HIV/AIDS: A Rogues' Gallery
18 April 2012 (PlusNews ), Grantees of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria who allegedly committed fraud or misused funds unwittingly did a lot of damage to the Fund – and, many say, global health - as donors withdrew and the beleaguered organization faced a "crisis of confidence" in recent years. But the Fund has responded and is undergoing an extensive restructuring process. IRIN/PlusNews takes a look at some of the alleged fraudsters and the progress of the investigations.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=95294
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: TB preventative therapy scorecard
23 March 2012 (PlusNews ), Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading killer of HIV-positive people globally. Almost 15 years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS recommended that people living with HIV be given isoniazid preventative TB therapy (IPT), to prevent active TB, but national implementation of IPT has been slow.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=95141
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HIV/AIDS: Depression "overlooked" in treating HIV patients
7 December 2011 (PlusNews ), HIV patients in Africa frequently suffer shame and depression but the continent’s health systems are ill-equipped to handle the issue, which not only affects their quality of life, but can lead to poor adherence to HIV treatment regimens.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=94410
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HIV/AIDS: A deadly funding crisis
1 December 2011 (PlusNews ), This World AIDS Day on 1 Dec should have been a much more joyous event: the global HIV/AIDS response has turned a significant corner, with record numbers of people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and fewer new HIV infections. But the announcement by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, cancelling its next funding round, has cast a shadow over any celebrations and highlighted the precarious nature of HIV/AIDS funding.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=94354
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Door-to-door outreach cuts TB prevalence
1 November 2011 (PlusNews ), Home-based tuberculosis (TB) education and testing reduced community TB prevalence by about 20 percent, according to findings of a large, two-country study released at the International Lung Health Conference in Lille, France.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=94117
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ZAMBIA: Low STI testing puts HIV-positive pregnant women at risk
1 September 2011 (PlusNews ), While most pregnant women in Zambia are now tested for HIV, other sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis are not being diagnosed, placing the lives of thousands of women at risk.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=93626
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ZAMBIA: Corruption scandal rocks ARV programme
14 March 2011 (PlusNews ), When the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria suspended funding to Zambia in late 2010 it made international headlines and rocked donor confidence, but the stock-outs and drug rationing in the wake of the scandal have received little attention.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92191
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ZAMBIA: Third-line ARVs available soon
7 March 2011 (PlusNews ), After months of lobbying and campaigning by Zambian activists, the government has announced that it will provide free third-line antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to people living with HIV.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92124
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AFRICA: Need for systematic HIV drug resistance testing
8 February 2011 (PlusNews ), HIV is a tough enough diagnosis, but when one contracts a strain of HIV resistant to some life-prolonging medicines, treatment options are limited. A new study has found that transmitted HIV drug resistance may be on the rise in Africa, and the authors warn that unless resistance surveillance is increased, the continent's treatment programmes could suffer.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91866
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ZAMBIA: How to build a lab in a shipping container
1 February 2011 (PlusNews ), A tiny laboratory capable of doing big things is what Barry Kosloff, working with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine, has created - a new type of high-tech, low-cost, tuberculosis (TB) lab in a shipping container. He walked IRIN/PlusNews through what it takes to build one.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91801
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ZAMBIA: Better health comes in containers
26 January 2011 (PlusNews ), New technologies are helping Zambia make the most of its scarce health workers and laboratories in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), and showing that there may be more to a container than meets the eye.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91738
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ZAMBIA: Don’t ignore the children of sex workers
10 January 2011 (PlusNews ), At an increased risk of HIV and often unable to negotiate safe sex with clients, sex workers have been a major focus in HIV prevention and treatment. However, away from the streets and brothels, their children have been largely ignored.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91581
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ZAMBIA: How to make broad ARV access work
2 December 2010 (PlusNews ), Zambia is a poor country with a severe shortage of health workers, but it is closer to achieving universal access to antiretroviral treatment by the end of 2010 than many of its equally resource-limited neighbours.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91266
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HIV/AIDS: MSM groups hail pill to prevent HIV
24 November 2010 (PlusNews ), Gay rights groups have hailed the results of the first study to show that an antiretroviral (ARV) drug can prevent HIV as an important step in the fight against HIV, but say that in countries that criminalize homosexuality, the breakthrough is unlikely to have a significant impact.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91180
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ZAMBIA: Ephraim Banda, “The third-line drugs we don’t have”
23 November 2010 (PlusNews ), Before Zambia’s public health sector started providing free antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to people living with HIV, Ephraim Banda bought his own medication. But his supply was often interrupted and the available drugs changed frequently and he is now one of a growing number of HIV-positive Zambians who have developed resistance to both first- and second-line ARV drug regimens.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91161
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV prevention for youth - it's complicated
19 November 2010 (PlusNews ), When it comes to understanding what drives HIV infections among young people in southern Africa, the epicentre of the global AIDS pandemic, why not ask young people themselves?
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91138
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: No sex for a month to prevent HIV
9 November 2010 (PlusNews ), An aggressive national campaign to persuade people to abstain from sex or commit to 100 percent condom use for a month could make a significant contribution to HIV prevention efforts, says a leading HIV expert.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91037
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HIV/AIDS: Global Fund looks to private sector to fill funding gap
14 October 2010 (PlusNews ), With its coffers running at least US$1 billion short, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is looking to the private sector to fill the funding gap.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=90765
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HEALTH: New global plan aims to wipe out TB
14 October 2010 (PlusNews ), A new roadmap for curbing the global epidemic of tuberculosis aims to save five million lives between 2011 and 2015 and eliminate TB as a public health problem by 2050 but comes with a price tag of US$47 billion, nearly half of which must still be found.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=90767
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV-related cancer poorly diagnosed, treated
20 September 2010 (PlusNews ), Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), an HIV-related cancer, may not make headlines in southern Africa, but dealing with this disfiguring and potentially deadly illness presents a daunting task for health workers.
http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=90528
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