HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: A Month into 2004, and ARV’s Still Scarce

AIDS campaigners in South Africa are worried about the apparent lack of progress in implementing a plan to distribute anti-retroviral drugs to millions of people living with the disease.

EDUCATION-SWAZILAND: A New Policy to Keep AIDS Orphans in School

A new education initiative has been started in Swaziland to assist children who have lost parents to the AIDS pandemic.

HEALTH: New AIDS Group Focuses on Women

A global initiative will seek to put women at the heart of new projects to fight AIDS.

ECONOMY-ZAMBIA: Business Closes its Eyes to the Dangers of AIDS

A report by international auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers says Zambia's economy may lose about 50 million dollars annually if the current rate of HIV infection continues unchecked.

HEALTH: Tune In to AIDS Fight, UN Tells World Media

The media has a key role to play in the fight against the spread of HIV, the deadly virus that causes AIDS, said U. N. chief Kofi Annan on Thursday, urging the industry's senior officials to do more to fulfil that role.

HEALTH-SWAZILAND: Prisons Break the Taboo Surrounding AIDS

2004 is shaping up as the year of prison reform in Swaziland, and AIDS is the catalyst.

HEALTH-BRAZIL: Bartering Is Best Medicine in AIDS Fight

Obtaining a 77 percent discount and still complaining might seem an unreasonable response in just about any market, but not in Brazil when it comes to buying medicines needed to provide free treatment to people with HIV/AIDS.

EDUCATION-KENYA: Ongoing Claims About AIDS Discrimination in Schools

A decision by the guardians of 72 HIV-positive children to sue Kenya's government for alleged discrimination in public schools appears to have struck a nerve in the East African country. AIDS organisations say this trend may be widespread, and they are calling on government to take action in the matter.

HEALTH-AFRICA: HIV/AIDS Campaigners Invest in the Youth

The new year has begun with a small but significant contribution to the fight against AIDS, which is devastating Sub-Saharan Africa.

HEALTH-BRAZIL: Children Look to Future Despite HIV/AIDS

"My mother cried a lot and I didn't know why. I was sad, but not upset. I got the news and I took at as something bad, but something normal. I didn't really understand what it meant."

EDUCATION-KENYA: Too Much, Too Soon?

As Kenya enters 2004, it appears likely that the country's education system will come under increased scrutiny. Many teachers want the current syllabus to be overhauled, saying it places undue pressure on staff and children alike.

RIGHTS: Child-Headed Households Growing in Swaziland

How does it feel to be an orphan in a country where by tradition there are no orphans?

HEALTH: Vietnam Adjusts Approach to Fighting HIV/AIDS

Returning here after three years of absence, Nguyen Viet Quang, a U.S. citizen of Vietnamese origin, remarked that he no longer saw posters with skulls and bones or bloody syringes warning of the danger of HIV/AIDS displayed in large cities.

HEALTH-US: AIDS Activists Slam New Medicare Bill

Sweeping changes to the nation's Medicare programme, signed into law Monday by President George W. Bush, are facing a new round of criticism from AIDS activists who say that the new legislation is going to put tens of thousands of U.S. citizens living with AIDS in harm's way.

TRADE: U.S.-Central America Deal Could Block Cheap AIDS Drugs

Volunteer social worker Alain Rias, who helps treat people living with HIV/AIDS in Honduras, says his work has helped patients recover, go back to work and support their families.

HEALTH: Jamaica Reaches Out to AIDS Orphans

At a time when most six-year-olds were enjoying a carefree life, Gary was the sole care-giver for a mother stricken by AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Loving Life After World AIDS Day

In South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, a train winds its way through the undulating hills. On board, six young people with HIV/AIDS, along with celebrities from local soap operas, television and radio are doing their bit to raise AIDS awareness.

CARIBBEAN: Risky Behaviour Must Be Tackled, Says AIDS Researcher

The main causes for the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are not being addressed in the Caribbean, says a leading researcher.

HEALTH: Access to Anti-AIDS Drugs Varies Widely in Latin America

A year ago, 52 Bolivians living with HIV/AIDS complained to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that their government refused to provide anti-AIDS drugs free of charge, in violation of the country's international commitments. Only 33 of them are alive today.

HEALTH-AFRICA: A New ARV Initiative Targets Three Million People

The World Health Organisation and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS launched a new initiative, Monday, to provide antiretrovirals to three million people by the end of 2005.

HEALTH-ETHIOPIA: Fighting the HIV/AIDS Stigma Remains an Uphill Battle

Aster tested positive for HIV/AIDS eight years ago, but she has yet to summon the courage to tell her family, for fear of being rejected by them.