News on Africa

"Secretive' Arab world faces HIV epidemic: experts

2011-12-07T07:30:29Z

In an Arab world rife with social stigma, government inaction and often limited access to education and medical care, experts warn that an HIV epidemic is on the rise.

"In the Middle East and North Africa, the HIV epidemic has been on the rise for the past decade," said Aleksandar Sasha Bodiroza, HIV/AIDS adviser at the ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The fight against AIDS risks being set back years by a global financial crisis, the head of the United Nations campaign against the disease warned Wednesday.

About 34 million people worldwide are infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus ...

Human rights key in combating AIDS among gay men: WHO

2011-12-05T18:30:36Z

Vast improvements in human rights and access to treatment are needed to protect gay men against HIV/AIDS, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Monday.

"If you want to achieve zero new infections, you have to address the human rights issues," WHO official Ying-Ru Lo said after a meeting about infection rates among gay men at the International Conference for AIDS and sexual...

AIDS fund cuts will hit Southern Africa hard

2011-11-29T08:00:09Z

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Southern African countries, hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, are likely to be most affected over the next three years as funding from one of the world's biggest donors dries up, a coalition of AIDS activists said Monday.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria called off its next funding round after f...

Global AIDS funding cuts will affect millions: activists

2011-11-28T15:30:27Z

A $1.6-billion (1.2-billion-euro) cut in funding for AIDS treatment could affect millions of people as donors failed to meet commitments to the Global Fund, campaigners said Monday.

The Global Fund last week said it would not bankroll new AIDS treatment projects until 2014 because the world financial crisis forced donor countries to cut spending.

A civil society coalition including groups like aid agency Reuters) - Sub-Saharan African countries that invest in training doctors have ended up losing $2 billion as the expert clinicians leave home to find work in more prosperous developed nations, researchers said on Friday.

A study by Canadian scientists found that South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, the region which has long been worst hit by the AIDS epidemic, leading to a steady drop in deaths, the United Nations said Monday.

"The most dramatic increases in anti-retroviral therapy coverage have occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, with a 20 percent increase between 2009 and 2010 alone," ...

Pope ends Africa trip with giant mass in voodoo heartland

2011-11-20T14:30:16Z

Pope Benedict XVI ended his second trip to Africa on Sunday with a mass for tens of thousands in the voodoo heartland of Benin and by issuing a grand vision for his Church's future on the continent.

Benedict left the West African nation following a three-day visit that saw him denounce corruption, label AIDS a mainly ethical problem...

Pope in Africa condemns graft, labels AIDS an ethical issue

2011-11-19T18:30:07Z

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday labelled AIDS an "ethical problem" and condemned corruption as he laid out a vision for his Church's future in Africa on his second visit to the continent.

Benedict signed off on a 135-page roadmap for the Roman Catholic Church in Africa ...

Female hormonal contraception linked to higher HIV risk

2011-10-03T20:30:22Z

Women who use hormonal birth control are roughly twice as likely to become infected with HIV or pass on the AIDS virus to their partner, according to a study published on Tuesday.

The research was carried out among 3,790 heterosexual couples in Africa where one partner had the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while the other was uninfected.

The findings, if confirmed, could have huge repercussions for policies on cont...

Africans on HIV drugs can expect normal lifespan - study

2011-07-18T18:30:10Z

Patients taking HIV drugs in Africa can expect to have a near-normal lifespan, although men are likelier to die far sooner than women, according to the biggest study of its kind, issued on Monday at the world conference on AIDS medicine.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the BC Centre for Excellence in ...

AIDS drugs can cause premature ageing: study

2011-06-27T08:00:16Z

LONDON (Reuters) - A class of generic AIDS drugs often used to treat HIV in Africa and other poor regions can cause premature aging and lead to age-related illnesses such as heart disease and dementia, scientists said on Sunday.

In a study in the journal Na...

Africa demands more help at UN AIDS summit

2011-06-08T18:30:19Z

African leaders on Wednesday called for greater resources to battle the AIDS pandemic at a summit where UN leader Ban Ki-moon set a target of ending new infections by the end of the decade.

Thirty presidents and heads of government were at the summit marking the 30th anniversary of the discovery of AIDS, which will set a target figure for the numbers who will receive re...

Africa at the forefront of AIDS war after 30 years

2011-05-30T09:30:20Z

Home to 22.5 million people with HIV -- nearly 70 percent of the world's total -- sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of the 30-year-old AIDS pandemic.

Millions of lives have been destroyed, yet the war now shows signs of progress: infection rates are stabilising or dropping in many countries as access to life-saving drugs widens.

But the challenges are huge.

