Transdiasporic Archive

Transdiaspora Network with the News

August 29th - September 5th Highlights

+ An HIV oral test that requires just a swab in the mouth is being offered in every NYC borough, providing patients with fast results and giving health officials better hope that they can stop the spread of AIDS.

+ Governor David Paterson signed into law on July 30, 2010 a change in state policy that makes HIV testing a routine part of health care in New York. The new law also simplifies the informed consent process, allowing for verbal consent in some circumstances.

+ For the first time, a Chinese court has agreed to hear a complaint by a prospective schoolteacher that he was illegally denied a job because he is HIV positive.

+ A new Obama Global Health Initiative places emphasis on maternal and child health, family planning and programs to fight infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

August 16th - 21st Highlights

+ The trial of German popsinger Benaissa highlights what HIV/AIDS experts have long argued: that laws and prosecutions as a result of non-disclosure of HIV-positive status are ineffectual, counterproductive, and unjust.

+ In honor of the twentieth anniversary of the Ryan White CARE Act, Tom Sheridan outlines an updated battle plan to reinvigorate the fight against HIV/AIDS.

+ Secretary of State Hilary Clinton addresses the 18th annual International AIDS Conference in Vienna, saying that "Access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care should be a universal, shared responsibility, because health is a human right."

+ Drugmakers, once blasted for their practices, are slashing prices and licensing AIDS drugs for free to nonprofits or local manufacturers in developing countries.

+ Despite a worldwide campaign for circumcision to slow the spread of AIDS, the rate of circumcision among American baby boys has seen a steep drop in recent years.

+ An op-ed piece in the LA Times argues that the U.S.-led war on drugs contributed to the HIV epidemic around the world, because criminalizing drug abuse drives addicts deeper underground and into unsafe practices that spread HIV infection.

+ The CEO of (RED) comments on how HIV/AIDS medicine is only piece of the puzzle, but that successful treatment for HIV/AIDS requires a broader range of tools, including education, support, food, and nutrition.

July 21st - 27th Highlights

+ An editorial highlights key public policy measures which may effectively change the direction of future HIV/AIDS treatment research and counters that we can “treat our way out” of the epidemic

+ The Social Innovation Fund, the project of one federal agency, announces partial grantees of it’s $123 million given to non-profit organizations – with the National AIDS Fund receiving $3.6 million

+ Secretary of State signs agreement with Vietnam to work collaboratively to fight HIV/AIDS as part of a health diplomacy plan to build trust between the two regions

+ Twenty-something Africans speak out at the Vienna conference about ageism as an obstacle to AIDS prevention and ways to reach young populations

+ A hopeful study on AIDS treatment suggests switching to a different drug may be an effective one-pill-a-day option

July 14th - 20th Highlights

+ Research from Johns Hopkins confirmed that a new AIDS-related MTV soap has been successful in conveying positive messages about prevention in African countries

+ AIDS organizations ask U.S. officials to look into the country’s use of a "Special 301 report" to pressure countries to give up public health rights under a WTO agreement on intellectual property rights

+ New findings suggest poverty plays the most crucial role in spreading the HIV virus in American cities according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

+ An article discusses the need for public health programs to use resources more efficiently to battle the HIV/AIDS epidemic

+ A new preventive gel was unveiled at the International AIDS Conference that was shown to cut HIV infections by almost 54% in South African trials

+ A World Bank study shows that cash payments for regular school attendance and to avoid unsafe sex significantly lowered rates of HIV and other STDs in Malawi and Tanzania

+ Generic drug firms announced at an international AIDS conference that they are now offering up royalty-free licensing for HIV treatments in the world’s poorest countries

July 7th - 13th Highlights

+ A comment made by comedian D.L. Hughley on The View has AIDS groups claiming it perpetuates false myths about HIV transmission in African American women

+ Thirteen out of every one hundred women in Kenya have husbands who practice polygamy – thought to be more common among the less educated – a lifestyle experts believe is dramatically fueling the spread of HIV

+ Chinese security forces harass documentary film makers and activists attempting to coordinate AIDS efforts

+ A top health official reports that studying what happens in the first few minutes after HIV infection may be key to preventing the evolution of the illness

+ Religious stigma and the lack of verifiable statistics in the Middle East have kept the prevalence of the disease at bay but recent data shows HIV/AIDS on the rise