In South Africa, much of the battle against HIV/AIDS takes place in rural areas, where up until recently anti-retroviral drugs were not available. Much of the care for AIDS patients was simply to make them comfortable or try to get them some food.
As 2005 draws to a close, what were some of the major human rights issues facing Africa. For a look back, English to Africa reporter Joe De Capua spoke with Phil ya Nangoloh, head of the Namibian National Society for Human Rights. He spoke from the town Oshakati, about 700 kilometers northwest of the capital, Windhoek.
>China says it is sharply increasing government spending on AIDS prevention in an effort to limit the spread of (HIV) the virus that causes the disease.
Libya's Supreme Court has overturned death sentences against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, who were convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV.
Human rights groups say there is a deadly link between women's rights abuses and the spread of HIV/AIDS and other health problems. From the systematic rape of women in Darfur, Sudan to the trafficking of women around the world, violations of women's rights are fueling a global health crisis.
The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women -- CEDAW -- in 1979 to protect and enforce the rights of women around the world. Yet, every day news stories reveal atrocities committed against women and setbacks suffered by the women's rights movement. How far have women come? And how far do women have to go to achieve real equality? VOA's Barbara Schoetzau takes the measure of women's rights in 2005.
Scientists say the development of an AIDS vaccine might be more complicated than they thought, after researchers in California reported that the immune response to HIV differs, even in identical twins.
Officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Food Program say enough food has been delivered to avert famine in southern Africa.
As the World Trade Organization meeting opens in Hong Kong, the international medical relief organization Doctors Without Borders says the WTO's rules on patent protection are squeezing access to life-saving drugs for millions of poor people.
Many consider public disclosure of one's HIV-positive status to be a laudable act, as it helps fight the stigma and discrimination that often accompany HIV infection. But such disclosures have serious implications for other family members,say the children of two HIV-positive Zimbabweans - who now love and admire their parents all the more.
The latest conference on AIDS in Africa has been marked by protests, discord, absent guests and alarming statistics. With just ten percent of the world's total population, latest figures show that Africa is home to two-thirds of all the people infected with HIV, and the percentage is much higher for children.
In the United States, more than a million people are infected with the HIV virus. Certain groups - gay men, African-Americans, drug users - have been affected more than others. While the numbers of known HIV and AIDS cases among the Arab-American community are relatively low compared to other groups, experts believe that underreporting and secrecy, due to the stigma AIDS carries for many Muslims, are major obstacles to preventing the spread of the virus and to treating infected populations.
A leading official of the US global effort against HIV/AIDS, Jimmy Kolker, has praised the progress made in the fight against the disease in Africa. Mr. Kolker is a former US Ambassador to Uganda, and the assistant coordinator and director of diplomatic outreach for the Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator. He made his comments at the 14th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Abuja, Nigeria.
There were criticisms of donor-supported AIDS policies today at an international gathering in Abuja, Nigeria. The remarks were leveled by NGOs at the 14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa.
Nigeria may be at risk of losing a major financial donor in its war on AIDS. The board of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria is threatening to end its support to Nigeria -- in part because the government and allied non-governmental organizations have not met agreed-upon targets. They're also accused of failing to provide a full accounting of the use of funds.
China's official Xinhua news agency says an HIV-positive man in northern China has infected at least 18 people with the virus by repeatedly donating blood before knowing he had the disease. Three of the blood recipients have died.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more than 11 million children in sub-Saharan Africa have been orphaned by AIDS. The FAO also predicts that up to 20 million African children could lose one or both parents to the disease by 2010. Deborah Ellis is a Canadian children's writer, peace activist and humanitarian field worker who traveled to Africa to learn more about what life is like for these AIDS orphans. Now she's written a book about her experience called Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk About AIDS (Fitzhenry and Whiteside Limited).
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has called for increased international action in fighting HIV / AIDS, and said the international community has fallen short of a goal to provide treatment to millions of people.
The Special U.N. Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa says progress in fighting AIDS in Africa is "heartbreakingly slow." In a World AIDS Day interview, Dr. Stephen Lewis told English to Africa reporter Ashenafi Abedje that limited inroads are being made in the area of prevention and treatment, but that "hallucinatory numbers" of people continue to die - especially women.
Russia is marking International HIV/AIDS Day with a ceremony to crown a Miss HIV Positive in a beauty pageant aimed to ease the stigma associated with the disease. Russia still faces formidable obstacles in its fight against AIDS.
December 1st marks the 18th annual World AIDS Day. AIDS affects every continent, every country. More than 40 million people live with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, or with AIDS itself. There were five million new cases this year - more than half were in sub-Saharan Africa and more than half were among young people.
AIDS affects at least 40 million people worldwide, and those are just the reported cases. In conjunction with World AIDS Day, the World Bank is launching a new plan to curb the growing AIDS epidemic.
