal in Botswana - but female sex workers are out there, and so are the clients who keep them in business. Until now, not much was understood about sex workers in Botswana: what risks they take and what motivates them,
Nigeria: Supporting discordant couples to stay together: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 27, 2007; LAGOS, 27 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Ibrahim Umoru enjoyed a harmonious relationship with his wife in Lagos, Nigeria s most populous city, until he tested positive for HIV in 2001. Despite initially showing some understanding of his situation, his wife, who was HIV negative, eventually left him. She managed to endure with
Tanzania: Escalating drug use threatens AIDS fight: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 27, 2007; STONE TOWN, 27 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Fatma Shaibu keeps regular hours. During the day she does housework in Stone Town, capital of the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar, and at night she sells sex to customers at the local disco. Her escape from the daily grind is three heroin injections - morning, afternoon and night.
Sudan-Uganda: Programmes disregard HIV among the elderly: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 27, 2007; JUBA/HOIMA, 27 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Agnes Buya*, 66, lies in the infectious diseases ward of Juba Teaching Hospital in southern Sudan . Painfully thin, she has been suffering from tuberculosis for the last year. I came to the hospital a few days ago; the family who were caring for me couldn t look after me anymore,
Yemen: "It's tough living with HIV": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 26, 2007; SANAA, 26 July 2007 (PlusNews) - For Alawi Bahumaid, 41, who recently lost his job with a Norwegian oil company in Yemen , the bitter struggle of rebuilding his life and looking for a new job starts again. This is the second time I have lost my job because of my HIV status, he said in the capital, Sanaa. I had such ho
Zambia: New testing method set to improve child survival: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 26, 2007; LUSAKA, 26 July 2007 (PlusNews) - A new testing method will make it possible for babies below the age of 18 months to be accurately screened for HIV. Infants up to this age still carry their mother s antibodies and, using the usual testing method, can test HIV positive when, in fact, they are negative. Until now, the o
South Africa: The 9th HEARD HIV/AIDS Course: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 25, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 25 July 2007 (PlusNews) - The Health Economics and Research Division (HEARD) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa , invites all senior professionals concerned with planning for the economic, social, demographic and human resource implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic to attend this course.
Swaziland: UN asks for $15.6 million to save 400,000 people: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 25, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 25 July 2007 (IRIN) - With about 40 percent of Swaziland s one million people facing acute food and water shortages, UN agencies have appealed to the international donor community for a timely response to avert a full-blown humanitarian crisis in the drought-struck kingdom. Preliminary findings of the fir
Tausi Ki Parara, "I felt like if I touched someone I would infect them": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 25, 2007; STONE TOWN, In 2001, the private life of Tausi Ki Parara became the subject of much local gossip in her neighbourhood of Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar, an Indian Ocean island off the coast of Tanzania . Peacock , the English translation of her Kiswahili name, was sick and her prospective husband had packed up and
Global: MSM still marginalised in AIDS response: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 25, 2007; SYDNEY, 25 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Widespread and worsening HIV infection rates among men who have sex with men (MSM) threaten to devastate this marginalised group, researchers warned this week at the fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, in Sydney. The American Foun
Global: Essential new AIDS drugs unaffordable for developing countries: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 25, 2007; SYDNEY, 25 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Sizable reductions in the cost of antiretroviral (ARV) medication in recent years have allowed millions of HIV-positive people in the developing world to access the life-prolonging drugs, but international humanitarian agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says those gains are facing a
Global: New findings could extend lives of positive children: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 25, 2007; SYDNEY, 25 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Only 15 percent of children who need treatment are receiving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, the world s largest gathering on AIDS and science, heard on Wednesday in Sydney, Australia .
Global: AIDS community moving too slowly on male circumcision: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 24, 2007; SYDNEY, 24 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Six years, over US$20 million, and probably one million new preventable infections; that s how much it took for AIDS researchers to be convinced that male circumcision should be considered as a prevention strategy. Delegates attending the fourth International AIDS Society Conference on
Africa: Mass male circumcision - what will it mean for women?: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 24, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 24 July 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - Women s voices have gone largely unheard in the debate on male circumcision as an HIV prevention method, but informal discussions with women reveal a range of concerns, preferences and views that researchers and governments would do well to consider before drawing up plans f
Kenya: Inspiring young people in slums: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 23, 2007; NAIROBI, 23 July 2007 (IRIN) - Kenya s general elections in December hold special promise for Willis Booster Mbatia, a resident of the sprawling Mathare slums, one of the largest informal settlements in Nairobi. Mbatia, 27, hopes to be one of the local councillors: It is about time the youth, especially those in the sl
South Africa: Positive mothers, children need more to reach MDGs: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 23, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 23 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Paediatric AIDS and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) are still stumbling blocks as South Africa hits the halfway mark in its race to meet the 2015 deadline for the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The National Consultative Health Forum, which conclude
At the Cutting edge - male circumcision and HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 20, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 20 July 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - Is mass male circumcision the new big thing in HIV prevention, or is it a risky social experiment that threatens to divert funding from tried and tested interventions? UNAIDS is careful in its assessment: Without question, we absolutely have to ensure that men and women are
Swaziland: ARV rollout on track but not without challenges: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 20, 2007; MANZINI, 20 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Despite the Swazi government s claim that it is hitting its targets as it rolls out life-prolonging ART (antiretroviral therapy), AIDS activists warn that the government may be aiming too low and that serious challenges remain, particularly regarding women. There were over 15,000 pati
Somalia: Mapping 'hot-spots' for a more effective AIDS response: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 20, 2007; NAIROBI, 20 July 2007 (PlusNews) - HIV prevalence in Somalia , now at 0.9 percent, is verging on being a generalised epidemic, but little is known about the factors that are driving it. In August, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will embark on a hot-spot mapping exercise to enable partners in the HI
Afghanistan: Malaria cases set to rise in 2007: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 19, 2007; KABUL, 19 July 2007 (IRIN) - Flooding, armed conflict and population displacements are factors likely to increase malaria cases in Afghanistan this year, public health officials warn. In 14 high-risk provinces the number of malaria patients will surpass that of 2006, Abdulwase Ashaa, director of the national anti-malar
Swaziland: ARV rollout on track but not without challenges: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 19, 2007; MBABANE, 19 July 2007 (IRIN) - Despite the Swazi government s claim that it is hitting its targets as it rolls out life-prolonging ART (antiretroviral therapy), HIV/AIDS activists warn that the government may be aiming too low and that serious challenges remain, particularly regarding women. There were over 15,000 pati
Lesotho: Hungry for assistance: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 18, 2007; MASERU, 18 July 2007 (IRIN) - In the wake of the most severe drought in 30 years, the kingdom of Lesotho has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international assistance for over 400,000 people in need of urgent food aid. Food assessments conducted by local and international institutions and organisations, i
Tanzania: Government to step up ARV rollout and VCT: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 18, 2007; DAR ES SALAAM, 18 July 2007 (PlusNews) - The Tanzanian government has announced plans to nearly double the number of people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment by the end of 2007. The East African country, where an estimated 1.4 million people are living with the HI virus, has 77,066 patients on the life-prolonging medic
Kyrgyzstan: Health officials seek to contain malaria: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 17, 2007; ALMATY, 17 July 2007 (IRIN) - Kyrgyzstan is seeking to contain a malaria outbreak which has seen over 40 people infected so far this year. However, health officials point to a 40 percent drop in cases compared to the same period last year as a promising sign they are making progress in the fight against malaria. T
South Africa: The 9th HEARD HIV/AIDS Course: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 16, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 16 July 2007 (PlusNews) - The Health Economics and Research Division (HEARD) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa , invites all senior professionals concerned with planning for the economic, social, demographic and human resource implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic to attend this course.
Swaziland: Stretched health system leaves home care as only alternative: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 13, 2007; MBABANE, 13 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Facilities and staff are being stretched beyond capacity as Swaziland s public healthcare system buckles under a surge of HIV/AIDS patients, leaving many with home-based care (HBC) as the only alternative, says a new report. At health centres and hospitals, health workers reported inc
Nigeria: Workplace policy to protect HIV-positive people is "toothless": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 12, 2007; LAGOS, 12 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Many HIV-positive Nigerians are still losing their jobs or being denied work because of their status. Activists say a national workplace policy to protect them from stigma and discrimination, adopted over two years ago, is practically toothless. The policy is not effective at all; most
Ethiopia: 'Community conversations' opening up the AIDS discussion: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 12, 2007; ADDIS ABABA, 12 July 2007 (PlusNews) - A programme known as community conversations (CC) is making traditionally conservative Ethiopians open up and face the realities of HIV, including the need to treat people affected by the pandemic with greater respect and acceptance. The project began in 2002 in southern Ethiopia
Global: A new tool for measuring stigma: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 11, 2007; NAIROBI, 11 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Rejection. Fear. Anger. These are some of the feelings that come to the surface when HIV-positive women talk about stigma and discrimination. It s like being completely invisible to society, said Esther Sheehama, 24, of the Young Women s Christian Association (YWCA) of
Burundi: Sex and drugs leave Bujumbura's homeless at risk of HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 11, 2007; BUJUMBURA, 11 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Thousands of children and adults living rough on the streets of Burundi s capital, Bujumbura, face a daily struggle to eat and find a warm corner to sleep in; many blot out the reality of their situation by turning to sex and drugs. Innocent Bagayuwitonze, now 26, has been living on
Angola-Burkina Faso: Three out of every ten babies born to HIV positive mothers will be born with the virus without PMTCT: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 11, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 11 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Three out of every ten babies born to HIV positive mothers will be born with the virus without PMTCT, according to the South African Health Department.
Global: Women want a bigger piece of the funding pie: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 10, 2007; NAIROBI, 10 July 2007 (PlusNews) - After burning the midnight oil for many weeks while preparing a US$50 million gender-based project proposal to lay before the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, Swazi activists found that it had vanished from their country s grant application. They were dumbfounded. No one
Global: Sexuality a human right for HIV positive women: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 9, 2007; NAIROBI, 9 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Abstinence or a sexually active life? The dilemma, faced daily by HIV-positive women around the world, was discussed by delegates attending the first global conference on women and AIDS, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Many campaigns have preached abstinence from sex as the best way to
Emily Akinyi, "I cried that night till there was no more tears": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 8, 2007; NAIROBI, Emily Akinyi, 30, a widowed mother of two children, is studying towards a diploma in community development. In August 2005 my husband fell sick and was admitted to Mbagathi District Hospital [in Nairobi, Kenya ]. When I went to visit him he was confused, his mind was not together. I had brought him food; he re
Global forum for women with HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 5, 2007; NAIROBI, 5 July 2007 (PlusNews) - AIDS does not only travel with truckers along African highways; it flies business class with men in dark suits, crawls into marriages and lurks in playgrounds. It smiles at you every day at work and, disproportionately, affects African women and girls because of gender inequalities.
Liberia: New programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission gains momentum: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 4, 2007; MONROVIA, 4 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Thousands of pregnant women have been tested for HIV since Liberia introduced a programme to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmissions (PMTCT) eight months ago, according to the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). The turnout of pregnant women at hospitals and clinics where we are
Kenya: International Women's Summit: Women's Leadership on HIV and AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 4, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 4 July 2007 (PlusNews) - The World Young Women s Christian Association (YWCA), in partnership with the International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (ICW) and other international organisations, will host its first ever global conference on women and AIDS. The summit will bring together over 1,
South Africa: Quackery hinders AIDS treatment efforts: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 2, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 2 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Got a cure for AIDS? Maybe you re convinced that large doses of vitamins can do the trick or that you have found the answer scores of scientists over the last 25 years could not. If you live in South Africa there is little to prevent you from packaging your wonder product in an
South Africa: Business booming for untested AIDS remedies: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 2, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 2 July 2007 (PlusNews) - A powerful immune booster proclaims a large advertisement in the window of a downtown pharmacy in Johannesburg, South Africa . The product, called Qina, sells for R120 [US$17] in bottles labelled clinically proven . HIV and AIDS top the list of diseases it claims to alleviate.
