HIV and AIDS news from AIDSPortal

AIDS called leading killer of women

10 Nov 2009

GENEVA - In its first study of women’s health, the World Health Organization said yesterday that the AIDS virus is the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44. Unsafe sex is the leading risk factor in developing countries for these women of childbearing age, with others including lack of access to contraceptives and iron deficiency, the WHO said. Throughout ...

Don't let a backlash knock out Tobin tax

10 Nov 2009

Gordon Brown has added to the momentum pushing for a tax on global financial transactions. But the battle is far from won Gordon Brown's statement of support for a tax on global financial transactions is a welcome call on the banks to repay their debt to society. It is also a victory for the international Tobin tax movement, which has laboured hard for this moment over many years. Our task now ...

Money to Fight AIDS

9 Nov 2009

Letter To the Editor: Re “As Donors Focus on AIDS, Child Illnesses Languish” (news article, Oct. 30): Doctors Without Borders knows from experience the immense burden that pneumonia, diarrhea and other underfunded diseases have on children every day. We have treated hundreds of thousands of children and recognize that diarrhea and respiratory infections are among the main causes of death ...

Kenya: New survey to inform HIV programming for MSM

9 Nov 2009

NAIROBI - A planned national survey of men who have sex with men (MSM) will be the first step in the government's plan to incorporate this high-risk group into the country's HIV programme, a senior government official has said. "We have continued to ignore this group of people yet they are responsible for a big chunk of new HIV infections; we have resolved as a government that we cannot sit ba...

Vietnam: National action month for anti-HIV/AIDS launched

9 Nov 2009

A Vietnamese national action month for HIV/AIDS prevention and control was launched in northern Bac Ninh province on November 8. Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu said that the expansion and the increase of the quality of the HIV/AIDS treatment, assistance, care and preventive measures have facilitated people access the service. However, people’s knowledge on the pandemic and the discrimina...

South Africa: Victory for soldiers living with HIV

9 Nov 2009

South Africa's AIDS lobby won a major victory last week when the Cabinet approved a new policy allowing the military to selectively recruit and deploy soldiers living with HIV. But critics say this will weaken the operational effectiveness of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The new guidelines issued by the Cabinet outlaw discrimination against soldiers and aspiring recruits o...

Terrence Higgins Trust launch senior HIV study today

9 Nov 2009

Terrence Higgins Trust, with Age Concern and Help the Aged, are launching a survey today to find out the needs and concerns of people living with HIV who are aged over 50. Lisa Power, Head of Policy at Terrence Higgins Trust said “Currently, we know we could be doing more for people over 50 with HIV, whether someone is newly diagnosed or has been living with the virus for decades. People need s...

WHO report on the health of women: AIDS leading cause of death globally in women of reproductive age

9 Nov 2009

In a landmark report on the health of women and girls across the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that AIDS-related illness is the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age in low and middle income countries, particularly in Africa. Also, globally, unsafe sex is the single leading risk factor contributing to deaths among women of reproductive age. These fi...

Australia: Alarm on surge in HIV cases

8 Nov 2009

Infectious disease experts are calling for urgent changes to the way HIV is tackled in Australia as the virus continues to spread at alarming rates. A draft strategy written by a group of specialists for the Federal Government said Australia was entering a challenging new period with resurgent epidemics among gay men and emerging epidemics among people travelling between high-risk countries and...

Helene Gayle: Leading the anti-AIDS war

8 Nov 2009

Interview with Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE who has been asked President Barack Obama, to chair the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Gale is a more than 20-year veteran of directing HIV/AIDS programs at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gayle will help shape a national HIV/AIDS strategy, which for the first time...