Today, Thursday, is World AIDS Day, the 18th time the world has marked the occasion in the course of the pandemic that has killed about 25 million people. Another 40 million are living with HIV, the AIDS virus. Most are in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, 64 percent of the world's new HIV infections in 2005 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
The director of the U.N. AIDS program has marked World AIDS Day Thursday, by urging the international community to do all it can to fight the deadly disease.
Efforts to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS in Burma have been hit because an international organization funding a five-year assistance program is pulling out, citing restrictions by the military government. Efforts are under way to find alternative sources of financing and restore help for Burma's AIDS sufferers.
China's attitude toward AIDS and the HIV virus that causes it has changed dramatically since it finally admitted two years ago that the country was facing a serious problem. Now the government in Beijing is eager to prove it is tackling the spread of the virus. However, many say the work being done in China is far from enough.
U.S. and Haitian doctors have tripled the survival time of a group of AIDS patients in Haiti by administering standard HIV medicines. The finding shows that, despite the doubts of many people, AIDS drugs work as well in countries with weak health systems and heavy disease burdens as they do in the rich nations.
Sub-Saharan Africa contains only 10 percent of the world's population, but is home to 60 percent of all people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. On the eve of World AIDS Day, the continent's situation continues to be bleak, with infection rates generally showing few signs of letting up.
The presidents of Rwanda, Burundi, and Mozambique are trying to mobilize greater public involvement to fight against the disease in their countries. They’re concerned about the mounting toll HIV/AIDS is taking on African countries and resources. With support from the United Nations Children’s Fund, the three leaders and their wives have been speaking at highly visible public events in order to lead by example and enlist resourceful workers, donors, and caretakers in national treatment programs. These efforts are part of the new partnership campaign for children affected by HIV/AIDS being coordinated by UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.
After putting an end to two decades of civil war, Sudan is being forced to confront issues that were sidelined during the protracted conflict. Chief among these is HIV/AIDS. A United Nations report, released last week, says Sudan has the highest rate of HIV infection in North Africa and the Middle East. Sudan now struggles to combat the epidemic. But HIV infection is still associated with a loose lifestyle, making it difficult to address the disease in this conservative, religious nation.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organization announced it would not meet its target in the "Three by Five" program. That program attempted to get three million people infected with the AIDS virus on anti-retroviral drugs by the end of 2005.
Africa has the highest HIV infection rate in the world. But a new report says rates of infection in adults have gone down in Kenya, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe. The annual report is issued jointly by the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, and the World Health Organization. This year it's entitled "AIDS Epidemic Update 2005." It cautions that despite the decrease, the overall number of people living with the AIDS virus in sub-Saharan Africa is continuing to rise. The report says Africa continues to be the worst affected region in the world, with 64 per cent of the new infections.
Mother-to-child transmission of the virus that causes AIDS is one of the major ways HIV is spread. But it's been unclear how untreated, pregnant women pass the deadly virus on to their babies, or why some newborns are infected and others are not. A new study suggests that infection of newborns by HIV-positive mothers occurs during labor, which might be avoided by caesarian section.
Researchers say the rising number of HIV infections around the world highlights the need for an AIDS vaccine. One of the organizations spearheading the effort is IAVI, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
An annual U.N. report on the World AIDS epidemic says sub-Saharan Africa remains the hardest-hit region of the world, while the epidemic continues to grow in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where Russia and Ukraine are the worst hit.
A United Nations report says nearly five million people were infected with HIV in 2005 - the highest jump since the beginning of the epidemic. But the report also has some good news: HIV infection rates decreased in some of the countries most severely affected by the disease.
The United Nations says in the past year more than one million people contracted HIV infections in South Asia, and the disease is spreading largely due to drug use and unsafe sex.
The United Nations report on the worldwide AIDS epidemic says more than one million people in Asia were infected during the past year with the HIV virus that causes the disease.
AIDS and war have created millions oF orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. Too often, children are left to fend for themselves after the deaths of their parents. But a study in Namibia shows that despite the hardships, children have learned to rely on each other to survive.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria says it is reviewing two grants given to Nigeria worth nearly 70 million dollars over five years. However, the Global Fund denies published reports that the action is being taken because of alleged wrongdoing.
U.S. public health officials say the rate of reported HIV cases among American minority groups has dropped significantly over the last four years. But they warn that the rate remains disproportionately high compared to whites.
In the early years of the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the United States, the disease was primarily associated with homosexuals and people who injected illegal drugs. But over the years, heterosexual transmission has accounted for a growing number of AIDS cases, including increasing numbers of young people who are becoming infected with the incurable illness. In this segment of our Youth and Politics series, VOA's Jessica Berman reports on the attitudes of America's young people toward the disease and efforts designed to educate them.
The Nairobi-based African Youth Parliament is a network of young people in more than 45 countries committed to African development. Tackling such problems as AIDS, post-war reconstruction and poverty, members are reaching out to fellow youth in an attempt to create a brighter future for their countries and continent. Cathy Majtenyi has more in this report as part of a VOA series on youth and politics.