Afghanistan: Government calls for help as HIV rates rise: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 2, 2007; KABUL, 2 July 2007 (PlusNews) - The numbers may be small, but HIV infection rates are rising in Afghanistan , prompting the government to call for help from UNAIDS . Although just 245 people have been confirmed as HIV-positive, we estimate up to 3,000 more people, at large, could be infected with the virus, Afghanista
Africa: No evidence war fuels HIV crisis - study: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - July 2, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 2 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Experts have long assumed that the violence, wide-scale rape and refugee crises are the inevitable by-products of war that fuel HIV/AIDS epidemics, but an analysis of HIV prevalence surveys from seven sub-Saharan African countries with similar recent histories found no evidence th
Swaziland: New HIV figures reveal extent of epidemic: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 29, 2007; MBABANE, 29 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Swaziland s first Demographic Health Survey has found that 26 percent of sexually active Swazis are infected with HIV. The last prevalence survey, based on tests of pregnant women at antenatal clinics, had found a 38.6 percent HIV infection rate. The new figure was derived from a hous
Sri Lanka: Low AIDS figures despite years of conflict: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 29, 2007; COLOMBO, 29 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Asia s longest-running conflict has created the perfect environment for an AIDS epidemic to flourish in Sri Lanka , but surprisingly, decades of war have brought only a slow spread of the disease in vulnerable groups. AIDS activists said the fallout from the protracted ethnic conf
Tanzania: Private-public partnership boosts healthcare: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 28, 2007; ARUSHA, 28 June 2007 (IRIN) - Residents of Tanzania s northern regions of Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Manyara will benefit from improved diagnostic services after the installation of an ultra-modern laboratory at the Mt Meru Hospital in Arusha town. The hospital can now provide automated testing crucial for the diagnosis a
IN-DEPTH: AIDS and childhood in southern Africa: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 27, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 27 June 2007 (PlusNews) - The term AIDS orphan is misleading. It suggests the child itself is HIV-positive, which invariably is not the case, and perpetuates the stigma and discrimination experienced by AIDS-affected children. The term orphans and vulnerable children is now more commonly used to better ex
Burkina Faso-Niger: Children made faceless by a disease of neglect: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 26, 2007; OUAGADOUGOU, 26 June 2007 (IRIN) - Through clenched teeth and with the assistance of an adult interpreter, Noufou stuttered out his tale. He had lost both his parents, was made homelessness and lived on the streets. Then one day he woke up with blood in his mouth. Within two weeks half his face had slid off leaving a g
Mozambique: Injecting drug use - a shot in the arm for HIV prevalence: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 26, 2007; MAPUTO, 26 June 2007 (PlusNews) - In Maputo, Mozambique s capital, the neighbourhoods of Serrano and Mafalala are the most popular places for buying drugs. Users visit small, ordinary-looking houses there to buy and shoot up heroin, cocaine and amphetamines. Addicts always leave syringes that others pick up and use, s
Africa: Taking stock of the AIDS response: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 26, 2007; KIGALI, 26 June 2007 (PlusNews) - When some of the world s largest donors to the global AIDS response organise a conference for implementers , there is none of the chaos and rush of larger AIDS gatherings, or any of the free goods and gimmicks hawked by large pharmaceutical companies: no conference bags; no protests; n
Kenya: International Women's Summit: Women's Leadership on HIV and AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 26, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 4 July 2007 (PlusNews) - The World Young Women s Christian Association (YWCA), in partnership with the International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (ICW) and other international organisations, will host its first ever global conference on women and AIDS. The summit will bring together over 1,
Africa: New drugs - Novel resistance patterns: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 26, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 12 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Conducted by the UK-based HIV Training and Resource Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, and taking place on 12 and 13 July 2007 at St. Catherine s College, in Oxford, UK, this training aims to familiarise participants with the ever-evolving field of HIV resistance and al
Senegal: ICASA 2008 - change in venue: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 26, 2007; DAKAR, 8 December 2007 (PlusNews) - The Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) has announced a change in the venue and date of the 15th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), which was originally scheduled to take place in Libreville, Gabon from 8 to 11 December 2007.
"I am HIV-positive, only my wife doesn't know": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 25, 2007; MARIDI, Stephen, 25, from Maridi County in South Sudan , has lived with HIV for two years, but has kept it a secret from his wife. He says he wants to be open about his status, but fears his wife s reaction. I cannot tell from whom I got HIV. I have had many girlfriends with whom I had unprotected sex. Most of my r
Mozambique: Left with nothing: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 25, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 25 June 2007 (IRIN) - While visiting various projects in Mozambique s Zambezia Province in the north of the country last year, Chris McIvor, programme director of Save the Children, a UK-based non-governmental organisation that helps children in need, came across a house being built for four orphaned chil
Sudan: Juba's street children survive at risk of HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 22, 2007; JUBA, 22 June 2007 (PlusNews) - In the marketplaces of Juba, South Sudan s capital, young boys chant: Washing feet, washing feet! Others simply stand with their hands out, asking repeatedly for a little money or a bit of food . These children, who sleep on the steps of buildings or in abandoned market stalls, are the f
Uganda: Need for fresh prevention strategy to tackle 'evolving' epidemic: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 22, 2007; NAIROBI, 22 June 2007 (PlusNews) - As Uganda s AIDS epidemic matures, bringing altered behaviour patterns, prevention messages must be adjusted to reflect the new dynamics of the pandemic, senior health officials have said. The landscape has changed; it s important to understand what is driving the epidemic, Dr David A
When our parents died, we were accused of sorcery: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 22, 2007; KINSHASA, When David Kanyama s parents died six years ago, he and his four brothers went to live with their grandfather, but were soon chased from his home. My grandfather said that we were sorcerers; that we had killed his son through our sorcery and that we did not have the right to benefit from the property of a per
South Africa: Deaf Women and HIV/AIDS in Africa: No Time to Wait: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 21, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 21 June 2007 (PlusNews) - This summer, workers, researchers and policymakers in the fields of deafness and HIV/AIDS will attend an international conference in hopes of shedding light on a serious issue facing deaf African women. The event, Deaf Women and HIV/AIDS in Africa: No Time to Wait, takes place fr
Circumcision: a woman's view: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 20, 2007; Women s voices have largely gone unheard in the debate on male circumcision as an HIV-prevention method, but informal discussions with women reveal a range of concerns, preferences and views that researchers and governments would do well to consider before drawing up plans for rolling out a national circumcision progra
Africa: Religious leaders urged to drop 'holier than thou' attitude to HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 20, 2007; NAIROBI, 20 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Understanding and support, not moral judgment, is what HIV-positive people need from their religious leaders; this was the message from a recent meeting of the International Network of Religious Leaders living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+) in the Kenyan capita
Africa: Better integration needed in fight against linked HIV and TB infection: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 20, 2007; KIGALI, 20 June 2007 (PlusNews) - An HIV-positive patient with tuberculosis (TB) can find that, in Africa, obtaining care and treatment for both conditions is often a slow and frustrating experience, necessitating constant shuttling between doctors and clinics. TB, an airborne infection, is the leading cause of death a
South Africa: Cervical cancer vaccine offers distant hope: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 19, 2007; CAPE TOWN, 19 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Two new vaccines that protect women against cervical cancer could save thousands of lives in sub-Saharan Africa, where most cases of cervical cancer go undetected until they are too far advanced to treat. The vaccines hold particular promise for women who contract HIV and become mor
Kenya: Protecting widows from dangerous customs: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 19, 2007; KISUMU, 19 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Peres Atieno didn t know what AIDS was when her husband died 11 years ago, nor did she suspect she might be HIV-positive. What she did know was that custom required her to be inherited by her dead husband s brother, a relationship that would ensure she and her children were taken care
Africa: Sharing more than just the matrimonial bed: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 19, 2007; KIGALI, 19 June 2007 (PlusNews) - It s not cheap motels or the back seats of cars but the marriage bed where the new high-risk sex takes place in Uganda , delegates attending a conference on scaling up AIDS services, held in Kigali, Rwanda , heard this week. Dr David Apuuli, director-general of the Uganda AIDS Comm
Africa: Armed forces find HIV a tough opponent: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 19, 2007; KIGALI, 19 June 2007 (IRIN) - When young men sign up to join the army, they have to undergo a series of tests to determine their eligibility. Increasingly, in Africa, an HIV test is one of them and, if you are positive, a potential career can come to an abrupt halt. If you are HIV-positive you could be facing career de
Zambia: AIDS drug recall creates panic: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 19, 2007; LUSAKA, 19 June 2007 (IRIN) - Contamination of the AIDS drug, Viracept , has created panic among HIV-positive Zambians on antiretroviral therapy, who fear other AIDS drugs may not be safe. Purity Mwamba, an HIV-positive housewife in the capital, Lusaka, told IRIN/PlusNews: I may not be on Viracept, but I am deeply con
"It's hard to tell the congregation about my status": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 18, 2007; NAIROBI, Father Francis Nseka is a Roman Catholic parish priest working in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Nseka spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about the challenges of being a priest living with HIV. I was ill for a long time and had lost a lot of weight before I was tested for HIV. Eventually, whe
South Africa: The 9th HEARD HIV/AIDS Course: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 16, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 16 June 2007 (PlusNews) - The Health Economics and Research Division (HEARD) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa , invites all senior professionals concerned with planning for the economic, social, demographic and human resource implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic to attend this course.
Rwanda: 2007 HIV Implementers Meeting - June 16 to 19, 2007, Kigali: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 16, 2007; NAIROBI, 16 June 2007 (PlusNews) - The theme for this conference is Scaling Up Through Partnerships and it is a collaboration between the U.S. President s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria, UNAIDS , UNICEF, the World Bank, and the
East Africa: Increased spending pledged for social services and IDPs: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 15, 2007; NAIROBI, 15 June 2007 (IRIN) - In their budget proposals for 2007-2008, Kenya and Tanzania pledged to boost spending on education and health, while Uganda set aside funds for rehabilitating the conflict-ravaged north, where internally displaced persons (IDPs) are returning to their villages.