From Los Angeles, all previously healthy, had fallen ill with pneumonia. Two had died.

They would be the first casualties of a new virus which has now claimed more lives than a world war.

Nearly 30 million people have been killed by acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and more than 33 million others have the virus that causes it.

Indian drug firms use S.Africa to access continent

2011-05-22T02:30:10Z

A white South African woman runs the local operations of India's largest drug company, Ranbaxy, and the second largest, Cipla, is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

India's pharmaceutical industry has rolle...

With yams, mosquito nets: Nigeria adapts Sesame Street

2011-05-18T03:30:11Z

A yam-loving muppet and another who's HIV positive romp about a set filled with an old drum of oil, a raffia basket and a heap of ubiquitous hot red peppers. Welcome to Sesame Street, Nigerian style.

The local adaptation of the legendary children's educational television series hits Nigerian screens at the weekend with the same vocation as its award-winning American model: give p...

Africa turns to cellphones for better health

2011-03-30T03:30:11Z

The text message arrives with life-saving discretion: a neutral "see you at the clinic tomorrow" to remind patients to pick up a fresh batch of anti-AIDS drugs.

The free texts from South Africa's largest HIV treatment site are part of a push in Africa to boost health by targeting the continent's 624 million mobile phone subscribers.

"I check my cellphone all the ti...

Fear of infection drove AIDS decline in Zimbabwe

2011-02-08T20:30:07Z

Fear of infection helped drive a 50 percent decline in new cases of HIV in Zimbabwe from 1997 to 2007, said an international study published Tuesday in the United States.

The analysis of social factors that helped to halve what was once one of the worst AIDS epidemics in the world could offer lessons for other nations struggling with HIV rates, the study authors suggested.

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Fear, social change drive down Zimbabwe HIV rates

2011-02-08T14:30:25Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Fear of infection and mass social change have driven a huge decline in HIV rates in Zimbabwe, offering important lessons on how to fight the AIDS epidemic in the rest of Africa, scientists said on Tuesday.

In a study in the journal Reuters Life!) - Italy's quality wine producers are selling their finest vintages to help fight AIDS in Africa, fermenting the Latin proverb "In Vino Veritas," (In wine there is truth), into "In Vino Caritas" (In wine there is charity).

"It's all about love, taking the love that we receiv...

Bush calls on US to step up fight against AIDS

2010-12-01T15:31:28Z

George W. Bush, who as president was widely praised for his efforts to combat AIDS in Africa, on Wednesday called for more US action to address the global pandemic.

"No national security strategy is complete in the long run without promoting global health, political freedom and economic progress," the former US president wrote in a

US launches HIV testing program in Zimbabwe

2010-12-01T05:00:14Z

US launches HIV testing program in Zimbabwe with star musicians, broadcasters, soccer players

The United States launched a program in Zimbabwe Wednesday to encourage HIV testing, with the U.S. ambassador, local musicians, broadcast personalities and soccer stars taking tests to mark the occasion.

Alexio Kawara, one of the nation...

AIDS awareness boosts global health funding

2010-11-30T13:31:10Z

Wealthy nations boosted funding for health programs in poor countries more than fourfold between 1990 and 2010, thanks largely to greater awareness of the need to fight HIV/AIDS, a report released Tuesday said.

Research by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) found that development assistance for health programs jumped from 5.66 bill...

Best to focus on preventing HIV in Africa: report

2010-11-29T10:00:22Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to treat everyone in Africa infected with the AIDS virus are virtually futile, and public health experts should instead focus on preventing new cases, a committee of experts reported on Monday.

Currently 22.5 million people in Africa have HIV, but this number will rise to more than 30 million by 2020 -- far more than ...

Four Things You Need To Know About HIV

2010-11-29T14:41:25Z

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Access to AIDS treatment 'cutting deaths in Africa'

2010-11-23T12:31:07Z

Expanded access to AIDS treatment in sub-Saharan Africa has dramatically cut deaths from the disease, but the region remains the worst affected in the world, a UN report said Tuesday.

Sub-Saharan Africa saw an estimated 320,000 fewer people die of HIV-related causes in 2009 than in 2004, when the region began to dramatically scale up access to anti-AIDS dr...

Pope words on condoms bolster AIDS fight in Africa

2010-11-23T09:00:18Z

DAKAR (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's qualified backing of condom use to help prevent AIDS marks a small breakthrough for efforts to fight the scourge in Africa, giving health workers and clergy more scope to broach a still-taboo subject.

News of the pontiff's c...

