POLITICS: USAID Sued Over Anti-Prostitution Policy

A U.S.-based family-planning charity is formally challenging Washington's "anti-prostitution" policy, calling it an unconstitutional infringement of speech that is undermining international efforts to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS.

HEALTH-CUBA: Global AIDS Fund Boosts Assistance

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will provide Cuba with millions of dollars over the next three years to help improve quality of life and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and to reinforce efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

POPULATION: Seven Billion in Seven Years

Despite fertility declines in most countries and reduced life expectancy due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in some African nations, the global population will reach 6.5 billion people by the end of this year and should hit seven billion by 2012, according to a report released here Tuesday by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB).

HEALTH: Russians Abandon HIV-Positive Patients

Thousands of children born to HIV-positive mothers are being abandoned, new data shows.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: A Small Step From Barnyard to Pond

Africa must urgently boost investments in aquaculture to fight hunger, as natural fish stocks on the continent and elsewhere decline, scientists say.

HEALTH: WHO Reinstates Generic HIV Drugs from India

The reinstatement of seven generic antiretroviral drugs produced by Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd in India on WHO's list of prequalified medicines will reinforce efforts to ensure access to affordable quality AIDS drugs in poor countries, the global health agency stated Friday.

AIDS-VENEZUELA: An Ounce of Prevention, Aimed at Women and Youth

The Venezuelan government has launched an AIDS prevention campaign that specifically targets women and youth, sectors in which the incidence of the disease is growing worldwide.

HEALTH-NAMIBIA: "If I Could Only Warn Women Not to Get Married…"

"When my father died my uncle and his wife came and took all our stuff. They even took away our television," said an eleven-year-old orphan in Namibia, describing a tradition that allows relatives to take land, livestock, furniture and even clothes from bereaved families.

HEALTH-MOZAMBIQUE: Preventing History From Repeating Itself

For children in Mozambique who are orphaned by AIDS, burying parents may simply signal the start of their battle with the pandemic. All too often, these orphans also find themselves amongst those most at risk of contracting HIV.

CULTURE-SWAZILAND: Sugar Daddies – The Bitter Truth

"People who don’t know me see this stylishly-dressed young woman driving a nice car, and they think, ‘Isn’t she lucky? She has a rich man as a lover to give her things’," says Angela Shabalala as she manoeuvres her blue BMW sedan onto a highway leading to the Swazi capital, Mbabane.

POLITICS-US: A Holy Trinity of Church, Boardroom and GOP?

U.S. Pres. George W. Bush continues to seek broader support from the African American community - most recently with a pledge to persuade corporate foundations to give more money to faith-based charities.

RIGHTS-INDIA: Truck Drivers More Sinned Against Than Sinning

It took a photo exhibition on the lives and work of India's truck drivers for many to realise that they are more than just another high-risk group for HIV/AIDS in a list drawn by voluntary agencies working against the disease.

BANGLADESH: Bleak Future Awaits Sex Workers’ Children

When asked his mother's name, four-year-old, bright-eyed Jowel ventures softly, ''Ma''.

LATIN AMERICA: Universal Access to AIDS Drugs Possible With Agreed Price Cuts

Latin America's health ministers negotiating as a bloc with representatives of the pharmaceutical industry secured reductions of up to 66 percent on the prices of HIV/AIDS drugs.

AIDS-BRAZIL: Gov’t Backs Down on Threat to Break Patent

Despite its highly publicised threats, the Brazilian government has decided not to break the patent on the antiretroviral drug Kaletra, a move that has disappointed and angered those who administer, sponsor and benefit from the country's highly lauded HIV/AIDS treatment programme.

RIGHTS-JAMAICA: Gov’t May Repeal Anti-Gay Laws

In a desperate bid to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS, the Jamaican government is preparing to hear arguments for and against existing legislation outlawing homosexuality and prostitution.

HEALTH-MOZAMBIQUE: Local Production of ARVs – Perhaps

With an HIV prevalence of over 12 percent, Mozambique is one of many African countries grappling with the challenge of supplying treatment to citizens who risk succumbing to AIDS-related diseases.

HEALTH: AIDS Research Skewed Toward African Tragedy

The tragic situation in Africa has led AIDS researchers to ignore the realities of other regions of the world, including Latin America, local activists stressed at the end of a major international conference held here this week.

HEALTH-SOUTH ASIA: Booming Markets, Ailing Population

While South Asia's economy has never been healthier, the vast majority of its people cannot say the same.

TRADE-US: CAFTA Meets its Final Test

The U.S. House of Representatives will decide the fate of the controversial Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) this week in what many analysts predict will be a very close vote, prompting a spate of intensified lobbying by opponents and advocates of the deal, including Pres. George W. Bush.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Farm More, Farm Better

While Swaziland's soaring HIV prevalence and the spending habits of King Mswati the Third are issues which often land the country in the headlines, problems also loom on another front: about a quarter of Swazis are currently dependent on international food aid.