Mozambique: AIDS epidemic overwhelms health facilities: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 15, 2007; BEIRA, 15 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Ana Ndongue, 19, travelled from Buzi, about 30km from the port city of Beira, in Mozambique , in search of a better life. She sold snacks on the beach and her best clients were fishermen. She fell in love with one of them, Manuel, but in 2006 he died from an AIDS-related illness. To
South Africa: Mortality figures point to AIDS toll: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 15, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 15 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Deaths are on the rise in South Africa , with the latest government mortality figures showing a 3.3 percent increase between 2004 and 2005. According to a media statement from Statistics SA, the government agency which published the report, the latest figures are consistent with
They raided my inheritance even before my husband died: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 14, 2007; ADDIS ABABA, Wubit Debele*, 37, was diagnosed HIV-positive two years ago, and lost her husband to AIDS-related complications in January. Although Ethiopia has laws that protect the property rights of widows, in reality, disinheritance is a common problem. When my husband was critically ill, my in-laws came up with a se
Lesotho: Helpline allows children to report abuse: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 13, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 13 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Children in Lesotho will soon be able to report abuse simply by picking up the phone, thanks to a new helpline being piloted by the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) and the Lesotho Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. We are piloting it in Maseru [the capital] this year,
Zambia: Mining growth brings increased HIV risk: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 13, 2007; SOLWEZI, 13 June 2007 (PlusNews) - The expansion of mining activities in Solwezi District in Zambia s North-Western Province has spurred a rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and health officials fear this could indicate an increase in the region s HIV infection rate. A report by the district health office s
DRC: Providing sustainable HIV treatment in war zones: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 13, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 13 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Running a successful HIV treatment programme in a war zone is difficult but nevertheless possible, according to the international medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). In a paper, HIV Treatment in a Conflict Setting: Outcomes and Experiences from Bukavu, Democratic Rep
Uganda: Ending supply of 'noisy' female condoms not good enough - activists: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 12, 2007; KAMPALA, 12 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Anti-AIDS campaigners in Uganda have denounced the government s decision to halt the distribution of female condoms as poorly informed and dangerous. The Ugandan Ministry of Health announced last week that it would no longer supply female condoms because of poor uptake by women, who c
Uganda: Women slow to volunteer for HIV vaccine trials: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 12, 2007; KAMPALA, 12 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Too few Ugandan women are willing to participate in trials of a potential vaccine against the HI virus, local scientists have said. We have recorded high numbers of them when we invite them for preparation workshops - at these events we record more women than men - but when you advanc
South Africa: Latest survey records possible HIV decline: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 11, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 11 June 2007 (PlusNews) - HIV prevalence in South Africa appears to have stabilised and may even be declining, according to the latest figures in the government s 2006 National HIV and Syphilis Survey. The Department of Health study estimated that 29.1 percent of pregnant women were living with HIV in 200
South Africa: No easy way to lower teen pregnancies: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 11, 2007; CAPE TOWN, 11 June 2007 (PlusNews) - After six months of dating, Tumi [not her real name], 17, is running out of reasons why she can t have sex with her boyfriend, a fellow 10th grader at her school in Athlone, a poor suburb of Cape Town, South Africa . I make excuses like, I m on my period or I have a stomach ache, s
"If you don't get love at home, you tend to find it elsewhere": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 11, 2007; CAPE TOWN, Olivia Mboma is 18-years-old and has a 21-month-old baby. About 10 girls a year at her school in the Athlone area of Cape Town become mothers. She spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about some of the reasons why. To be honest, I can t say it just happened because at school you get taught about these things. We get to ta
Asia: Opening eyes of migrants to dangers of big cities' embrace: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 11, 2007; BANGKOK, 11 June 2007 (PlusNews) - With ever greater numbers of people on the move in search of jobs and opportunities in the Mekong River region, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has unveiled a series animated videos to inform and warn migrant workers about the risk of HIV/AIDS. The videos - develope
South Africa: Health sector crisis hampers AIDS treatment: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 8, 2007; DURBAN, 8 June 2007 (PlusNews) - South Africa s government has set a target of treating 80 percent of the estimated 500,000 people in need of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs by 2011, despite a severe human resource shortage. A number of sessions at the third national AIDS conference in Durban on Thursday grappled with the t
South Africa: AIDS response turns a corner: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 8, 2007; DURBAN, 8 June 2007 (PlusNews) - The third South African AIDS conference came to a close in Durban on Friday with what conference chair, Dr Olive Shisana, described as an unparelleled display of unity. We have crossed the Rubicon with regard to HIV, said Mark Heywood, South African National AIDS Council s recently elec
Mozambique: Dearth of medical skills exaggerate the plight of HIV-positive children: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 7, 2007; NICOADALA, 7 June 2007 (IRIN) - When Dr Virginia Jose Albino leaves her post at a rural health centre in Mozambique s central province of Zambezia, HIV/AIDS services at the clinic nearly grind to a halt. Last month, Albino went to the provincial capital, Quelimane, for a week of work-related meetings, and returned to a
Africa: G8 countries must invest more to achieve universal access targets - UNAIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 7, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 7 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Commitments on universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care by leaders of the G8, the grouping of the world s richest countries, will not be met without additional resources, UNAIDS has warned. Although international assistance from the G8 has reached its highest level e
Africa: G8 considers reducing antiretroviral drug targets: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 7, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 7 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8), a grouping of some of the world s richest countries, are considering reducing their commitment to providing universal access to antiretroviral drugs, life-prolonging HIV/AIDS medication, by almost half, according to a statement released by the Z
Tanzania: Countrywide HIV testing campaign to be launched in July: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 7, 2007; DAR ES SALAAM, 7 June 2007 (PlusNews) - The Tanzanian government will launch a national HIV testing campaign next month, President Jakaya Kikwete has announced. Kikwete said the campaign - due to begin on 14 July - would enable the country to gain a better understanding of the magnitude of the pandemic and identify the
Uganda: Government audit exposes ailing health system: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 7, 2007; KAMPALA, 7 June 2007 (PlusNews) - A damning report by the Ugandan Auditor General has found that government hospitals and health centres, the frontline in the country s fight against HIV/AIDS, are systematically failing to provide adequate services to patients. The report, Value for Money: An Audit Report on the Manage
South Africa: To circumcise or not to circumcise?: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 7, 2007; DURBAN, 7 June 2007 (PlusNews) - A heated debate at South Africa s third AIDS conference had delegates grappling with the question: should the country introduce a mass circumcision programme? The question was posed on Wednesday by Dr Francois Venter, president of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, and taken u
Kenya: 2nd Annual African HIV/AIDS Update and Leadership Development Conference: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 7, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 7 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Set to take place from 7 to 8 June 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya , this event is a multi-tracked conference focusing on HIV/AIDS, women s issues, child advocacy, disabilities and leadership development. For more information email: crsmith.vac@tachc.org or go to: www.valleyaids.org
South Africa: AIDS conference opens with new hope: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 6, 2007; DURBAN, 6 June 2007 (PlusNews) - South Africa s third national AIDS conference opened in Durban on Tuesday with expressions of cautious optimism that the national response to the epidemic had a better chance of succeeding than ever before. At last a sense of hope permeates the air, said Graca Machel, international AIDS
South Africa: New prevention strategies - from research to reality: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 6, 2007; DURBAN, 6 June 2007 (PlusNews) - From male circumcision to vaccines, technologies old and new are being explored in the HIV/AIDS response, in the hope that science will complement attempts to alter human behaviour. But speakers at South Africa s third national AIDS conference highlighted the many questions that remain
Kenya: Growing concerns about adherence as rollout expands: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 6, 2007; NAIROBI, 6 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Nearly half of Kenyans in need of life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, are now accessing them. But a growing concern for healthcare workers is ensuring that these people stick to the medication. According to Dr James Nyikal, Kenya s Director of Medical Services, the number of pe
South Africa: Drug users neglected in AIDS response: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 6, 2007; DURBAN, 6 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing an alarming growth in injecting drugs users, and South Africa is no exception, delegates attending the third South African AIDS conference heard on Wednesday. A particularly worrying epidemic of methamphetamine (locally known as tik ) use has emerged
Egypt: Only six percent of women in Egypt have comprehensive knowledge about the modes of transmission: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 5, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 5 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Only six percent of Egyptian women have comprehensive knowledge about HIV transmission or prevention. Virtually all women express attitudes suggesting a high degrees of HIV stigma, (2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey - http://www.phishare.org/documents/MEASUREDHS/4190/)
South Africa: Bottlenecks still hindering children's treatment and prevention: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 5, 2007; DURBAN, 5 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Hard work and creative solutions, not magic bullets, are needed if South Africa is to achieve its targets to treat children infected by the virus, delegates heard ahead of the third national AIDS conference, which kicked off on Tuesday in the port city of Durban. While paediatric AI
Africa: Less than 12 percent of men and 10 percent of women in Sub-Saharan Africa have been tested for HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 5, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 5 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Less than 12 percent of men and 10 percent of women in Sub-Saharan Africa have been tested for HIV and received their test results, World Health Organization (WHO).
Kenya: Smaller AIDS organisations struggle for transparency: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 4, 2007; NAIROBI, 4 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Fake , ghost or briefcase are some of the names used by the residents of the slum of Kawangware in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi when referring to the dodgy organisations purportedly created to improve their lives, but which usually end up lining the pockets of their founders. Freda Njer
Mozambique: Children battle to get treatment: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 4, 2007; QUELIMANE, 4 June 2007 (PlusNews) - At Quelimane hospital, in Mozambique s central province of Zambezia, paediatrician Maria Joao Soromenho encounters a sobbing young mother and her one year-old daughter. The baby is skeletal, no bigger than a newborn, and shows few signs of life. The medical staff suspect the child is
Swaziland: New campaign supports HIV-positive truckers: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - June 1, 2007; MANZINI, 1 June 2007 (PlusNews) - Swaziland s truck drivers, who are twice as likely to be infected with HIV than the general population, are finally getting the programmes required to provide them with treatment and support, a conference was told this week. At the Federation of Swaziland Employers (FSE) conference hel
Cameroon: Free ARV drugs for all: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 31, 2007; DAKAR, 31 May 2007 (IRIN) - Cameroon s ministry of health has declared that antiretroviral drugs have been made free to anyone eligible as part of a national distribution programme. The decision, made public by health minister Urbain Olanguena Awono in the capital Yaound� during a press conference, is part of the 2006-
Africa: Bush seeks to double US AIDS funding: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 31, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 31 May 2007 (PlusNews) - United States President George Bush s call for Congress to spend US$30 billion over five years to fight AIDS has won him an unusual level of praise from activists in Africa. The current Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a $15 billion, five-year campaign launched by Bush in
"I thought I'd be dead today, but I am living for the future": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 31, 2007; NAIROBI, Thirty-six-year-old Elizabeth Wamaitha is a widow raising a small child. When she learnt she was HIV-positive it seemed like the end of the world, but she now has a new lease on life. In 1996, I married a very violent man. It was worse because for six years I was unable to have a child. Finally, in 2002, I fel
South Africa: AIDS messages leave San community behind: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 31, 2007; PLATFONTEIN, 31 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Sofia is propped against the wall of her two-roomed home, wrapped in a blanket, trying to warm herself in the weak, winter sun. Many of her neighbours in this recently built township, about 15km outside Kimberley, in South Africa s Northern Cape Province are doing the same. Their i
Africa: HIV testing - a rethink needed, UN: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 30, 2007; NAIROBI, 30 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Less than 12 percent of men and 10 percent of women in sub-Saharan Africa have been tested for HIV and received their test results, despite high levels of knowledge about the existence of HIV and the increasing provision of life-prolonging drugs through the public health sector. The Un
Kenya: Too drunk to think - alcohol abuse and HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 30, 2007; NAIROBI, 30 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Kenya s urban youth are treading a dangerous, increasingly alcohol-fuelled path that is leaving them vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, according to anti-AIDS campaigners. The class of clubbing youth is expanding by the day as trendy and chic beer and music join
Kenya: Dash of booze counselling needed to stem HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 30, 2007; NAIROBI, 30 May 2007 (PlusNews) - The social and biomedical links between excessive alcohol consumption and HIV, coupled with the pervasiveness of hazardous drinking in Kenya , highlight a need to include an alcohol component in voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), according to researchers. There is scientific
