Debate rages in Uganda about a controversial bill before parliament that would make homosexuality punishable by death. A Ugandan member of parliament (MP) last month proposed that lawmakers should create a new crime of "aggravated homosexuality", which would be punishable by death. Ndorwa West MP David Bahati, of the ruling party, tabled the private member's bill in parliament. According to his bill, those convicted of having gay sex with disabled people and those under the 18 would face the death penalty.
The police stop us all the time. Sometimes they try to take money from us, sometimes they threaten to arrest us. But the usual trick is to check our handbags. They plant some drugs, then tell us to come with them to the station. The only way to get out is have sex with the policeman, otherwise we go to jail.
No condoms. No sex" has become a mantra for around 4,500 sex workers operating near India's southern city of Bangalore. With an estimated 2.5 million Indians infected with HIV, these prostitutes are on the frontline of India's battle against HIV and AIDS.
Today, December 1, is the annual observance of World AIDS Day. The epidemic continues to take an enormous toll, even as scientists have developed a range of medicines that have turned an AIDS diagnosis from a likely death sentence to a manageable condition ... at least for those who can get the right treatment.
HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death and disease for women of reproductive age, according to health officials. A new report says much needs to be done to reverse that trend.
The South African government has pledged to give life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to 900,000 HIV-infected people by March next year. But many of those who currently need the medicines to stay alive aren't getting them. At some state clinics and hospitals, there are drug shortages and insufficient training for nursing staff. Staff nurses are overworked and have difficulty finding the time necessary to teach patients how to take the pills properly. This scenario is leading to serious illness and in some cases, say health professionals, to death.
South Africa's national government protocol requires state health facilities to provide antiretroviral medication to ill, HIV-infected people. However, independent health groups continue to receive reports of HIV-infected people dying because certain state clinics are not giving them life-prolonging antiretroviral - ARV - medicine. Some nurses are rationing the drugs fearing shortages in the near future while some local South African health officials deny there is a crisis. In the final part of this week's series, VOA's Darren Taylor speaks with one of the country's leading HIV/AIDS experts. He sketches a "deadly culture of denial" that he says is still present among some health officials in South Africa
In South Africa, people with HIV are dying because they don't have access to the medicine that would keep them alive. The government has pledged to provide antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to many of the HIV-positive people who need them. The pills bolster weak immune systems, allowing people with HIV/AIDS to live long and productive lives. But in some parts of South Africa, state clinics have run out of the medicines or nurses are rationing them in fear of shortages in the near future. VOA collected personal stories from AIDS victims and their families who are trying to cope with the shortage of drugs.
The South African government has said it won't be able to meet its target of providing essential medicines to 80% of sick HIV-infected people by 2011. Five and a half million South Africans are living with HIV/AIDS. Many need antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to keep them alive. ARVs strengthen weak immune systems, helping prevent HIV-positive people from contracting potentially fatal opportunistic infections. But shortages of the pills are increasingly threatening the lives of HIV-infected South Africans. The crisis is especially bad in the central Free State province, where HIV disease is among the 10 leading causes of death, according to the government-run board Statistics South Africa.
In South Africa, the lives of thousands of HIV-positive people are at risk because the government has not provided life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to many of those who need them. South Africa is one of the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS, with more than five-and-a half-million people living with the virus and at least two-and-a-half million killed by AIDS-related illnesses. The worst shortages of ARVs are in the central Free State province.
The review board for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has recommended Kenya's bids for hundreds of millions of dollars under the latest round of funding be rejected. Monitoring ratings produced by the Global Fund rank Kenya near the bottom globally in properly managing Fund grants.
A U.S. couple that spent three months in Uganda, volunteering among underprivileged children, HIV survivors, uprooted orphans, and war victims is encouraging other American volunteers to join in their experience.
President Barack Obama is lifting the ban on travel to the United States for people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The U.S. is one of only about a dozen countries that still bars travelers with HIV from entering the country.
Each year, half a million pregnant women in the developing world die of complications during childbirth, and about six million children are stillborn or die within a week of birth. For the next three weeks, we'll be looking at some of the factors that affect the chances of an African woman having a safe pregnancy and a healthy child.
