Less Condom Use If Girls Get Spending Money From Boys Teen girls whose primary source of spending money comes from their boyfriends are less likely to use condoms, according to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health and reported by ABC News.
Modified Nipple Shield to Prevent HIV From Mother to Child A nipple shield that can be modified to include a microbicide to kill the HIV virus and stop mother-to-child transmission has been invented for mothers who have trouble breast- feeding, reports Trust (The Thompson Reuters Foundation).
Colonialism Sparked the HIV/AIDS Pandemic A new book implicates colonial practices in the early spread of HIV and argues that HIV would never have become a global pandemic without the mobility, urbanization, medical campaigns and prostitution introduced to central Africa by Europeans, The Washington Post reports.
Britain Proposes Free HIV Treatment for Non-citizens The British government is considering a proposal to lift the National Health Service (NHS) ban on providing free HIV treatment to those living in the country without British citizenship, The Telegraph reports.
February 27, 2012
Elton John's 20th Annual Oscar Party Raises $5.25M for HIV/AIDS
Elton John and his partner David Furnish hosted the 20th annual Academy Awards Viewing Party to benefit The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) on February 26 at West Hollywood Park in California, reports USA Today. The event raised $5.25 million, reports the Beverly Hills Courier.
Basic Errors Putting on Condoms Are Common Basic errors—such as putting a condom on too late during intercourse or taking it off before intercourse is over—can contribute to breakage or leakage, according to a study in the journal Sexual Health and reported by MSNBC.com.
R.I. Nonprofit to Launch HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Hotline PL-AIDS—an organization founded and run by former and current Brown University students to raise HIV awareness in Providence, Rhode Island, and southern New England—will launch an HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) hotline, The Brown Daily Herald reports.
February 24, 2012
Easier Rules for Illinois ADAP Recipients A series of rule changes will soon make it easier for 4,200 low-income HIV-positive people in Chicago to get their medications through the Illinois AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), the Windy City Times reports.
New Grants to Help HIV-Positive Transgender Women of Color
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced two new grant competitions focusing on connecting HIV-positive transgender women of color with health care services, including primary care and HIV-related care, Think Progress reports.
Man in France Guilty of Transmitting HIV Before Testing Positive
A 39 year-old gay man in France who first tested HIV positive in 2007 was sentenced to two years in prison for transmitting HIV to two men in 2003 and 2005, aidsmap reports. One year of his sentence was suspended, but he will be under probation for three years.
February 23, 2012
Chicago HIV/AIDS Councils to Merge
Chicago's two HIV/AIDS councils are merging, according to an announcement by the city's Department of Public Health and reported in the Chicago Phoenix.
Burma in Serious Need of HIV, TB Drugs Because of a poor health system and lack of international aid, roughly 85,000 HIV-positive people in Burma aren't receiving treatment—and things could get worse, The Associated Press (AP) reports.
Global Fund Releases Overdue Grants in South Africa After seven months of delays, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has released some of the funds it owes to seven South African HIV/AIDS organizations, PlusNews reports.
Chinese Court Voids Marriage Due to HIV Nondisclosure The People’s Court of Qingyang District in the Sichuan province of China has invalidated a marriage because the husband failed to disclose his HIV-positive status, the China Daily reports.
February 21, 2012
IAVI Gives $875,000 to Identify New Approaches to Vaccines The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is collaborating with NineSigma, one of the world’s topmost innovation service providers, to identify new approaches and technologies that may lead to a successful vaccine against HIV, according to an IAVI statement.
Women on Hormonal Contraceptives Advised to Use Condoms to Prevent HIV The World Health Organization (WHO) is trying to settle a four-month-old controversy by affirming in its guidelines the safety of injectable hormonal contraceptives, while also cautioning women to use condoms to prevent HIV, PlusNews reports.
Judge Temporarily Halts Cuts to Tennessee Planned Parenthood U.S. District Judge William Haynes has granted a preliminary order to temporarily halt Tennessee’s Department of Health from denying funding to a Planned Parenthood HIV and syphilis testing and prevention program, The Commercial Appeal reports.
February 17, 2012
NYC Concedes Cuts to HIV Prevention Funding
New York City's health department has cut $19 million from its HIV prevention budget during the past five years and is planning to cut more—despite rising HIV rates among local gay and bisexual young men, Gay City News reports.
Concerns Over Real-Name HIV Testing in China
China's HIV/AIDS community has expressed concern over draft legislation that would require people taking HIV tests to use their real names and, if they test positive, to inform their spouses and/or sexual partners, China Daily reports.
Global Fund Support of HIV Prevention Ends in Russia The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is not renewing its financial support for Russian HIV/AIDS prevention programs, The Moscow Times reports.
February 16, 2012
Sex Ed Not Reducing Birthrates in Conservative States Despite the presence of sex education courses, U.S. states with high degrees of conservatism and religiosity have above-average adolescent birthrates, according to a Washington University in St. Louis study reported by LiveScience.
Elton John AIDS Foundation Grants Over $3M The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) announced the recipients for its December 2011 HIV/AIDS grants, according to an EJAF statement.
FDA Gives Priority Review of Truvada as PrEP The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted Gilead Sciences’ application to give priority review of Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), according to a Gilead statement.
South Africa to Make Active ARV Ingredients South Africa will establish its first pharmaceutical plant to manufacture the main chemicals used in HIV drugs in an effort to lower the prices of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, Reuters reports.
Swaziland Seeks Gay Couples for HIV Testing On Valentine’s Day, public health officials in Swaziland urged male couples to test for HIV together, despite the country’s laws that prohibit same-sex relationships, PlusNews reports.
