The New York Times' Larry Altman on Tuesday analyzed the focus of the XVII International AIDS Conference, which was held earlier this month in Mexico City. According to Altman, the conference focused on the 'longer haul' in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the 'mood' at the conference was 'much more sober' compared with previous meetings. There were no 'major breakthroughs' announced, and 'cutting-edge research findings were rare,' Altman writes. According to the analysis, the great strides in va more...

UNODC/UNAIDS/WHO Publication. In many settings, the epidemic of drug use has become  intertwined with the HIV and the TB epidemics. Health systems have often responded with separate policies and structures, to the detriment of the individual user and their communities. These guidelines are intended for professionals dealing with the drug users who have the most problematic patterns of use and who have the greatest risk
of HIV and TB, especially those who inject drugs. Drug users have h more...

From the Ground Up: Building Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care Programs in Resource-Limited Settings Features Work of More Than 230 Global Health Experts. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, with support from the “A Day in the Life of Africa” Foundation/Tides Foundation, the U.S. Government, Harvard University and others, unveiled on August 05 - a comprehensive guide to improving and expanding HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment efforts in resource-limited settings. Dr. Richard M more...

The makers of a new drug are waiting for approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to run phase two trials of its HIV vaccine. Biotechnology firm GeoVax Labs has been developing the vaccine with Emory University, the Centre for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that a previous trial on monkeys suppressed the Aids infection in the animals without the need for any additional drugs.

GeoVax now hopes to get the go-ahead for a hu more...

This 71-page report by Human Rights Watch documents the experiences of HIV-positive detainees in immigration custody whose HIV treatment was denied, delayed, or interrupted, resulting in serious risk and often damage to their health. The investigation began in early 2007 with a review of complaints received by Human Rights Watch from detained immigrants and their advocates regarding medical care for detainees with HIV/AIDS. Human Rights Watch first examined the policies and procedures of the Dep more...

Session summary. THSY01, Universal Access/Universal Crises/Universal Prices. This session examined the impact of intellectual property protection on public health, looking at the specific examples of Brazil and Canada to explore the ways in which two nations (one developing, one affluent) have used the global pricings regime to the advantage of people with HIV in spite of obstacles including opposition from governments and the pharmaceuticals industry. K. de Cock presented data about the uptake more...

Session summary - WEBS01, HIV and Children : Key Issues and Challenges. To open this special session Siobhan Crowley from WHO presented an overview of paediatric HIV in resource limited settings. The number of children receiving HAART has risen from 75,000 in 2005 to almost 200,000 in 2007. Nineteen out of 20 countries with the highest mother to child transmission rates are in sub-Saharan Africa and 90% of children are in 20 countries. Where children are receiving HAART, national programmes are more...

A caravan to fight AIDS has completed a journey of more than 1,000 kilometers traveling through five West African countries along one of the busiest highways in the world. The 'Love Life Caravan' brought AIDS prevention messages to four million people along the Lagos to Abidjan artery in May and June. Most economic activity for the entire West African Region (15 countries) is concentrated in the corridor. The transitory nature of business life in the region means that many are at increased risk more...

' Today, we can say with some degree of confidence that a 20-year old diagnosed with HIV can expect to live a nearly normal life span if he or she receives and stays on treatment. And now we are recovering human capital in the developing world. Because of your efforts, having 3 million on treatment in developing countries is no longer a dream. Think of what these numbers mean: More than two million on treatment in Africa overall; 420 000 in South Africa, 85 000 in Mozambique, 90 000 in Ethiopia more...

The United Nations' goal of providing universal access to antiretroviral drugs by 2010 is unlikely to be reached by some countries, Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, said on Wednesday August 06, at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. The 2010 target was agreed to at a 2006 United Nations General Assembly meeting and later supported by the Group of Eight industrialized more...