Each year, half a million pregnant women in the developing world die of complications during childbirth, and about six million children are stillborn or die within a week of birth. For the next three weeks, we'll be looking at some of the factors that affect the chances of an African woman having a safe pregnancy and a healthy child.
Upstream science was featured Wednesday at the Paris AIDS vaccine conference. After Tuesday's review of the modest positive results of the recent Thailand AIDS vaccine trials, scientists heard about research to improve the chance of finding a much more effective vaccine.
A group of researchers says an experimental AIDS vaccine trial in Thailand shows the shot has a modest but significant effect -- and that it offers hope for the future. Findings which were presented at an international AIDS vaccine conference in Paris.
A coalition of 17 local and international human rights groups have joined together to fight wide-ranging anti-homosexual legislation introduced this week in Uganda's parliament. The coalition says restrictions move beyond bedroom conduct to challenge basic freedoms of expression and assembly and place barriers against the promotion of HIV/AIDS prevention projects.
It's one of Africa's top economic performers. Until the global economic crisis, it had enjoyed yearly growth over the past three decades of between 7% and 10 %. That rivals, if not outpaces, the fast growing "Asian tigers," according to the World Bank.
The top U.S. official on HIV/AIDS says the Obama administration is committed to fighting the disease. However, Ambassador Eric Goosby says the economic crisis will be a factor in all funding decisions over the next few years.
In southern Africa, TB infection rates are rising rapidly. And it may be a result of conditions similar to those that existed many years ago in the West. A South African doctor says treatment alone is not enough to slow the spread of tuberculosis.
The World Health Organization says more than four million HIV-positive people are receiving life-saving anti-retroviral treatment. A new report launched by WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF finds the greatest progress is being made in sub-Saharan Africa, where two-thirds of all HIV infections occur.
Though Zimbabwe has continued to make progress in reducing the HIV prevalence rate or portion of the population exposed to the AIDS virus, officially 13.7% now compared with nearly 25% in 2003, the National AIDS Council has not gotten much credit.
The poverty-fighting group CARE and its partners have announced four unique commitments that will help connect women and girls in the U.S. to women and girls in poor countries. The commitments were announced Friday at the Clinton Global Initiative, in New York.
As Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe noted in remarks to the United Nations on Friday, the country while making some progress against HIV/AIDS faces a major challenge making antiretroviral drugs available to all of those who need them to live with HIV.
Human-rights groups have released a new report calling for governments to rethink deportation rules for people living with HIV and AIDS. In some countries migrants who suffer from HIV are automatically deported and in many countries across the globe no treatment is given to HIV-positive people in detention centers. A Human Rights Watch spokeswoman said the present policies amount to a death sentence for many migrants living with the virus.
Zimbabwe registered new progress in its fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic with new data showing the prevalence or infection rate in youths and adults in the country down to an estimated 13.7% this year from some 15.6% in 2008 and 24.6% in 2003.
There's good news about AIDS vaccine research. The World Health Organization and UNAIDS say the largest ever HIV vaccine trial has yielded "very encouraging" results. The agencies say, "It's the "first demonstration that a vaccine can prevent HIV infection in the general population.
In a major scientific breakthrough researchers in Thailand say they have made progress in developing a vaccine for AIDS. A six-year trial working with volunteers showed that a combination of drugs reduced the risk of HIV infection.
A recent World Health Organization (WHO) study of two strains of pneumonia is providing African governments with their first ever country-by-country figures on the leading global killer of children under the age of five.
Experts in the battle against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases have met in Pretoria, South Africa to discuss ways to more effectively deliver Anti-Retroviral (ARV) medicine. Many believe improving ARV delivery systems would also help victims of other infectious diseases.
A new report indicates that, in less than two years, global population will reach seven billion people, a number that imposes new challenges for food, health and education. The report also shows that the highest fertility rates are in underdeveloped countries, particularly among the poorest segments of the population.
Low-income Kenyans living with HIV/AIDS face a range of challenges. In the Catholic Diocese of Mombasa on Kenya's coast, people affected by AIDS have formed groups that enable members to increase their incomes and improve their nutrition.
A worldwide study points to traffic accidents as the greatest cause of fatalities among young people (ages 10-24). Other leading factors contributing to death in this age group are suicide, HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis.
Diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis take their toll on the populations of sub-Saharan Africa. But a new analysis details a more silent crisis - the extraordinary number of people suffering from infections with worms and other neglected tropical disease.
