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IRIN PlusNews Weekly Issue 196, 27 August 2004NEWS: SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV/AIDS changing the face of agriculture HIV/AIDS has not only forced farming communities to opt for less labour-intensive cropping patterns, it has also led to the loss of local knowledge of agro-ecology and farming practices in Southern Africa, a senior Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) official told PlusNews on Thursday. More details MOZAMBIQUE: HIV/AIDS threatening subsistence agriculture HIV/AIDS is threatening subsistence agriculture in Mozambique, with "ominous implications" for the country's food supply, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned on Tuesday. By 2020 the country will have lost over 20 percent of its agricultural labour force to HIV/AIDS, according to FAO. Mozambique and Namibia feature among the nine hardest-hit African countries, all in southern and eastern Africa, where FAO predicts a loss of agricultural labour to the disease. More details SWAZILAND: New survey shows much lower HIV infection among youth A dramatically lower number of Swazi teenage girls are being infected by HIV than was previously estimated, suggesting a turning point in the battle against HIV/AIDS in a country with the world's highest HIV infection rates. More details SWAZILAND: New rapid HIV test makes determining status easier The University of Swaziland last week became the first site of a new rapid HIV testing procedure that allows a greater number of people to be tested. "The approach of 'Negative Determination' is designed to make it easy for those who may still be negative to find that out, without having to go to hospitals or special voluntary counselling and testing centres (VCT)," said Tizzy Maphalala, programme coordinator for the UN children's fund (UNICEF). More details ZIMBABWE: Innovative bush camps help AIDS orphans NGOs dealing with children orphaned by HIV/AIDS have tended to concentrate on material support, neglecting their emotional and psychosocial needs. But a developmental organisation in the southern region of Zimbabwe is filling that gap by using bush camps to teach orphans how to cope with their trauma. More details ZIMBABWE: With ARVs beyond reach, rural folk resort to herbs Moketsi Nleya, a subsistence farmer in rural Madlambuzi, western Zimbabwe, painfully retrieves a bunch of thin brown roots from under his pillow, which he breaks into tiny fragments and chews, followed by a cupful of an analgesic herbal concoction that also acts as a sedative. Nleya, 55, is among a growing number of HIV/AIDS patients in rural Zimbabwe who have to resort to traditional medicine because they have no direct access to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. More details NIGERIA: Government plans expansion of antiretroviral therapy Nigeria is appealing for US $248 million to help it provide subsidised antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005, Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo said. "We are treating 14,000 people. By the end of next year we want to be able to treat 200,000," the health minister announced. More details KENYA: Government to expand HIV/AIDS treatment The Kenyan government plans to provide antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to 181,000 HIV-positive people by the year 2005, a government statement said. The number of beneficiaries would rise to 250,000 by 2010, it added. Health Minister Charity Ngilu said the strategy would be achieved through the implementation of a National Social Health Insurance Scheme, which the Kenyan parliament is due to debate this year. More details CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: US $25 million to treat HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS patients in the Central African Republic (CAR) are to receive antiretroviral (ARV) treatment at affordable prices for the next five years, thanks to a US $25 million grant from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. The majority of poor HIV/AIDS patients will receive ARVs free of charge; low income earners would pay $4 a month, said health minister Nestor-Mamadou Nali during the launch of the programme on Monday in the capital, Bangui. More details AFRICA: US extends Global AIDS Fund contribution deadline The announcement last week that United States would give developed countries until the end of September to fulfil their pledges to the Global AIDS Fund before deciding to limit its own contribution has been seen by analysts as a "flexible move". But the survival of the Fund was still a cause for concern, Global AIDS Alliance communication officer David Bryden told PlusNews. More details LINKS: 1. New online tool launched by Global Fund The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has launched an online tool to assist countries and treatment programmes to pay less for antiretrovirals. The Price Reporting Mechanism allows purchasers to compare the prices they are being offered with prices already paid by other countries that have received Global Fund grants. So far the Price Reporting Mechanism has accumulated data on drug deals struck by 17 countries for drugs and supplies used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. [ENDS] |
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