EAST AFRICA: Regional HIV Bill passed without criminalization clause

NAIROBI, 27 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - East Africa's Legislative Assembly has passed a regional HIV/AIDS Bill that seeks to protect the rights of people living with HIV and harmonize regional legislation and policy on the prevention and treatment of HIV. 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

KENYA: High court ruling on anti-counterfeit law "upholds right to health"

NAIROBI, 25 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - Kenyan HIV activists say a ruling by the High Court that the definition of "anti-counterfeit" in the 2008 Anti-Counterfeit Act is too broad will save millions of lives and protect the right to life of citizens. full report

HIV/AIDS: A Rogues' Gallery

JOHANNESBURG, 18 April 2012 (PlusNews Global) - 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. 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

ETHIOPIA: New HIV policy focuses on HIV in the workplace

ADDIS ABABA, 26 March 2012 (PlusNews Global) - The government has teamed up with Ethiopia's main employees' and employers' associations to launch a new HIV/AIDS workplace policy that is to be implemented across the nation. full report

ETHIOPIA: Finding space for people with disabilities on HIV agenda

ADDIS ABABA, 8 March 2012 (PlusNews Global) - Ethiopians with disabilities say they have been largely excluded from the government's national HIV programmes and are unable to access services. full report

KENYA: Discordance strains commitment

NAIROBI, 13 February 2012 (PlusNews Global) - When they first got married six years ago, Mary and William Simiyu were a typical newly-wed couple - full of love and hope about their future together. Three years into their marriage Mary fell sick and they reluctantly agreed to get tested for HIV. Her result was HIV positive but her husband’s wasn’t. Suddenly, they had become discordant. full report