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Jamaican Health Ministry secures 40% of funding for $200 million plan to fight HIV/AIDS

The Jamaican Ministry of Health and Environment has secured 40% of the funding needed to implement a $200 million, five-year strategy to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, Kevin Harvey -- treatment, care and support coordinator at the health ministry -- said recently, the Jamaica Observer reports.

8 Jun 2008

Speakers at second HIV/AIDS implementers' meeting in Uganda call for increased HIV prevention efforts

Conference delegates on Tuesday at the opening of the 2008 HIV/AIDS Implementers' Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, called on countries to increase HIV prevention methods in order to fight complacency about the disease, Xinhuanet reports. Some HIV/AIDS experts speaking at the conference said that although countries have started recording lower HIV/AIDS rates, most responses do not pay enough attention to prevention.

8 Jun 2008

9.7 million at risk of death from AIDS today, AHF calls for ARV treatment scale-up

The release of a World Health Organization/UNAIDS/UNICEF report on Monday documents appreciable global progress in the effort to deliver lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ARVs) to people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries; however, it also underscores the crucial need to maintain a focus on scaling up and providing lifesaving antiretroviral treatment in programs like PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) notes AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF).

5 Jun 2008

UK to provide about $12 billion to improve health services in developing countries, fight HIV/AIDS, official says

United Kingdom International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander on Monday announced that the government will provide six billion British pounds, or $11.8 billion, over seven years to improve health services and systems in developing countries to fight HIV/AIDS, AFP/Google.com reports (AFP/Google.com, 6/2).

3 Jun 2008

One million people gained access to antiretrovirals in 2007

About one million people in developing countries gained access to antiretroviral drugs in 2007, according to a report released on Monday by UNAIDS, UNICEF and the World Health Organization, the New York Times reports (Dugger, New York Times, 6/3).

3 Jun 2008

Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead to freeze AIDS drug price

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today applauded decisions by Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. to freeze prices on antiretroviral medications purchased by government agencies.

3 Jun 2008

3 million now receiving anti-retroviral therapy HIV drugs

The close of 2007 marks an important step in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nearly 3 million people are now receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in low- and middle-income countries, according to a new report jointly launched today by WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF.

2 Jun 2008

Thailand's removal of official who supported compulsory licensing 'important' step to 'protecting patients' health,' editorial says

The Thai government's removal last week of Vichai Chokevivat -- "one of the most vocal opponents" of patent protections for drug companies -- from Governmental Pharmaceutical Organization's board is a "small" but "important" step in "restoring Thailand's international reputation and protecting patients' health," a Wall Street Journal Asia editorial says.

30 May 2008

Guyanese Health Minister Ramsammy discusses HIV/AIDS, health worker shortages at World Health Assembly

Guyana's Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy recently examined issues surrounding HIV/AIDS and health worker shortages at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, the CMC/redOrbit reports.

25 May 2008

HIV patients suffer more from osteoporosis

Following the introduction of HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy), the survival and quality of life for people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) have increased in the resource-rich countries. However, with this improved prognosis an increase in long term negative disorders has been observed, namely osteoporosis (the gradual loss of bone mass).

25 May 2008

St. Louis Post-Dispatch examines small pharmacies' efforts to provide specialized services to people living with HIV/AIDS

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday examined the efforts of some small pharmacies to provide specialized services to people living with HIV/AIDS. According to the Post-Dispatch, HIV/AIDS care is "resisting" the pharmaceutical industry's overall trend toward distributing medication through mail-order pharmacies rather than through traditional retail.

22 May 2008

Uganda AIDS Commission drafts plan to streamline HIV/AIDS messages

The Uganda AIDS Commission has drafted a strategy to streamline HIV/AIDS communication in the country, the New Vision reports. The plan seeks to unify various national HIV/AIDS awareness messages, UAC Director-General Kihumuro Apuuli said at a recent meeting for the Young, Empowered and Healthy initiative in Kampala, Uganda.

22 May 2008

Study finds increased risk of some cancers among HIV-positive people in U.S.

HIV-positive people in the U.S., many of whom are living longer because of antiretroviral drugs, are at an increased risk for certain types of cancers, according to a study published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Reuters reports.

