News

The “grandfather” of AIDS, Reuben Sher passed away on Monday morning (10 Sept) following post surgery complications.

The National Strategic Plan (NSP) target to place another 120 000 adults and 70 000 children on antiretrovirals by the end of the year was not simply a government matter, Health department Director-General Thami Mseleku told journalists yesterday.

As a precautionary measure to ensure maximum safety of the public, the Department of Health is recalling all condoms supplied by Zalatex (and produced by Latex Surgical Products [LSP]) for the government condom distribution programme.

After a two-year study, the Academy of Science of South Africa appeals for all orthodox, traditional and alternative medicines to be subjected to the same scientific tests to prove that they can help people with HIV and TB.

Despite HIV/AIDS being the main killer of young children, health workers at KwaZulu-Natal hospitals are simply failing to test their young patients or put them on antiretroviral treatment.

The US Secretary of Health - equivalent of our minister of health - praises a dusty semi-rural area in KwaZulu-Natal for its efforts to fight HIV/AIDS.

Research at 15 hospitals shows that only 3 percent of children who died were on antiretroviral medication - although half were clinically indicated to need ARVs.

Internationally and at home, a range of reputable organisations have condemned Thabo Mbeki's decision to remove the deputy who built bridges with civil society and scientists.

While there was urgency around the development of the New Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS, there has been a marked slowdown in its implementation.

Sacked deputy health minister speaks out about her frustration after being denied access to departmental information by the Director General and Minister.

The High Court in Chennai, India has upheld India’s Patents Act in the face of a challenge by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis.

The diaphragm contraceptive device does not help to prevent HIV infection, according to the results of a three-year trial published in the Lancet today (Fri 13 July 07).

The new urgency with which the government has started to address AIDS is like rain falling after a long drought. But it will take superhuman, united efforts to implement the country's new HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan (NSP) and repair the damage done by years of government inaction, denial and simple incompetence.

Government has claimed first evidence of a decline in South Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic after its annual survey among pregnant women showed a "statistically significant reduction" of HIV prevalence between 2005 and 2006.

AIDS activists and their lawyers are gearing up for another battle in court in an attempt to force the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to commit to the humane treatment of HIV-positive prisoners.

Presenters at the Durban Aids Conference have agreed on the urgent need for clinical trials of traditional medicine currently used by a wide spectrum of HIV infected South Africans.

Government is investigating whether teenage pregnancies are being driven by people who want access to the Child Support Grant, Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya has revealed.

Changes in sexual behaviour seem to be behind the dramatic drop in HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe, according to researchers

A massive reduction in the price of antiretroviral drugs now makes it possible for South Africa to turn HIV/AIDS from a killer into a chronic, manageable disease.

Peter Busse was one of the foremost AIDS activists in South Africa, Africa and internationally. Living with HIV for 20 years, he was one of the first people in South Africa with the courage to disclose his HIV status. In this he became a role model and enabled many other people living with HIV to follow his example and live openly with HIV and AIDS, bringing the epidemic to the notice of South African society.