Africa: 34th International Conference on Global Health: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 29, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 29 May 2007 (PlusNews) - The Global Health Council s 34th Annual International Conference, which takes place from 29 May to 1 June in Washington DC, is dedicated to partnerships: how they are built, what they have and can deliver, and how those living in poverty and disease can best benefit. These joint e
Sudan: Former rebel SPLA seizing the initiative on HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 29, 2007; JUBA (PLUSNEWS) - The leadership of the former rebel southern Sudan People s Liberation Army (SPLA) has launched a new offensive, this time against the AIDS pandemic in the region. One could term it the second front because of the magnitude of the risk, Kuol Diem Kuol, SPLA spokesperson, told IRIN PlusNews in Juba, the
Southern Africa: Discrimination against women fuels HIV/AIDS, report: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 28, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 28 May 2007 (IRIN) - Gender parity is the key in the fight against HIV/AIDS, according to a new report that focussed on Swaziland and Botswana , the two countries with the highest prevalence rates in the world. The report, Epidemic of Inequality: Women s Rights and HIV/AIDS in Botswana and Swaziland , rel
MALAWI: Donors and govt pool funds against brain drain: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 28, 2007; JOHANNESBURG (PLUSNEWS) - Current donor policies are partly to blame for a dire lack of healthcare workers in southern Africa, international medical relief agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has said. A recent four-country MSF report titled, Help Wanted, says staff shortages, which are often the result of inadequate
BURUNDI: Paediatric HIV still a major challenge: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 28, 2007; BUJUMBURA (PLUSNEWS) - By the time Claude Nsabimana (not his real name) turned nine, both his parents had passed away due to AIDS-related illnesses. In and out of hospital most of his life, Claude was only tested for HIV after a teacher at his school became concerned about his stunted growth. When he started taking [an
ETHIOPIA: Church endorses 'holy water' and ARVs as people flock to miracle mountain: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 25, 2007; ENTOTO (PLUSNEWS) - Patients flocking to Ethiopia s ancient mountain of Entoto to be healed of HIV/AIDS have been warned that the mountains holy water is not a substitute for their antiretroviral medication. Both are gifts of God, they neither contradict nor resist each other, the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox C
UGANDA: ARV programme reaching less than half of those in need: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 25, 2007; KAMPALA (PLUSNEWS) - A combination of limited resources, ignorance and TB co-infection mean that more than half of all Ugandans who need treatment today, do not have access to life-prolonging drugs, according to Emmanuel Otaala, Uganda s State Minister for Health. Of the roughly one million Ugandans who are HIV-positiv
Southern Africa: AIDS leaves its mark at the ballot box: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 25, 2007; CAPE TOWN, 25 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Every year for the last 10 years, the Zambian government s reports to the World Bank have shrunk in both length and quality. From 100 pages they are down to 25 and vital statistics are missing. Why? Some experts suggest the reason is the untimely loss of experienced civil servants as
Southern Africa: Health staff haemorrhage limits AIDS treatment access: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 24, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 24 May 2007 (PlusNews) - A severe lack of healthcare workers is compromising both quality and availability of HIV/AIDS care in southern Africa, warned international medical relief organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) on Thursday. In a new report exploring the situation in Lesotho ,
CAR: Ensure perpetrators of atrocities are brought to book, ICC urged: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 23, 2007; BANGUI, 23 May 2007 (IRIN) - The decision by the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged crimes committed during an armed conflict between the Central African Republic (CAR) government and rebel forces in 2002 and 2003 should ensure the perpetrators are arraigned in court, a victim said. I contracted H
Swaziland: More than a third of Swazis in need of food aid: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 23, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 23 May 2007 (IRIN) - More than a third of Swaziland s population is in need of food aid, after its worst ever harvest, said a UN food agencies report. A prolonged dry spell has left around 400,000 vulnerable people in need of approximately 40,000 metric tonnes (mt) of food assistance until the next harves
Central African Republic: "We also have a right to live": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 23, 2007; BANGUI, 23 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Christian-Bernard and Clementine Miangue are clear about one thing: they are not going to hide that they happen to be HIV-positive, or be deprived of the right to create a home together. Two years ago, first at the town hall and then at a church in Bangui, capital of the
Africa: New UN envoy ready for AIDS fight: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 22, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 22 May 2007 (PlusNews) - The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has placed an African woman at the helm of his organisation s fight against HIV and AIDS. Botswana-born Elizabeth Mataka, who is currently the executive director of the Zambian National AIDS Network, this week officially replaced St
Nepal: Migration takes its toll on villages hit by AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 22, 2007; KATHMANDU, 22 May 2007 (PlusNews) - In the remote Accham district of Nepal , which for years has supplied cheap migrant labour to India s bustling commercial city, Mumbai, villages are waking up to the impact of HIV. In the impoverished Ridikot village, nearly 800km northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, eight-year old R
Zimbabwe: From school teacher to sexworker: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 21, 2007; HARARE, 21 May 2007 (IRIN) - Surviving the world s highest inflation rate is resulting in people ditching their professions and embarking on work, which they had never previously considered. Mavis, a qualified nursery teacher, has swapped her life as an educator for that of a sexworker and now cruises for clients in th
Southern Africa: Health systems need to go online to improve efficiency: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 21, 2007; MBABANE, 21 May 2007 (IRIN) - To cope with rising demand and complexity, Africa s health systems need to go online, health officials told a regional governments conference in Swaziland . Information technology is no longer a luxury purchased at the expense of other needs, but a basic tool, an annual pan-African governm
Africa-Asia: AIDS response still not enough, says UN: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 21, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 21 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Only 28 percent of the 7.1 million people estimated to be in need of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are receiving the life-prolonging medication, with far greater action needed to meet international commitments on access, according to a United Nations report released on Monday. By Dec
Africa: New drugs - Novel resistance patterns: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 21, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 21 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Conducted by the UK-based HIV Training and Resource Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, and taking place on 12 and 13 July 2007 at St. Catherine s College, in Oxford, UK, this training aims to familiarise participants with the ever-evolving field of HIV resistance and als
Africa: Bill Gates backs kiddie HIV vaccine trials: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 18, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 18 May 2007 (PlusNews) - The global race for an effective HIV vaccine will include children for the first time, the United States-based Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation announced on Friday, HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. Pamela Barnes, president of the Foundation, confirmed that the move to develop
Mozambique: Foster families extend charity years after war: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 17, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 17 May 2007 (IRIN) - Rural Mozambicans who opened their homes to children separated from their families during the 17-year civil war have continued to support orphans, providing an efficient but little recognised social safety net, a researcher has discovered. Between 250,000 and 500,000 children were est
South Africa: The drug trade's bitter taste: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 17, 2007; JOHANNESBURG , 17 May 2007 (IRIN) - South Africans are changing their hard-drug habits, but the fallout from substance abuse remains the same: the destruction of lives, families and communities. Heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine abuse have risen substantially in the past few years, while the use of once popular drugs
Cape Verde: "I've seen happiness in the eyes of other HIV-positive people": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 17, 2007; PRAIA, 17 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Samira Perreira Fernandes, 22, found out three years ago she was HIV-positive. She believes she contracted HIV from her foreign husband, whom she met and married in Cape Verde . A few months after finding out, she went public about her status on television. She told IRIN/PlusNews about h
Ethiopia: Flower industry needs to nip HIV in the bud: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 17, 2007; DEBRE ZEIT, 17 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Ethiopia s flower industry is a booming business, but AIDS campaigners fear that inaction by farm owners and government, combined with a poorly educated workforce, could provide fertile ground for HIV. I ve been working here for six months and in that time I ve never heard mention o
Cape Verde: Tuning out - stigma silences HIV-positive people: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 17, 2007; PRAIA, 17 May 2007 (PlusNews) - They ve even offered me money to do it, but I m not prepared to sell my dignity, said 42-year-old Daniel Delgado, explaining why he would not go on television to talk about being HIV-positive. I don t think we re in a country that is ready for this. For me, as an HIV-positive person, I c
Ethiopia: Rural HIV - time to wake up and smell the coffee: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 16, 2007; YIRGACHEFFE, 16 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Like his neighbours in the southern Ethiopian district of Yirgacheffe, Birhanu Gizamu is a smallholder coffee farmer. Unlike the rest of the community, however, he has no hesitation in whipping out a crumpled blue card from the clinic which proclaims his HIV status. I tested negati
Rwanda: "We didn't take the medicine seriously and now I'm alone": UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 16, 2007; KIGALI, Claude Nzabirinda, 45, is unemployed and raising five children on his own after his wife s death from AIDS-related complications. He spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about his family s decade-long struggle with HIV. During the 1994 tragedies [genocide] we sought refuge in Goma, in the [northeastern] Democratic Republic o
Central Africa: HIV/AIDS a threat to indigenous forest communities: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 15, 2007; IMPFONDO, 15 May 2007 (PlusNews) - The indigenous forest people of central Africa have been largely isolated from the rest of the world, but as they become more integrated into mainstream society the risk of sexual exploitation and HIV/AIDS is a growing threat. Central Africa s pygmy populations, numbering a total of 3
Pakistan: HIV/AIDS will not go away if you ignore it: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 15, 2007; RAWALPINDI , 15 May 2007 (PlusNews) - This is a disease about dirty people doing dirty things, remarked Mohammad Sohail, 18, a mechanic, displaying his limited knowledge of HIV as he repaired a car outside the bustling Pir Wadhai bus station, one of the largest in the city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, capital of
Malawi: Accounting for AIDS funding no small matter: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 14, 2007; LILONGWE, 14 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Smaller AIDS organisations in Malawi are in the spotlight after a recent move by the National AIDS Commission (NAC) to suspend their financial aid because many cannot account for the funds allocated to them. But community-based organisations (CBOs) have warned that the NAC s decision
Kenya: Cash boost for HIV/AIDS programmes: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 9, 2007; NAIROBI, 9 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Efforts to curb the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kenya received a boost this week when the United States (US) committed to US$370 million for the support of treatment, care and prevention programmes. Kenya will benefit from more than 10 times the US funding that was available four
South Africa: Second helping of ARVs no longer an issue: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 9, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 9 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Access to second-line antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in developing countries could become more widely available after former US president Bill Clinton unveiled a new venture earlier this week. Clinton told a press conference in New York on Tuesday that deals to provide low-cost ARVs
Cape Verde: Tourism boom carries hidden cost of increasing HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 8, 2007; SANTA MARIA, 8 May 2007 (PlusNews) - The white sandy beaches, inland salt formations and volcanic landscapes of Sal island, in the Cape Verde archipelago, off the coast of Senegal in West Africa, have been drawing in tourists from across the world, but experts warn that it has become vulnerable to the spread of HIV/AID
Malawi: Increasing numbers of children on treatment, despite lack of paediatric drugs: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 8, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 8 May 2007 (PlusNews) - The number of HIV-positive children accessing antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in Malawi is increasing, despite a scarcity of suitable paediatric formulas. An official in the health ministry, speaking under condition of anonymity, confirmed that adult tablets still had to be cut into
Mozambique: Road show spreads the word about HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 7, 2007; CHIMOIO, 7 May 2007 (IRIN) - When the HIV/AIDS information truck shows up in a village in Mozambique s Manica Province, bordering Zimbabwe in the west of the country, dozens of children gather round in anticipation. Workers unload the tents, speakers and video screen. By nightfall, hundreds of people have gathered and
Africa-Asia: Nearly 25% of babies in a recent study were born with drug-resistant HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 4, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 4 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Nearly 25% of babies in a recent study were born with drug-resistant HIV unaffected by common ARVs, according to The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Treating such infants with certain ARVs contributes to the development of drug-resistant strains and limits children�s treatment opti
Kenya: 2nd Annual African HIV/AIDS Update and Leadership Development Conference: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 4, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 4 May 2007 (PlusNews) - Set to take place from 7 to 8 June 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya , this event is a multi-tracked conference focusing on HIV/AIDS, women s issues, child advocacy, disabilities and leadership development. For more information email: crsmith.vac@tachc.org or go to: www.valleyaids.org
Kenya: International Women's Summit: Women's Leadership on HIV and AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 4, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 4 May 2007 (PlusNews) - The World Young Women s Christian Association (YWCA), in partnership with the International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (ICW) and other international organisations, will host its first ever global conference on women and AIDS. The summit will bring together over 1,5