Legal experts from 14 Arab countries are meeting in Cairo to review laws affecting the rights of people with HIV and AIDS. The U.N.-sponsored meeting is the first of its kind in the Arab world, where AIDS is a rapidly growing problem that is rarely talked about.
Nearly 25 years into the AIDS pandemic, scientists are still looking for a vaccine. A new report explains why it remains elusive, despite more resources, greater cooperation and more in-depth scientific knowledge.
Talk to America (TTA), the Voice of America's (VOA) live weekday call-in radio show will explore the problem of HIV/AIDS with Dr. Thomas Quinn on Wednesday, November 16.
Hundreds of activists converged in Washington this week for four days of rallies, prayer vigils and marches to address the AIDS pandemic in the United States and around the world. The rally was the culmination of a cross-country campaign to end AIDS for the more than one million Americans and 39 million people worldwide who are infected with the HIV virus.
In war divided Ivory Coast, members of the military are particularly at risk of spreading and being infected by HIV/AIDS. The Ivorian Ministry of Defense has launched a new program that will attempt to make soldiers on both sides of the conflict aware of the dangers of the disease.
The World Health Organization considers them the big three killers: AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Leaders in medicine, public policy and business gathered in New York this week for the Global Health Summit sponsored by Time Magazine and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to explore why these deadly diseases continue to challenge medical science.
A leading Arabic newspaper says Libya is considering abolishing the death penalty and releasing five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death on charges of infecting 400 children with HIV.
The Conrad Hilton Humanitarian Prize of $1.5 million, the world's largest prize, has been awarded to Partners In Health, a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. The organization was honored for its work in providing "first world" health care to the poorest societies.
In Kenya, as in much of Africa, burgeoning populations of children orphaned by AIDS or infected with HIV are becoming the "invisible face" of the deadly virus. That is according to officials at the U.N. Fund for Children, which is launching a global campaign aimed at helping children infected or affected by HIV and AIDS.
UN officials say every day 1400 children die of AIDS-related illnesses, while more than 6,000 young people are newly infected with HIV, the AIDS virus. That's why UNICEF and UNAIDS are launching a major global initiative today (Tuesday) called "Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS."
Millions of people in Africa could be helped by using an old drug in a new way. A drug that's normally used to protect people with HIV/AIDS from bacterial infections can also be used to protect them from malaria.
Medicine is a critical weapon in the fight against AIDS/HIV, but it is only part the battle and properly trained personnel are vital to seeing the work through. The issue of training health workers came up at a meeting in Manila on intellectual property rights and public health.
International experts say a way must be found to balance the need of the world's population for lifesaving medicine and the massive investments made by pharmaceutical companies.
A United Nations population report is calling on world leaders to stand by commitments to end discrimination against women and boost spending on women's health and education to reduce global poverty.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that African governments are failing to act to meet the education needs of children orphaned by AIDS. The U.S.-based rights organization has issued a report, which also offers guidelines to governments.
The United Nations agency charged with fighting AIDS has come out with good news, in relative terms, for Zimbabwe. About one in five people in the country between the ages of 15 and 49 is believed to be infected with the virus that causes AIDS, reflecting an improvement from the rate of one in four Zimbabweans found by a 2002 study.
With some $67 million on its way to Zimbabwe from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a Fund official said the country's latest application was approved because it seemed more likely to succeed than previous ones.
Researchers in South Africa say a common bacterial infection makes women more susceptible to HIV/AIDS and other diseases. And they say that very often the condition goes untreated. Voice of America's Joe De Capua reports.
Zimbabwe's badly ailing health sector is about to receive an injection of monies from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which approved three proposals from Harare for a total of $112 million - $36 million for HIV-AIDS.
Following the 1994 genocide, Rwanda faced formidable obstacles in trying to recover and rebuild. The violence, rape, displacement and poverty left the society shaken and also made it more vulnerable to disease, including HIV/AIDS. One NGO has developed a community-based plan to help families deal with the consequences of the pandemic, including poverty and orphans.
A US congressional hearing was held Tuesday on how the AIDS pandemic has affected children. Those testifying called on Congress to help buy the special drugs that children need to survive infection with HIV, the AIDS virus.
Australia is pressing Asian governments to review their tough stance on reducing narcotic use to keep from accelerating the spread of AIDS across the region. Australia hopes Asian law enforcement agencies place more emphasis on making clean needles available to addicts and less on outright punishment.
African health ministers and development experts are gathering in Paris Thursday, for a two-day summit aimed at creating new momentum to fight malaria in Africa.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria says it has received more than half the $7 billion needed to keep its operations going through 2007.
Statistics show that more and more people with HIV and AIDS in the rural areas of South Africa are suffering from depression. One organization, the Johannesburg-based South African Depression and Anxiety Group, is trying to turn this trend around by helping people in small communities, where the word for depression does not even exist in many local dialects.
