SOUTH AFRICA: Straight talk with South Africa's Health Minister
14 May 2010 (PlusNews ), Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, appointed South Africa's Health Minister about a year ago, is in charge of the world's largest antiretroviral (ARV) treatment programme. Many AIDS activists credit him with helping to usher in a new approach to HIV and AIDS, including changes to treatment guidelines announced by President Jacob Zuma on World AIDS Day 2009. Can the government deliver? IRIN/PlusNews spoke to the minister to find out.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=89140
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SOUTH AFRICA: Children's healthcare missing the mark
13 May 2010 (PlusNews ), South Africa has achieved near universal access to health services for pregnant women and their children, but maternal and infant mortality rates have continued to rise making the chances of reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on maternal and child health increasingly remote.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=89128
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SOUTH AFRICA: Government is first to join major patent pool
12 May 2010 (PlusNews ), A South African government agency has become the first to join the world's leading patent pool for neglected diseases, a move that could bolster home-grown innovations in the fight against diseases including tuberculosis (TB).
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=89102
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Same problems, less funding
4 May 2010 (PlusNews ), Without adequate funding, barriers to HIV treatment are likely to remain unchanged in spite of growing demand, a new report has warned.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=89021
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SOUTH AFRICA: Bongi Rubushe, "I think it is good that President Jacob Zuma announced his HIV status"
28 April 2010 (PlusNews ), Bongi Rubushe, 24, is a medical student at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is also working as a volunteer in the national HIV counselling and testing campaign, which aims to encourage 15 million people to be tested by June 2011. IRIN/PlusNews spoke to her at Natalspruit Hospital, east of Johannesburg, where the campaign was launched on 25 April 2010.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88956
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SOUTH AFRICA: Less sex, more violence for teens
23 April 2010 (PlusNews ), Schoolchildren in South Africa are having less sex, and those that are, are doing it more safely, the second National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey by the Medical Research Council (MRC) has found.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88913
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SOUTH AFRICA: Traditional healers extend healthcare
1 April 2010 (PlusNews ), South Africa's traditional healing profession has often been mired in controversy over treating HIV/AIDS, with dodgy traditional remedies promoted as alternatives to antiretroviral (ARV) medication, and some groups of traditional healers being associated with AIDS denialists.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88655
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SOUTH AFRICA: Low HIV prevalence rates on campus
29 March 2010 (PlusNews ), HIV prevalence rates among South Africa's university students remain low, but risk is never far off according to one of the largest surveys ever conducted in the country
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88611
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SOUTH AFRICA: HIV testing and mental illness
17 March 2010 (PlusNews ), As more HIV-positive people access treatment and live longer, the number of people suffering from HIV-related mental disorders is growing, but mental health remains an ethical, legal and clinical minefield, where many doctors and nurses fear to tread – and fear to test.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88461
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SOUTH AFRICA: Between patients and prevention
15 March 2010 (PlusNews ), New research suggests that the poor knowledge and attitudes of doctors and healthcare workers in South Africa are limiting access to preventative tuberculosis (TB) therapy.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88432
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SOUTH AFRICA: Delayed drug registrations hard to swallow
4 March 2010 (PlusNews ), Delays in registering antiretroviral (ARV) medication may keep cheaper, more patient-friendly drugs out of reach as South Africa prepares to launch the world's largest tender for medicines.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88315
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AFRICA: Tracking the male circumcision rollout
2 March 2010 (PlusNews ), Medical male circumcision is now widely recognized as an important HIV prevention tool, and several African countries have included it in their national HIV strategies.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88286
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Preparing for the worst
1 March 2010 (PlusNews ), When a crisis strikes, access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs can be among the first casualties, particularly in countries where many people are on treatment.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88272
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SOUTH AFRICA: New treatment guidelines announced
23 February 2010 (PlusNews ), New national treatment guidelines are set to make the world's largest antiretroviral (ARV) programme even bigger as South Africa extends treatment to more HIV-positive infants, pregnant women and people battling HIV-tuberculosis (TB) co-infection.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88207
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SOUTH AFRICA: New research fuels "test and treat" debate
22 February 2010 (PlusNews ), New research could bolster arguments for a controversial approach that could eradicate HIV transmission in South Africa within five years, said Dr Brian Williams of the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA).
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88200
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SOUTH AFRICA: Zuma leaves many wanting more
12 February 2010 (PlusNews ), As South Africa marked the 20th anniversary of former President Nelson Mandela's release from prison, President Jacob Zuma reaffirmed his government's commitment to the fight against HIV and AIDS, but many activists said his second State of the Nation address on 11 February 2010 left them wanting more.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88092
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SOUTH AFRICA: 4play on the small screen
11 February 2010 (PlusNews ), A sexy new South African television drama is set to show people that love, life and the risk of HIV does not stop after they turn 30.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88075
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SOUTH AFRICA: Younger teachers more open about HIV
9 February 2010 (PlusNews ), Younger teachers in South Africa are taking the lead in talking to students about HIV but are not practicing what they preach, according to new research.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=88054
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SOUTH AFRICA: Military gets new HIV policy
26 January 2010 (PlusNews ), The announcement in late 2009 that the government had approved a new HIV/AIDS policy in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was widely welcomed by AIDS and human rights lobbyists as long overdue.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=87879
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AFRICA: Crackdowns on gays make the closet safer
19 January 2010 (PlusNews ), More than two-thirds of African countries have laws criminalizing homosexual acts, and despite accounting for a significant percentage of new infections in many countries, men who have sex with men tend to be left out of the HIV response.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=87793
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