The impact the AIDS epidemic is having now, will be worse in the years ahead and the way to change it'€™s course is to try and see where the epidemic is going rather than relying on crystal ball modeling. Speaking at the 14th World AIDS Conference, Professor Alan Whiteside, Director of Natal University'€™s HIV/AIDS Research Division said it was clear from the agenda that the scientists knew a great deal, but little was known on the social science (impact) of the epidemic.

The scale of the worldwide AIDS crisis now outstrips even the worst-case scenarios of a decade ago with even worse yet to come. The latest report released by the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) shows that the epidemic is still at an early stage of development and its long-term evolution is still unclear.

Could there be light at the end of the tunnel? Is the HIV/AIDS epidemic stabilising? The results of the 2001 National HIV Sero-Prevalence Survey show that there was a minimal rise of 0,3% compared to the previous year. Anso Thom reports.

Health minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang delivered her budget to Parliament this week. Criticised by the opposition  who  accused  her of a lack of leadership in tackling HIV/AIDS, Tshabalala-Msimang announced her priorities. These included a number of issues ranging from the measures to tackle the AIDS epidemic to the improved training of health professionals. But she also highlighted the need for the Global Fund to disburse much needed money and technical support to the least developed nations.

Providing nevirapine to pregnant women was inevitable and would probably have been rolled out at the end of the year had a Constitutional Court ruling not forced her to announce it sooner, said Health minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. In an exclusive interview,  she  talks about the surprise decision to provide anti-Aids drugs to rape survivors and calls on South Africans to tackle the epidemic as partners, not enemies.

Ten out of 14 vaccine manufacturers have partially or totally stopped production of traditional childhood vaccines, creating shortages serious enough to jeopardise immunisation programmes in both developing and industrialised countries. ANSO THOM reports.

Exactly what infrastructure and staff are needed in order for a clinic or hospital to offer effective prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission? There is no doubt about the urgency of expanding such services - 70 000 HIV positive babies are born in South Africa each year - but implementing an effective service requires more than dispensing a pill.