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Varsity blues: Skipping class, skipping treatment
Adjusting to college life can be rough – moving into residence, living with roommates, balancing academic demands with those of social life. Now try taking your antiretroviral (ARV) medication without the whole world knowing you're positive, and things get even more complicated. Treatment adherence, proper nutrition and treating opportunistic infections are all problematic in the campus environment. Adjusting to college life can be rough – moving into residence, living with roommates, balancing academic demands with those of social... more
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Zimbabwe power-sharing agreement could save lives
The country's three political parties - ZANU-PF and the two factions of the majority Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - signed a power-sharing deal on 15 September, ending one of the worst periods of inter-party political violence since Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980. AIDS activists are hoping that the country's new administration will make good on promises to urgently improve access to affordable HIV/AIDS treatment and services at state hospitals. The country's three political parties - ZANU-PF and the two factions of the majority Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - signe... more
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ARV and TB drugs taken together halve deaths
Combining antiretroviral (ARV) therapy with treatment for tuberculosis (TB) could more than halve the current mortality rate among patients co-infected with HIV and TB, saving an estimated 10,000 lives a year in South Africa. Combining antiretroviral (ARV) therapy with treatment for tuberculosis (TB) could more than halve the current mortality rate among pat... more
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Swaziland's HIV/AIDS treatment crises goes critical
Shortages of antiretroviral (ARV) and other drugs in public health facilities in Swaziland have been among a long list of grievances cited by protesters during several weeks of unprecedented political unrest ahead of parliamentary polls on Friday. Shortages of antiretroviral (ARV) and other drugs in public health facilities in Swaziland have been among a long list of grievances c... more
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Programme leaves sex workers unemployed in Abidjan
If you live along the main highway linking Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire's economic hub, with Lagos in Nigeria, it is almost impossible to ignore the many AIDS awareness messages along the route, travelled by 47 million people each year. The 'Caravane pour la vie' (caravan for life), is an annual travelling HIV/AIDS awareness campaign organised by the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Project in the five countries - Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria - that the road goes through. So far, it If you live along the main highway linking Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire's economic hub, with Lagos in Nigeria, it is almost imposs... more
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Young girls the new bait for fishermen
A new take on an old system, known as 'jaboya' (a customer who is also a lover, in the local Luo language) in Kenya, in which female fishmongers develop sexual relationships with fishermen and middlemen in exchange for fish is now putting young girls at risk of HIV as female relatives use young girls to negotiate for better deals on their wares. A new take on an old system, known as 'jaboya' (a customer who is also a lover, in the local Luo language) in Kenya, in whic... more
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Male circumcision sparks controversy in Kenya
Kenya's circumcision rollout, due to be launched in the Nyanza area in late September, is already facing problems; according to local media, members of the Luo Council of Elders, an advisory cultural body that wields considerable influence, have threatened to disrupt the launch unless they are properly consulted. The Council of Elders are against the idea of promoting mass circumcision. Kenya's circumcision rollout, due to be launched in the Nyanza area in late September, is already facing problems; according to l... more
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Questions about South Africa's new HIV rates
Several prominent demographers and scientists have vigorously refuted Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's claim that South Africa's HIV epidemic is declining and that the country "may be making some real progress in its response to the HIV epidemic". Tshabalala-Msimang's statement was based on a national survey of HIV prevalence among pregnant women, which researchers are describing as deeply flawed. Several prominent demographers and scientists have vigorously refuted Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's claim that South... more
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you, your phone and your health
Uganda's rising HIV prevalence is forcing policy makers to look for inventive ways of educating people about the virus. Their latest tool is mobile phone technology, whose rapid growth has provided an avenue that could potentially reach millions with messages. Text to Change (TTC) , an NGO that uses a bulk short message service (SMS) platform for HIV/AIDS education, recently partnered with the AIDS Information Centre in Uganda (AIC) and Celtel, a local mobile phone network, to pilot a project in western Uganda aimed at communicating knowledge about the disease and encouraging subscribers to volunteer for HIV testing. Uganda's rising HIV prevalence is forcing policy makers to look for inventive ways of educating people about the virus. Their lat... more
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Drug supply chain problems trigger shortages
Uganda's health ministry has been scrambling to stave off a nationwide shortage of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) that could jeopardise the lives of tens of thousands of HIV-positive people. Uganda's health ministry has been scrambling to stave off a nationwide shortage of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) that could jeopard... more
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Make circumcision safer, say researchers
Out of 1,007 boys interviewed two months after being circumcised, 25 percent had experienced "adverse events", including excessive bleeding, infections and pain while urinating. The researchers estimated that the procedure had resulted in permanent damage to about 6 percent of the boys.
