Early Warning

Inadequate healthcare and rising HIV prevalence in Karamoja

MOROTO, 30 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - The nomadic Karimojong ethnic group, once regarded as a low-risk HIV population because regional instability in northeastern Uganda and strong adherence to their culture kept them relatively isolated, have not been a priority on the country's HIV agenda, but recent statistics show prevalence among this community is now 5.8 percent, up from 3.5 percent five years ago. full report

KENYA: Protest over $500 million in unspent PEPFAR funds

NAIROBI/KISUMU, 25 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - More than 400 Kenyan AIDS activists have demonstrated in the capital, Nairobi, demanding that the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief release some US$500 million for HIV programmes in Kenya that is stuck in the pipeline. full report

DRC: End of mother-to-child HIV transmission still a long way off

KINSHASA, 24 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - Poorly integrated maternal health services, a lack of human resources and a serious shortage of money for treatment mean the Democratic Republic of Congo is unlikely to meet the global plan of eliminating mother-to-child transmission by 2015. full report

AFRICA: Co-trimoxazole discontinuation linked to increased malaria

NAIROBI, 11 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - Abruptly discontinuing co-trimoxazole - an antibiotic used to prevent opportunistic infections in HIV-positive people - can lead to a higher incidence of malaria and diarrhoea compared with patients who keep on taking the drug, a new study has found. full report

KENYA: Better training needed for counsellors of HIV-discordant couples

NAKURU/NAIROBI, 5 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - The Kenyan government has issued guidelines on counselling for HIV-discordant couples, but many counsellors in smaller, rural health centres remain untrained. full report

NEPAL: HIV-positive children, orphans neglected

RAKAM, 3 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - In the village of Rakam in Dailekh District, about 700km northwest of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, 12-year-old Ravi* is living with HIV and has no idea if he will finish his education. full report

DRC: Kinshasa fashion highlights lack of ARVs

KINSHASA, 3 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - Twelve HIV-positive women held a fashion show in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on 30 March to highlight the plight of tens of thousands of people with HIV/AIDS, and challenge donors and the authorities to provide adequate treatment. full report

UGANDA: HIV services in western refugee camps overwhelmed

ISINGIRO, 29 March 2012 (PlusNews Global) - Health workers manning five health centres in two refugee camps in the southwestern Ugandan district of Isingiro say they are overwhelmed by the high number of refugees and local residents in need of HIV services. full report

KENYA: Many sex workers are married, new report reveals

NAIROBI, 27 March 2012 (PlusNews Global) - A new survey of commercial sex work in Kenya, the first to include male sex workers, has revealed that 40 percent of female and male commercial sex workers are in marriages or stable unions. full report

UGANDA: Senior health officials suspended amid TB drug shortage

KAMPALA/GULU, 23 March 2012 (PlusNews Global) - Uganda's Minister of Health, Christine Ondoa, has suspended several senior health officials, including the managers of the national HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programmes, for poor performance and drug shortages. full report
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