Doctors, researchers as well as nutrition and child health experts have warned that a decision to offer free formula feed to HIV positive mothers could be doing more harm than good, especially for those infants living in rural settings or poor peri-urban poverty. But those who have been dispensing formula feed in the urban areas warn that the debate should be placed in context with different solutions for different areas, depending on issues such as access to water, health services and levels of poverty.

There is keen interest from top management in the programme, and a desire to see a gradual expansion of PMTCT sites. The existence of an experienced medical doctor as part of the management team is a strength. At regional and site level, management appears to be much weaker with a great deal of tension between roleplayers.

Beleaguered health minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has labelled as '€œcompletely untrue'€ a newspaper report which claimed she had re-opened the '€œdoes HIV cause AIDS'€ debate'€ at a recent ANC caucus meeting. And in another development a detailed evaluation of the 18 prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) pilot sites will be released this week, and may clear up much of the confusion around the technical issues hampering the immediate roll-out of the programme.

A  clear statement '€“ demonstrating the intent to steam ahead on the MTCT matter - has now come from the ANC'€™s health committee. ANC national health secretary, Dr Saadiq Kariem told Health-e that the committee was  convinced, following political discussions and directives, that those provinces where the PMTCT programmes could be rolled out, those who have the capacity and resources, should go ahead.

President Thabo Mbeki opted to dedicate a significant chunk of his state of the nation address to health matters, including HIV/AIDS. Although not giving too much away, he touched on the subjects of drugs, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, the urgent need for  a vaccine, prevention, care and treatment.

In defiance of the Patents Act, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) have brought generic anti-retroviral drugs into the country from Brazil, a move that is set to spur another showdown with Government. Three TAC members, including the chairperson Zackie Achmat, as well as Cosatu representative Joyce Pekane arrived from Brazil on Monday with a consignment of anti-retrovirals that will be used for the Medicins Sans Frontieres treatment programme currently running in Khayelitsha.

The Global Campaign for Microbicides has hit out at the lack of interest by large pharmaceutical companies to urgently develop a microbicide that could protect women against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

US doctors have come up with a new potential treatment for HIV infection that involves boosting the body'€™s immune system so it can fight the virus more effectively.

Health minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has kicked off the New Year with the launch of a new plan aimed at tackling the unacceptably high tuberculosis (TB) rate in the country. The minister said it was '€œnot simply another piece of planning on paper'€.

A group of African HIV/AIDS specialists representing 10 of the worst affected countries on the continent, including South African HIV/AIDS scientist Professor Hoosen Coovadia, is calling for 30% of the United Nations Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to be allocated towards making medicines for HIV/AIDS universally accessible. The group, led by Coovadia, met in Nairobi recently.