Have you ever heard about sexual rights? If you have are you denying others their sexual rights because you are simply too macho to care? Or, you can'€™t negotiate your sexual rights because you feel powerless to insist on them? Well, the Women'€™s Health Project '€“ an NGO that works in the field of women'€™s health promotion '€“ is currently running a workshop called '€œThe Sexual Rights Campaign'€ in an attempt to educate men, women and the youth about sexual rights and how they can be attained. Khopotso Bodibe reports.

In this audio report by Khopotso Bodibe, we hear how the unwillingness of many South Africans to speak openly about sex and HIV/AIDS is slowing down efforts to market the concept of sexual rights to society.

Two hearts beating as one. No, this is not the title of the latest Hollywood blockbuster or a pop song. It'€™s a reality in the life of 37-year-old Paul Thesen.His life story could quite easily be a big hit, almost too incredible to be true.

Next time you get a sexually transmitted infection (STI), it may be worth your while to go to your local clinic rather than slinking off to see a private doctor. Researchers have found that the much-maligned government clinics are better at treating STIs than the average general practitioner (GP).

Lack of male involvement in government'€™s prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programme (PMTCT) is undermining its success, according to HSRC researcher Dr Christine Varga. Kerry Cullinan reports.

Stronger warning labels will be added to paracetamol sold in the United States in an effort to curb accidental overdoses that have lead to hundreds of deaths in that country. Anso Thom reports.

Half its patients die of AIDS, and 54% of pregnant women are HIV-infected. In the absence of any national HIV/AIDS treatment plan, the tiny and embattled St Mary'€™s Hospital has started its own projects to try to restore hope to its community

Sam Ndunyana is a peer educator who works at the Mercedes Benz Body Plant at Daimler Chrysler in East London. On Mondays peer educators are allocated 10 minutes to educate and do talks on HIV related issues to their fellow colleagues in the canteens. Ndunyana says this has been an eye opener for him on HIV related issues he was not aware of. Thandeka Teyise compiled this report.

The outcome of the Medicines Control Council'€™s review of the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission drug, nevirapine, is expected to be announced before the end of this month. The review of the drug caused confusion and concern in medical circles and among HIV/AIDS lobby groups after a newspaper report in early August suggested that the MCC was planning to '€œban'€ nevirapine after a '€œsecret'€ meeting with the drug'€™s manufacturers, Boehringer-Ingelheim. But, in this report by Khopotso Bodibe of Health-e News Service, we discover that there has never been any intention to ban or de-register the PMTCT drug.

In order for the Medicines Control Council (MCC) to make its final decision on the continued use of nevirapine for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in South Africa, the National Institutes of Health in the United States has to furnish it with documents detailing the drug'€™s trials in Uganda between 1997 and 1999.

Over the two decades of its manifestation in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS continues to point to a major barrier that has not been addressed. And that is the development of a network of clinicians who can properly diagnose AIDS related infections as well as treat the disease safely and effectively. To fill this gap in South Africa, the South African Medical Association, through its educational arm '€“ the Foundation for Professional Development '€“ has developed an HIV/AIDS Clinical Management Course. The course is aimed at equipping doctors with the knowledge and skills to deal with the challenge presented by HIV/AIDS. Khopotso Bodibe of Health-e News Service, reports.

They say that it takes a thief to catch another thief. Conversely, when it comes to HIV it can be said that it is much easier for a person living with the HI-virus to convincingly offer counselling and support to a recently diagnosed individual, or to one another. Khopotso Bodibe of Health-e News Service, spent time with two AIDS counsellors at the clinic during a debriefing session and spoke with them about the benefits of giving their time to helping other HIV-infected women.

Over the last two weeks in our Living with AIDS slot, we have attempted to piece together the rationale behind the Medicines Control Council'€™s review of nevirapine, the drug used in 18 government pilot sites to help prevent HIV infected women from transmitting the virus on to their babies. In our final instalment we talk to AIDS activists who are confident that the drug '€“ hailed by campaigners, doctors, researchers and scientists around the world as a potential life-saver '€“ will not be de-registered. Khopotso Bodibe of Health-e News Service, reports.