AFRICA: HIV programmes must face reality of MSM: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - May 4, 2007; KISUMU (PLUSNEWS) - Homosexuality is a reality in Africa, and the continent s leaders need to include men who have sex with men (MSM) in their national HIV programmes if they are to meaningfully reach all at-risk groups, delegates attending an HIV research conference in the western Kenyan city of Kisumu heard this week
Uganda: Positive women taking their place in the economy: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 30, 2007; KAMPALA, 30 April 2007 (PlusNews) - HIV-positive Ugandan women are benefiting from a new crop of self-help projects that are enabling them to support themselves and gain a foothold in the country s formal economy through a combination of affordable loans and small business ventures. The members of one such project, Bea
Africa: Time to 'walk the talk' on HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 30, 2007; KISUMU, 30 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Urgent action by African leaders is needed if they are to make good on commitments to roll back the AIDS pandemic, delegates attending an HIV research conference in Kenya heard on Monday. Speakers at this week s Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health Research Alliance (SAHARA) conferen
Kenya: 4th African Conference on the Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 29, 2007; KISUMU, 29 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Set to take place from 29 April to 2 May 2007 in Kisumu, Kenya , this conference will address the gap in translating knowledge into practice by providing a forum for: -- sharing innovations and success stories to inform future approaches to HIV and AIDS -- creating effective aware
Uganda: Displaced people in the north missing vital HIV services: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 27, 2007; NAIROBI, 27 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Uganda have among the highest HIV prevalence rates in the country, yet lack adequate HIV/AIDS counselling, testing and treatment facilities, a new report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said. The
Liberia: Help sought for nation's TB patients: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 26, 2007; MONROVIA, 26 April 2007 (IRIN) - The Liberian government s National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Programme says treatment for more than 4,000 tuberculosis patients is at risk because of a lack of funding. Financing under the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria ended in February and is not likely to
DRC: ARVs don't address stigma and poverty in Ituri: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 26, 2007; BUNIA (PLUSNEWS) - The majority of HIV-positive people living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) s northeastern district of Ituri are not taking up the offer of free life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs. Since the government began providing the drugs five months ago as part of its National Multi-Sector Programme
NIGERIA: Positive mother speaks out: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 25, 2007; LAGOS (PLUSNEWS) - When Yinka Jegede-Ekpe tested positive for HIV 10 years ago, at the age of 19, the last thing on her mind was marriage and children. At the time, information on living with the virus was limited and a positive status was considered a death sentence. But Jegede-Ekpe, executive director of the nongover
AFRICA-NAMIBIA: HIV puts Malaria back in spotlight: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 25, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 25 April 2007 (PLUSNEWS) -- Malaria is reclaiming the world s attention after years of playing second fiddle to HIV. Experts are now convinced that the disease has played a greater role in the AIDS pandemic than was previously thought. The disease has for too long been considered a separate health concern
Mali: Truth hurts for children living with HIV/AIDS: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 24, 2007; BAMAKO, 24 April 2007 (IRIN) - For almost 13 years Maimouna only knew that her parents died of a blood disease when she was young. But three months ago she learned that disease was HIV/AIDS - and she is infected too. I can t tell my friends. Only my grandmother knows, the tall, thin girl said after one of her regular c
Uganda: Safe sex messages missing HIV-positive youth: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 24, 2007; KAMPALA, 24 April 2007 (PlusNews) - HIV-positive youth in Uganda are not receiving the support and education they need to avoid risky sexual behaviours that could lead to the infection of others, a new study has found. The adolescent sexuality study, released last week, was conducted by Uganda s Makerere University, in
Swaziland: AIDS activists call for death penalty for HIV infection by rape: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 23, 2007; MBABANE, 23 April 2007 (IRIN) - A rising incidence of rape in Swaziland , coupled with the world s highest level of HIV-infection, is fuelling a national debate on what punishment should be meted out to rapists, especially if the victims of sex crimes become infected with the disease. Giving a little girl HIV is l
South Africa: Cost bars crucial vaccine from HIV-positive kids: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 23, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 23 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Prohibitive costs are preventing an important vaccine from reaching an estimated 260 children born with HIV daily in South Africa . Prevenar, a vaccine manufactured by drug giant Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, can dramatically reduce the number of deaths from pneumonia and meningitis -
Mozambique: HIV-infected women blamed and shunned: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 20, 2007; MAPUTO, 20 April 2007 (PlusNews) - HIV/AIDS often has more devastating consequences for Mozambican women than it does for men. When the virus is detected, they are often accused of bringing HIV into the home, and may even be rejected or abandoned by their families. Because I had sores all over my body and my hair was f
UGANDA: Death penalty for HIV-positive child sex offenders: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 19, 2007; KAMPALA (PLUSNEWS) - An HIV-positive person who wilfully infects a minor through sexual intercourse will face the death penalty, according to a new law passed by Uganda s parliament on Wednesday. According to the new Penal Code Amendment Bill , an individual who is aware of their HIV positive status and has sex with a
NEPAL: HIV awareness amongst MSM still low: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 19, 2007; KATHMANDU (PLUSNEWS) - As dusk falls in Ratna Park, a popular cruising area for men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, so too do inhibitions. I can always find someone here, bragged Pradip, 23, while his friends prompt him to tell more. He has been married for four years ago and has two chi
SOUTH AFRICA: New study explores drugs and HIV link: UN Integrated Regional Information News - April 18, 2007; JOHANNESBURG (PLUSNEWS) - A new study is to put the relationship between illegal drug use and risky sex patterns in South Africa in the spotlight for the first time. Although there has been a move towards exploring the direct and indirect roles of drug use in the transmission of HIV in other continents, the situation i
AFRICA: Treatment numbers growing, but universal access elusive: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 17, 2007; NAIROBI (PLUSNEWS) - More than two million HIV-positive people in low- and middle-income countries were receiving life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medication by December 2006, but universal access still has a long way to go, according to a new report jointly published by UNAIDS , the World Health Organisation (WHO)
KENYA: Legal reforms needed to protect HIV-positive people: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 16, 2007; NAIROBI (PLUSNEWS) - Lack of adequate legal aid for Kenyans living with HIV could reverse advances made in the fight against the disease, the Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) has said in a new report. Ensuring Justice for Vulnerable Communities in Kenya: a review of HIV and AIDS- related legal services
LESOTHO: New plan to reduce HIV infections in children: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 16, 2007; JOHANNESBURG (PLUSNEWS) - The Lesotho government has launched a four-year plan to reduce new HIV infections among children by 50 percent and ensure that all HIV-infected children have access to life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. Mother-to-child transmission is the leading cause of HIV infection in children
ETHIOPIA: I knew the risk I was taking, but my family had to eat: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 16, 2007; ADDIS ABABA (PLUSNEWS) - By day, Aster Beyene [not her real name], 21, is a saleslady at a boutique in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa; by night she attends computer school. After losing her mother and older brother to AIDS-related illnesses, Beyene has been left with the responsibility of feeding and clothing her r
AFRICA: Health summit closes with scant attention to HIV: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 13, 2007; JOHANNESBURG (PLUSNEWS) - The African Union (AU) Conference of Health Ministers concluded on Friday with the adoption of an eight-year health strategy for the continent that pointedly avoids singling out HIV/AIDS from Africa s general disease burden. AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria pose the greatest challenges, the docu
TAJIKISTAN: New studies reveal major gap in HIV/AIDS awareness among youth: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 13, 2007; DUSHANBE (PLUSNEWS) - The results of two surveys released this week in Tajikistan warn of low levels of HIV/AIDS awareness among young people and a lack of knowledge about preventive measures. One of the studies, conducted between November 2006 and January 2007 with support from UNAIDS
UGANDA: Government to pursue prosecution of Global Fund culprits: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 12, 2007; KAMPALA (PLUSNEWS) - The Ugandan government has directed the police to commence investigations into alleged mismanagement of grants from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by a number of prominent politicians. We have prepared a government white paper and the police will play its role as directed,
SUDAN: New road map to chart course against AIDS in the south: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 12, 2007; JUBA (PLUSNEWS) - Efforts to control the spread of HIV in southern Sudan have been given a shot in the arm by a US $28.5 million grant from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, as well as a new roadmap for containing the epidemic. The money comes more than two years after the Comprehensive Peace Agr
Julius Mwelu, 22, 'We are proud of who we are despite where we live': Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 11, 2007; NAIROBI, Slums have always been synonymous with criminals and sex trade workers. Outsiders tend to be dismissive or afraid of people who grow up in places like Nairobi s slums. However, Julius Mwelu, 22, who grew up in one of the Kenyan capital s largest slums, Mathare, is hoping to dispel this perception, and is tryin
Ethiopia: Health system gaps impede children's ARV rollout: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 11, 2007; ADDIS ABABA, 11 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Shortcomings in Ethiopia s health system, not lack of funds, are to blame for the slow pace of the rollout of crucial antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for HIV-positive children. Drug availability for children is not a problem in Ethiopia; what is deepening the crisis of the children is
Kenya: We will defy patents to save lives - minister: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 10, 2007; NAIROBI, 10 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Kenyan authorities are determined to resist restrictive international patents on life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medication that has the potential to reduce the deadly impact of HIV/AIDS. We shall not stand by and see people die. We shall source cheaper essential generic drugs f
Africa: AIDS groups lobby health summit: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 10, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 10 April 2007 (PlusNews) - As a week-long meeting of health ministers organised by the African Union (AU) got underway in Johannesburg on Monday, AIDS activists expressed concern that commitments on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, reached at several meetings last year, were missing from the agenda.
Uganda: HIV prevalence rising in northeast, but condoms still taboo: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 9, 2007; MOROTO, 9 April 2007 (PlusNews) - The people of Uganda s remote, northeastern Karamoja region managed to avoid the onslaught of HIV experienced by the rest of the country in the 1980s and 1990s, but just as the government is bringing the national epidemic under control, HIV rates in Karamoja are spiralling ever upwards
Mozambique: Health worker shortage hinders AIDS response: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 6, 2007; VILANCULOS, 6 April 2007 (PlusNews) - After a 15-hour journey, retired military officer Teofilo Afonso arrives at the hospital in Vilanculos, a tourist town in the province of Inhambane, where he receives treatment for HIV. He will wait a further five hours before being attended to. Just two doctors staff the hospital,
Eritrea: Government outlaws female genital mutilation: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 5, 2007; NAIROBI, 5 April 2007 (IRIN) - The Eritrean government has banned female genital mutilation (FGM), saying the practice was painful and put women at risk of life-threatening health problems. A government proclamation published on Wednesday said it was illegal for anyone to subject a person to FGM or provide tools to any
South Africa: New drug could help patients resistant to existing ARVs: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 5, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 5 April 2007 (PlusNews) - A new HIV drug has shown promising results when used in conjunction with existing combination therapy and could increase the options for those developing resistance to treatment. In a study recently published in The Lancet medical journal, darunavir - approved by the
Swaziland: Tuberculosis still killer number one: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 4, 2007; MBABANE, 4 April 2007 (IRIN) - Tuberculosis (TB), aggravated by HIV/AIDS, remains chief cause of death in Swaziland , which holds the dubious record of having the most TB infections in the world per population. Cesphina Mabuza, Director of Health Services for the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, told IRIN there w
Sierra Leone: Women, government launch campaign against sexual violence: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 4, 2007; FREETOWN, 4 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Thousands of women recently marched against sexual violence in the main streets of Sierra Leone s capital, Freetown, as part of a new initiative to end all violence against women; girls as young as 10 years took part in the demonstration that blocked traffic in many parts of the city
Uganda: Less donor reliance required for success in AIDS fight: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 4, 2007; KAMPALA, 4 April 2007 (PlusNews) - It will take greater political will and more national funds to counter the poverty and poor national support systems that make children particularly vulnerable to the effects of the AIDS pandemic, delegates attending a recent conference on children and HIV in Uganda were t
South Africa: Celebrating Life: Memory Work in the era of ARVs: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 4, 2007; CAPE TOWN, 4 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Thembela Gwenxane had just been given three months to live when she started putting together her memory box. It had taken her three years to confront her HIV positive status, and when she finally began taking antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and experienced violent reactions to the medica
Africa: Creativity key to attaining millennium goals - ECA: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 4, 2007; ADDIS ABABA - Africa s economic growth is estimated to average 5.8 percent in 2007, but this rate of performance is insufficient to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, according to Leonce Ndikumana, chief macroeconomic analyst at the trade division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Mozambique: The antiretroviral treatment lottery: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 3, 2007; MAPUTO (PlusNews) - If you are an HIV-positive Mozambican in need of antiretroviral treatment (ART), life can resemble a lottery, in which your chances of accessing the life-prolonging medication depend on the region, or even the district, where you live. If you live in Maputo, the nation s capital, you may be in luck.