An exhibit, now traveling the United States, seeks to sensitize Americans to the plight of children affected by AIDS in Africa by recreating the sights and sounds of a small African village.
Health officials around the world are preparing for a surge in the number of H1N1 flu cases, also known as swine flu. But while rich nations may have the resources to produce or acquire adequate doses of vaccine, developing countries could fall far short.
Some Zimbabwean health experts and advocates for those living with HIV have taken issue with a recent study suggesting the country's deep economic crisis helped reduce the HIV prevalence rate or the percentage of adults infected with the deadly virus.
A new study of a drug that's been used as a last resort against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, shows that it's as effective in initial treatment as the drug that's typically prescribed, and produces fewer side effects.
Some Zimbabwean boxers are expressing concern about the privacy implications of new rules issued by the country's Boxing and Wrestling Control Board making tests for HIV and Hepatitis B obligatory to obtain the license needed to compete.
The Zimbabwe Boxing Wrestling Control Board has generated controversy with a new rule obliging all boxers to be tested for HIV and Hepatitis B before being licensed to box.
Homosexuals in Burundi say that their lives have been marked with increased discrimination and fear following the East African country's move to ban homosexual practices. Burundi officially passed the law criminalizing homosexuality in April this year.
Former coach Moses Chunga of Zimbabwe's Gunners Football Club, sidelined by a contract dispute with the team, has launched an HIV/AIDS awareness initiative targeting youths.
A big step has been taken to strengthen Africa's health care systems. Officials from 13 African countries, the United States and the World Health Organization Monday launched an effort to ensure the continent has top-quality medical labs.
New research suggests the rate at which Zimbabweans have been infected with the HIV/AIDS virus slowed as a result of the country's precipitous economic decline - but the same study also found that tuberculosis has reached alarming levels in the country.
In sub-Saharan Africa, women may face stigma and discrimination if they don't breastfeed their babies. That's because many believe those women have HIV/AIDS.
An international group of scientists has found evidence that wild chimpanzees infected with Simian Immunodeficiency Virus - once considered harmless to the apes - can develop a deadly AIDS-like syndrome. Researchers say the discovery could lead to new treatments for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS in humans.
One of the world's leading HIV/AIDS authorities says an African drugs agency may be created within a year. UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe says the organization will manufacture, regulate, store and distribute cheaper medicines. Most of the 33 million people infected with HIV worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa. Many die because they don't have access to life-prolonging anti-retroviral treatment. But Sidibe has vowed to change this.
A shift in priorities is blamed for the first ever decline in funding for AIDS vaccine research. The finding appears in a report published Monday called Adapting to Realities: Trends in HIV Prevention Research Funding 2000 to 2008.
A new study concludes that circumcision of HIV positive men does not reduce the risk of transmission of the AIDS virus to women. But researchers say male circumcision remains a potent weapon against the spread of HIV.
Female genital cutting, or circumcision, is rampant in parts of Kenya. The procedure involves removing part or all of the external female genitalia and is typically performed on girls as a rite of passage into womanhood. Critics describe it as female genital mutilation, or FGM. In the town of Meru, Eastern province, the Catholic Church has come up with an alternative rite of passage for girls and young women.
Many HIV/AIDS activists in Zimbabwe have responded positively to news that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has shifted disbursing power to the United Nations Development Program from the National AIDS Council. But some express concern that the transfer of financial powers could slow the funding of life-saving programs.
UNAIDS has welcomed an Indian court's decision to annul the law that criminalizes adult homosexual relations. It said such laws drive the problem of HIV underground and hamper efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading in the societies where they exist.
The US congressional reauthorization of PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in July, 2008, lifted a 15-year ban on HIV-positive foreign nationals from entering the United States. On Tuesday, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiated the final regulatory steps toward halting implementation of the ban.
About 15 years ago, pharmaceutical researchers discovered the first anti-retroviral drugs - medicines that can successfully combat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. As time has gone on, these drugs have been made more potent, and patients who take them live longer.
There's been a breakthrough in AIDS research. Scientists have found out where HIV, the AIDS virus, hides when it's under attack from anti-retroviral drugs.
