The role of FBOs in sustaining the family unit as the centre of our society

To address the theme of restoring and preserving family wellbeing in the face of HIV and AIDS, the June session of the WCRP-HIVAN Religious Leaders and HIV/AIDS Researchers Forum Series was blessed with especially luminous guest speakers and panellists.

The opening of the Third International AIDS Society Conference: Speech

This is a meeting of scientists and experts in the world of HIV/AIDS. I am neither a scientist nor an expert. I'm an observer. I have spent the last four years traveling through Africa, primarily southern Africa, watching people die. I think I understand, better than most, why your collective scientific and academic work can be said to be the most important ongoing work on the planet.

Victor Daitz Chair in HIV/AIDS Research/UKZN Strategic AIDS Initiative

Three of the University of KwaZulu-Natals students investigating topics related to HIV and AIDS at Masters degree level presented on their research at a forum hosted by the Victor Daitz Chair in HIV/AIDS Research, on behalf of the UKZN Strategic AIDS Initiative, at the Howard College Campus in the last week of July.

Circumcision prevents three out of four female-to-male HIV infections

The first ever randomised controlled trial (RCT) of male circumcision as an HIV prevention measure has produced such strong evidence of a protective effect, that the trial has been halted early and all participants have been offered circumcision, the Third International IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment in Rio de Janeiro heard on July 26th.

Anti-AIDS medication still too expensive - MSF report

As the prices of first-line anti-AIDS medication continue to fall, newer antiretrovirals (ARVs) can cost up to 12 times more in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report by Medecines Sans Frontieres (MSF).

The HIVAN Community Booklet Series

As part of its commitment to engaging in research that is useful to the broader community, HIVAN has introduced a series of community resource booklets based on its field-studies. The first, which is already in circulation, is entitled Supporting Youth: Broadening the Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention Programmes. The second is a guide for Understanding and Challenging HIV/AIDS Stigma. he booklets are available in hard copy (while stocks last) and electronically, (downloadable from the HIVAN website). A summary of each resource is provided below, together with costs of ordering hard-copies and the URL for downloads of electronic versions.

South Africa: Government to Consider Routine Testing

The South African government is considering whether to make HIV tests routinely available at public health facilities. Individuals wishing to know their HIV status currently undergo voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) but only 850,000 South Africans - in a population of around 45 million - have been tested in the past four years.

Hospital slashes babies HIV infection rate

Only 5% of babies born to HIV positive mothers at a small, dedicated hospital get the virus. The parents come out of the counselling room looking a little dazed but delighted, with eyes only for their sleepy six-week-old baby all swaddled in pink. Michael and Lulu Davids* have just been told that their chubby baby daughter is HIV negative.

Poverty and gender inequality negating anti-HIV/AIDS efforts

Poverty and gender inequality are hampering South Africa's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, researchers have found.

Faith-Based Responses To HIV/AIDS in South Africa - CADRE Report

HIV/AIDS strategies in South Africa have generally emphasised the role of the formal health system led by national and provincial governments in providing support to areas such as condom distribution, the treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), treatment of opportunistic infections and, more recently, the provision of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).