The debate continues... Out of 1,007 boys interviewed two months after being circumcised, 25 percent had experienced "adverse events", including exc... more -
Gay online soap opera has a serious message
From its opening scene, the online soap opera "In the Moment" pulls no punches -- because, its creators say, it cannot. The show, which has drawn tens of thousands of viewers in the last few months, is a racy, unvarnished portrait of gay L.A.
It is also, at its core, about HIV and AIDS.
Recent years have brought a wave of new programs designed to reinvigorate outreach in the gay community, as well as a dialogue about men's sexuality.
There are colorful trucks that take rapid-response HIV testing to the streets. Government-funded "POLs" -- popular opinion leaders -- scour the town for other socially influential gay men and women, give them risk-reduction training and send them back into the community to spread the word. There's even a proposal to design jeans with built-in "condom pockets" to promote the idea that condom use should be a routine part of gay culture, not an afterthought. From its opening scene, the online soap opera "In the Moment" pulls no punches -- because, its creators say, it cannot. The ... more -
What happened to the invisible condom?
I find it very interesting that when the Bush Administration came to power in this country, science was on the verge of many quite promising technologies to add to the arsenal of weapons against HIV transmission. However the "Religious Climate" of the Administration led to moral "strings" attached to any funding offered; preach abstinence as the only solution to stopping the transmission of HIV. This was a failed policy from the start and is at the core of the rise in HIV transmissions among the youth in this country. They lack the basic information and tools necessary to protect themselves and they are being shamed back into the closet, so to speak, where sex without knowledge about HIV transmission can be lethal.
Among these technologies were two that I have been searching for information about because essentially they went nowhere. They were left to die by the wayside. I want to know why? Who is responsible for these products not being given to the public?
I think that these products should be brought to market. Enough with the Big Brother control over our sexual freedom and our right to safe sex.
Product number one (subject of the article from 2002) is a gel that provides an invisible barrier of protection. At the Barcelona 2002 AIDS conference it was touted as the most amazing development in HIV transmission prevention up to that time. It could provide protection to millions of African women.
Product number two was the anti-HIV shot that would make you immune to HIV through the use of an injectable anti-HIV medication. It would render the patient immune for up to 72 hours.
Doesn't it seem obvious that these products were suppressed due to the politics of the Bush administration or what? I find it very interesting that when the Bush Administration came to power in this country, science was on the verge of many quite pro... more -
Web Soap Launches Second Episode to Fight HIV Among Young Gays in LA
The second episode of In the Moment, the gay online soap opera produced by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center in an effort to generate discussion about AIDS prevention and other sex-related health issues, debuted online today. They've also enhanced their site to make it more interactive.
The first episode, which has been viewed over 30,000 times, dealt with drinking, online sex addiction, and unprotected sex. The second episode expands on those storylines with questions about honesty in relationships where the partners have had unprotected sex with others.
Check out the article from blogger Towleroad or check out the site itself on weholife.org The second episode of In the Moment, the gay online soap opera produced by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center in an effort to generate ... more -
Researchers at University of Alberta discover a gene that blocks HIV
Science at its best.
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AIDS prevention web soap and forum launched for gay men in L.A.
In an effort to generate discussion about AIDS prevention and reach gay men online, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center is producing 12 "webisodes" focusing on the sex lives of a group of gay men in West Hollywood. Each is five minutes in length and is intended to stimulate discussion, via an online forum where viewers can comment on various issues raised by each episode of the online mini-soap opera. In an effort to generate discussion about AIDS prevention and reach gay men online, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center is producing 12 ... more
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HIV prevention
