Snake oil salesmen and dodgy HIV "cures"

UGANDA: Challenging plan to eliminate mother-to-child transmission

KAMPALA, 15 December 2011 (PlusNews) - A plan to virtually eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Uganda by 2015 by adopting a more cost-effective treatment regimen, beefing up health infrastructure and increasing women's access to family planning, comes with high expectations and significant challenges. full report

HIV/AIDS: Depression "overlooked" in treating HIV patients

ADDIS ABABA, 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. full report

HIV/AIDS: Feeling the pinch

JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI, 1 December 2011 (PlusNews) - Faced with the global economic downturn and less money from donors, national HIV programmes in East and Southern Africa - the region hardest hit by HIV/AIDS - are struggling to stay afloat. IRIN/PlusNews brings you a wrap of countries feeling the biggest pinch. full report

HIV/AIDS: A deadly funding crisis

JOHANNESBURG, 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. full report

UGANDA: No money to implement new prevention strategies

KAMPALA, 30 November 2011 (PlusNews) - Uganda is keen to implement new policies to put more people on life-prolonging antiretroviral treatment sooner, as recent scientific breakthroughs indicate would be much more beneficial, but officials say the country's poor financial outlook means there is little chance of this. full report

UGANDA: Once upon an epidemic

KAMPALA, 17 November 2011 (PlusNews) - Like many classic stories, Vumi's starts with a chance encounter that takes him far from home where the Ugandan primary school student is tempted by alcohol, cigarettes and sex. What happens next is just one story told as part of a locally produced series of 12 children's books on HIV. full report

UGANDA: Lack of resources, political will slows male circumcision progress

KAMPALA, 31 October 2011 (PlusNews) - Ugandan men have been seeking medical male circumcision in droves since the government launched a national policy in 2010, but the health system is not equipped to handle the caseload, slowing down the potential HIV prevention benefits of the campaign. full report

UGANDA: Veteran activists disillusioned with direction of HIV response

KAMPALA, 18 October 2011 (PlusNews) - Some of Uganda's most active campaigners in its 30-year fight against HIV are losing faith in the government's ability to effectively counter the epidemic as the country struggles to provide treatment and prevent more than 100,000 new infections every year. full report

UGANDA: Calls for inclusion of MSM in new HIV strategy

KAMPALA, 26 August 2011 (PlusNews) - A new national HIV/AIDS strategic plan for Uganda is due to be finalized before the year's end, and gay rights activists are urging its authors to break with tradition and, for the first time, provide for programming for men who have sex with men. full report