This past weekend, 1500 people from 55 countries attended an AIDS conference in Namibia's capital, Windhoek. The 2009 HIV/AIDS Implementers Meeting focused on the role of local groups and organizations in developing treatment, care and prevention strategies.
The U.S. National Soccer team took a break from their preparations for the Confederations Cup to meet with a large group of South African children affected by HIV/AIDS.
At the World Economic Forum on Africa, the impact of HIV/AIDS on African countries is being addressed. The forum has honored one program that helps prevent mother-to-child transmission and turns stigmatized women into role models.
The World Economic Forum for Africa officially opens Wednesday in Cape Town, South Africa. It's being held amid a global economic crisis and an ongoing food crisis in many countries.
A humanitarian group in South Africa says that despite the recent power-sharing government in Zimbabwe and new government policies in South Africa, the plight of Zimbabwean refugees continues to deteriorate.
Every year, pneumococcal diseases, such as pneumonia and meningitis, kill hundreds of thousands of African children. Their deaths are especially tragic because these illnesses are completely preventable. Due to medical advances, deaths from pneumococcal disease have become rare in the developed world but are still common across Africa. Now, the continent's strongest economy, South Africa, has launched an ambitious plan to follow the lead of richer countries in immunizing babies against pneumonia and meningitis, two of the leading killers of babies and very young children.
South Africa is suffering one of the most severe AIDS epidemics in the world. Almost six million people live with HIV in the country, with about 1,000 people dying from AIDS-related illnesses every day. Many are children. Their HIV-positive mothers pass the virus on to them during birth. Antiretroviral drugs have long been available to stop this happening. But few HIV-positive South African women have access to the life-saving medicines, and tens of thousands of babies continue to be born with the lethal virus. In the third part of a series on maternal and infant health in Africa, VOA looks at the challenge of preventing mother to child HIV transmission in South Africa.
Every year, 60,000 children in South Africa are born with HIV. Their infected mothers pass it on to them during birth, or the youngsters are infected during breastfeeding. The breast milk of infected women contains HIV. Research in South Africa has shown, though, that when such mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months, fewer children become infected. Exclusive breastfeeding means the babies are fed only breast milk and no solid foods, formula or even water. But in South Africa, where discrimination against HIV-infected mothers is rife and the women are often malnourished, the medical advances regarding breastfeeding are constantly threatened.
Sweden and the Netherlands have temporarily suspended $33 million in aid to Zambia after reports surfaced that $2 million were embezzled, allegedly by senior health ministry officials. The frozen donor funds are about one-fourth of the $120 million total committed to Zambia for this year by the two European nations. Sanday Chongo Kabange covers Zambia for the Voice of America. From Lusaka, he says that the scandal may diminish services for HIV/AIDS and treatment of malaria. But it also could be costly politically to recently elected president Rupiah Banda.
Nearly two million children die each year from diarrheal diseases, which account for 17 percent of the deaths of children under five. Development advocates say much more can be done to reduce those numbers. But they say governments focus on other diseases that, while serious, kill fewer children than diarrheal illnesses. In May, two development organizations, WaterAid and PATH, both issued reports outlining the problem and calling for change.
Humanitarian and grassroots organizations say 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, testing, treatment and care are falling far short of what's needed. The groups are meeting in Nairobi this week to discuss new approaches to deal with the epidemic.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the AIDS death rate is seriously compounded by a high percentage of HIV-positive patients who also contract tuberculosis. Wednesday in Washington at the opening of the 36th International Conference on Global Health, medical experts, researchers, and advocates will discuss ways to coordinate and strengthen the fight against TB in combination with the campaign against HIV/AIDS.
Anthony Fauci could be called the science face of the nation. He is the man you are most likely to see on U.S. television explaining the facts behind HIV/AIDS, bio-terrorism or pandemic flu.
A report Thursday accuses UN agencies, governments and donors of not doing enough to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTC) of HIV, the AIDS virus. The report, Failing Women, Failing Children, comes from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC). It's being issued as the World Health Assembly meets this week in Geneva.
The head of the International AIDS Society (IAS) says concern over a new strain of flu or the current economic crisis should not distract from the long-term fight against HIV/AIDS.
U.S. researchers have developed an experimental vaccine against the virus that causes AIDS using a novel technique that leapfrogs the body's natural immune system. The new vaccine, successfully tested in monkeys, is still years away from human use. But it offers new hope of preventing the spread of a disease that has already killed 20 million people and infected 33 million more around the world.
