New York — Children and adolescents living with HIV continue to be left behind in access to early diagnosis, life-saving treatment, and care, as shrinking funding threatens to increase their risks and reverse decades of progress, UNICEF warned today ahead of World AIDS Day. A recently published UNICEF-UNAIDS modelling shows that, if programme coverage falls…
The global response to HIV is facing its most serious setback in decades, UNAIDS warned on Tuesday, as abrupt funding cuts and a deteriorating human rights environment disrupt prevention and treatment services across dozens of countries. Launching its 2025 World AIDS Day report, Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response, UNAIDS said international assistance has sharply…
China has announced a US$3.49 million (R60 million) partnership with South Africa to expand HIV prevention services among adolescents and young people, as well as people who inject drugs, over the next two years. These two groups are among those considered key populations – people who are at high risk of HIV infection. Globally, young…
The number of HIV viral load tests is significantly lower than expected, according to an analysis of data from the National Health Laboratory Service which Spotlight and GroundUp obtained through the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The number of HIV viral load tests recorded by the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is significantly less…
Ignore photo claiming to be HIV under microscope – shows caterpillar, not virus! IN SHORT: Viral posts circulating on Facebook in Kenya and Tanzania claim to show HIV magnified under a microscope, suggesting the virus’s anatomy makes it drug-resistant. But the image actually shows a caterpillar and HIV resists treatment through genetic mutations, not because…
What’s new From 2027, Indian generics companies and Hetero Labs Dr. Reddy’s will supply lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable PrEP with ~96-100% efficacy, for US$40 (R698) per person per year across 120 low- and middle-income countries. South Africa, home to the world’s largest HIV epidemic, is included in the agreement, making the country one of the…
A nanocarrier is a microscopic drug delivery system that can transport therapies directly to targeted cells. A self-taught, Durban-based developer is seeking to push the boundaries of medical research by showing how human-AI symbiosis could strengthen HIV treatment with antiretrovirals (ARVs). Unlike conventional uses of artificial intelligence (AI), which typically focus on data analysis or…
Johannesburg — The 12th South African AIDS Conference opened this week at Emperor’s Palace in Gauteng, South Africa, as pressure mounted on health systems in the host country and the region. The conference, which runs from September 8-11, drew about 1,400 delegates under the theme Unite for Change, Empower Communities and Redefine Priorities for HIV/AIDS….
A new HIV prevention jab has the potential to bring an end to the AIDS epidemic. But a lack of ambition and unjustifiable secrecy over pricing is holding it back, argue three leading health activists. Imagine a new HIV prevention tool existed that could – if it reached the right people – flick the switch…
Prudence Nonkululeko Ngwenya and Toyin Saraki (Guest writers) During the recently commemorated Pan-African Women’s Day (PAWD), we were reminded of the enduring legacy, resilience, and leadership of African women. However, as we celebrated, we also confronted a lingering truth: far too many pregnant and breastfeeding women in Africa are still left behind in HIV prevention…
