http://www.irinnews.org/irin-fp.aspxUpdated everydayen-gbMon, 21 May 2012 09:30:34 GMTMon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>ANTANANARIVO 21 May 2012 (IRIN) - Madagascar has a low level of HIV prevalence, and managing its AIDS programme should present no major difficulties. But the apparent advantage of a low infection rate, combined with the ongoing political crisis, has brought its own challenges. Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95487ANTANANARIVO 21 May 2012 (IRIN) - Madagascar has a low level of HIV prevalence, and managing its AIDS programme should present no major difficulties. But the apparent advantage of a low infection rate, combined with the ongoing political crisis, has brought its own challenges. ]]>Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>RAKAM 15 May 2012 (IRIN) - Widows living with HIV in Nepal’s remote hill districts in some of the country’s poorest and vulnerable communities face a particularly bleak future.Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95457RAKAM 15 May 2012 (IRIN) - Widows living with HIV in Nepal’s remote hill districts in some of the country’s poorest and vulnerable communities face a particularly bleak future.]]>Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 10 May 2012 (IRIN) - The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has announced that it will have US$1.6 billion more to invest in life-saving programmes between 2012 and 2014.Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95434JOHANNESBURG 10 May 2012 (IRIN) - The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has announced that it will have US$1.6 billion more to invest in life-saving programmes between 2012 and 2014.]]>Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 09 May 2012 (IRIN) - The large amount of donor funding that has gone into Rwanda's fight against HIV has not affected efforts to prevent and treat unrelated diseases, such as malaria and measles, and may in fact have improved overall healthcare, a six-year study has found.Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95428NAIROBI 09 May 2012 (IRIN) - The large amount of donor funding that has gone into Rwanda's fight against HIV has not affected efforts to prevent and treat unrelated diseases, such as malaria and measles, and may in fact have improved overall healthcare, a six-year study has found.]]>Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KINSHASA 08 May 2012 (IRIN) - Sarah, 16, started sleeping on the streets of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic republic of Congo (DRC), when she was only eight years old. She doesn't remember how she came to live on the streets, but thinks it was soon after her mother died.Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95427KINSHASA 08 May 2012 (IRIN) - Sarah, 16, started sleeping on the streets of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic republic of Congo (DRC), when she was only eight years old. She doesn't remember how she came to live on the streets, but thinks it was soon after her mother died.]]>Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KINSHASA 04 May 2012 (IRIN) - Many national hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are not accepting new HIV-positive patients for antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. The only way to get onto a treatment list is to wait until a space opens up due to a death or drop-out, or seek the limited treatment options available outside the government's programmes, but few people can afford the drugs.Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95412KINSHASA 04 May 2012 (IRIN) - Many national hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are not accepting new HIV-positive patients for antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. The only way to get onto a treatment list is to wait until a space opens up due to a death or drop-out, or seek the limited treatment options available outside the government's programmes, but few people can afford the drugs.]]>Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KAMPALA 03 May 2012 (IRIN) - It's Saturday night and Jaffari Musoke*, who rides a 'boda boda' - motorcycle taxi - arrives at his regular stage, or departure point, near several hotels in Kampala, the Ugandan capital. He has an easy camaraderie with the sex workers who hang around the hotels, taking many of them home after a night's work. Sometimes he mixes business with pleasure.Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95406KAMPALA 03 May 2012 (IRIN) - It's Saturday night and Jaffari Musoke*, who rides a 'boda boda' - motorcycle taxi - arrives at his regular stage, or departure point, near several hotels in Kampala, the Ugandan capital. He has an easy camaraderie with the sex workers who hang around the hotels, taking many of them home after a night's work. Sometimes he mixes business with pleasure.]]>Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MBABANE 02 May 2012 (IRIN) - We've all heard the myths and hypotheses about the origins of the epidemic caused by the HI virus, but a new book, “Tinderbox: How the West Sparked the AIDS Epidemic and How the World Can Finally Overcome It”, sheds more light on where it all began. It is a fascinating account of the medical detective work that traced the disease to Cameroon a century ago.Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95399MBABANE 02 May 2012 (IRIN) - We've all heard the myths and hypotheses about the origins of the epidemic caused by the HI virus, but a new book, “Tinderbox: How the West Sparked the AIDS Epidemic and How the World Can Finally Overcome It”, sheds more light on where it all began. It is a fascinating account of the medical detective work that traced the disease to Cameroon a century ago.]]>Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MOROTO 30 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95383MOROTO 30 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 27 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95371NAIROBI 27 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MBABANE 26 April 2012 (IRIN) - Hospitals are not protecting their workers from tuberculosis (TB) infection, say nurses in Swaziland, who recently staged a rare public demonstration to draw attention to how vulnerable they are to this highly infectious disease. Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95364MBABANE 26 April 2012 (IRIN) - Hospitals are not protecting their workers from tuberculosis (TB) infection, say nurses in Swaziland, who recently staged a rare public demonstration to draw attention to how vulnerable they are to this highly infectious disease. ]]>Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 25 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95352NAIROBI 25 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI/KISUMU 25 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95357NAIROBI/KISUMU 25 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KINSHASA 24 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95346KINSHASA 24 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 18 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95294JOHANNESBURG 18 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>PORT MORESBY 18 April 2012 (IRIN) - High levels of sexual violence and a cultural belief in witchcraft are putting an increasing number of women at risk of HIV in Papua New Guinea (PNG), health experts say.Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95312PORT MORESBY 18 April 2012 (IRIN) - High levels of sexual violence and a cultural belief in witchcraft are putting an increasing number of women at risk of HIV in Papua New Guinea (PNG), health experts say.]]>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KATHMANDU 17 April 2012 (IRIN) - Poor understanding of antiretroviral therapy (ART) amongst health officials, clinicians and patients in Nepal could undermine gains in the country’s HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and threaten future progress in lowering the number of new infections.Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95303KATHMANDU 17 April 2012 (IRIN) - Poor understanding of antiretroviral therapy (ART) amongst health officials, clinicians and patients in Nepal could undermine gains in the country’s HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and threaten future progress in lowering the number of new infections.]]>Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 11 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95268NAIROBI 11 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAKURU/NAIROBI 05 April 2012 (IRIN) - The Kenyan government has issued guidelines on counselling for HIV-discordant couples, but many counsellors in smaller, rural health centres remain untrained.Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95238NAKURU/NAIROBI 05 April 2012 (IRIN) - The Kenyan government has issued guidelines on counselling for HIV-discordant couples, but many counsellors in smaller, rural health centres remain untrained.]]>Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>RAKAM 03 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95228RAKAM 03 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KINSHASA 03 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95232KINSHASA 03 April 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>KAMPALA 02 April 2012 (IRIN) - Leaders of the deaf community in Uganda say the government's HIV programmes have failed them because their special needs are not taken into consideration.Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95218KAMPALA 02 April 2012 (IRIN) - Leaders of the deaf community in Uganda say the government's HIV programmes have failed them because their special needs are not taken into consideration.]]>Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>ISINGIRO 29 March 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95187ISINGIRO 29 March 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 27 March 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95173NAIROBI 27 March 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>ADDIS ABABA 26 March 2012 (IRIN) - 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.Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=95165ADDIS ABABA 26 March 2012 (IRIN) - 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.]]>