Last week, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria told Uganda it was suspending 150 million dollars in grants. It cited fiscal mismanagement.
Communicable diseases such as flu, AIDS and SARS can become worldwide epidemics, killing millions. Containing such diseases is often seen as a medical problem, to be solved in a laboratory. But human factors such as war, poverty and politics can be just as important in determining how far and fast a disease will spread.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has taken firm hold in parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine. The prospects for stemming the spread of the disease are best in the central Asian republics, where there are still relatively few cases. In the Baltic states, there is concern about the rapid rate of transmission. In addition, people infected with HIV are more vulnerable to tuberculosis, which is emerging in increasingly drug-resistant stains across the region.
International health experts are increasingly concerned that the avian influenza that has infected birds in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Russia and Kazakhstan could cause a global pandemic. But the bird flu is just one of a number of potentially lethal diseases challenging the international medical community. Leta Hong Fincher looks at how the United States and other countries are trying to respond.
The Bush Administration has rejected allegations it's pressuring the Ugandan government to promote abstinence over condom use in preventing HIV/AIDS. It also denies its policies have contributed to a reported condom shortage in Uganda.
Uganda's health minister is denying charges that his country is facing a shortage of condoms. He says the government procured about 60-million condoms recently, with millions more on the way. However, AIDS activists and others reject the minister's assurances and accuse the government and the United States of trying to orchestrate a policy of abstinence over condom use in Uganda.
Regional health ministers in Africa Friday declared tuberculosis an emergency on the continent. The measure underlines a new commitment to fight a disease that is killing more than 500,000 people a year on the world's poorest continent.
Uganda's president says he will investigate alleged mismanagement in his government that led the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to suspend grants to the country.
The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has suspended grants to Uganda after an investigation uncovered evidence of serious mismanagement of funds.
A recent report on global population trends indicates that the world population continues to increase, and less developed countries account for nearly 99 percent of that growth in the near term. Despite declining birth rates in most developed countries and in China, the world continues to grow by an estimated 80 million people each year.
"Africa -- Whatever you thought, think again." That's the intriguing headline on the cover of the September issue of National Geographic Magazine, a publication that has covered the continent for more than a century.
One of the leading groups in the fight against AIDS, The Global Fund, has terminated a five-year anti-AIDS program in Burma because of the military government's restrictions on the effort. United Nations officials say the step will severely hurt the U.N.'s AIDS operations in Burma.
U.S. scientists have tested a new approach to AIDS therapy that raises hope of an eventual cure of the disease. Doctors have found an old drug used for another condition can dramatically decrease the levels of the AIDS virus in the body.
While the world is focusing attention on the severe food shortages in Niger, a UN agency is warning that Malawi is facing its worst food crisis in more than ten years.
Since leaving the White House in 2001, Bill Clinton has been redefining his role as a former U.S. president. Once criticized in the early years of his presidency for dealing primarily with U.S. domestic issues, Mr. Clinton now appears intent on building a legacy as a major force on the world stage.
Do religious organizations play a significant role in the fight against HIV/AIDS? That's the question behind a recent study by the Global Health Council. Voice of America reporter Cole Mallard has the story.
At the July Gleneagles Summit, G8 leaders announced a goal of having an AIDS-free generation in Africa. To reach that goal, they aim to provide near universal access to treatment for all those who need it by the year 2010. However, one AIDS expert warns anti-retroviral treatment is complicated and expensive and only one part of what's needed to stop the pandemic.
Senior U.N. officials are hailing a milestone in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Officials are speaking of a transformation in the way world leaders view AIDS.
There's been a lot of praise for G8 leaders regarding the goal they set last week for HIV/AIDS. They're aiming to provide near universal access to treatment for all those who need it by the year 2010. But some groups are concerned the G8 may not follow through on their promises with adequate funding.
Thailand says it will soon offer anti-AIDS drugs at almost no cost to anyone living with HIV or AIDS. The government is keeping a promise made at an international AIDS conference last year.
At last week's Gleneagles Summit, G8 leaders set an ambitious goal of having an AIDS-free generation in Africa. They said they would work with various international agencies with the aim of providing, as close as possible, universal access to treatment by 2010 for all who need it.
Brazil has agreed not to break a pharmaceutical patent on a crucial AIDS drug after a U.S. drug manufacturer agreed to significantly reduce the price of the drug.
Leaders of the top industrialized countries are set to discuss the global threat of AIDS, a virus that is spreading faster than the efforts to stop it. A recent report shows that more women than men are contracting the AIDS virus.
Africa will be one of main topics of discussion while the leaders of the G-8 nations meet in Scotland this week. Any talks about Africa will include the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is sweeping the continent.
Aid to Africa will be high on the agenda when leaders of the eight major industrial nations meet in Scotland later this week. President Bush has proposed $1.7 billion dollars in U.S. assistance, including $55 million to help four countries bolster their efforts to combat violence against women. The White House says the money would complement its $15 billion program to fight AIDS because sexual victimization is one cause of the disease's spread. Although Africa is the focus of the U.S. women's initiative, the continent is not alone in this problem.
