MAPUTO , 8 February (PLUSNEWS) - Subjects like HIV/AIDS and child trafficking, usually considered taboo in Mozambican society, are being openly discussed by the teenage presenters of radio and television programmes for young people. Full report

JOHANNESBURG, 7 February (PLUSNEWS) - Confusion has erupted over the safety of the microbicide trials, which were halted after preliminary results showed the proposed prophylactic could increase the risk of HIV infection. Full report

MBABANE, 6 February (PLUSNEWS) - In a remarkable reversal of perceptions about AIDS, public testing by religious and business leaders is changing attitudes towards both the disease and being tested for it. Full report

JOHANNESBURG, 6 February (PLUSNEWS) - A major campaign by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to scale up its HIV and AIDS programmes in Southern Africa is being threatened by a looming funding shortfall. Full report

ANTANANARIVO, 26 January (PLUSNEWS) - The island nation of Madagascar, off the coast of Southern Africa, has so far been spared an HIV/AIDS epidemic, unlike its continental neighbours, but health officials have warned that the country cannot afford to be complacent. Full report

JOHANNESBURG, 25 January (PLUSNEWS) - Behaviour change has been widely identified as the key to reducing new HIV infections, but so far neither governments, religious leaders nor AIDS organisations have had significant success in convincing large numbers of people to change their risky sexual behaviour. Full report

HOEDSPRUIT, 7 February (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - January is mango season in Hoedspruit, in South Africa's Limpopo Province, and casual fruit pickers, mostly women, flood the area's farms in search of work. Full report

PRETORIA, 5 February (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - Though sexual violence affects millions around the world every year, deeply entrenched cultural taboos and a lack of political leadership have historically left the issue largely unrecognised in government boardrooms, health ministries, and scientific research. But that may change, as an emerging global initiative argues sexual violence is a legitimate public health and human rights issue that warrants its own research, prevention, and interventions. Full report

HARARE, 31 January (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - As Zimbabwe's disgruntled doctors and nurses continue their strike over low salaries and poor working conditions, concern is growing about how the prolonged stayaway is affecting HIV-positive patients. Full report

KHAO LAK, 15 January (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - Zaw, 30, from Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar (Burma), came to Thailand eight years ago in search of job opportunities unavailable in his impoverished homeland. He found work on construction sites and, more recently, in a sawmill in Khao Lak, a beautiful coastal area where new hotels have been springing up in response to Thailand's booming tourist industry. Full report

JOHANNESBURG, 15 January (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - In a country long sickened by the frighteningly high level of sexual violence, one of the greatest challenges facing South Africa is closing the gap between the rhetoric of gender equality and the reality on the ground. Full report

BULAWAYO, 11 January (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - The Zimbabwean government has announced its intention to treble the number of people on its free antiretroviral (ARV) programme in 2007, but experts are sceptical about the health sector's capacity to achieve this goal. Full report