SENEGAL: Bringing condoms out of the closet, 20/Dec/05
DAKAR, 20 December (IRIN) - Adriana Bertini is a woman with a mission. She intends to turn condoms, which she considers the best form of protection against AIDS, into an everyday object that both men and women use as naturally as a piece of clothing.... Full Report... Email Report

SIERRA LEONE: First post-war countrywide survey shows 1.5 percent HIV prevalence, 20/Dec/05
FREETOWN, 20 December (IRIN) - The first countrywide HIV/AIDS survey carried out in Sierra Leone since the end of its 11-year war shows a relatively low prevalence rate of 1.5 percent, according to the head of the National AIDS Secretariat, Brima Kargbo. ... Full Report... Email Report

NAMIBIA: OVC population to double in 15 years, 19/Dec/05
WINDHOEK, 19 December (IRIN) - The number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Namibia is expected to double over the next 15 years, a new UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) survey has warned. ... Full Report... Email Report

MIDDLE EAST: Appeal to Arab world to give more to worlds poorest, 16/Dec/05
DUBAI, 16 December (IRIN) - Activists launched a joint appeal to the Arab world on Friday in Dubai, the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates, to donate more money to ease poverty in Africa. ... Full Report... Email Report

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 308 covering 10-16 December 2005, 16/Dec/05
DAKAR, 16 December (IRIN) - ... Full Report... Email Report

PAKISTAN: UNODC to launch HIV/AIDS prevention programme in prisons, 13/Dec/05
ISLAMABAD, 13 December (IRIN) - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is preparing to launch a drug abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention programme in Pakistani prisons by early 2006. ... Full Report... Email Report

MIDDLE EAST: MIDDLE EAST: Weekly round-up Number 51 for 4 8 December 2005, 11/Dec/05
DUBAI MIDDLE-EAST, 11 December (IRIN) - ... Full Report... Email Report

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 307 covering 3-9 December 2005, 9/Dec/05
DAKAR, 9 December (IRIN) - ... Full Report... Email Report

ZIMBABWE: Prevention campaigns successful as HIV rate drops, 8/Dec/05
JOHANNESBURG, 8 December (IRIN) - Zimbabwe has become the first southern African country to register a decline in HIV prevalence, according to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). ... Full Report... Email Report

CENTRAL ASIA: UN calls for special envoy to the region, 8/Dec/05
BISHKEK, 8 December (IRIN) - In a new report published this week, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called for the creation of the post of Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Central Asia in an effort to boost regional cooperation and reduce poverty in the... Full Report... Email Report

SUDAN: Campaign to focus on HIV/AIDS affected children, 7/Dec/05
KHARTOUM, 7 December (IRIN) - The Sudanese National AIDS Control Programme (SNAP), the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other partners have launched a campaign focusing on the impact of the disease on children. ... Full Report... Email Report

BURUNDI: Germany grants Bujumbura 9.5 million euros to fight poverty, 7/Dec/05
AMSTERDAM, 7 December (IRIN) - Germany has granted Burundi 9.5 million euros (US $11.1 million) for a one-year programme aimed at reducing poverty across the country by providing safe drinking water, fighting HIV/AIDS and promoting peace and reconciliation, a German government... Full Report... Email Report

WEST AFRICA: Rejecting FGM not an affront to tradition, 7/Dec/05
DAKAR, 7 December (IRIN) - West African religious and traditional leaders meeting with political officials this week affirmed their commitment to eradicating female genital mutilation, saying that to abandon the practice is not to reject traditional or religious values.... Full Report... Email Report

SENEGAL: Students increasingly a target of HIV-prevention campaigns, 6/Dec/05
DAKAR, 6 December (IRIN) - University student Ibrahim Thioye was confident as he stood in line last week to be tested for HIV. "No fear or apprehension whatsoever," he said. Health officials wish that more people would be as bold about learning their HIV status.... Full Report... Email Report

SWAZILAND: HIV positive Swazis take govt to task over ARV supply, 6/Dec/05
MBABANE, 6 December (IRIN) - A group of HIV positive Swazis is considering taking the government to court for an alleged erratic supply of antiretrovirals (ARVs), but officials insist that the lack of drugs is a matter of perception, rather than reality.... Full Report... Email Report

COTE D IVOIRE: Family unified in fight against HIV, 6/Dec/05
ABIDJAN, 6 December (IRIN) - They could be any ordinary couple with a five-year-old named Sylvie, who just celebrated her birthday. But the reality behind the picture-perfect smiles of Paul and his wife, Viviane, is grim.... Full Report... Email Report

TANZANIA: Clinical trials on HIV/AIDS vaccine to start in March 2006, 5/Dec/05
DAR ES SALAAM, 5 December (IRIN) - Tanzania will start clinical trials of an HIV/AIDS vaccine in March 2006, the head of a local university announced in Dar es Salaam on Saturday. ... Full Report... Email Report

JORDAN: Teenagers given airtime to speak out on AIDS and violence, 4/Dec/05
AMMAN, 4 December (IRIN) - Jordanian adolescents have been given the chance to speak on local and satellite television channels about critical issues, related to World AIDS Day and ahead of International Childrens Day of Broadcasting.... Full Report... Email Report

SOMALIA: Somalis urged to avert HIV/AIDS epidemic, 2/Dec/05
NAIROBI, 2 December (IRIN) - Somalia has an opportunity to become one of the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa to avert an HIV/AIDS epidemic of major proportions, UN agencies said. ... Full Report... Email Report

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 306 covering 26 November to 2 December 2005, 2/Dec/05
DAKAR, 2 December (IRIN) - ... Full Report... Email Report