Twenty years into the AIDS pandemic, condoms remain the only protection humanity has against the transmission of the HI virus during sex '€“ which is why interest in the female condom is growing.
While anti-retroviral drugs for mineworkers remain out of reach, most mines have well-developed HIV/AIDS strategies.
Laboratory rats deprived of sleep die within two to three weeks. A lack of sleep in humans makes us less productive and more accident prone. Kerry Cullinan takes a look at what researchers do and don'€™t know about getting a good night'€™s sleep. Next time your partner kicks you in his sleep, be tolerant. He may have "restless leg syndrome" '€“ one of a range of problems causing sleep disorders.
Health workers and AIDS activists have applauded the Pretoria High Court decision which instructs government to extend their mother-to-child HIV transmission prevention programme throughout the country. In this editorial, Kerry Cullinan welcomes the judgment.
A lack of treatment and care options, excessive workloads and defence against self-traumatisation are some of the reasons why doctors at Red Cross Children's Hospital do not form close bonds with their AIDS patients.
The Commission for Gender Equality claims virginity testing is sexist and unconstitutional. But the testers say they are saving girls from teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS.
The old traditional practice of virginity testing has been undergoing a revival in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands in an effort to protect girls and young women from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Those in favour of the ritual say this is a valuable tradition that is not a "test", but a voluntary inspection and one in which young women are eager to participate.
A pilot project in Khayelitsha, Cape Town is hoping to show that it is possible to dispense antiretroviral therapy to people living in peri-urban, poor communities provided proper counselling and monitoring is in place. Matthew Damane has been taking a triple combination of drugs since June and is firmly convinced of the benefits the medication has made to his life.
With a prevalence rate of almost 39 percent and some 300 000 of its 1,9 million people estimated to be HIV positive, Botswana has taken bold steps to address the AIDS epidemic in their country. But even with government commitment and so many people affected, stigma runs deep and only a handful of Batswana have spoken openly about living with HIV/AIDS. In this audio package we hear about the origins of stigma, what is being done to support those who are HIV positive and about the antiretroviral therapy programme that goverment is rolling out over the coming weeks.
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.
Traditional healers and medical doctors alike are singing the praises of an immune-boosting medicinal plant, Sutherlandia, which they say offers hope to people living with HIV who cannot afford expensive drugs.
Sutherlandia (or unwele) has been used by traditional healers for years as a tonic. But now scientists are going to test whether it can be used as an immune booster for those with HIV.
December 1st is World AIDS Day, but for Jabulile Ngwenya, every day could be an AIDS day. Jabulile is a teenager from the North West province who contracted HIV after being raped by her father over a period of time. Despite the virus that threatens to cut short her life, Jabulile believes in a future that is bright and full of opportunities. And most of her days she spends teaching people, especially children, about the epidemic. This report is in English and Sesotho.
Health professionals at the Universities of Cape Town and the Witwatersrand have called on government to respond more effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. They expressed concern that the epidemic was "out of control" in South Africa and listed several key measures, including the provision of antiretroviral drugs, that they believed government should implement to address the situation.
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.
Be in the know with our free weekly newsletter. We deliver a round-up of our top stories and insightful reads from across the web.