Sexual Abuse Keeps Girls Out of School

Sexual harassment of school-going girls is one factor that may prevent this Pacific island nation from achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of eliminating gender disparity in education by 2015.

Global Fund for AIDS, TB, Malaria “Not in Crisis”

Although coming off a rocky year in 2011, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is "not in crisis", according to the organisation's deputy general manager, Debrework Zewdie.

HIV Compounds Poverty in Nepal

Life, already hard in Nepal’s remote western region, is getting worse thanks to HIV infection brought back by men who go to neighbouring India for seasonal work.

Sorcery-Related Violence on the Rise in Papua New Guinea

An increase in sorcery-related violence and fatalities over the last decade in Papua New Guinea is generating awareness about the lack of development, economic opportunities, inequality and under-resourced health services in rural areas.

Will Europe Meet its 2015 Aid Development Goals?

Decades ago, 15 of Europe’s wealthiest nations made a promise to allocate .7 percent of their respective gross national products (GNP) to official development assistance. Yet despite a commitment that comprises such a small fraction of a nation’s wealth, only a handful of countries are on track to reach this goal by the 2015 deadline.

Trans-Pacific Trade Pact Reveals U.S.’s Unbridled Corporate Agenda

The 11th round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) talks concluded in Melbourne Friday, with member states suggesting the negotiations had made significant progress but civil society groups reiterating concerns that the United States' corporate demands could undermine social, economic and environmental policies.

Instant Infant HIV Diagnosis to be Rolled Out in Rural Kenya

Jesse Mtembe, a nursing officer at the Akithenesit Health Centre in Teso North, in Kenya’s Western Province, cannot wait for his centre to be connected to a new software system for diagnosing HIV in infants that is being developed in the country’s leading private university.

RUSSIA-HEALTH: Censorship and Dirty Needles Fuel HIV/AIDS Epidemic

A recent government crackdown on Russian media, particularly online information portals specialising in health tips and harm reduction methods for drug users, has sparked widespread public opposition, with critics claiming that the "draconian silencing" of public health advocates could worsen an already perilous health situation in the country.

U.S.: Obama Requests Slightly Higher Aid Levels for 2013

Despite strong pressure to reduce the yawning federal deficit, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is asking Congress for a slight increase in funding for the State Department and foreign aid next year.

EUROPE-INDIA: Trade Deal Threatens ‘Pharmacy of the Developing World’

Behind closed doors, a trade deal affecting a fifth of the world’s population has been quietly in the works for years.

HEALTH-BURKINA FASO: More Money Needed to Guarantee the Availability of ARVs

Burkina Faso's Network for Access to Essential Medicines (RAME) has called on the Burkinabè government to increase the budget allocation to the health sector to avoid interruptions to AIDS treatment.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: HIV-Related Deaths Slow Economy

If there was no HIV/AIDS, South Africa would have 4.4 million more people than today, the size of a major city. This significant slow-down in population growth is causing a slow down in economic growth and resulting in social ills, researchers warn.

Double Sentence: AIDS in a Senegalese Prison

Amadou* takes in a long, deep breath, clears his throat and steps to the front of the room. He turns to look out at a familiar group of faces sitting on long wooden benches here at the Camp Penal maximum-security prison in Dakar. This is the last in a group of 150 inmates Amadou has been speaking with today. He’s tired, but remains focused.

ZAMBIA: “People Are Not Dead Until They Have Died”

"I had no power, I could not even walk. I just had to be lifted by someone. When bathing, when going to the toilet, when going anywhere," Geoffrey Mwila says in a soft voice.

GUATEMALA: Discrimination Undermines AIDS Prevention

"At the clinic we were attended to by a woman who criticised us and only talked to us about religious questions," says Carlos Valdez of Proyecto Unidos, an NGO in Guatemala that fights for access to HIV/AIDS prevention services by homosexuals and sex workers.

Nigerian Bill Criminalises More Than Just Gay People

"The prospect of arriving home... being arrested at the airport - that's kind of scary," said Osazeme O., a dual citizen of Nigeria and the UK, in a wry understatement.

PHILIPPINES: These Shots Target AIDS

A unique campaign in the Philippines is using stylised online photos to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS. Fashion and conceptual photographer Niccolo Cosme first initiated Project Headshot Clinic in 2007 as a way of merging profile photos online and advertising.

Poverty and Racism Fuel HIV/AIDS Epidemic in U.S.

On World AIDS Day, all eyes are fixed on the global south, where a preventable HIV/AIDS epidemic across Asia, Africa and Latin America has infected almost 33 million people.

Aid Not Enough to Fight AIDS

Billions of people are marking yet another World AIDS Day - this one themed "Getting to Zero", for zero AIDS-related deaths, zero new infections, and zero stigma and discrimination.

LATIN AMERICA: Female Condoms in Short Supply

In spite of the growing spread of HIV/AIDS among women in Latin America and the Caribbean, the female condom, which could put them in charge of their health, is not readily available.

CARRIBEAN: Fresh Challenges Accompany Progress in AIDS Fight

Cracey Fernandes, the president of the Guyana Sex Work Coalition, does not hide the fact that he is homosexual.