Burundi: I am free to live after revealing my HIV status: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 2, 2007; BUJUMBURA, Eighteen-year-old Adeline Nzambimana is a secondary school student living in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura. She has had the HI virus since birth, and lost both her parents through AIDS in 1993. Growing up in her aunt s home, Adeline was only told she was infected with HIV five years ago. Since I was littl
Kenya: Illiteracy, poverty aggravating HIV among northern women: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 2, 2007; NAIROBI, 2 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Ignorance and overwhelming poverty are making HIV/AIDS a growing problem in Kenya s northern provinces, with women hit particularly hard, health workers have said. Noor Sheikh Ahmed, an official at the HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections department of Northeastern Province, t
Nigeria: HIV/AIDS Summit: Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 1, 2007; ABUJA, 1 April 2007 (PlusNews) - Scheduled for 1 to 5 April 2007, at the International Conference Centre, in Abuja, the purpose of this summit is to review and assess the impact of the national HIV/AIDS response and build consensus on effective programming in Nigeria . The local organising committee of the Nigeria HIV/
Southern Africa: New guidelines for treating HIV-positive refugees and migrants: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 30, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 30 March 2007 (PlusNews) - Machozi is a young HIV-positive woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo who fled to Zambia to escape the conflict in her home country. Her health is failing, and with a CD4 count (a test that measures the strength of the immune system) of 124, her doctor advises her to begin
Lesotho: European Commission gives AIDS orphans a helping hand: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 30, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 30 March 2007 (IRIN) - As Lesotho s population of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) continues to swell on the back of one of the world s worst HIV/AIDS epidemics, a new initiative has been launched to cater to their increasingly desperate needs. According to government figures, the number of OVC has n
Mozambique: Cartoon character reflects the sad reality of illegal migrants: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 29, 2007; MAPUTO, 29 March 2007 (PlusNews) - Luisa left her friends and family to go to South Africa with the promise of a good job. She hoped to return home soon with lots of money. But what she found on the other side of the border was exploitation, sexual harassment, an unwanted pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. And the money she was e
Lesotho: Deadly combination of TB and HIV: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 28, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 28 March 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - The tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho , already burdened by the third highest HIV infection rate in the world, is struggling to contain a parallel epidemic of tuberculosis (TB). In 2006 alone, 12,000 of Lesotho s 1.8 million inhabitants were diagnosed with TB, but experts li
Uganda: New tuberculosis cases 'alarming': Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 28, 2007; KAMPALA, 28 March 2007 (IRIN) - Uganda records an estimated 80,000 new cases of tuberculosis every year, half of them among people infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS, health officials said. We only managed to detect 49 percent of those cases in 2006, Francis Adatu, head of the TB and leprosy unit in the Minis
Yemen: Tuberculosis on the decline: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 27, 2007; SANAA, 27 March 2007 (IRIN) - Although Yemen has the second highest tuberculosis (TB) mortality rate in the Middle East, after Iraq , specialists say the disease is on the decline because of a concerted awareness campaign and training programmes for health workers.
Swaziland: Govt attempts to check drinking: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 27, 2007; MBABANE, 27 March 2007 (IRIN) - Recognising excessive alcohol consumption as an economic and social problem, the Swazi government has decided to regulate the distribution of drinks containing alcohol. A draft National Liquor Policy prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors, discourages alcohol consumption in
Uganda: Use of traditional medicine interfering with ART adherence: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 27, 2007; KAMPALA, 27 March 2007 (PlusNews) - HIV-positive Ugandans are twice as likely to quit antiretroviral therapy (ART) if they also use traditional herbal medicine, a new study by scientists at the country s leading university has found. Dr Ronald Kiguba, team leader of the Makerere University-led study told PlusNews the f
Kenya-Somalia: Reaching out to the youth, hip-hop style: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 27, 2007; KENYA, Shineh Abdullahi Ali, in his early twenties, is a Somali refugee living in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Passionate about music, he is using his talent to raise awareness about the HIV pandemic in his traditionally conservative society. Hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees fled to neighbouring Kenya after civ
Uganda: Fifth African Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 27, 2007; KAMPALA, 27 March 2007 (PlusNews) - This conference is due to take place from 27 - 29 March 2007 in Kampala, Uganda with the theme of HIV/AIDS and Children: The challenges of care and protection of children in Africa . For more information contact: 5th African Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect C/O ANPPCAN Ugand
Sierra Leone: Long road ahead for awareness programmes: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 26, 2007; FREETOWN, 26 March 2007 (PlusNews) - Poor information and a lack of open discussion about sex is fueling an increase in HIV in postwar Sierra Leone , according to Dr Brima Kargbo, acting director of the country s National AIDS Secretariat (NAS). In response, Kargbo s organisation is launching a massive awareness campai
Africa: Feachem reflects on Global Fund journey: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 26, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 26 March 2007 (PlusNews) - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has spent the last five years test-driving a new approach to global health financing. Guided by the principles that the broad participation of local stakeholders, combined with high levels of transparency and accountability
Mozambique: The explosive growth of tuberculosis in Beira slums: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 23, 2007; BEIRA, 23 March 2007 (PlusNews) - TB cases are rising rapidly in the coastal town of Beira, according to local doctors. The city of half a million, which is the capital of Mozambique s most HIV/AIDS affected province, logged 2,736 new TB cases last year, a 5 percent increase from 2005. Three patients who were suspected
"But how could it be TB?": Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 23, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, Fear of stigma and ignorance still prevents scores of South Africans from seeking early diagnosis and treatment for tuberculosis (TB), even if the drugs are now more freely available from the public health system. For Natasha Mathews, 25, this fear of discrimination and lack of awareness almost resulted i
Nigeria: Mentorship of Women living with HIV: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 23, 2007; LAGOS, 23 March 2007 (PlusNews) - Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA), a non-governmental organisation, is embarking on a project to train and mentor women living with HIV to become treatment and policy advocates. The project objective is to increase the capacity of these women to participate in HIV programming
Tanzania: Rising TB cases linked to HIV/AIDS: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 22, 2007; DAR ES SALAAM, 22 March 2007 (IRIN) - The number of tuberculosis cases in Tanzania has risen from 39,000 a decade ago to 64,200 in 2005, a trend blamed on high HIV/AIDS prevalence, the Health Minister, David Mwakyusa, said on Thursday. Research conducted in many parts of the country by the Ministry of Health between 20
Africa: The days of TB complacency are over: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 22, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 22 March 2007 (PlusNews) - Tuberculosis (TB) is back with a vengeance and it has a new face: the combination of the HIV epidemic with new strains of the disease that are resistant to the existing drugs has seen new TB cases and TB-related deaths skyrocket in the last decade. Mycobacterium TB, the bacteriu
"Without nutrition, drugs are useless in our bodies": Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 22, 2007; NAIROBI, John Omondi [not his real name] is a 49-year-old father of five living in Laini Saba, one of 14 villages that make up the sprawling Kibera slum in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Omondi discovered about one year ago that he was infected with both HIV and tuberculosis. My problems began when I got sick and was bed
Sarah: "I can stand up again ...": Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 21, 2007; NAIROBI, Sarah, 29, a single mother of two, lives in Kibera, a sprawling slum in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. She tested HIV-positive a year ago after recurring chest infections. I can only afford a meal of githeri [a mixture of maize and beans] and sometimes meat. I am not supposed to eat red meat but I cannot afford
Swaziland: IMF urges economic reforms: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 20, 2007; MBABANE, 20 March 2007 (IRIN) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report sees no relief for Swaziland s economic decline without major changes in spending priorities and privatisation. An unending cycle of droughts and high HIV/AIDS prevalence has slowed the mountain kingdom s economic performance, leaving it with f
Ethiopia: Urban farming boosts families affected by HIV: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 19, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] ADDIS ABABA, 19 March (PLUSNEWS) - Twelve-year-old Woinishet Wujura s dedication to her gardening duties would be surprising in someone her age, but the land she is tilling has been a lifeline for her and her family because the farm is run exclu
Middle East: "A clash of ignorances" - relief aid and the Arab and Islamic world: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 19, 2007; DUBAI, 19 March 2007 (IRIN) - In its ongoing bid to promote a multilateral and coordinated approach to global aid provision, the United Nations is making a concerted effort to reach out to Arab and Muslim countries. In doing so, senior UN officials have drawn on the parallels that exist in the centuries-old tradition o
Mozambique: "I am in the darkness" - AIDS orphan: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 15, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] TETE, 15 March (PLUSNEWS) - Laurita Fernando s father left her just two mud huts and a badly tended maize field when he died. Once he was gone - after two months of suffering from AIDS-related symptoms - Laurita s stepmother walked out of the fa
Burundi: Food shortages could harm people on ARVs: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 15, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BUJUMBURA, 15 March (PLUSNEWS) - HIV-positive Burundians on antiretroviral (ARV) medication are concerned about the future of their drug regimens after flooding caused extensive damage to harvests, bringing widespread food shortages. In an asses
South Africa: Activists welcome ambitious new AIDS plan: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 15, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 15 March (PLUSNEWS) - South Africa s new five-year AIDS battle plan entered the final stage of a lengthy drafting and consultative process this week. Government officials and representatives from various sectors met in Johannesburg
South Africa: Study highlights alarming HIV incidence: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 14, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 14 March (PLUSNEWS) - HIV infection is on the rise in South Africa , and women continue to be most affected, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) said on Wednesday. In a new study, published in the March issue of the South Af
South Africa: PEPFAR scores well on AIDS treatment: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 14, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 14 March (PLUSNEWS) - The President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a multibillion-dollar US effort to tackle HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, is making strides, but its future sustainability is an underlying concer
Swaziland: Maize prices shoot up as food shortages loom: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 14, 2007; MBABANE, 14 March 2007 (IRIN) - In anticipation of what could be the worst food shortage in 25 years brought on by prolonged dry weather, the price of Swaziland s staple food, maize, has risen by 80 percent in the past month, and is expected to double by harvest time in April-May. Since the rains stopped falling in mid
Uganda: Global Fund declines grant as questions linger over financial management: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 13, 2007; KAMPALA, 13 March 2007 (IRIN) - Ugandan health officials on Monday said they would seek alternative funding for anti-malaria projects after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria declined a grant application of US$16 million because of concerns over financial mismanagement. Junior health minister Emman
Namibia: Partners working hard to maintain treatment success: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 12, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 12 March 2007 (PlusNews) - Namibia is hailed as one of the front-runners in AIDS treatment rollout, yet there is growing fear that this success might be short-lived if services do not reach rural communities. The government has increased the number of sites offering antiretroviral (ARV) treatment from sev
Burkina Faso: Finding the words to talk about HIV: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 9, 2007; OUAGADOUGOU, 9 March 2007 (IRIN) - Burkinabe songstress Pyane Djire knows that the power of a song is in the story that it tells and as an HIV-positive woman, she is using her music to tell women like herself that they don t need to suffer in silence. To get people to change their behaviours, you need the right words.
