Being an orphan is tough enough at the best of times, but in the working class district of Dagoretti Corner in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, it often means going without food as well as love. Felista Kibe tries to make sure that doesn't happen. She and a handful of volunteers have been providing food and comfort to children orphaned by AIDS in Dagoretti since 1996. Eighty kids depend on her for a daily meal, 30 of whom are HIV positive, but when word gets out that a donation has been received as many as 200 children can show up.
Equity and HIV/AIDS
Kenya: Better care could be taken of AIDS orphans
IRIN Plusnews, 21 September 2006
Mozambique: Recognising the reality of HIV/AIDS in prisons saves lives
IRIN Plusnews, 21 September 2006
In Mozambique's Machava Central Prison, the largest jail in the country, sex between prisoners is an unavoidable reality, but little is being done to prevent it, according to inmates and medical staff. Overcrowding, violence and high-risk behaviour, such as sharing drug-use equipment and unprotected sex increase risk of HIV transmission in prisons. Lack of information on HIV and AIDS and inadequate health facilities also contribute to the spread of the disease. This article explores the limits to prevention activities such as condom distribution given the taboo on homosexuality in Mozambique.
Situation analysis report on the plight of orphans and vulnerable children in Palapye and Letlhakeng, Botswana
Tsheko GN, Segwabe M, Odirile LW, Tlou SD: Social Aspects of HIV/AIDs Research Alliance (SAHARA), 5 August 2006
The traditional role of care giving and support provided to orphans by paternal and maternal grandparents, uncles and aunts is slowly being eroded. More and more households are becoming nuclear family centred. Challenges facing Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) include serious shortages of housing and exposure to abuse (including ill-treatment and sexual abuse). This study collected information on conditions of OVC in Kweneng West and Serowe/Palapye districts, Botswana, and the services in place that cater for OVC needs.
South Africa: Alarming AIDS figures reported in new study
IRINnews, 19 September 2006
HIV/AIDS is sweeping through parts of South Africa's east-coast province of KwaZulu-Natal, where researchers are finding alarming HIV prevalence levels among women. 'The study might be considered somewhat biased, as only women were tested, but the figures do suggest a worrying upward trend which could be part of a bigger problem,' Medical Research Council (MRC) researcher Professor Gita Ramjee told PlusNews.
Tanzania: Early marriage puts girls at risk of HIV
IRIN news, 19 September 2006
Data collected by the Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA) shows a strong correlation between HIV infection and early school exit, teenage marriage and pregnancy. Tanzanian law is reported in this report to allow girls aged as young as 15 to get married with parental consent.
Tanzania: New roads expose remote areas to HIV - Report
IRIN PLUSnews, 20 September 2006
Rural road construction in Tanzania is opening new markets and providing greater economic opportunities, but can also increase the risk of HIV transmission. "When roads and bridges are built they link low- and high-prevalence areas, such as villages where risk is lower and cities where the prevalence is higher," said a new report by the Tanzania Civil Engineering Contractors Association (TACECA) and the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF).
Uganda: Outrage as ARVs expire in government stores
IRIN Plusnews, 14 September 2006
Ugandan AIDS activists were outraged after antiretroviral (ARV) drugs worth an estimated US$500,000 were reported to have expired in government stores. "For drugs to expire in stores when we have only 80,000 HIV-positive Ugandans enrolled on ARVs is inexcusable," Beatrice Were, of the anti-poverty group, ActionAid International, told IRIN/PlusNews. Between 150,000 and 200,000 Ugandans are reported to need the life-prolonging medication.
Ugandan government gets strict on wilful infection
IRIN Plusnews, 5 July 2006
A Bill is to be introduced in the Ugandan parliament with a maximum penalty of death for HIV-positive people who wilfully infect minors. According to Doctor Elioda Tumwesigye, a member of parliament, the proposed bill seeks to amend the 'Penal Code Amendment Bill of 2004', and was to be introduced in parliament for a first reading in July 2006.
UN calls rape 'a cancer' in DRC
BBC News Interntional
UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland has called sexual abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo a cancer "that seems to be out of control". Delivering a report to the UN Security Council, he called on the Congolese authorities to act more firmly to end violence against civilians. Mr Egeland was speaking after visits DR Congo and Uganda last week. He said the situation in northern Uganda was now more promising than it had been in years. However, Mr Egeland said the challenges facing DR Congo were enormous.
'Gilead’s plan to cut AIDS drug prices in middle-income countries by two-thirds precedent-setting'
AIDS Healthcare Foundation, 13 July 2006
In mid-July 2006, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) the largest US-based AIDS organisation with free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Asia and Latin America/Caribbean, applauded Gilead Sciences, Inc for its recent decision to cut the prices for its lifesaving antiretroviral AIDS drugs by almost two-thirds in middle-income countries such as Mexico and India.