22 May 2008

Ugandan group launches no-cost HIV testing campaign aimed at children, urges parents to test children

The Joint Clinical Research Centre in Kampala, Uganda, recently launched a no-cost HIV testing campaign aimed at children born to parents living with HIV/AIDS and those orphaned by the disease, the New Vision/AllAfrica.com reports. The campaign has tested at least 1,500 children in the Ugandan divisions of Central, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa and Rubaga, according to the New Vision/AllAfrica.com.

21 May 2008

HIV/AIDS experts call for new ideas, increased funding on 25th anniversary of paper identifying virus

A novel strategy, new teams of researchers and increased funding are needed to revitalize the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide, experts said Monday on the 25th anniversary of the release of the study that identified HIV, AFP/Google.com reports.

20 May 2008

Monitoring whether patients take medicines can help anticipate HIV treatment failure in Africa

Information on how reliably people take their anti-HIV medicines can help identify those whose treatment will succeed or fail. Monitoring this information, which can be obtained directly from pharmacy records, works at least as well as performing blood tests that track the medicine's effect on the immune system, according to research published in PLoS Medicine by Gregory Bisson, Jean Nachega and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the University of Cape Town.

20 May 2008

Taiwan approves WTO amendment allowing countries to export lower-cost versions of antiretrovirals, other drugs to developing countries

Taiwan's legislative body the Yuan on Thursday approved the first reading of a proposed World Trade Organization amendment that would allow pharmaceutical companies to make lower-cost versions of generic antiretroviral drugs, as well as drugs for malaria and other diseases, to sell to developing countries, the CNA/Taipei Times reports.

19 May 2008

Researchers discover 'reservoir' that allows HIV to remain infectious despite treatment

Researchers at Brigham Young University and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have discovered a human cell "reservoir," called follicular dendritic cells, that allows HIV to stay in an infectious state and not respond to antiretroviral drugs, the Deseret Morning News reports.

19 May 2008

Effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy causing 'complacency' among high-risk groups

HIV/AIDS clinicians and scientists have been "witness to a transformation in disease management that is virtually unprecedented in the history of medicine," Mark Wainberg, director of McGill University's AIDS Centre at Jewish General Hospital, and Julio Montaner, director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, write in a National Post opinion piece.

19 May 2008

Second Peace Corps volunteer reports being discharged after testing HIV-positive, Washington Post reports

Washington Post columnist Stephen Barr on Friday examined the case of a second Peace Corps volunteer who said she was discharged from service after testing HIV-positive. Rebecca Coulborn, a former volunteer in Burkina Faso, said she was required to leave her post immediately in 2001 after she tested positive for the virus.

19 May 2008

Antiretroviral News and Research

Jamaican Health Ministry secures 40% of funding for $200 million plan to fight HIV/AIDS

Speakers at second HIV/AIDS implementers' meeting in Uganda call for increased HIV prevention efforts

9.7 million at risk of death from AIDS today, AHF calls for ARV treatment scale-up

UK to provide about $12 billion to improve health services in developing countries, fight HIV/AIDS, official says

One million people gained access to antiretrovirals in 2007

Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead to freeze AIDS drug price

3 million now receiving anti-retroviral therapy HIV drugs

Thailand's removal of official who supported compulsory licensing 'important' step to 'protecting patients' health,' editorial says

Guyanese Health Minister Ramsammy discusses HIV/AIDS, health worker shortages at World Health Assembly

HIV patients suffer more from osteoporosis

St. Louis Post-Dispatch examines small pharmacies' efforts to provide specialized services to people living with HIV/AIDS

Uganda AIDS Commission drafts plan to streamline HIV/AIDS messages

Study finds increased risk of some cancers among HIV-positive people in U.S.

Ugandan group launches no-cost HIV testing campaign aimed at children, urges parents to test children

HIV/AIDS experts call for new ideas, increased funding on 25th anniversary of paper identifying virus

Monitoring whether patients take medicines can help anticipate HIV treatment failure in Africa

Taiwan approves WTO amendment allowing countries to export lower-cost versions of antiretrovirals, other drugs to developing countries

Researchers discover 'reservoir' that allows HIV to remain infectious despite treatment

Effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy causing 'complacency' among high-risk groups

Second Peace Corps volunteer reports being discharged after testing HIV-positive, Washington Post reports

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