A panel of US health experts has recommended the federal approval of Truvada, the first drug shown to prevent HIV transmission. A decision is expected by June 15. Truvada is already marketed as a treatment for those infected with HIV.
When mothers who have tested HIV positive remain untreated, one child out of three is at risk of infection either in utero, during childbirth or through breastfeeding.
It's now 30 years since the HIV/AIDS virus came to prominence. There's still no outright cure for the 33 million people living with the illness, but advances in treatment are giving cause for hope. Those who envisage an end to the pandemic emphasize the importance of education in combating social stigmas and making testing for the virus more commonplace. World AIDS Day brings people together across the globe to raise awareness of the pandemic.
The Global Fund Against AIDS, TB and Malaria said Friday it will beef up its financial safeguards after Germany suspended donations amid revelations that 34 million dollars had gone missing from the fund.
Latest UN figures show a 20% decrease in new HIV infections around the world. However not all areas are equal and an estimated 10 million people still don't have access to live saving treatment. HEALTH looks at the progress made in the battle against AIDS and the challenges that remain.
Souleymane Mboup, Director of the AIDS Research Network for Western and Central Africa, has spent close to 30 years researching HIV and AIDS, and is co-discoverer of the HIV-2 strain of the virus. He has conducted extensive AIDS research with Senegalese prostitutes since the 1980s. On World AIDS Day 2010, he talks to Melissa Bell about his ongoing research.
Today is World AIDS Day like every 1st December since 1988. The disease is still there and access to treatment is improving around the globe. However, it is still lacking in many parts of the world and the economic crisis is likely to curb the flow of Western financial aid to fight the disease...