Africa: Cricket World Cup batty about AIDS: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 9, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 9 March (PLUSNEWS) - A new partnership between international sportsmen and relief agencies is literally picking up the bat against the global impact of HIV/AIDS on young people. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has teamed up
Kenya: Youth, sex and tourism on the coast: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 9, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MOMBASA, 9 March (PLUSNEWS) - With her sleeping six-month-old baby daughter under one arm, 17-year-old Alice [not her real name] explains why she moved to Mombasa from up country , and how she joined the growing ranks of young girls involved in
Sudan: Fighting ignorance and stigma on a shoestring: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 9, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MALAKAL, 9 March (PLUSNEWS) - Health workers in Malakal, capital of Upper Nile State in southern Sudan , face great odds in trying to counter the ignorance and stigma that prevents people benefiting from available HIV/AIDS services. Despite
Africa: Women's rights groups push for more AIDS funding: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 8, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 8 March (PLUSNEWS) - On International Women s Day, local and international women s and human rights groups urged donors to devote more funding to HIV/AIDS programmes aimed at reducing women s vulnerability to infection. A report re
Lesotho: State-of-the-art treatment centre but children still die: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 7, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MASERU, 7 March (PLUSNEWS) - Fidgeting in a small, plastic chair outside her grandmother s house in Ha Makhoathi, a village near Maseru capital of Lesotho , Limpho Matthews, 7, looks like an ordinary, healthy child. In fact, the first six years
South Africa: Teenage pregnancy figures cause alarm: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 6, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG - Alarming figures released by a South African provincial education department indicate that schoolgirl pregnancies have doubled in the past year, despite a decade of spending on sex education and AIDS awareness. The number of pregn
Kazakhstan: HIV trial spotlights fight against AIDS: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 6, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] SHYMKENT - As the trial continues in Kazakhstan of former health sector staff accused of infecting scores of toddlers with HIV, there are signs that the government is tackling the fight against HIV/AIDS with renewed vigour. Its challenges includ
India: Generic medicines walk the plank: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 6, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BANGALORE - The controversial legal challenge by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis to India s patent laws ended on Monday, casting a shadow over the future of the country s generic drugs industry. A verdict in the case is expected in about a
Africa: Report bashes one-sided AIDS policies: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 5, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 5 March (PLUSNEWS) - People with same-sex preferences are still a largely ignored and underserved community in the design and execution of HIV-prevention programmes throughout much of Africa, gay rights activists charged recently.
Burundi: Outrage and concern over national ARV shortages: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 2, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BUJUMBURA, 2 March (PLUSNEWS) - AIDS activists in Burundi are up in arms over a nationwide shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, and are demanding immediate action from the government. Health workers said delays in the government s procurement
Swaziland: Community gardens flourish to feed the vulnerable: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 1, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 1 March (PLUSNEWS) - NGOs in Swaziland are shifting the emphasis of their operations from handouts of donated foodstuffs to training households and communities to set up projects that produce food and generate income, to find a las
Mozambique: Tropical cyclone Favio sparks concerns about ARVs: Integrated Regional Information Networks - March 1, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MAPUTO, 1 March (PLUSNEWS) - A week after tropical cyclone Favio hit Mozambique s eastern province of Inhambane, concerns are rising about how HIV-positive people in the area will access life-prolonging anti-AIDS medication. Favio struck the cen
Kenya: No glove, no love - young women take charge of condom use: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 28, 2007; NAIROBI, 28 February 2007 (IRIN) - Kenyan women are taking control of their sex lives, with recent research showing that more than 70 percent of young women use condoms to prevent pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. In a departure from the traditionally passive role of women in sexual matters
Great Lakes: 'Child sexual abuse widespread in camps': Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 27, 2007; KAMPALA, 27 February 2007 (IRIN) - At least half the estimated 1.4 million children displaced by conflicts in Africa s volatile Great Lakes region have experienced some form of sexual abuse in camps that shelter them, according to a report by the international charity, World Vision. The forms of abuse experienced inclu
Somalia-Kenya: Making headway with the HIV message in refugee camps: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 26, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] DADAAB, 26 February (PLUSNEWS) - HIV/AIDS awareness messages are falling on fertile ground in Dadaab refugee camp, in northeastern Kenya , where more than 140,000 Somalis who have fled insecurity in their home country have found a safe haven.
Uganda: Squalid camps provide ARV lifeline: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 26, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] GULU, 26 February (PLUSNEWS) - If currently stalled peace talks to end 20 years of fighting between rebels and the government in northern Uganda succeed, 1.2 million displaced people will be on their way home; good news for those desperate to re
Rwanda: Handling HIV/AIDS in an active army: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 26, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] KIGALI, 26 February (PLUSNEWS) - Rwanda s small but potent army has been active beyond its borders in recent years, fighting in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and peacekeeping in Sudan s Darfur region. Originally based on a guer
Gambia: UN rep expelled after comment on president's AIDS cure: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 23, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BANJUL, 23 February (PLUSNEWS) - The government of The Gambia gave the most senior United Nations official in the country 48 hours to leave the country starting Friday, following remarks she made criticising Gambian President Yahya Jammeh s wide
Swaziland: Home-based care system expanding: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 23, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MBABANE, 23 February (PLUSNEWS) - Home-based care in Swaziland is increasingly being relied on to compensate for the inadequacies of a public health system buckling under the weight of the country s HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Kenya: Circumcision demand increases, but guidance crucial: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 23, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] NAIROBI, 23 February (PLUSNEWS) - Requests for male circumcision have tripled in western Kenya since studies found the procedure reduces the risk of contracting HIV by more than half. The people of Nyanza Province do not traditionally practice c
Southern Africa: Small AIDS organisations lost in funding maze: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 21, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 21 February (PLUSNEWS) - Millions of donor dollars earmarked for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment pour into Africa every year. The lion s share is channelled through governments and the well-known, international NGOs that ar
Angola: The pros and cons of snipping: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 21, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] LUANDA, 21 February (PLUSNEWS) - Friends Paula and Marta giggle at the suggestion of having sex with an uncircumcised man; both say they have only tried it once. That little piece of skin, it hurts, said Marta, 28, a domestic worker in the Angol
Swaziland: Orphans get more than a helping hand: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 21, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MBABANE, 21 February (PLUSNEWS) - Sipho, 7, an orphan, sat overwhelmed amid his new and only possessions - a mattress, blanket and a supply of food. Is it mine? he asked uncertainly as he gazed at the multicoloured mattress wrapped in plastic.
Africa: Donors call the shots in HIV/AIDS sector: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 21, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 21 February (PLUSNEWS) - Large international donor agencies have become major players in Africa s response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Despite talk of partnering with their recipients, they have usually called the shots. Unsurprising
Ethiopia: Fighting malaria in Oromiya: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 20, 2007; ADDIS ABABA, 20 February 2007 (IRIN) - The dozens of Ethiopian women gathered at Birbissa Doloma health-centre in Oromiya had brought their children to be immunised against measles. They also went home with a mosquito net. Of the 27 million people living in Oromiya state, 18 million are at risk of malaria infection, Z
South Africa: Condom application given a hand: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 19, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, 19 February (PLUSNEWS) - A high-speed condom, designed in South Africa , is poised to take safer sex to new heights in a nation grappling with soaring HIV infection rates. Roelf Mulder, co-designer the product, said he hoped its aesthetic appeal would help change the latex prophylactic usually thought of
Burundi: Reluctant HIV-positive refugees urged to return home: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 19, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BUJUMBURA, 19 February (PLUSNEWS) - The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, is urging HIV-positive Burundian refugees in camps in neighbouring Tanzania to return home, where they will have better access to treatment and care. After 13 year
Liberia: Sex, drugs and HIV: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 16, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MONROVIA, 16 February (PLUSNEWS) - Because of men like Patrick Kollie, Carey Street in the heart of Monrovia is not the best place to be at night looking like you might have a bit of cash, a mobile phone or anything else of value that could be s
Zimbabwe: HIV-positive health workers form union: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 16, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] HARARE, 16 February (PLUSNEWS) - Working as a medical professional in overburdened, poorly equipped healthcare facilities facing chronic drug shortages, is hard enough. But when you re HIV positive and also have to deal with stigma and discrimin
Africa: Home sweet home? The challenge of peace: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 14, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MONROVIA, 14 February (PLUSNEWS) - Post-conflict reconstruction is a neat phrase, which utterly fails to convey the monumental challenge countries face as they try and rebuild after the chaos of war. Liberia is a good example. After 14 years
South Africa: A true test of love on Valentine's Day: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 14, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 14 February (PLUSNEWS) - It might not be as romantic as dinner for two with all the trimmings, but HIV testing for two is being billed as one way South African couples can demonstrate their commitment to each other on Valentine s D
South Africa: AIDS response becomes a test of faith: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 13, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 13 February (PLUSNEWS) - Local and international experts agree with important new findings this week that faith-based organisations (FBOs) have a major contribution to make to curbing HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. A World Health
Tanzania: Rising prevalence in Zanzibar needs new approach: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 13, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] STONE TOWN, ZANZIBAR, 13 February (PLUSNEWS) - HIV prevalence on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar is on the rise, prompting officials to call for a more targeted response to HIV/AIDS. According to government estimates, HIV figure
Africa: Children lose out as NGOs mushroom: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 12, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] NAIROBI, 12 February (PLUSNEWS) - Existing interventions are failing African children affected by HIV/AIDS, leaving them with little access to treatment and limited support, a recent pan-African conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, heard.