Project Masiluleke

2010-11-30T13:55:13Z

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US funds circumcision to fight AIDS in Zimbabwe

2010-10-22T16:34:17Z

Top broadcasters around the world are to air a documentary on the life-changing effects of anti-retroviral drugs to mark World AIDS Day on December 1, the film's sponsors said on Thursday.

US cable network HBO and NAIROBI (Reuters) - A record 1.2 million people in low and middle income countries started antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDs in 2009, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, but targets set for 2010 are unlikely to be met.

A total of 5.25 milli...

Zimbabwe drops charges against U.S. health workers

2010-09-22T09:45:18Z

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean prosecutors on Wednesday withdrew charges against six health workers, four of them from the United States, accused of dispensing AIDS drugs without a license, their lawyer said.

The six members of a Ca...

Zimbabwe drops charges against US health workers

2010-09-22T07:16:00Z

Zimbabwe drops charges against US health workers arrested for work at orphanage, AIDS clinic

An attorney for four American volunteer health workers says Zimbabwe has dropped charges against them alleging they worked at an HIV/AIDS clinic and orphanage without proper medical licenses.

Lawyer ...

Yams and mosquito nets on Nigeria's Sesame Street

2010-09-17T05:00:04Z

LAGOS (Reuters) - Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch have some new friends.

Meet Zobi, a yam-eating taxi driver, and Kami, a talkative five-year-old living with HIV.

"Sesame Street," the U.S. show which started ...

Zimbabwe court frees on bail US health workers

2010-09-13T08:30:06Z

A Zimbabwean court on Monday freed on bail four Americans arrested and accused of treating AIDS patients without proper medical licenses.

A magistrate ordered the six health workers, who included a New Zealand national and a Zimbabwean, to pay a $200 bail and to reappear in court on Sept. 27. They could face a fine and deportation if convicted. The court ordered them t...

Four US health workers granted bail in Zimbabwe

2010-09-13T07:15:33Z

Four US health workers and doctors from Zimbabwe and New Zealand were granted bail Monday after their arrest last week on charges of illegally running a clinic that provides AIDS drugs.

"Each of you shall pay bail of 200 dollars and you shall surrender your passports to the clerk of court," magistra...

Zimbabwe holds 4 U.S. health workers over AIDS drugs

2010-09-12T10:15:14Z

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean police have arrested four health workers from the United States on suspicion of dispensing AIDS drugs without a license, the U.S. embassy said on Sunday.

An embassy statement said the four members of a...

Five US health workers arrested in Zimbabwe: lawyer

2010-09-11T13:15:28Z

Vaginal gel could slow spread of HIV

2010-11-02T13:11:02Z

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Obama's half-sister warns against 'boring' AIDS campaigns

2010-07-20T11:16:40Z

Auma Obama, the half-sister of US President Barack Obama, called Tuesday for more help for Africa's poorest women in the fight against AIDS, but warned against campaigns becoming "boring".

"In Africa, it is necessary above all to learn to say no," she said on the sidelines of the 18th International AIDS Conference in the Austrian capital.

"It will not be until young women become aw...

Mideast Egypt Church Attack

2011-01-04T14:32:25Z

Angry Copts chant anti-government slogans during a protest before clashing with Egyptian riot police in Cairo, Egypt, late Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. The head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church appealed to the government on Monday to address Christians complaints about discrimination to ease tensions as fierce riots broke out in the capital following a New...

APTOPIX Mideast Egypt Church Attack

2011-01-04T14:32:25Z

Two Coptic men, center and unseen, warn off two others wielding kitchen knives, left and right, who were trying to kick down the doors of a mosque, seen behind, during heavy clashes between Coptic youths and riot police, in the streets outside the Saints Church and a neighboring hospital, in Alexandria, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011. A powerful bomb, possibly from a suicide attacker, exp...

Egypt Al Qaida

2011-01-04T14:32:22Z

FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2010 file photo, hundreds of Egyptian Muslims gather following prayers outside Ibrahim Mosque in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Egypt, protesting against what they allege was Egypt's Coptic Church holding two women captive for converting to Islam. In the weeks before the New Year's Day suicide bombing of an...

South Sudan Bashir

2011-01-04T05:30:43Z

Pro-separation activists hold signs and chant pro-independence slogans outside the Juba airport in southern Sudan where Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. President Bashir and his government in Khartoum support the ongoing unity of Sudan, a position fiercely contested by south...

APTOPIX South Sudan Bashir

2011-01-04T03:31:28Z

The President of the Republic of Sudan Omar al-Bashir, center, is escorted by Salva Kiir Mayardit, the Vice President of the Republic of Sudan , left,as he arrives at the airport in the southern Sudanese capital of Juba on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. Bashir visited Juba just five days before southerners are se...