The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights says there is danger of disease outbreaks as a result of the ongoing government crackdown on informal traders and unapproved residential structures. The doctors say it may also lead to a worsening of Zimbabwe's already grim HIV situation.
President Bush says the United States is making a real difference in fighting HIV-AIDS in Africa. Mr. Bush delivered a message for Africa heard exclusively on the Voice of America.
PRESS RELEASE - Washington, D.C., July 5, 2005 – In an exclusive broadcast by the Voice of America (VOA) President George W. Bush has told Africans that fighting HIV/AIDS on their continent is a top priority of the United States.
The world's foremost professional basketball league, the NBA, just held its annual draft and players from all over the world were selected. Stephan Bekale, who is from the African nation of Gabon, once dreamed of playing professional basketball too. But while he was playing hoops, as basketball is also known, at Pennsylvania State University both his parents died from AIDS and his priorities changed. He decided to do something for the millions of Africans suffering from the disease. So, he started "Hoops for Africa," an HIV/AIDS awareness program that brings professional basketball players to Africa.
Several nations threatened by the AIDS crisis in Asia are finding themselves even more vulnerable in the wake of last December's devastating Indian Ocean tsunami. That is the assessment from officials at a regional conference on HIV and AIDS underway in Kobe, Japan.
The latest United Nations report on HIV and AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region says governments are not doing enough to prevent the spread of the virus, or to treat those infected.
A new report says many governments in the Muslim world have been slow to respond to the spread of HIV and AIDS in their societies. The report from the Seattle, Washington-based National Bureau of Asian Research urges Muslim governments to take a more aggressive approach to HIV education and prevention.
U.S. economic and military assistance to key countries in the Middle East has been the focus of more debate in Congress. This and other foreign policy issues came up as the House of Representatives considered a $20 billion bill that includes money for President Bush's AIDS initiative and other key programs. The House passed the bill Tuesday night, with 393 yes votes versus 32 no votes.
U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias says President Bush's $15 billion emergency plan for AIDS relief is on track in providing anti-retroviral AIDS treatment to victims of the disease in 15 of the most afflicted countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
HIV/AIDS researchers say they are optimistic that they will develop a vaccine for the deadly disease, although they say it will take at least another ten years.
The U.S. government is giving $42 million to Ivory Coast to help treat and prevent HIV-AIDS. The current HIV-AIDS prevalence in the country is about 7 percent, but health workers believe conflict between rebels and government forces has increased the spread of the virus.
The two-day replenishment meeting of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria is the second of three meetings aimed at raising an additional $8.5 billion needed to support the programs the fund is financing worldwide.
New data, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reflect the success of new treatments and drugs that allow HIV-infected people to survive longer. The numbers also highlight how much the epidemic has changed over the last 2 decades.
The Zimbabwe Ministry of Health this week announced a decline over the past year in the national prevalence rate of HIV infection, from 24.6% to 21.3%.
The Special UN Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa says 20 years into the HIV/AIDS pandemic, sub-Saharan Africa is the scene of terrible and appalling human carnage.
Herbal medicine, acupuncture, and massage therapy: there was a time not too long ago when these things were dismissed by medical professionals in the United States as charlatanism. Today, though, more and more U.S. medical schools are incorporating so-called "complementary alternative medicine" into their curricula, and the trend is being both praised and criticized.
Far from Africa, but not all that far from the North Pole, a concert is being held tomorrow to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. It's called "46664 Arctic."
Pope Benedict XVI told African bishops Friday he shares their concerns about the devastation caused by AIDS on the continent. But he stuck with traditional church doctrine in advocating abstinence as what he called the only "fail-safe" way to prevent the spread of the virus.
The World Health Organization says around 40 million people globally are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. As the numbers continue to grow, a recent conference sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies emphasized the need to focus more attention on prevention.
South Africa's second national HIV/AIDS conference, bringing together scientists, practitioners, activists, those living with the disease as well policy makers, has opened in Durban.
Brazilian lawmakers have approved a project authorizing the government to break patents on certain drugs for treating AIDS. Brazil already produces eight of the 15 drugs in its federally funded anti-AIDS program.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has released a new report on HIV/AIDS that says the epidemic is still outpacing the response to it. The UN report says despite encouraging news that the epidemic is beginning to be contained in some countries, it continues to expand worldwide.
A United Nations study is showing the first signs of success in the global fight against AIDS. Funds available for the fight have reached an all-time high. But, the good news is tempered by word that the epidemic is still spreading.
Since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981, more than 20-million people have died from the disease. And it's estimated as many as 40-million people are currently infected with HIV, the AIDS virus. Despite the growing availability of anti-retroviral drugs to prolong lives, the statistics underscore the need for a vaccine to prevent further infections. But, an effective vaccine has been elusive. To help explain why, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, or AVAC, has published the AIDS Vaccine Handbook.
