2007

Esther Lalam, a teacher in northern Uganda - an Xmas feast and reunion: UN Integrated Regional Information Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network; 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network- 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 Network- 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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 Network - 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,