"Why the Global Fund Matters"

"South Africa: HIV-Related Deaths Slow Economy"

"CDC economic models show HIV treatment scale-up is cost-effective, can save money over time"

"US Global AIDS Coordinator touts progress in HIV prevention in PEPFAR countries"

"AIDS Prevention Inspires Ways to Make Circumcisions Easier"

"New Anti-AIDS Drive Unveiled at Davos"

"Global Health Fund Receives $750M Cash Injection"

"10 Years On, Funding Crisis Threatens the Global Fund's Effort to End AIDS"

"High risk of violence, STD: study No 'easy' money for sex workers"

"The downside of male involvement in PMTCT"

"Home-based counselling and testing identifies people in need of treatment earlier"

New Documents & Articles

"The association of HIV/AIDS treatment side effects with health status, work productivity, and resource use"

Due to stable incidence and improved survival rates, there are an increasing number of patients living with HIV/AIDS in the USA. Although highly effective, current antiretroviral therapies are associated with a variety of side effects. The role side effects play on health outcomes has not been fully examined.

"HIV-free survival among nine- to 24-month-old children born to HIV-positive mothers in the Rwandan national PMTCT programme: a community-based household survey"

Operational effectiveness of large-scale national programmes for the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa remains limited. We report on HIV-free survival among nine- to 24-month-old children born to HIV-positive mothers in the national PMTCT programme in Rwanda.

"Failure to prescribe pneumocystis prophylaxis is associated with increased mortality, even in the cART era: results from the Treat Asia HIV Observational Database"

Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis is recommended for patients with CD4 counts of less than 200 cells/mm3. This study examines the proportion of patients in the TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database (TAHOD) receiving PCP prophylaxis, and its effect on PCP and mortality.

"Impact of condom use and standardized STD treatment on HIV prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Hunan province: using the Asian Epidemic Model"

Objectives: To estimate the HIV/AIDS epidemic situation and to explore the impact of both condom use and standardized STD treatment on HIV prevention programs among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Hunan province, using the Asian Epidemic Model (AEM). Materials and methods: AEM was used to estimate HIV infection under four different scenarios: situation of condom use among MSM maintained at the level in 2005; situation of condom use among MSM had been improved persistently since 2005; STI prevalence rate among MSM maintained at the level in 2008; STI prevalence rate among MSM had been improved persistently since 2008.

"Attitudes and practices towards HAART among people living with HIV/AIDS in a resource-limited setting in northern Burkina Faso"

To assess the perception of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), and attitudes and practices towards highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) among patients living in a resource-poor region of northern Burkina Faso, where HAART has only become available in recent years.

"Consequences of the commercialistaion of plasma and blood in China"

HIV infection as a consequence of blood transfusions and blood by-products has occurred in many developed countries from the outset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In China the introduction of the market economy and commercialisation of blood and blood products after 1989 has lead to the spread of HIV infection among poor peasants living in the Chinese interior. In this review a history of HIV infections was presented showing that blood and blood products cannot be treated as commercial goods.

"HIV prevention in southern Africa: why we must reassess our strategies?"

Southern Africa continues to shoulder a disproportionate burden of the HIV epidemic with the number of new infections outstripping treatment initiation two- to threefold. Current prevention strategies have had a limited impact on the trajectory of the epidemic so far. The history of HIV prevention research is dominated by failed approaches, but recent developments have provided reason for hope.

"Determinants of condom uptake among HIV voluntary counseling and testing clients: experiences from a hospital-based study in south India"

HIV voluntary counselling and testing was a key HIV prevention strategy brought to scale by India's National AIDS Control Organization. Condom uptake is an essential metric of intervention impact given the expansion of the epidemic into an increasingly diverse population. With only 20% of first-time counselling and testing clients at the largest HIV treatment hospital in south India reporting previous condom use, the question of intervention impact on condom use deserves investigation. In this study, we track intervention impact across various demographic groups and identify the added value of more thorough counselling.

"Health and welfare effects of integrating AIDS treatment with food assistance in resource constrained settings: a systematic review of theory and evidence"

The article systematically reviews theory and existing empirical evidence on the health and welfare effects of integrating AIDS treatment with food assistance. While theoretical predictions point to possible improvements in health, consumption and ambiguous effects on labor supply, there are few empirical studies that used robust designs.

"Blood, sweat and semen: the economy of axe and the response of Afro-Brazilian religions to HIV and AIDS in Recife"

This article provides an ethnographic analysis of Afro-Brazilian religious responses to the HIV epidemic in Recife. Drawing on participant observation and in-depth interviews conducted with Afro-Brazilian religious leaders and public health officials, it highlights the importance of the axé--a mystical energy manipulated in religious rituals that is symbolically associated with blood, sweat and semen.