CARIBBEAN: Gay, HIV-Positive, and Totally Fearless

When he was diagnosed with HIV in 1989, Godfrey Sealy, a Trinidad and Tobago playwright and activist, pled with Caribbean policy-makers and the general public not to relegate sex issues to the back burner.

HEALTH: A Weapon Against AIDS That Looks Just Like Hair Gel

"Mafuta" is the word used by Kennedy Mundia to describe the colourless, odourless gel that he wants 1,500 women in the Southern African country of Zambia to try out, starting next month.

FINANCE: IMF Prescriptions Bad for Health, Say Activists

The Western-dominated International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose credibility with some of its largest clients is eroding because of what they consider counter-productive economic policy advice, is facing renewed accusations that its prescriptions have compounded major health crises.

EDUCATION-LATIN AMERICA: Let’s (Not) Talk About Sex

Although many countries in Latin America have laws stating that sex education must be made available in primary and secondary schools, these are implemented in a haphazard way, and in some cases not at all.

HEALTH: New Wave of HIV May Lurk Around the Corner

A quarter century into the HIV/AIDS pandemic, researchers fear that a lack of preparedness for large-scale social changes, driven by factors like armed conflict and climate change, could lead to explosive new outbreaks affecting millions of people.

HEALTH-ASIA: Caught Between Bird Flu and Burma’s Junta

South-east Asian governments are caught between tackling bird flu and Burma's secretive junta, which is keener on strengthening its iron grip on power than addressing a possible global pandemic.

HEALTH-AFRICA: “An Opportunity to Change the Course of History”

An Africa-wide campaign has been launched to halt HIV infections, this as the continent continues to be the worst affected by AIDS globally.

SOUTH AFRICA: The Shower That Washed Anti-AIDS Efforts Down the Drain

AIDS activists have expressed concern about a remark by former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma that he minimised his risk of contracting the AIDS virus during unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman, by taking a shower afterwards.

TRINIDAD: Fear of HIV Leaves Many Orphans Societal Outcasts

When his parents died from AIDS last year, John (not his real name) did not expect to be abandoned by his surviving relatives.

RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: Leaving Prostitution – Easier Said Than Done

"Everything revolves around money and without work there is no money," says 33-year-old Maria Xoagub*, a mother of three who earns her living as a prostitute. "Sometimes we try stopping going to sell our bodies in the streets, but when poverty takes over we are back there."

HEALTH-US: Govt Watchdog Criticises Bush’s AIDS Plan

The priority given to abstinence-only strategies in U.S. Pres. George W. Bush's global HIV/ AIDS programme may be undermining the overall effectiveness of his administration's multi- billion-dollar AIDS-prevention efforts, according to a study released here Tuesday by Congress' Governmental Accountability Office (GAO).

HEALTH-ZIMBABWE: Bleak Future for Children With a Double Burden

The child squirms drowsily as it struggles to roll over on the bunk bed, eventually succumbing to sleep. The skin on its face is too taught. Wisps of hair look as if they could fall out at any minute.

WORLD HEALTH DAY: Mozambican Nurses to the Fore with ARV Distribution

With World Health Day (Apr. 7) rapidly approaching, public attention is being directed this week to the widespread shortage of health workers. The theme for World Health Day 2006, 'Working together for health', was chosen to add momentum to efforts at resolving the crisis - something that is nowhere more evident than in Mozambique.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Nepalis Take Two-pronged Approach

Expect to see Nepal's unique two-pronged flag fluttering often at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Karachi until Tuesday. Groups based here that are attending the meet say they will both lead and hop aboard protests against King Gyanendra's rule as well as push their own unique social agendas.

HEALTH-AFRICA: A Somber Outlook on AIDS

A former director of the United Nations Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa has painted a gloomy picture of efforts to bring the pandemic under control across the continent.

ARGENTINA: Transgender Community Faces Uphill Battle for Rights

Noelia Luna was born a man, but lives as a woman. She is unemployed, has lived with the same partner for 15 years and has three children. Her life seems fairly uneventful. But compared to other transvestites, transsexuals and transgenders in Argentina, she is a relative rarity: she is a survivor.

HEALTH: Brazil to Hand Out a Billion Free Condoms

As a key part of its vigorous campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS, the Brazilian government is planning to distribute over one billion condoms free of charge this year.

RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: No Rest – and Limited Government Support – for the Aged

The sight of an elderly person caring for children with AIDS-related illnesses – and grandchildren who may have been orphaned by the pandemic - has become a common one in Namibia, and the Southern African region as a whole.

POLITICS-US: Faith Abounds, Just Not in Condoms

On Mar. 9, during remarks at the Second White House National Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in Washington, Pres. George W. Bush recognised the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for its work with faith-based organisations.

SOUTH AFRICA: ARV Programme Less Than the Sum of Its (Monetary) Parts

With over five million of its 47 million citizens HIV-positive, South Africa currently has more people living with HIV/AIDS than any other country.

MALAWI: Farmers Need Mechanisation, Irrigation – And Some Free Stuff

Having experienced a disastrous harvest last year - the worst in a decade, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) - Malawi now appears set to improve its food situation.