Archive for March, 2009

A video game in Kenya -- called Pamoja Mtaani and launched through a partnership between Warner Bros. Entertainment and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- is teaching young people in the capital of Nairobi about HIV/AIDS risks and prevention strategies, VOA News reports. The game, which ... Full story

Hong Kong in 2008 recorded 435 new HIV cases, the highest number of annual new cases since record-keeping began in 1984 and a 5% increase from the 414 cases reported in 2007, Hong Kong's The Standard reports. Wong Ka-hing, a consultant for the Center for Health Protection, said ... Full story

HIV/AIDS advocates in Thailand plan to meet with officials to urge the government not to restrict its compulsory license program, which allows people in the country to access low-cost, generic versions of drugs such as antiretroviral medications, AFP/Google.com reports. The program suspends patent protections for brand-name drugs to ... Full story

An experimental microbicide containing a naturally occurring compound provides protection in monkeys against the simian version of HIV by diminishing immune responses to the virus, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the Los Angeles Times reports. HIV typically spreads in the body by entering CD4+ T cells, which the immune system sends ... Full story

Mar 02, 2009 Although the response to HIV/AIDS in China has evolved from "denial and inertia to pragmatic prevention and treatment programs," there still are "massive challenges" to addressing the disease in the country, a Lancet editorial says. Chinese health officials recently reported that in 2008, HIV/AIDS was the country's "leading killer among infectious diseases for the ... Full story

The Press Association on Thursday profiled two British HIV/AIDS advocates who plan to drive from London to South Africa to help build HIV clinics and raise money for the One to One Children's Fund. Jon Beswick, a London architect, and Charlie Curtis, a strategy consultant for the firm Capgemini, said they plan to build waiting rooms for the ... Full story

A four-member mission of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria last week visited Myanmar to meet with local officials and discuss the possibility of restoring funds to programs that address the three diseases in the country, Xinhuanet reports. The delegation -- led by William Paton, director of the Global Fund's country programs -- ... Full story

The Washington Post on Monday examined a project in India in which health workers "re-spin" safer-sex messages to emphasize the pleasure-related benefits of such practices. The initiative was launched by Anne Philpott, founder of the Pleasure Project. According to the Post, Philpott began the program after promoting female condoms in India, Sri Lanka, Senegal and Zimbabwe as an ... Full story