Durban 2000 where to now?
Nelson Mandela has joined the powerful chorus of voices appealing to government to approve "large-scale actions for PMTC" at the close of the international AIDS conference in Durban.
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Mandela stills the tormented hearts of South Africans
DURBAN- "The challenge is to move from rhetoric to action," said Nelson Mandela at the closing ceremony of the AIDS 2000 conference, as he underlined the importance of safer sex, the use of condoms and interventions to stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Mandela
DURBAN- "The challenge is to move from rhetoric to action," said Nelson Mandela at the closing ceremony of the AIDS 2000 conference, as he underlined the importance of safer sex, the use of condoms and interventions to stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Let’€™s talk about sex
It came unexpectedly: the question that most parents try to rehearse the answer to, but inevitably mess up when reality strikes. My six-year-old turned to me out of the blue and said: "But what I don'€™t understand is how the seed from the man gets into the woman'€™s egg."My initial response was to gloss over her question. After all, at six a child shouldn'€™t know about sex, I reasoned. But she persisted, so I had little option but to dive into a quick-'€˜n-basic lesson on anatomy '€“ which both amused and fascinated her.
Hope for the future: Ugandan youth turn back the HIV tide
"If you have a very big elephant and you want to eat it up, you start from all corners. That way you'€™ll finish it up." So says Edith Mukisa, the founder of Uganda'€™s Teenage HIV/AIDS Clinic in Naguru, just outside the capital Kampala.This is the philosophy that lies at the core of Uganda'€™s multi-sectoral response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. And it'€™s paying dividends. by Carolyn Dempster
Death of an innocent
Busisiwe Maqungo (28) had her suspicions that she was at risk of being HIV positive long before receiving confirmation via a test. In fact she was told her baby was HIV positive, before undergoing a test herself.
Appreciating every day
Brett Anderson never thought he had contracted HIV. "I was as sick as a dog but I never thought of HIV despite having all the symptoms. It never crossed my mind. It simply wasn't real to me. Now, it's in my blood. It's part of my life," says the 28-year-old Capetonian.
Drugs are the bottom-line
"Nobody says we shouldn't treat TB or cancer because we don't have the infrastructure or the ability to do so properly," said Dr Andy Grey from the Health System Trust in Durban. This was in response to Dr Mazuwa Banda from the World Health Organization, who argued at the AIDS 2000 conference that antiretroviral drugs should not be distributed in countries where "the basic requirements for [their] safe, effective use" are not in place.
Rape, murder charges for those who infect others with AIDS
Law experts are unlikely to recommend that government introduce HIV-specific laws to punish those who knowingly infect others.
HIV positive women speak out at AIDS conference
"I refuse to be identical to a statistic. I feel, I get sexy, I get hungry. Whatever you feel about your sexuality, I also feel," declared Brigitte Syamalevure, mother of 11 and an HIV positive Zambian.
Campaign for cheap drugs from Thailand
"Very high" medicine prices have prompted HIV/AIDS activist organisation to mount "legal action" against [drug company] Pfizer, to bring generic medicine into the country from Thailand to help treat HIV positive people.
Government should decide on Nevirapine by the end of the conference – Coovadia
DURBAN - The South African government should be in a position to make a decision about the provision of Nevirapine to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS by this afternoon. (Friday)
Scientists re-affrim assertion that HIV causes AIDS
DURBAN - More than 5 000 scientists re-affirmed their assertion that HIV causes AIDS and endorsed the Durban Declaration at the AIDS 2000 conference yesterday. (Thursday).
Testing for HIV/AIDS – what’s the point?
DURBAN - If access to HIV treatment does not exist, should government's promote voluntary testing and counselling among its citizens? This was one of the issues debated at the AIDS 2000 conference this week.
Women dealt double blow at AIDS conference
The failure of a special vaginal gel to prevent sex workers from getting HIV means that condoms remain the world's only protection against the disease during sex .