Traditional leaders get involved in HIV treatment campaign

SWAZILAND: Nurses demand protection from TB infection

MBABANE, 26 April 2012 (PlusNews) - Hospitals are not protecting their workers from tuberculosis (TB) infection, say nurses in Swaziland, who recently staged a rare public demonstration to draw attention to how vulnerable they are to this highly infectious disease. full report

SOUTHERN AFRICA: TB preventative therapy scorecard

JOHANNESBURG, 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. full report

SWAZILAND: Reaching out to gays for the first time

MBABANE, 14 February 2012 (PlusNews) - If caught, any Swazi engaged in a same-sex relationship will be arrested and jailed. But public health officials are using Valentine's Day to urge gays to trust promises of confidentiality and test for HIV. full report

SWAZILAND: No money, no CD4 tests

MBABANE, 23 January 2012 (PlusNews) - Swaziland is still short of lab reagents needed for CD4 count testing, which is used to initiate and monitor patients on antiretroviral treatment, and HIV-positive people are growing increasingly frustrated as the country enters its fourth month without a way to establish the strength of their immune system. full report

SWAZILAND: Failing healthcare system renews HIV activism

MBABANE, 13 December 2011 (PlusNews) - A new wave of HIV activism is rising in Swaziland as people living with HIV take to the streets in protest, many for the first time in their lives, over continued shortages of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. full report

SWAZILAND: Contesting the Global Fund audit

MBABANE, 7 December 2011 (PlusNews) - On the heels of a decision by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria to cancel its next round of funding, the Swazi government is calling on donors to come to the impoverished country's aid. However, there are fears that the result of a recent Global Fund audit may dissuade donors even as HIV organizations contest its findings. 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

SWAZILAND: Funding fiasco leaves country short of lab supplies

JOHANNESBURG, 15 November 2011 (PlusNews) - First there were national shortages of HIV medication, then of HIV tests, now Swaziland lacks the lab tests essential for initiating and managing HIV patients on treatment. To make matters worse, the country chose not to apply for the international funding that could have safeguarded antiretroviral (ARV) stocks. full report