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AP/Los Angeles Times examines Haiti's fight against HIV

The AP/Los Angeles Times examines Haiti's success at reducing the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in the country through the work of the "nonprofit groups, Boston-based Partners in Health (PIH) and Port-au-Prince's GHESKIO, widely considered to be the world's oldest AIDS clinic."

7 Jul 2009

World poverty gains reduced, countries unlikely to achieve most MDGs, U.N. report says

The global economic downturn has "reversed a 20-year decline in world poverty" and could "add up to 90 million to the ranks of the hungry in 2009, an increase of six percent over current totals," according to a U.N. report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched in Geneva on Monday, Reuters reports (Evans, 7/6).

7 Jul 2009

IRIN examines government officials, advocates reaction to global fund restructuring in Zimbabwe

IRIN examines how government officials and HIV/AIDS advocates in Zimbabwe are responding to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's decision to channel funds through the UNDP rather than the government-operated National AIDS Council (NAC).

7 Jul 2009

Lifespan of HIV-infected cells might be shorter than previously anticipated

Dutch-sponsored researcher Christian Althaus has used mathematical models to demonstrate that cells infected with HIV could live even shorter than was thought until now. If infected cells have a shorter lifespan then this increases the chances of the virus escaping the attention of the immune system.

30 Jun 2009

Black gay men may be at increased HIV risk

Preferences in the race of sexual partners influenced by subtle racism may perpetuate HIV-related health disparities. Black gay men have less choice when it comes to sexual partners than other groups and, as a result, their sexual networks are closely knit.

29 Jun 2009

The Virtual Physiological Human

It could mean the end of animal testing and eventually even clinical patient drug trials. The Virtual Physiological Human is a 21st century pan-European project that’s gaining momentum and takes a major step forward this week at The University of Nottingham.

29 Jun 2009

USAID commits $1 million to help several African nations deal with natural disasters, disease spread

USAID announced on Thursday a $1 million commitment to a Red Cross project aimed at helping those "living along southern Africa's Zambezi River cope with worsening natural disasters because of climate change," the AP/Washington Post reports.

29 Jun 2009

Kenya seeks support from PEPFAR to expand blood transfusion centers

Kenya's Medical Services Permanent Secretary James Ole Kiyiapi announced Thursday that the government is in negotiations with PEPFAR for support in building additional blood transfusion centers in the country, Capital News reports.

29 Jun 2009

New media-led effort responds to AIDS crisis in black America

Today, leading U.S. media companies announced a new coordinated national campaign to mobilize Black Americans in response to AIDS and promote specific calls-to-action to prevent and reduce the further spread of HIV. Greater Than AIDS - a multi-faceted campaign presented under a common brand that includes targeted public service ads (PSAs) as well as integrated messages in news, entertainment and community content - seeks to strengthen a sense of community among Black Americans in response to HIV/AIDS.

25 Jun 2009

Massive Medicare fraud case highlights Miami's increased enforcement

Eight defendants were indicted in a massive Florida Medicare fraud case. The Associated Press reports: "It may be the center for Medicare fraud, but even Miami officials said Tuesday they were surprised by the breadth of a ring they say spanned five states, used 29 fake storefronts and attempted to steal $100 million from Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

25 Jun 2009

IRIN examines PEPFAR funding of IDU programs

IRIN examines a recent comment piece in the journal Lancet that argues PEPFAR can do more to prevent the spread of HIV among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Africa (IRIN, 6/24).

24 Jun 2009

Lancet examines Obama's pledge to fight HIV/AIDS

The journal Lancet Infectious Diseases examines whether President Obama is fulfilling his campaign promises to tackle HIV/AIDS abroad and at home. Although Obama has surrounded himself "[w]ith lauded experts … concerns have been raised by activists that investment plans are not matching up to the rhetoric," Lancet writes.

24 Jun 2009

NewsHour features two health experts on President Obama's global health initiative

On the NewsHour Insider Forum, Ray Suarez interviews global health experts Michele Moloney-Kitts, assistant U.S. global AIDS coordinator, and Christine Lubinski, head of the Center for Global Health Policy and Advocacy about President Obama's $63 billion global health initiative.

24 Jun 2009

Namibia close to reaching some MDGs

Namibia's recently released second MDG Report 2008 finds that the country is making progress toward achieving some of the U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. However, the Prime Minister says the global economic situation could reverse progress and notes that the country is behind on some health-related targets, New Era reports.

24 Jun 2009

FDA approves generic emergency contraceptive Plan B (levonorgestrel) tablets

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first generic version of the emergency contraceptive Plan B (levonorgestrel) tablets, 0.75 mg. The generic product will be available by prescription only for women ages 17 and under.

24 Jun 2009

Cryo-electron tomography shows immature HIV in 3D

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University Clinic Heidelberg, Germany, have produced a three-dimensional reconstruction of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), which shows the structure of the immature form of the virus at unprecedented detail. Immature HIV is a precursor of the infectious virus, which can cause AIDS.

23 Jun 2009

Senate confirms Goosby as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator

The Senate on Friday confirmed President Obama's U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator nominee Eric Goosby, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Goosby - who "served previously in the Clinton administration as director of HIV/AIDS policy in the Department of Health and Human Services and as chief adviser to the president on HIV-related issues" - will now "head the U.S. strategy for addressing HIV around the world, and oversee the implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" (PEPFAR), the newspaper writes.

22 Jun 2009

To stop spread of HIV, prevention campaigns in China targeting sex workers, MSM

CNN examines China's efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS by educating sex workers about the disease and prevention strategies. "It is estimated that some 700,000 people are living with HIV in China and there are about 50,000 new infections every year, according to the Chinese government and UNAIDS. The U.N. agency believes a significant number of those new infections include sex workers," CNN writes.

22 Jun 2009

Transplant drug Rapamycin stimulates immune memory

Rapamycin, a drug given to transplant recipients to suppress their immune systems, has a paradoxical effect on cells responsible for immune memory, scientists at the Emory Vaccine Center have discovered.

22 Jun 2009

Discovery on HIV replication may lead to new therapies

Researchers from the newly-established VGTI Florida and the University of Montreal have uncovered a possible method for eradicating HIV infection in the human body.

22 Jun 2009