A study conducted in Orange Farm, a settlement south of Johannesburg, shows that circumcised men are at a lower risk of contracting HIV. But, some researchers warn against the wholesale promotion of circumcision as a barrier against HIV infection.
African AIDS activists at the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS in New York are furious over what they see as the overturning of agreed commitments on performance targets and the protection of vulnerable groups by a handful of African governments.
Dirt-poor Orange Farm residents may be, but a study conducted in the settlement south of Johannesburg has brought hope to the world ' and features in the UNAIDS report on AIDS.
The AIDS epidemic in southern Africa shows 'no evidence of a decline', according to the annual UNAIDS Global Report for 2005 released yesterday (30 May).
Sketching a crisis epidemic that is already infecting 65 million people, the UN body says 'exceptional leadership' is needed to move beyond crisis management to develop long-term responses.
Dr Lee Jong-wook (61), Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), has died following a short illness. Tributes have poured in from across the world.
Cholera has already claimed more than 1300 lives in Angola. The death toll from the 3-month cholera epidemic is rising on a daily basis.
Activist Pregs Govender admitted this week that AIDS denialism within government had been one of two factors that pushed her to resign as an ANC Member of Parliament in 2002.
The KwaZulu-Natal health department's recent appeal for retired nurses to return to work to help alleviate staff shortages was condemned as unsustainable and 'an abuse of the elderly' by delegates at a recent provincial health forum.
Health minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang used her quarterly briefing to chastise the media for lending coverage to Jacob Zuma's shower comments, for reporting 'only on HIV/AIDS' and for discounting her claims on nutrition. She was updating the media on progress being made by Government's social cluster in Pretoria.
Many delegates to the recent microbicides conference in Cape Town flashed wry smiles when the health minister warned researchers against conducting unethical trials that did not always have the best interests of research participants at heart.
In the aftermath of the Zuma trial, two prominent male gender activists reflect on the lessons they have learnt.
The complementary health field is worth billions of rands, yet the council that is supposed to regulate the field seems unable to rise above controversy.
HIV and AIDS, drought and conflict make it hard for developing countries to feed their children properly. Ultimately, this pushes up the mortality rate of children under five. This is according to the United Nations Children's Fund's annual report on children's progress.
Dr Steve Wootorton, a doctor living in the United Kingdom, recently did a three-month stint at Nkandla Hospital in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Wootorton shared his impressions in an article he wrote for the British Medical Journal.
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