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President Obama discusses Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic with president of Botswana

President Barack Obama met with Botswana's president, Ian Khama, on Thursday to discuss issues facing the country, including the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, Bloomberg reports (Johnston, 11/5).

6 Nov 2009

ART as part of HIV prevention strategy supported by WHO

"AIDS drugs should be given to all who need them to reduce new infections, the World Health Organization said," following a three-day meeting on the topic of using antiretroviral therapy (ART) to help prevent the spread of HIV, Bloomberg reports. "Providing more antiretroviral drugs 'will achieve a significant transmission benefit,' Teguest Guerma, interim director of the WHO's AIDS department, said … 'In the past, there has been a false dichotomy between prevention and treatment. …'That is really what has been corrected. Prevention and treatment are two faces of the same coin'" (Bennett, 11/5).

6 Nov 2009

Regional HIV/AIDS conference opens in Russia

A regional conference kicked off Wednesday in Moscow with experts calling on Russian authorities to change their approach to preventing the spread of HIV among injection drug users [IDUs], Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports (10/28).

30 Oct 2009

Researchers find link between foreskin and HIV infection

Randomized clinical trials conducted by researchers in Rakai, Uganda, have revealed a link between the size of foreskin surface area and the risk of male HIV acquisition.

28 Oct 2009

As HIV vaccine conference opens, experts appeal for sustained commitment to global fight against disease

Experts, gathered for the start of a four-day conference on HIV vaccines in Paris, called upon donors to maintain their funding support for the fight against HIV/AIDS despite the global economy, Agence France-Presse reports.

20 Oct 2009

New York Times examines HIV stigma in Vietnam

The New York Times examines the story of Vietnamese orphans from the Mai Hoa AIDS Center who were turned away from a local primary school because they are HIV-positive. Though the principal at the primary school agreed to accept the children, the parents of the other students at the school refused to allow their children in classes with the orphans, leading the principal to turn the students away.

15 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health News: Ban addresses women's health; Afghanistan's health services; PMI Africa grants; Q&As

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Monday called for countries around the world to "renew their commitment to educate girls, end sexual violence, and provide access to modern birth control," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

14 Oct 2009

World’s first engineered T cell receptor trial opens with new cellular therapy for HIV

Researchers at Adaptimmune Limited and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, have announced the approval of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and opening for enrolment of the first ever study using patients’ cells carrying an engineered T cell receptor to treat HIV (SL9 HA-GAG-TCR). The trial may have important implications in the development of new treatments for HIV potentially slowing – or even preventing – the onset of AIDS.

11 Oct 2009

Millions of people with HIV/AIDS lack access to lifesaving treatment, says AHF

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today hailed the news that four million people from low and middle income countries living with HIV/AIDS were on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment in 2008, a 36% increase over 2007.

9 Oct 2009

MSF calls on drug companies to pool HIV patents

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) recently launched an e-mail campaign calling on nine of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to "release their patents on specific HIV drugs into a collective pool that will increase access and affordability to treatment in developing countries," Inter Press Service reports (Borde, 10/1).

5 Oct 2009

News outlets continue to examine findings of recent U.N. report

News outlets continue to mine through the findings of the U.N.'s 2009 progress report on HIV and AIDS.

3 Oct 2009

Opinions: Bridging the divide to stop the spread of HIV; ending future world hunger

"With less than half the people who need treatment having access and with each day more people becoming infected with HIV than are started on treatment, we are mortgaging our future. But we are also exposing a fundamental social injustice - between the privileged and the forsaken - a divide we can bridge," Michael Sidibe, the executive director of UNAIDS, writes in a Daily Nation opinion piece.

1 Oct 2009

Over 4M people living in low- and middle-income countries have access to ART, U.N. report says

More than 4 million people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries had access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) by the end of 2008, according to a report released Wednesday by the WHO, UNICEF and UNAIDS, the Associated Press reports.

1 Oct 2009

Partial success reported in the Phase 3 trial of HIV/AIDS vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing human vaccines for HIV/AIDS (HIV-1, Human Immunodeficiency Virus), was pleased to hear the announcement today of partial success in the recently completed Phase 3 trial in Thailand of a candidate HIV/AIDS vaccine owned by Sanofi-Aventis and Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases.

25 Sep 2009

Investigational vaccine shows modest potential for protecting against HIV infection

For the first time, scientists say an investigational vaccine has modest potential for protecting people against HIV infection, the Associated Press reports. "The vaccine — a combination of two previously unsuccessful vaccines — cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by ... 31 percent in the world's largest [HIV] vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, researchers announced Thursday in Bangkok," the news service writes (Marchione/Casey, 9/24).

25 Sep 2009

Experimental HIV vaccine shows promise

An experimental HIV vaccine raises hope of reducing the risk of infection. Wall Street Journal/Associated Press reports: "For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result. Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible."

25 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: Malawi HIV/AIDS fight; cancer in developing world

Tim Gilbo, the World Bank's director in Malawi, announced on Tuesday that the organization will grant the country $30 million, which will be used to "increase access to prevention, treatment and mitigation services with a focus on behavioural change," SAPA/News24.com reports. Gilbo also said the country should "identify and promote those programmes that are working and drop or redesign those that are not bearing any fruits." UNAIDS Malawi coordinator Desmond Johns said HIV/AIDS is "arguably the single consistent threat in overall development" for Malawi (9/22).

24 Sep 2009

UNAIDS, NGOs partner to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Africa

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe in New York on Monday signed a partnership agreement with several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) pledging to work towards eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Africa, Agence France-Presse reports. Presidents Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda attended the signing ceremony.

23 Sep 2009

GeoVax requests FDA meeting to discuss IND for its therapeutic HIV/AIDS vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GOVX) (the "Company"), an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing human vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other infectious agents, today announced that it has requested a pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss a proposed IND for GeoVax's therapeutic vaccine as a treatment for individuals infected with HIV/AIDS.

22 Sep 2009

IRIN examines HIV/AIDS advocates' reaction to U.N. agency for women

IRIN examines how a recent resolution to create an agency to promote women's "rights and wellbeing" by the U.N. General Assembly is being welcomed by international HIV/AIDS advocates. According to IRIN, "[w]omen make up 60 percent of people living with AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, a figure that rises to 75 percent in the 15-24 age range. In Asia, nearly 50 million women are at risk of becoming infected with HIV from their partners."

21 Sep 2009