African AIDS activists have joined their American counterparts in criticizing the level of funding for international HIV/AIDS programs included in U.S. president Barack Obama's proposed budget. The activists say President Obama has broken pledges he made as a candidate to increase funding, but others say the picture is more complicated.
A new report on AIDS vaccine research says there is renewed focus on discovery, innovation and basic science. But it warns political and community leaders must act now to ensure research continues during a global economic crisis.
A South African opposition leader is coming under intense criticism after saying President Jacob Zuma is putting his three wives at risk of contracting HIV. Helen Zille, leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance accused the new South African president of being a womanizer with deeply held sexist views who is putting his three wives at risk by having unprotected sex with a lady who was HIV positive. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) Condemned the accusation describing it as shocking.
One of the most difficult dilemmas faced by women with HIV is the decision whether or not to breastfeed their babies. Even if children are born without the virus, they can acquire it through breast milk. But in resource-poor countries, feeding a child with formula can also create a health threat. Researchers are working on ways to make breast milk from HIV-positive mothers safe.
A non-profit US research group has just launched a state-of-the-art tuberculosis vaccine manufacturing facility. The Aeras Foundation lab, located in Rockville, Maryland outside of Washington, DC, will be able to produce 200 million doses of new formula, enough quantity to meet current worldwide needs to fight a global TB epidemic. The research laboratory was inaugurated Tuesday, with US and local public officials in attendance.
This week president Barack Obama nominated a prominent HIV/AIDS expert to be United States global Aids coordinator. Dr Eric Goosby is the chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Pangaea global AIDS foundation. He was also involved in the creation of Physicians for Human Rights' Health Action AIDS campaign in 2002 and has been an active advisor with the campaign since its inception.
With concern over the spread of the H1N1 flu, questions are being raised about its possible implications. For example, are people infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, or TB more susceptible to the flu than others?
A new test is being developed that could help narrow the field of promising AIDS vaccine candidates. If successful, time and money could be concentrated on vaccines with the greatest potential to block HIV.
A U.S. health research group says fewer Americans think HIV/AIDS is a major national health problem, and many Americans still view the disease as a stigma. The Obama administration says it plans to tackle those problems through a new public awareness campaign.
Amnesty International says violent reaction in Senegal to the release of nine men previously sentenced to long prison terms for homosexual activity is putting these men's lives at risk.
President Obama's nomination of Dr. Eric Goosby to serve as Global Coordinator for U.S. AIDS policy has won high marks from AIDS funding advocates for his wide experience at home and overseas. David Bryden of the Center for Global Health Policy notes that time spent in Africa has given Dr. Goosby a strong grasp of the big policy picture needed to guide controversial AIDS prevention issues, lower infection rates, and save millions of lives.
Preliminary returns from South Africa's elections indicate that the African National Congress is set to win Wednesday's national elections making its leader, Jacob Zuma, the country's likely next president.
Pneumococcal disease - including pneumonia and meningitis - kills more than one and a half million people each year. Most of them are children. But many of those deaths can be prevented with a vaccine. On Friday (April 24th), a rural clinic in Rwanda will be the site of the first national immunization program against pneumococcal disease in a developing nation. The vaccine program is a joint effort by the Rwandan government, the GAVI Alliance, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and PneumoADIP.
First ladies from Africa met in Los Angeles where they have been discussing women's health and education, AIDS and others challenges facing their continent. The meeting convened by the groups African Synergy and U.S. Doctors for Africa drew on Hollywood star power to promote its message.
The United Nations is calling for governments in Asia, many with tough anti-drug laws, to review their legislation to allow for alternative drug treatments and policies in an effort to reduce the spread of the AIDS virus across the region.
Nine Senegalese men who had been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for homosexual acts were set free Monday after winning an appeal of their convictions.
In 2003, Tendayi Westerhof, then one of Zimbabwe’s best-known fashion models, published a book revealing that she had tested positive for HIV, and launched a nonprofit organization to encourage prominent individuals to set an example by being tested for HIV.
The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, is an international initiative introduced by U S President George W. Bush in 2003 to provide treatment for people with AIDS. Now some researchers have looked at its results.
