Q&A: “Criminalisation of HIV/AIDS Will Not Help Us”

As the United Nations winds down a major two-day conference to take stock of the global response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the problem of persistent discrimination against people living with the virus has been high on the agenda.

AFRICA: Women Say Regional AIDS Plan Falls Short

Despite the admirable progress made by some African countries in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS since 2000, 14 million Africans have died of AIDS in that time span, and an additional 17 million have been infected, says a new report on HIV/AIDS on the continent.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Children in the Path of the Pandemic

There is barely a path leading down the steep incline and through the dense bush to the Mabuyakhulu homestead. It would be easy to pass by without finding 13 year old Zanele* and her eight year old sister Andiswa who stay there on their own.

Q&A: Malawian Aquaculture Initiative Gives Cause for Quiet Hope

From time immemorial, fishermen on Lake Malawi have depended on the chambo to help feed their families - all without upsetting the stocks of this fish species. Following the start of commercial fishing on the lake, however, the annual catch of chambo plunged, from 3,250 tonnes in 1985 to 207 tonnes in 2002.

DEVELOPMENT: Japan-Africa Outcome ‘Inadequate’

A key document emerging from the fourth round of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) has failed to address HIV/AIDS in the region, says a non-governmental organisation.

DEVELOPMENT-BOTSWANA: Of Tourists, Bushmen – and a Borehole

A planned lodge development at the settlement of Molapo in Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) has become a source of controversy.

DEVELOPMENT: U.S. Might Just Choke the WHO

As the 61st annual World Health Assembly gathers in Geneva this week, a major issue that the world's governments are struggling with is patents on medicines, and whether the option to digress from a strict patent system should be endorsed by the United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO).

HEALTH: World Bank Shifting Gears on AIDS in Africa

The World Bank says it is recalibrating its financing for anti-AIDS efforts in Africa, which shoulders more than two-thirds of the world's HIV/AIDS burden.

ENVIRONMENT: Only the Cover Is Green

Notice how green the public relations campaigns of multinational corporations have become.

HEALTH-KENYA: Months After Dump Scare, Problems Persist

Every day, the Dandora dumpsite in the eastern part of Nairobi receives 2,000 tonnes of rubbish - about half of the waste generated daily by the capital's 4.5 million people. The 12-hectare site is a low mountain of smouldering trash. Vultures and marabou storks circle overhead in anticipation of a meal.

Q&A: Circumcision an “Opportunity To Take Great Strides Forward” Against HIV

Results from trials in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda in 2006 showed that male circumcision reduced the transmission of HIV from women to men by up to 60 percent. On the basis of these results, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organisation have recommended that countries encourage men to be circumcised.

AFRICA: Agricultural Extension Work Both Important and Under-valued

At a time of international concern about the future of the world's food supply, it's a comment that gives pause for thought: "I teach university students agriculture and extension but many of them opt for other professions, especially in ICTs, because agriculture is 'for those who haven't gone to school'."

HEALTH-TANZANIA: A Hazardous Route to the Cradle

Tatu Shabani Tumbo's first born was diagnosed with strength-sapping anaemia, and died a toddler. Doctors had no medical explanation for the sudden death of her second child at age one. She then tried to get pregnant a third time, initially without success.

Q&A: "Between Implementation and Planning, There Is a Disconnect"

Accounting for about a third of the gross domestic product in sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture clearly plays a significant role on the continent. But, figures only tell part of the story. A review of Africa produced under the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) notes that agriculture is also "woven into the fabric of most societies and cultures in the region."

BRAZIL: Full Frontal Attack on AIDS Among Gays

The poster, reminiscent of the film "American Beauty," features a nude young man in a sensual pose lying on (and partly covered by) masses of pink condoms, with the legend "Do whatever you want but do it with a condom." It is part of a new Brazilian campaign against HIV/AIDS aimed at gays.

UGANDA: “God Should Be So Kind That I Can Have Contraceptives”

For many of Africa's women, getting access to family planning services is difficult at the best of times. When war intervenes they can find themselves without any services at all, even as they become more vulnerable to sexual violence - the situation in northern Uganda being a case in point.

HEALTH-TANZANIA: Slowly, a More Enlightened Approach to Drug Addiction

If the first step to overcoming drug addiction is admitting you have a problem, then Tanzania may be on the road to recovery.

HEALTH: U.N. Aims For an AIDS-Free Generation

The United Nations is intensifying its worldwide efforts to help create a new generation of children who will be born free of HIV/AIDS, a disease that has particularly devastated parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

HEALTH-ASIA: Report Faults Gov’t Complacency on AIDS

Some 10 million Asian women sell sex, and at least 75 million men buy it regularly, while male-to-male sex and drug injecting add another 20 million or so to the number of those at high risk of HIV infection, says the first report by the Commission on AIDS in Asia.

CUBA: Women Talk to Women about HIV/AIDS Prevention

Prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, the AIDS virus, has become the centre of the lives of a small group of women in the province of Pinar del Río, in the west of Cuba.

CUBA: Transvestites and Crossdressers Key Workers Against AIDS

Activism against AIDS is uniting a group of transvestites and crossdressers in western Cuba in a project that is going beyond peer education and making inroads into the world of culture.