February 14, 2012
Advocates Decry HIV Criminal Charges Against Missouri Man
HIV groups and public
health experts are opposing the severe criminal charges brought against an
HIV-positive Missouri man for allegedly biting a police officer, according to a
Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) statement.
First Sex Ed Video in Iran Debuts
The Islamic Republic of
Iran’s first-ever sex education video has been approved by both its ministries
of Culture and Islamic Guidance and Health and Human Services, GlobalPost
reports.
Al Jazeera Fires HIV-Positive South African Journalist Demonstrators plan to picket
the Johannesburg office of Al Jazeera, an Arabic-language news network, to
protest the firing of a South African journalist allegedly because of his
HIV-positive status, AllAfrica.com reports.
February 13, 2012
amfAR Gives $1M to Four HIV Cure Research Teams The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) has awarded $1 million in grants to four research teams working on HIV cure-related projects, according to an amfAR statement.
Advocates Seek Changes to Iowa HIV Criminalization Law Advocates in Iowa are lobbying their state legislature to change the HIV criminalization law so that a person can be prosecuted only in cases that include both an intent to transmit and an actual transmission, The Daily Iowan reports.
Free Condoms for Valentine’s Day in Philippines Health officials will give away condoms on Valentine’s Day in the Philippines despite protests from a Catholic archbishop, GMA News reports.
February 10, 2012
AIDS Memorial Quilt in San Francisco for Valentine's Day Merchants and advocates are in talks with the family that owns the
vacant Market and Noe Center near the Castro neighborhood in San
Francisco to put on public view 40 sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt
during the week of Valentine’s Day, The Bay Area Reporter (BAR) reports.
Latino Commission on AIDS, Aid for AIDS Form Partnership The Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) and Aid for AIDS International have established a strategic partnership to improve delivery of HIV services in the United States and Latin America, according to an LCOA statement.
Elizabeth Taylor's Paintings Sell for Nearly $22M
On February 7, the last 88 paintings from the late Dame Elizabeth Taylor's private collection—a mix of Impressionist, Surrealist and modern works—were auctioned at Christie's International in London for $21.9 million, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
Hershey School Asks Court If It Violated HIV Discrimination Law
The Milton Hershey School has filed a petition asking the court to decide if it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it denied admission to a student because he has HIV, The Patriot News reports.
Controversy on Publication of AIDS Denialism Paper Continues
A member of the Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology editorial board has resigned over the publication of a paper written by longtime AIDS denialist Peter Duesberg that says there is no link between HIV and AIDS, Nature reports.
Pet Owner Among Social Roles Helpful for Women With HIV
Having pets may be helpful for women living with HIV/AIDS and trying to manage their condition, according to a study published in the journal Women’s Health Issues and reported by News-Medical.Net
Australian Man Who Used HIV Threat Is Guilty of Extortion An Australian man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for attempting to extort thousands of dollars from neighbors using the threat of HIV and hepatitis infection, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Supreme Court of Canada to Hear HIV Disclosure Cases The Canadian Supreme Court will hear two cases on Wednesday, February 8, to determine whether it is a crime for a person to withhold his or her HIV-positive status from a sexual partner if the risk of transmission is low, Huffington Post Canada reports.
February 06, 2012
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2012
Tuesday, February 7, marks the 12th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), a national HIV testing, treatment and awareness initiative focusing on African Americans.
Court of Appeals Overturns HIV Lawsuit Against Atlanta Police
A U.S. Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court ruling against the claim of a 40-year-old Georgia man who was denied employment to be a police officer with the Atlanta Police Department (APD) because of his HIV-positive status, according to a Lambda Legal statement.
Soldier With HIV Not Discharged in War Crime Cover-up Case
A military panel sentenced Staff Sergeant Ray Girouard to 180 days of confinement, reduced his rank, restricted him to his post and reprimanded him, but did not discharge him from the Army, for the cover-up of war crimes after he testified he needed military medical benefits because he is HIV positive, WHAS11.com reports.
February 03, 2012
AIDS Action Committee, GMHC Bet on the Super Bowl
Rebecca Haag, president and CEO of the AIDS Action Committee (AAC), and Marjorie Hill, CEO of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), are raising HIV awareness by placing a friendly bet on Super Bowl XLVI, Boston.com reports.
Preliminary NYC FY2013 Budget Does Not Restore HIV Funds New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s preliminary fiscal year 2013 (FY2013) budget proposal fails to restore funding that was cut in FY2012 for housing, nutrition and prevention services for homeless and low-income people with HIV/AIDS, according to a VOCAL-NY statement.
BioScrip to Sell HIV Pharmacies to Walgreen
BioScrip Inc. will sell certain assets of its community specialty pharmacies and centralized specialty and mail service pharmacy businesses to Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain, for about $225 million, Reuters reports.
U.S. HIV Research Sites in Africa Join Infant TB Vaccine Study
U.S. government-funded HIV/AIDS research sites in Africa are joining an ongoing clinical trial for an investigational tuberculosis (TB) vaccine for infants, according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) statement.
February 01, 2012
HIV Status of Michigan County Suspect Unconfirmed
The status of a Michigan man charged with two felony counts in Kent County of failing to disclose his HIV-positive status to sexual partners actually remains unknown, The American Independent reports.
Rising Caseloads, Lack of Funding Concern HIV Providers Concerns over the rising amount of HIV cases and the decreasing amount of funding and reimbursement for HIV services were the two key findings from the second annual HealthHIV State of HIV Primary Care survey, according to a HealthHIV statement.