Zambia is one of nine countries hard hit by the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Michael Bush is a senior medical advisor at a hospice for Zambia's terminally ill patients. The 120-bed hospice is located about 15 kilometers from Lusaka in Chilanga Township. It sits in a small, clean block of green lawns, hostels and a church. It's more often called Mother of Mercy hospice because of the care it's currently giving to 350 poor, outcast, and terminally ill patients with HIV/AIDS. The hospice was established in 1989 with donations from well-wishers and Christian organizations.
Zimbabwean HIV/Aids activists reacted positively Friday to news that the National Aids Council has been removed as principal recipient of grants from the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, that role to be assumed by the U.N. Development Program.
The kingdom of Swaziland, landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique, is one of the smallest and poorest countries in Africa. It is also afflicted with the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection in the world. One group has found a way to help poor rural women earn money at home so that they can still care for their families and other children who have lost their parents to AIDS.
The Obama administration Tuesday unveiled a $45 million program to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. The five-year program is initially targeted at those at greatest risk.
Kate Munger first discovered the power of music nearly 20 years ago when she saw the profound difference it made for people in the end stages of life, even for those who were comatose. It was 1990, and she was visiting a friend who was comatose and dying of HIV/AIDS.
In the impoverished South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea, the army has begun distributing 43 million condoms to help stop the spread of AIDS. It is estimated that two percent of the population is either infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, or has contracted the deadly disease. But there are warnings that the epidemic could increase substantially if current trends continue.
Women are at a higher risk than men of contracting and dying of tuberculosis, according to a new UN report. It says TB kills more women than all other causes of maternal mortality combined. Over 900 million women are infected with TB worldwide.
The World Health Organization says every year, between two and three million people die of tuberculosis. The global crisis has caught the attention of governments and organizations worldwide. The National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, near Washington, DC, plays a leading role in efforts to control the spread of TB.
Zimbabwean HIV/AIDS activist and therapist Lynde Francis, who broke with convention by publicly disclosing her HIV-positive status in 1986 and went on to found one of Zimbabwe's foremost counseling and treatment centers for the disease, died Tuesday in Harare.
Health organizations say tuberculosis causes the death of more people living with HIV than any other disease. Figures released by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS show an estimated 13% of AIDS deaths worldwide from TB. Many of these deaths occur in underdeveloped countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to new research, male circumcision not only reduces the risk of transmitting the virus that causes AIDS, but it also limits the spread of herpes simplex and human papillomavirus -- two venereal diseases associated with the AIDS virus, as well as cervical and penile cancers.
A new study says a good education can help slow the spread of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The study says it acts as a social vaccine against the disease.
It's estimated one-third of the people living with HIV, the AIDS virus, are also infected with tuberculosis. Health officials say this dual epidemic is one of the most significant challenges facing modern medicine. Now, South Africa is home to a new research facility looking for new ways of treating the diseases.
Pope Benedict XVI embarked on a two-nation visit to Africa on Tuesday hoping to encourage peace and invigorate a growing Catholic Church on the continent.
Strands of hair may predict just how effective drug therapy is for those living with HIV, the AIDS virus. Hair samples offer a simple but accurate test as to whether anti-retrovirals are suppressing the virus.
This month, women's rights advocates are calling on men and women to join together to fight gender discrimination. They're meeting in New York for the 53rd session of the Committee on the Status of Women [March 2 - 13]. And in South Africa, two NGO's are reaching out to men to help end violence against women. They're also looking at ways to help reduce some of burdens borne by women, like providing almost all of the care for those with HIV/AIDS.
Today marks National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States. It is sponsored by the National Minority AIDS Council in Washington. The occasion is geared toraising awareness of the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls and to encouraging them to protect themselves from the disease.
Scientists at a U.S. university say they have found a cheap, commonly-used compound that blocks infection of the primate version of HIV. Researchers are hoping the compound could eventually be used on humans to fight transmission of the virus that causes AIDS.
Kenya has an HIV prevalence rate of about five percent, with young women among the most vulnerable to new infection. Now, the U.S. government and a private entertainment company have teamed up to produce and distribute a video game that teaches Kenyan youth how to avoid contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
he World Health Organization says the number of cases of HIV/AIDS among older people is higher than generally thought. WHO says older people are generally not considered to be at high risk because they are believed to be less sexually active than younger people.
