HIV and AIDS news from AIDSPortal

Alarming Africa male gay HIV rate

20 Jul 2009

HIV rates among gay men in some African countries are 10 times higher than among the general male population, says research in medical journal the Lancet. The report said prejudice towards gay people was leading to isolation and harassment, which in turn led to risky sexual practices among gay communities. The Oxford University researchers found that the prevalence of HIV/Aids among gay men...

AIDS vaccine funding down 10% in 2008

20 Jul 2009

Funding for AIDS vaccine research fell by 10% in 2008, the first decline in a decade, according to figures released today by the HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Resource Tracking Working Group. At the same time, funding for both microbicides and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) increased by eight and 13 percent, respectively in 2008. “Support and interest in HIV prevention research from public, p...

WHO to consult people with HIV on treatment guidelines

18 Jul 2009

People living with HIV are to be consulted on the development of new World Health Organization treatment guidelines for low and middle-income settings, due to be released in November. The consultation process will begin with at a meeting hosted by the Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+) and the Treatment Action Campaign on Monday (20th)at the Fifth International AIDS Society Confere...

Male circumcision does not protect women

17 Jul 2009

JOHANNESBURG - New research suggests that circumcising HIV-positive men does not reduce the risk of their female partners becoming HIV-infected. The findings, reported on 17 July in the British medical journal, The Lancet, emerged from a clinical trial in Rakai District, southern Uganda, involving 922 HIV-infected men and 163 of their HIV-negative female partners. Half the men were circumcis...

Southern Africa: The high cost of sex work

16 Jul 2009

JOHANNESBURG - Southern Africa's sex workers, denied access to HIV prevention and treatment services, are paying a high price to make a living when even government-issued condoms are not always free, according to a new report. Published by the Open Society Institute (OSI), Rights not Rescue, documents the experiences of male, female and transgender sex workers in South Africa, Namibia and Botsw...

Drugs company, Gilead, comes out in support of Patent Pool for HIV medicines

16 Jul 2009

David Borrow MP Chair of The All Party Parliamentary Group on AIDS today welcomed the drug company Gilead's decision to come out in support of the UNITAID patent pool for HIV drugs. The patent pool will enable new HIV medicines to be made more cheaply for developing countries. “This is a very significant move. I am delighted that Gilead has come out in support of the UNITAID patent pool, and I ...

The Global Fund and Togo Sign Agreement for €20 Million

16 Jul 2009

Lomé - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Ministry of Health today signed a grant agreement worth €20 million over two years for HIV and AIDS, the first part of a five-year national grant that will allow Togo to scale-up treatment and care for people living with HIV. “I am delighted to be able to join Minister of Health Komlan Mally in signing Togo’s Round 8 HIV gra...

Progress on Implementation of DFID’s HIV/AIDS Strategy

16 Jul 2009

It has been the practice of the International Development Committee in this Parliament to examine HIV/AIDS issues each year. Last year the Committee examined the Department for International Development’s new HIV/AIDS Strategy, Achieving Universal Access , published in June 2008. [1] This year’s inquiry will review progress on the issues raised by the Committee last year. In particular the Comm...

MSF re-launches 'Shattered lives', report on sexual violence

15 Jul 2009

MSF has re-launched a report summarising the organisation’s experience in assisting victims of sexual violence. The report, which was first published in March 2009, has been updated with new figures. Based on its work in Liberia, Burundi, DRC, South Africa, Colombia and other countries, MSF highlights the need for emergency medical care to be made available to people who have been raped. MSF al...

Africa: Poor syringe hygiene can be fatal

14 Jul 2009

NAIROBI - Injections and needles are still not being used properly in African health facilities, putting millions of patients at risk of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C, health experts warned at the Africa Health Conference in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. "Injections are being misused by quacks and even professionals, who use them as means of making money from patients, especially ...