Rome's mayor told African health ministers Friday that new governance on a global scale and a change of priorities is needed to combat the scourge of AIDS in the world. The ministers gathered for a conference titled "A Dream for Africa: Children Without AIDS," organized by the Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio.
A court hearing began in South Africa Friday, pitting an influential AIDS lobby group against a doctor who claims his vitamin therapies are more effective against AIDS than anti-retroviral drugs.
It's estimated there are between eleven and thirteen million AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. Experts say because many are poor and have no skills, they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Two major Washington policy research institutes say Russia's AIDS problem is much larger than the country's leaders acknowledge. They recommend that the United States expand its assistance to Moscow to help prevent a potentially destabilizing situation.
The UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa says progress on women's health issues is being made, but at a "painfully" slow pace. He describes the lives of many women as "mercilessly desperate."
The World Bank is increasing its efforts to control malaria to overcome what it calls the inadequacy of the current global effort. The international lending institution says it seeks to raise up to $1 billion to fight a disease that threatens 40 percent of the world's people and kills one million each year, mostly young sub-Saharan African children.
The Commission for Africa - appointed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair - has issued a study assessing the challenges the continent faces and outlining a series of steps the world can take to further development and progress. The Commission lists good governance as a top priority without which lasting progress is unlikely.
A report is calling for the creation of a U.S. Global Health Service comprised of doctors, nurses and other health care workers to help combat HIV/AIDS in the world's hardest hit countries. The authors of the study say the current lack of highly trained medical personnel is the biggest obstacle to caring for people with the life-long illness.
African officials attending the International Monetary Fund/World Bank meetings in Washington Sunday expressed satisfaction with the pick-up in the continent's economic growth, but emphasized that more money is needed to combat AIDS and malaria.
An Anglican bishop in The Gambia has for the first time promoted condoms to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. The bishop's support for the use of condoms breaks with other religious leaders who oppose their use and comes amid worries about a spike in infections in the small west African country.
The top official of the UN's joint program to fight HIV/AIDS says AIDS prevention programs are being neglected. Peter Piot is warning of an explosion of new cases of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, if more attention is not paid to preventing the spread of the disease.
In Durban, South Africa, a three-day conference opened Thursday to examine the link between HIV/AIDS and hunger. About 200 development experts from Africa and elsewhere are discussing how to fight the pandemic while preventing malnutrition and food insecurity.
There has been more debate in Congress about the effectiveness of sexual abstinence versus use of condoms in the global fight against AIDS. The issue was discussed at length during a congressional hearing Wednesday which heard from U.S. global AIDS coordinator, Randall Tobias, and representatives of non-government organizations.
Human Rights and HIV/AIDS experts say the discrimination and stigmatization of people infected with HIV/AIDS is worsening the global pandemic. They say one of the keys to fighting HIV/AIDS lies in addressing violations of rights of those who are infected.
US researchers have upheld the findings of a 1997 Ugandan study that said the AIDS drug Nevirapine was safe and effective. The drug is widely used in Africa and other developing regions to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV.
A panel of medical experts has defended a controversial U.S. AIDS study in Uganda that has been attacked for improprieties. The research shows that an AIDS drug can safely reduce an infected mother's ability to transmit the deadly virus to her newborn during childbirth. Allegations had surfaced that the study was flawed.
Last December, questions were raised about a study done in Uganda on the aids drug Nevirapine. Critics said the study was flawed and did not confirm the safety or efficacy of the drug, which is used to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. It's been widely used in Africa because it is cheap and easy to administer.
A new report by the World Health Organizations says millions of young women and children die in developing countries because they have no access to basic health services. The report was released Thursday, with the WHO calling on countries to focus more attention on maternal and child health.
As the U.S. Congress prepares to debate passage of the Central America Free Trade Act, some activists in the region are hoping lawmakers in Washington will vote it down. Peasant organizations and trade unions, worried about the effects of competition with U.S. companies, are not the only ones taking to the streets. Catherine Elton is in Guatemala City, and, in this VOA report, explains why HIV-positive Guatemalans are also opposed to the accord.
Scientists say they've developed a highly effective therapy to correct a defect in the gene that's responsible for the so-called "bubble-boy" disease. They say it's likely the technique would be effective in treating a host of other disorders, including AIDS.
In South Africa, a new survey shows thousands of teachers died of HIV/AIDS last year and tens of thousands are infected with the AIDS virus. The survey was conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council.
An international human rights group Wednesday criticized the United States for backing an AIDS prevention campaign in Uganda that focuses exclusively on sexual abstinence, a charge the U.S. government denies.
Two new research studies have found that the virus that causes AIDS destroys more than half of the body's immune cells responsible for fighting the disease within days of the initial infection.
Today is World TB Day – a day set aside each year to draw attention to a disease that kills about two million people annually. In sub-Saharan Africa, the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS makes the battle against tuberculosis even tougher to win.