The cholera epidemic ravaging Zimbabwe has commanded the attention of public authorities and international relief organizations, but meanwhile a less-visible tragedy is unfolding among those living with - and dying in large numbers from - HIV/AIDS.
In his proposed new budget, President Obama is calling for increasing support for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. However, it's unclear just how much more funding AIDS-related programs will receive in these tight economic times.
The D.C. Department of Health says that new HIV infections are reported in Washington at a rate nine times that of the entire United States. African Americans make up more than 80-percent of those cases in the District. We report on how one U.S. citizen is Making a Difference by testing and counseling those with the disease.
A British probe into the use of contaminated blood supplies that infected nearly 5,000 patients more than two decades ago says U.S. companies are partly to blame for what it calls a "horrific human tragedy."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has finished a whirlwind trip to China that included a flurry of meetings with official Chinese and private civil society leaders. She emphasized U.S. cooperation with China on efforts to combat the global financial crisis and climate change.
A new report says 42-percent of pregnant women in Swaziland are infected with the AIDS virus, HIV. That's a three percent increase in the last two years. However, despite the increase, the figures may actually reflect some good news.
A new initiative has been launched to use mobile and computer technology to improvehealthcare in the developing world. The announcement was made at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, being attended by some 50,000 people.
While many scientists search desperately for ways to cure AIDS, others have devoted their time to finding better ways to prevent the spread of the deadly virus that causes it - HIV. Condoms have been shown to be effective at blocking transmission of the virus between people. But in many parts of the world, men don't - or won't - use them.
Thailand's Health Ministry has warned the country faces up to 12,000 people becoming infected with the AIDS virus in 2009, with the most vulnerable being women and homosexual men. Concern comes as a Thai civic group looks to raise awareness among police officers as the group works with male sex workers.
A new report says the global response to HIV/AIDS has failed to meet the needs of millions of children and their families. It recommends new approaches to simultaneously address HIV/AIDS, poverty, food insecurity and social inequity.
Women living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi have formed a united front to ensure they get the nutritious foods they need to maintain their health. The Coalition of Women Living with HIV/AIDS is encouraging its members to grow different types of crops and rear a variety of farm animals.
In Kenya, girls from low income families who are menstruating can miss up to a week of school each month because they cannot afford to buy sanitary napkins. A partnership between the U.S. government, an aid group and a drug company is aiming to keep these girls in school while educating them about HIV prevention.
Women often bear the brunt of war, poverty and disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Whether it be brutal rapes in Darfur and eastern Congo or the toll taken by HIV/AIDS, women often receive little help dealing with the consequences. But the NGO Women for Women says it's working to rebuild lives to help women regain their strength and stature in society.
A special United Nations conference has called for police and law enforcement from Asia and the Pacific region to assist in the fight against the spread of AIDS. But speakers acknowledge a wide array of challenges in both raising awareness in the police ranks as well as the wider community.
People in South Africa have the highest rate of infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, of any country in the world. The South African government has recently enacted laws aimed at reducing the number of people with the infection. These laws include laws governing the distribution of condoms.
As world leaders grapple with the global financial crisis, the world's largest source of funds to combat killer diseases is facing a crisis of its own. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria supplies one-quarter of all AIDS funding, two-thirds of tuberculosis funding and three-fourths of malaria funding. A $5 billion funding gap now threatens this institution's worldwide programs.
Amid the sober economic discussions at the just-concluded World Economic Forum summit of business, economic, and health leaders in Davos, Switzerland, a current $5-billion shortfall in financing the worldwide campaign against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria poses a daunting challenge to donors and to recipients in developing countries. So far, the message that world business and health planners have drawn from the conference is that despite the bleak outlook, the benefits of backing the global fund far outweigh the economic consequences of not tackling these debilitating afflictions.
Health ministers from around the world are urging donor countries and financial institutions to continue supporting the health needs of poor countries, especially during this period of financial turmoil. The ministers made their plea at the end of a high-level consultation sponsored by the World Health Organization to discuss how the financial crisis ifs affecting global health.
Just one month after gay activists from around the world gathered at the International African AIDS conference in Dakar, a Senegalese judge has sentenced nine men to long prison terms for homosexual activity.
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