There is no single "face of AIDS". It is not black or white, old or young, homosexual or heterosexual. HIV knows no boundaries or stereotypes. In this audio report, one man speaks about the need to see people with HIV/AIDS as multi-dimensional people who, besides being HIV positive, live full and active lives.
Despite the stigma that all too often accompanies people who declare their HIV positive status, a 26-year old woman in a small town in the Eastern Cape is determined to talk to her community to educate them about the virus and to get on with her life.
The head of the HIV/AIDS directorate in the Department of Health, Dr Nono Simelela, has spoken out strongly against the increase in HIV infection and pregnancy among girls under 18 who are being forced into having sex by older men. She has urged communities to work together to protect their children and communities against HIV/AIDS. This report is in isiXhosa.
By far the bulk of new drugs developed by the leading pharmaceutical companies cater for diseases of people in wealthy countries rather than the poor. Although people in developing countries make up about 80% of the world 's population, they represent only about 20% of worldwide medicine sales.
In the Northern Province, villages are being ravaged by poverty and HIV/AIDS. Health-e reports.
"You drive until you reach the end of the world. That is Radoo. Then you turn left and right again. That is where Eric Chabalala lives."
Love, compassion, acceptance and a reason to get up in the morning coupled with a diet of bananas and avocados.
Elvis is a big name for such a small chap, but then one is reminded that he has experienced more pain, suffering and loss in his nine years than most South Africans would in a lifetime.
A six-month-old baby who contracted HIV from her mother is suing Mpumalanga'€™s MEC for Health, Sibongile Manana, for R700 000.
Controversy over whether mine bosses will give their workers anti-retroviral drugs has promoted the National Union of Mineworkers to call for an HIV/AIDS summit
One in four deaths last year can be attributed to AIDS with 194 892 South Africans projected to die from the an AIDS related disease this year alone. This is according to the Medical Research Council's long-awaited report, "The impact of HIV/AIDS on adult mortality in South Africa".
The National Treasury's Intergovernmental Fiscal Review acknowledges clearly that HIV/AIDS will impact dramatically on poverty and household vulnerability in South Africa, especially the need to care for orphans under 15 years of age who have lost their mothers due to AIDS.
"This is the best report that has come out of this organisation. You mark my words, 10 to 15 years down the line this report will be alive and many decisions will be based on it." - Professor Malegepuru William Makgoba at the release on the MRC report.
Volunteers are the backbone of care and support for people with HIV/AIDS. At the Red Cross Home Based Care centre in Nyanga, Cape Town a small team of dedicated workers has been caring for people with HIV/AIDS across the Cape Flats since 1993. Unemployment, poverty and hunger wittle away people's resistance and make those infected with HIV even more vulnerable to the course of the disease. In this audio package, home-based care workers describe the impact of HIV/AIDS and explain their commitment to helping those who are ill.
It is illegal for a doctor to test anyone for HIV without their consent. In spite of this, many doctors acting on the requests of employers, test domestic workers for the virus under false pretenses. To date, no doctors have been prosecuted for such misconduct.
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