HEALTH-US: Rare Consensus Behind 50-Billion-Dollar AIDS Plan

In an increasingly unusual display of bipartisanship, both the White House and the Republican and Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives have agreed on a bill that, if passed, would provide 50 billion dollars to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis over the next five years.

RWANDA: Cutting Edge HIV/AIDS Prevention Presents Challenges

Certain medical workers in Rwanda have expressed concern about the country's campaign to promote male circumcision as a means of curbing the spread of HIV. They fear that in a country with low levels of knowledge about sexual health, people could mistakenly believe the procedure offers complete protection against the virus.

HEALTH-THAILAND: New Gov&#39t Opposes Cheap Generic Drugs

Shortly before he left office in January, Thailand’s former public health minister, Mongkol Na Songkhla, offered a gift of hope to the country’s poor. But that promise - to supply cheaper, generic anti-cancer drugs -now hangs in the balance.

RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: “We Are Just Helping Desperate People Here”

A police raid on a Methodist church which provides shelter to hundreds of refugees in the South African financial centre of Johannesburg is continuing to draw angry responses.

KENYA: Violence Threatens Progress in HIV/AIDS Fight

In what has been labeled an "emergency within an emergency", thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS who have been displaced by Kenya's recent political violence are struggling to access their life-saving antiretroviral drugs, reported the World AIDS Campaign this week.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: No Sex, Please – You&#39re HIV-Positive

HIV/AIDS policies and programmes disregard the sexual needs of people living with the virus, claim a number of HIV-positive women who attended the third Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights - held this week in Nigeria.

DEVELOPMENT-TANZANIA: A Presidential Seal of Approval

U.S. President George W. Bush will spend most of his time during a five-nation tour of Africa later this month in Tanzania, to spotlight development gains in the East African nation.

HEALTH: U.S. AIDS Plan Still Falling Short, Groups Say

Health worker shortages in sub-Saharan Africa and a disproportionate HIV/AIDS burden on women in the region necessitate an increase in funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) prior to a congressional vote next week, human rights groups and advocates say.

HEALTH: Loss of 9.7 Million Children Unacceptable, Says UNICEF

The sharp decline in deaths among infants and children worldwide during the past century is "one of the great success stories in international public health", the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said Tuesday.

HEALTH-ASIA: Religious Leaders Tackle HIV, AIDS

The Korean superstar RAIN was roped in by the Christian relief group World Vision last year to help promote awareness of HIV and AIDS, especially among the youth. Over in Fiji, people living with HIV can get internship opportunities at the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the Pacific.

HEALTH: World Bank, India Confront Corruption

Indian health projects are under the microscope following revelations of fraud and corruption in five ventures backed and overseen by the World Bank.

EDUCATION-SWAZILAND: Urban Youth Slipping Through The Cracks

As the new school year begins here many destitute or orphaned children are in need of assistance to pay for their educations. An unknown number of urban youngsters, however, are slipping through the social welfare net.

CONGO: Fear, Stigma Undermine Fight Against Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission

At the Integrated Health Centre of Bissita, located in the Bacongo area of Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, pregnant women seated on a long bench wait to have prenatal examinations.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: A Trying Passage for Women in the Ruling Party

The past weeks have been tumultuous for women in South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC).

HEALTH: Europe &#39Forgetting&#39 AIDS

AIDS has become a "forgotten disease" in the European Union, according to the man in charge of the bloc's public health policies.

HEALTH: South Joins Hands to Reach Child MDGs

The U.N. children's agency UNICEF says that increased cooperation among developing countries is benefiting the lives of poor children around the world, particularly in the critical first months of life.

RIGHTS-US: AIDS Care Spotty in Migrant Detention, HRW Says

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's wing of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has used its authority to detain nearly 30,000 immigrants in hundreds of prisons, jails and immigration detention centres throughout the United States.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Waking Up Finally to the HIV and AIDS Threat

When the new government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) set up in August a separate ministry devoted to containing HIV and AIDS in this Pacific Island country, it reflected the enormity of the threat to its six million people.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Ideology Trumping Health, U.S. Activists Say

On the eve of World AIDS Day Saturday, the U.S. Park Police arrested 40 demonstrators outside the White House as they chanted for sweeping changes to the George W. Bush administration's domestic and global AIDS policies.

WORLD AIDS DAY-KENYA: Many Firms Still Ignoring the Bottom Line on HIV

HIV/AIDS cuts workers down in their prime, taking to the grave a wealth of training and experience that companies can ill afford to lose. Lower productivity, absenteeism from work and increased medical bills exact a further toll on the private sector - all of which begs the question: are employers being sufficiently active in helping to fight AIDS?

WORLD AIDS DAY: Community Action Is Key to Prevention

The United Nations presented the call for nominations for the Red Ribbon Award 2008 to honour community leadership and action against HIV/AIDS in the Mexican capital Friday.