Uganda: Findings on circumcision may derail HIV/AIDS fight - President: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 12, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] KAMPALA, 12 February (PLUSNEWS) - Recent findings that male circumcision reduces the risk of contracting HIV have generated a heated national debate, with President Yoweri Museveni arguing that the findings could hurt the fight against the pande
Gambia: President's AIDS cure raising more questions than answers: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 12, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BANJUL, 12 February (PLUSNEWS) - An unsubstantiated but well-publicised claim by The Gambia s President Yahya Jammeh that he can cure AIDS risks setting back efforts to stop the virus from spreading in the tiny West Africa nation and the region,
South Africa: Rural orphan-care programmes struggle: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 12, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] TZANEEN, 12 February (PLUSNEWS) - The lush hills in the Tzaneen Municipality of South Africa s Limpopo Province may seem a better place to spend a childhood than the dusty, overcrowded townships of Johannesburg, but living in the countryside can
Mozambique: Young people's radio show breaks down taboos: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 8, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MAPUTO , 8 February (PLUSNEWS) - Subjects like HIV/AIDS and child trafficking, usually considered taboo in Mozambican society, are being openly discussed by the teenage presenters of radio and television programmes for young people. Radio
South Africa: Clarity sought in microbicides furore: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 7, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 7 February (PLUSNEWS) - Confusion has erupted over the safety of the microbicide trials, which were halted after preliminary results showed the proposed prophylactic could increase the risk of HIV infection. South African health mi
South Africa: Farmworkers challenged to curb risky behaviour: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 7, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] HOEDSPRUIT, 7 February (PLUSNEWS) - January is mango season in Hoedspruit, in South Africa s Limpopo Province, and casual fruit pickers, mostly women, flood the area s farms in search of work. Conditions on the farms already make them a potentia
Swaziland: AIDS orphans locked out of schools: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 7, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MBABANE, 7 Feb 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - Thousands of Swazi AIDS orphans risk being locked out of school at the start of the new term this week, after the government failed to make good on a promise to provide scholarships for all those unable to a
Egypt: Five million infected with Hepatitis C: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 7, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] CAIRO, 7 Feb 2007 (IRIN) - At least five million people in Egypt are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), a new committee formed by the country s government to tackle the disease has said. It added that action must be taken now to combat r
Southern Africa: Red Cross programme threatened by funding: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 6, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 6 February (PLUSNEWS) - A major campaign by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to scale up its HIV and AIDS programmes in Southern Africa is being threatened by a looming funding shortfall. In Oct
Swaziland: The triumph over fear: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 6, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MBABANE, 6 Feb 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - In a remarkable reversal of perceptions about HIV/AIDS, public testing by religious and business leaders is changing attitudes towards both the disease and being tested for it. As recently as two years ago,
South Africa: Group calls for more research on sexual violence: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 5, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] PRETORIA, 5 Feb 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - Though sexual violence affects millions around the world every year, deeply entrenched cultural taboos and a lack of political leadership have historically left the issue largely unrecognised in government
Pakistan: Commercial sex workers face HIV threat: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 2, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] LAHORE , 2 Feb 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - Beena, 50, runs an establishment in Pakistan s eastern city of Lahore, where her two daughters and a niece sell their bodies. Most of us here know all about this AIDS thing. Some NGO people keep coming and t
Australia: Fourth IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2007): UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 1, 2007; SYDNEY, 22 July 2007 (PlusNews) - Registration, abstract submission and exhibition sales for the Fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2007) to be held in Sydney, Australia , 22 - 25 July 2007, are now available online. www.ias2007.org IAS 2007 will feature
Mozambique: New programme turns subsistence farmers into businesswomen: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 1, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MAPUTO, 1 Feb 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - Anastaneia Domingos, 28, and a mother of four, is a rarity among the women in the rural areas of northeastern Mozambique s Zambezia Province: she is a businesswoman. Most women rely on their husband s income
Cambodia: Wives at risk of HIV infection: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 1, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] PHNOM PENH, 1 February (PLUSNEWS) - I don t know how my husband contracted HIV - he just did, said Phary, 27, staring blankly out the window of the two-room apartment she shares with her parents and two children in the Cambodian capital, Phnom P
Laos: Keeping the lid on HIV: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 1, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] VIENTIANE, 1 February (PLUSNEWS) - Being sexually active couldn t be more natural for Wath Jommanevong, 27, who hopes to marry one day when he has enough money. I like sex. Sex is good, he said with a grin, standing beside his three-wheeled taxi
Myanmar: Uphill struggle to contain HIV/AIDS: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 1, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] YANGON, 1 February (PLUSNEWS) - Isolated Myanmar is grappling with one of the worst HIV/AIDS epidemics in Asia - a struggle made all the harder by the tiny amounts of international aid received by the military government. Although condom use
Indonesia: On a razor's edge - HIV vulnerability in Aceh: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 1, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BANDA ACEH, 1 February (PLUSNEWS) - Ratnawati Zulkifli, 32, will always remember the morning of the tsunami, a day still etched in her mind nearly two years after this century s greatest natural disaster to date. I lost everything that day, and
Global: Microbicide research suffers major setback: Integrated Regional Information Networks - February 1, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] NAIROBI/JOHANNESBURG, 1 February (PLUSNEWS) - Progress in developing an effective anti-HIV microbicide was dealt a major blow this week when researchers halted trials of a microbicide gel after preliminary results showed it could increase the ri
Somalia: Sisters doing it for themselves: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 31, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] NAIROBI, 31 January (PLUSNEWS) - Somali women are taking the initiative in the fight against AIDS with a programme to educate their peers in this conservative Muslim nation. An extensive consultative process, conducted by the United Nations Chil
Zimbabwe: Ongoing medical strike could cost lives: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 31, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] HARARE, 31 January (PLUSNEWS) - As Zimbabwe s disgruntled doctors and nurses continue their strike over low salaries and poor working conditions, concern is growing about how the prolonged stayaway is affecting HIV-positive patients. The strike
Myanmar: Interview with MSF-Holland country director: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 30, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] YANGON, 30 January (PLUSNEWS) - One of the few international organisations working in Myanmar on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment is the health nongovernmental organisation (NGO) Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Holland. Country director Frank Sm
Laos: Regional Buddhist HIV outreach programme making an impact: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 30, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] VIENTIANE, 30 January (PLUSNEWS) - A unique outreach programme based on the teachings of Buddhism is playing a significant role in supporting those living with HIV/AIDS in Laos and other countries of the Mekong region - the Yun
Cambodia: Focus on MSM and the spread of HIV/AIDS: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 30, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] PHNOM PENH, 30 January (PLUSNEWS) - As dusk falls along the banks of the Tonle Sap River, opposite the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, Noun, 35, a married engineer, stops at his favourite vantage point on his route home each e
Global: Streamlining ARV provision for refugees: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 29, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] NAIROBI - The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has launched a new policy to ensure that HIV-positive refugees and other displaced people around the world have access to life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medication. The policy, designed t
India: Govt ARV programme hits stumbling block: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 26, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] NEW DELHI, 26 January (PLUSNEWS) - As India grapples with one of the world s largest HIV/AIDS caseloads, the government faces the challenge of rapidly scaling up the provision of first-line antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to people who need them, whi
Burundi: Prisoners form HIV-positive association behind bars: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 26, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BUJUMBURA, 26 January (PLUSNEWS) - HIV-positive inmates in Mpimba Prison in Burundi s capital, Bujumbura, have found that the best way to survive the hardship of being incarcerated in the overcrowded facility is by banding together to support ea
Madagascar: The future at stake: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 26, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] ANTANANARIVO, 26 January (PLUSNEWS) - The island nation of Madagascar , off the coast of Southern Africa, has so far been spared an HIV/AIDS epidemic, unlike its continental neighbours, but health officials have warned that the country cannot af
Zambia: Shielding children from their HIV status does more harm than good: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 25, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] LUSAKA, 25 Jan 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - Zambia s attempts to promote paediatric antiretroviral (ARV) drug adherence are being undermined by families and communities who shield children in their care from knowing their HIV/AIDS status, health exper
Zimbabwe: Costs of ARVs spiral: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 25, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BULAWAYO, 25 Jan 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - A rise of more than 100 percent in the price of antiretroviral drugs is likely to put the life-prolonging medication beyond the reach of hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans living with HIV. Pharmacists in
South Africa: Joining the HIV battle makes good business: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 25, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 25 January (PLUSNEWS) - Behaviour change has been widely identified as the key to reducing new HIV infections, but so far neither governments, religious leaders nor AIDS organisations have had significant success in convincing larg
Africa: Throwing the book at AIDS: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 25, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] NAIROBI, 25 January (PLUSNEWS) - What AIDS prevention method lasts a lifetime and is particularly effective among young women? Education, delegates attending the World Social Forum [http://wsf2007.org] in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, heard this
South Africa: Life insurers still snubbing HIV-positive clients: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 24, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 24 January (PLUSNEWS) - Most South African life insurance companies have little or no cover available to potential clients who are HIV-positive, despite the disease now being much more manageable than in previous years. Cape Town-b
Thailand: A new model for the sex business: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 22, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] CHIANG MAI, 22 January (PLUSNEWS) - Amid the karaoke bars and beer pubs of a designated entertainment area in Thailand s northern city of Chiang Mai, the Can Do Bar stands out for its brightly-coloured decor, large open windows that that allow p
Southern Africa: UNICEF report shows mixed HIV/AIDS response: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 22, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 22 January (PLUSNEWS) - Some countries made progress in protecting and supporting women and children affected by HIV/AIDS during 2006 but huge gaps remained, the UN Children s Fund (UNICEF) warned in a new report this week. In its
South Africa: Closing the gap on gender-based violence: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 19, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JOHANNESBURG, 19 Jan 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - In a country long sickened by the frighteningly high level of sexual violence, one of the greatest challenges facing South Africa is closing the gap between the rhetoric of gender equality and the real
Swaziland: "Weak" civil society hampering efforts to address crises: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 18, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MBABANE, 18 Jan 2007 (IRIN) - An umbrella body of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) says Swaziland s weak civil society is hampering efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in the country. The country s weak civil society voice, coupled wi
Sudan: HIV/AIDS education comes to classrooms in the south: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 17, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] JUBA, 17 January (PLUSNEWS) - The classroom has become a front line in the fight against AIDS in southern Sudan , where many teenagers are attending school for the first time now that the 21-year civil war has ended. HIV/AIDS programmes are
Central African Republic: No refuge from HIV: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 17, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BANGUI, 17 Jan 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - After the traumas of war and forced exile, HIV is an additional hardship for many refugees living in the small huts of clay and straw in a camp at Molangue, Central African Republic (CAR), near the bo
Mozambique: HIV/AIDS carers to be taught ARV management: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 16, 2007; MAPUTO - The Mozambican Red Cross will begin training hundreds of volunteer workers to manage antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the HIV/AIDS sufferers in their care. This training is extremely important and will improve the work of our carers, Paula Macava, the Red Cross Mozambique coordinator of the HIV/AIDS progra
Thailand: Burmese migrants excluded from AIDS treatment: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 15, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BANGKOK - Zaw, 30, from Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar ( Burma ), came to Thailand eight years ago in search of job opportunities unavailable in his impoverished homeland. He found work on construction sites and, more r
Zambia: Kids slip through the ARV net: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 12, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] LUSAKA, 12 January (PLUSNEWS) - A shortage of paediatric testing kits and specialised medical staff in Zambia is causing delays in rolling out antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for children infected with HIV/AIDS. Despite the National AIDS Council
Zimbabwe: Scepticism over govt plan to treble ARV beneficiaries: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 11, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BULAWAYO, 11 Jan 2007 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - The Zimbabwean government has announced its intention to treble the number of people on its free antiretroviral (ARV) programme in 2007, but experts are sceptical about the health sector s capacity to achi
Zimbabwe: New law set to bring hope to abused women: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 10, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] HARARE, 10 January (PLUSNEWS) - 2006 ended on a good note for many women s groups and activists in Zimbabwe , when the House of Assembly finally passed legislation aimed at stamping out growing levels of domestic violence. The Domestic Viole
Central African Republic: The legacy of rape: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 9, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] BANGUI, 9 January (PLUSNEWS) - Marie, Emilienne, Brigitte and Angela (last names withheld) were all raped during the conflict that gripped the Central African Republic (CAR) between 2001 and 2003, and are now HIV positive. In 2002, scarcely
Ethiopia: Inequality, gender-based violence raise HIV/AIDS risk for women: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 8, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] ADDIS ABABA, 8 January (PLUSNEWS) - Efforts to address the plight of women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are lagging behind in Ethiopia s profoundly conservative society, while they continue to bear the brunt of the epidemic. Women are more
Kenya: Male participation crucial to reducing gender violence and HIV: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 5, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] NAIROBI, 5 January (PLUSNEWS) - Activists are calling on Kenyan men to become more involved in campaigns to end the widespread physical and sexual abuse of women and girls, a problem that is putting millions of women at greater risk of contracti
Lesotho: New policy to help orphans and vulnerable children: Integrated Regional Information Networks - January 3, 2007; [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] MASERU, 3 January (PLUSNEWS) - Lesotho s government has approved a policy to care for its growing population of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). The policy comes at a time when, irrespective of gender, orphaned children are exposed to vari
MOZAMBIQUE: Antiretrovirals slowly reach rural areas: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks - April 18, 2007; CHINGONDOLE (PLUSNEWS) - At 10 in the morning the thermometer has already hit 35 degrees centigrade in the community of Chingondole in Mozambique s Zambezia Province, about 500 meters from the Malawi border. Most adults are in the fields planting maize to provide food for the next six months; the availability of food w

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