Photo: UNAIDS/P.Virot 
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| Whether women's HIV risk will be lowered by male circumcision programmes is not certain |
GLOBAL: Male circumcision - a gamble for women?
MEXICO CITY, 8 August 2008 (PlusNews) - While researchers and
advocates at the International AIDS Conference this week urged donors and governments
to rapidly scale up male circumcision programmes, others raised concerns about what
this would mean for women.
In March 2007, the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS issued recommendations that
gave the green light to male circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy, after studies
in Kisumu, Kenya and the township of Orange Farm in South Africa showed that it
could reduce the risk of infection by up to 60 percent. full report
FRONTLINE REPORTS
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GLOBAL:
High food prices put pressure on HIV programmes
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11 August 2008 (PlusNews) - Steadily increasing prices could lead to a lack of affordable
and nourishing food, endangering the lives of people living with HIV in the developing
world, experts have said.
full
report
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AFRICA:
TB failures threaten HIV treatment gains
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8 August 2008 (PlusNews) - Tuberculosis (TB) is the biggest killer of people living
with HIV in Africa, but only one percent of HIV-positive people accessing treatment
were screened for TB in 2006, an oversight that activists say threatens to roll
back the gains made in placing more than three million people on life-prolonging
anti-retroviral (ARVs) treatment.
full
report
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GLOBAL:
The female condom - the step-child in HIV prevention
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7 August 2008 (PlusNews) - The female condom – currently the only female-controlled
method of preventing HIV - is rarely available to women who need it. Blaming poor
marketing and insufficient investment, activists at the International AIDS Conference
in Mexico City said failure to promote the female condom had hurt global HIV prevention
efforts.
full
report
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AFRICA:
"Terrifying" new HIV/AIDS laws could undermine AIDS fight
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7 August 2008 (PlusNews) - In an attempt to stem the spread of the virus, African
countries are increasingly passing legislation that criminalises HIV exposure and
transmission. But these laws could do more harm than good, delegates attending the
International AIDS Conference in Mexico, heard on Wednesday.
full
report
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GLOBAL:
Children short-changed by AIDS response
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7 August 2008 (PlusNews) - Huge strides have been made in the provision of antiretroviral
(ARV) treatment, and HIV prevention is receiving more attention than ever before,
but the global AIDS response has neglected children, said experts at the International
AIDS Conference in Mexico City this week.
full
report
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GLOBAL:
ARVs as prevention tool sparks debate
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7 August 2008 (PlusNews) - The recent controversial statement by Swiss researchers
that HIV-positive people on treatment with an undetectable viral load could not
infect their sexual partners was a hotly debated issue at the International AIDS
Conference this week.
full report
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United
States: Black Americans left behind in AIDS battle
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6 August 2008 (PlusNews) - If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in
the world in terms of the number of people living with HIV, yet activists say black
Americans lack many of the HIV services their government has provided to other nations
through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). full report
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GLOBAL:
Treatment as prevention: the next frontier
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6 August 2008 (PlusNews) - As the search for an effective HIV prevention strategy
intensifies, scientists are hoping that antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, normally associated
with HIV treatment, may provide part of the answer. full
report
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GLOBAL:
Sex education failing young people
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6 August 2008 (PlusNews) - Most sex and HIV education programmes for young people
focus on the risks of unsafe sex, leaving them ill-equipped to deal with their sexuality
and unable to lead sexually fulfilling lives, experts have said.
full
report
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GLOBAL:
Is there still hope for an HIV vaccine?
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5 August 2008 (PlusNews) - The road to finding an effective HIV vaccine has recently
been marked by a string of disappointing setbacks, and researchers have warned that
a breakthrough in this field is still a long way off. Should we give up hope?
full
report
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GLOBAL:
Religion - a double-edged sword in HIV fight
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5 August 2008 (PlusNews) - The contribution of faith-based organisations to the
treatment and care of people living with HIV and AIDS is well known, but it is less
clear whether religion is an aid or a barrier when it comes to HIV prevention efforts.
full
report
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AFRICA:
Sex by the side of the road
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4 August 2008 (PlusNews) - Roadside bars, truckers and sex workers have long been
seen as one of the most dangerous combinations for the transmission of HIV, with
truckers often blamed for spreading the virus.
full
report
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