Uganda is winning international praise for its success in fighting HIV and AIDS, even as the rate of infection soars in other parts of Africa. The country's prevention approach, known as ABC - or abstinence, being faithful and condom use - has been credited with changing the sexual behavior of Ugandans and contributing to a dramatic drop in the number of new HIV cases. The method has also been adopted by the Bush administration as its primary prevention tool, in more than a dozen AIDS embattled countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says cases of tuberculosis and deaths linked to HIV/AIDS have risen to alarming levels in Africa. To mark World TB Day, WHO is launching a new Global Tuberculosis Control report on the situation of TB around the world.
The gay community in the United States was recently put on alert when health officials announced that a gay man in New York City had contracted a new, drug-resistant strain of HIV. Activists have been warning for years that the virus that causes AIDS could mutate into a so-called virulent form.
The United Nations AIDS Program says global donations are running far short of what is needed to combat the deadly virus over the next three years in developing nations. It is asking for billions more dollars, while at the same time, reducing its request for pledges for 2007.
International AIDS groups across the globe held women's solidarity marches Tuesday, sending the message that women in particular need to be helped in the fight against HIV-AIDS. In Ivory Coast, AIDS groups are trying to reinforce the message that women need to be encouraged to stand up for their sexual rights to help battle the disease.
With the lack of an AIDS vaccine, research continues to develop easy to use topical medications to prevent infection by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases. This type of medication - possibly a gel, cream or suppository - is called a microbicide. Microbicide research was discussed at a recent scientific meeting here in Washington. Voice of America's Cole Mallard spoke with three of the specialists from the meeting.
Africa will be coping with the AIDS epidemic for decades to come, but to what extent will depend on policies governments adopt now and support from the international community. A U.N. report lays out three possible scenarios over the next 20 years that range from dire to hopeful.
The United Nations says the death toll from AIDS in Africa could surpass 80 million men, women and children by the year 2025 unless more effective measures are taken to combat the epidemic.
A new report presents three scenarios of how the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa could develop over the next 20 years. The report from UNAIDS says depending on what actions are taken today, up to 43-million HIV infections could be avoided by the year 2025.
In the war against HIV/AIDS, caregivers may have the most battle scars. Those scars are not readily seen because they are from deep psychological and emotional wounds caused by the deaths of loved ones. One caregiver from Zambia is touring the United States telling her stories about life on the frontlines of a pandemic.
The chief U.S. coordinator for HIV/AIDS programs says the United States is on track to meet President Bush's $15 billion, five-year AIDS initiative. However, Randall Tobias says the world faces major challenges in confronting the disease.
A United Nations report on narcotics says that despite drops in opium production in Southeast Asia, more people in the region are injecting heroin, causing fears of an increase in HIV/AIDS. Amphetamine abuse is another major concern for the region.
Isatou Diallo and her daughters have already been traveling for more than an hour. They have been on a bus, a subway train, and are about to board another bus near Washington to reach their destination a half hour away. It is the final meeting with their lawyer to prepare for their asylum hearing. Their journey began in the West African country of Guinea two years ago. But the momentum for their departure had begun to build about three decades ago when the parents of Isatou first approached her about an arranged marriage.
Six-thousand delegates descended on the U.N.'s New York headquarters Monday for a high-level meeting to reaffirm commitments to women's rights. The gathering - dubbed Beijing plus Ten - is devoted to assessing the progress made since the Fourth Conference on Women in the Chinese capital in 1995.
A new study on HIV/AIDS in Uganda is expected to spark controversy and debate. That's because the findings say programs promoting abstinence and faithfulness have done little, if anything, to bring a decline in AIDS rates. In fact, Columbia University researchers say only condom use appears to have been effective.
A new study has found that an oral cholera vaccine appears to work in people infected with HIV, protecting them from the highly infectious, diarrhea disease.
Despite efforts by scientists and governments to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic, HIV continues to spread at staggering rates. In the U.S. the disproportionate increase of infection among black women is a particular source of concern.
Recently, two Kenyan boys were attacked and mutilated and authorities blame it on ignorance and myths surrounding AIDS. The boys reportedly were drugged by strangers, who then cut off their penises to make a potion that local myth said cures AIDS. One of the boys also lost an ear while trying to fight off his attackers.
The $5 billion Indian drug industry has flourished for decades under a patent regime allowing drug companies to copy medicines patented abroad provided they used a different manufacturing process. As a result, medicines are sold in India at a fraction of the cost in the developed world.
Experts on malaria say the obstacle to reducing the disease in Africa is no longer technical, but financial. They point to recent scientific advances against the virus, which they say can dramatically cut its incidence if more money is forthcoming.
PRESS RELEASE - Kano, Nigeria, February 16, 2005 - Leading U.S. and Nigerian officials launched the Voice of America (VOA) Kano Reporting Center at a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, saying the facility will provide millions of VOA listeners with critical news and information, particularly about health.
