Stigma and discrimination are sadly all too often associated with HIV/AIDS. In this audio report two women who are open about their HIV positive status recount their experiences at the hands of neighbours. Nontsikelelo endured a prolonged beating with a sjambok, but fought off a man who attempted to rape her, claiming he wanted to "taste" what it was like to have sex with someone who has HIV. Zoleka was sworn at and had her house damaged by neighbours jealous of her life who claimed she didn't deserve to be happy as she was a "walking coffin". Mandla Majola of the Treatment Action Campaign speaks out about the need for perpetrators to be brought to book.

The national ante-natal HIV prevalence survey for 2001 has glimmers of hope, but the regardless of small movements in percentage points, the big picture is that HIV/AIDS is going to have a lasting and significant impact on our society. In this audio report, statistician and public health researcher David Bourne gives his views on what we can conclude from this year's survey.

While the run-up to World AIDS day in South Africa has been characterised by, among other things, a court case demanding that government implement a national plan to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, in neighbouring Botswana, construction workers are burning the midnight oil to complete a state of the art laboratory to support the introduction of a national antiretroviral therapy treatment programme.