ZIMBABWE: Training Teachers to Cope with HIV-positive Students

Eleven-year-old Memory’s grandmother wanted her to drop out of school because she is not going to live long enough to complete her studies. And the ridicule and stigma Memory endures at school because of her HIV status does not make her education seem worthwhile. Especially since this ridicule comes from her teacher.

SOUTH AFRICA: HIV Stigma Persists

HIV-related stigma and discrimination remain a key concern in South Africa, despite the multitude of HIV awareness campaigns that have been launched by government and civil society organisations throughout the years, health experts say.

HEALTH-EUROPE: ‘Czech Attitudes to HIV/AIDS Risky’

Complacency and ignorance over the risks posed by HIV and AIDS are threatening to send infection rates soaring in the Czech Republic, health authorities.

ZAMBIA: Justice Delayed Becoming Justice Denied

Harry Mubita was tired of his wretched condition in prison. He had been in Lusaka Central Prison for more than a year, and still there was no sign that his theft case would be heard.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: Judges Address How Law Can Assist HIV Response

In Ghana, because the stigmatisation against gay men is so great, many are forced to have sexual relationships with women to escape prejudice and homophobic violence.

POLITICS: Zimbabwe Blasted for Condoning “Sexual Terror”

Zimbabwe’s ruling political party has been accused of launching a "widespread and systematic campaign of rape and sexual terror" aimed at intimidating opponents and voters in the troubled African nation, according to a new report released here.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Mugabe Orchestrated Rape – AIDS-Free World report

"When the tenth man finished raping me they said they were going to rape my daughter. I cried out but I could not even stand up at this time...they raped my daughter (while) I was there and I couldn’t do anything to stop them. My daughter was five years old..."

RIGHTS-UGANDA: Anti-homosexuality Bill Means ‘Targeted Killings’

Uganda will be going back to the days of the Idi Amin regime if it passes a Bill which will arrest or kill people for being gay or lesbian and for repeatedly engaging in homosexual sex, say rights activists.

Q&A: Punitive Laws Problematic For HIV Response – UNAIDS

The East African Community is currently developing a law to guide the region's response to HIV/AIDS. The move comes ahead of the commencement of the East Africa common market protocol.

EAST AFRICA: No Laws to Fight HIV Stigma in Schools

Although he was born with the virus, it was only 15 years after his birth that Robert* and his family discovered he was HIV-positive.

EAST AFRICA: Move Towards Common HIV/AIDS Law

All HIV-positive east Africans could soon access free anti-retroviral treatment even as they move freely from country to country, if a new proposed law comes into effect.

HEALTH: Raising the Recommended CD4 Count for ART

Newborn babies in South Africa will now be treated for HIV, regardless of their CD4 count. President Jacob Zuma announced several new measures which focus on expanding the country’s anti-retroviral (ARV) programme, especially in terms of mother-to-child-transmission, and for those with both TB and HIV.

HEALTH-ZIMBABWE: Lots of Drugs, No Takers

Martha* knows that her two young sisters and her need medicine. She also knows where to get it – a clinic a few yards away from her home in Glen Norah, a high-density suburb in the Zimbabwean capital.

HEALTH-BAHRAIN: Men Bring HIV Home

Umbassil* is unlike other engaged women. Instead of planning her wedding she is wondering where she will have her baby. She is not pregnant but she knows that Bahrain's maternity hospitals will not admit her because she is HIV positive.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Herdboys at Risk to Contract HIV

In the scorching heat of the midday summer sun, a teenage boy’s sharp voice can be heard vividly as he continuously summons his cattle. Glad in his shabby-looking rag that used to be a blanket and black gumboots, the only thing that occupies his mind is his herd, his everyday companions, nothing else.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Growing Up with HIV

Sixteen-year-old Andela Milambo* wants a husband. She is not looking for love, but for someone to share the burden of living with HIV. She wants to be able to take her medicine without having to hide, to discuss the recurring herpes with someone who understands.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Children Still Falling Through the Cracks

While most HIV-positive people in the Western world can gain decades of good health thanks to increasingly effective drug regimens, in the developing world, nearly a third of children born with HIV are still dying before their first birthday.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Groups Urge Repeal of “Antiquated Colonial Laws”

On the heels of a new report by UNAIDS that the HIV virus is now infecting Caribbean men and women at an equal rate, activist groups are urging regional leaders to eliminate laws that further the stigmatisation associated with the deadly virus.

HEALTH-SWAZILAND: On ART Since Birth

Seven-year-old Ntombi* frowns after swallowing the tablets her grandmother has given her. The HIV-positive child has contracted multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

SWAZILAND: Help Sex Workers – Senator

It is one of the world's oldest professions, dating so far back that it is even mentioned in the Bible. But in the deeply cultural and religious country of Swaziland, Senator Thuli Msane stirred a hornet's nest when she publicly challenged a new strict bill opposing prostitution.

RIGHTS-UGANDA: “You Cannot Tell Me You Will Kill Me Because I’m Gay”

The Ugandan government will put to death gay citizens repeatedly caught having sex and throw into jail those who touch each other in a "gay" way, if a new proposed Bill becomes law.