Health officials in the U.S. city of New York have discovered a new strain of HIV that is drug-resistant and also causes a quick onset of the AIDS virus. Though this remains a single occurrence, the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued the alert for doctors and hospitals to watch closely for other possible cases. Health officials have not publicly identified the man whose case prompted the alert.
Cameroonian activists from a group called REDS, an acronym for defending ethics in AIDS, say they are finally being taken seriously now that the government decided to suspend the clinical trial of the drug Tenofovir earlier this month. Tenofovir is being tested as a possible prophylactic in preventing HIV infection.
U.S. public health officials say an unidentified New York City man has been diagnosed with a new HIV strain that has so far not responded to any anti-AIDS drugs. The unidentified man in his mid-40's became infected with a drug resistant form of the virus that causes AIDS after having unprotected sex with other men while using crystal methamphetamine, an addictive stimulant.
One out of every 11 people in the world infected with HIV is Ethiopian. And the crisis appears to be deepening, especially in urban centers like Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, despite recent government efforts to educate its population and to provide wider access to free antiretroviral drugs to halt the spread of AIDS.
Many of Africa's first ladies have gathered in Burkina Faso to help women afflicted with AIDS on the continent. Thirteen first ladies attended ceremonies, Wednesday. One of them, Rwanda's first lady, Mrs. Jeanette Kagame, urged her colleagues to do more in the battle against AIDS.
Researchers at Yale University have concluded that routine HIV testing would bring substantial economic benefits in prolonging the lives of those infected and making treatment less expensive. The scientists used complex computer models to prove the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
India has started its first human trials of a vaccine aimed at preventing AIDS. At the same time, authorities are promising to step up efforts to slow the spread of the AIDS and HIV, the virus that causes it, which now infects more that five million Indians.
PRESS RELEASE - Kano, Nigeria, February 7, 2005 – The Voice of America, which reaches listeners in northern Nigeria through its Hausa language service, is officially launching a new Kano Reporting Center (KRC) in conjunction with a health reporting workshop for women journalists.
Two years ago, Jason Brenchley took part in an HIV vaccine trial sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. An NIH researcher himself, Mr. Brenchley says he volunteered to show others that the vaccine which contained no actual viruses, only bits of the organism's genetic code was safe.
About 60 representatives from youth groups across Africa are in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to take part in a symposium on African unity, part of the commemoration of what would have been reggae superstar Bob Marley's 60th birthday.
Danish economist Bjorn Lomborg enraged the environmental movement a few years ago by questioning the benefits of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in his bestselling book The Skeptical Environmentalist. Speaking on VOA News Now's Press Conference USA, he reiterated that position by arguing that Third World countries, which are disproportionately affected by global warming, have more pressing priorities to deal with such as malnutrition and poverty. He told host Carol Castiel and panelist Jaroslaw Anders, editor in VOA's Eurasia Division, that there is no contradiction between promoting aggressive economic development and protecting the environment.
In his State of the Union address, President Bush briefly addressed HIV/AIDS. He concentrated his remarks on domestic AIDS legislation: the “Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act.”
The head of the World Health Organization polio eradication program says more regional synchronized campaigns against the virus are needed, as cases are increasing in West Africa. Seventeen new cases of polio were confirmed in Ivory Coast since last year, as the country's immunization programs were disrupted because of civil war.
A new report warns of the possible link between AIDS orphans and future terrorists. The report was presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Problems of poverty and disease in Africa dominated discussion during the second day of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Presidents, prime ministers, a rock star, and the world's richest man had much to say about the plight of the world's most distressed continent.
This week, the US Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, gave its approval to generic AIDS medicines manufactured by a South African company, Aspen Pharmacare.
Top officials leading the worldwide fight against AIDS say there has been immense progress in the past year in getting treatment to those who are infected with the AIDS virus.
The United Nations released its report on progress made during the past year on the so-called "three by five initiative" - the global goal of putting three million people living with HIV/AIDS on anti-retroviral treatments by 2005. Africa has a mixed performance on providing the drugs.
U.S.-led research in Cameroon on a drug which inhibits HIV has recently run into controversy, with activists saying tested prostitutes are being victimized.
Leading health and science experts say improving health is essential for reducing poverty around the world. Health experts say the world must immediately increase funding in health programs in order to achieve U.N. targets set five-years ago.
Officials from the World Bank, the United Nations, and donor countries wrapped up a two-day visit to Kenya Monday to evaluate the coordination and effectiveness of AIDS efforts in the East African country.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has told a group of Kenyan youths that society must discourage promiscuity and other risky sexual behavior if the spread of AIDS is to be stopped.
The announcement made front page news in many papers, including the Johannesburg Star, which lauded the elder statesman in an editorial for his courageous decision.
Makgatho Mandela, the eldest and only-surviving son of former South African President Nelson Mandela has died of AIDS. Mr. Mandela made the announcement at a press conference.
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