Safer Sex and Speed Dating for Florida Seniors In response to client demand, a senior center in Florida has launched a speed-dating event coupled with safer-sex education, FoxNews.com reports.
Poor People Eating Cow Dung With HIV Meds in Swaziland Some poor, rural HIV-positive people in Swaziland are eating cow dung before taking their antiretroviral (ARV) treatment because taking the medications on an empty stomach can worsen side effects, PlusNews reports.
July 28, 2011
July 28 Is World Hepatitis Day
Thursday, July 28,
is
World Hepatitis Day. Launched in 2008 by the World Hepatitis
Alliance, this
year’s event is coordinated for the first time with the World
Health
Organization (WHO).
USAID to Help Private Sector Financing for HIV in Ethiopia The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a new initiative to secure additional funding for people living with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, according to a USAID statement.
Budget Cuts Close Two New Hampshire HIV, STI Clinics Two southern New Hampshire counseling and testing clinics for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, shut down as of July 1 because of state budget cuts, The Nashua Telegraph reports.
July 27, 2011
HHS Outlines Steps to End Gay Blood Donation Ban
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has outlined steps toward ending the nationwide ban on men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood, according to a statement from U.S. Senator John Kerry (D—Mass.), who has been lobbying to repeal the ban.
More South African Prisons Have In-House HIV Clinics Accessing antiretroviral (ARV) medications in South Africa’s overcrowded prisons is becoming slightly easier as more prisons adopt in-house clinics to distribute ARVs, PlusNews reports.
Ricky Martin, Nicki Minaj to Promote MAC Viva Glam 2012
Pop music star Ricky Martin and rapper Nicki Minaj are replacing Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper as the celebrity faces of MAC’s Viva Glam campaign, the Daily Mail reports.
July 26, 2011
New Vaccine May Prevent Heroin Highs
Researchers have developed a vaccine that fights heroin highs, and they’ve proved its potential in animal trials, according to a Scripps Research Institute statement.
Boston Pharmacy Defrauds Medicaid With HIV Meds A Boston pharmacist has pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government by submitting $204,000 in false claims to Medicaid, The Boston Globe reports.
Iranian HIV Physician Seeks Release of Jailed Brother Kamiar Alaei, a physician internationally recognized for his HIV prevention efforts, hopes his brother, Arash Alaei, will soon be released from jail, Radio Free Europe reports.
Boston Medical Center Gets $1M to Expand HIV Services The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) has given an almost $1.1 million grant to Boston Medical Center (BMC) for HIV/AIDS support and case management, according to a BMC statement.
Production of Durex Condoms Plummets 50% Production of Durex condoms has dropped between 50 to 60 percent because of a spat with a manufacturer in India, The Wall Street Journal reports.
NH Town Sued for Discriminating Against HIV Group Home A Boston-based LGBT advocacy group is suing a New Hampshire town to stop its closure of a group home for people with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C, The Associated Press (AP) reports.
Florida Lawmakers to Meet HHS Secretary on ADAP Crisis U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Alcee Hastings, all of Florida, will meet with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to discuss the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) crisis, The Florida Independent reports.
July 21, 2011
NIH Grants $26M to Emory University for HIV Vaccine Research The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has granted more than $26 million to a research group led by Emory University in Atlanta to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine, according to an Emory University Woodruff Health Sciences Center statement.
Panel Suggests Free Contraceptives, HIV Testing for Women A panel has recommended to the Obama administration that all insurance health plans be required to cover contraceptives for women free of charge as part of the Affordable Care Act, The New York Times reports.
27 Hate Murders in 2010 of LGBT, HIV-Affected People A new report reveals that in 2010 there were 27 murders of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and HIV-affected people in the United States, according to a National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) statement.
Hepatitis C Sexually Transmitted between HIV-Positive Men Sexual activity is a cause of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission, at least among men living with HIV who have sex with men, according to a study performed by researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital and published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
July 20, 2011
Rome Mayor Urges Italy to Keep Global Fund Commitment Giovanni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, has published an open letter to Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister of Italy, urging the country to allocate promised funds to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Florida Gave $2M to Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Short on HIV Facts The Florida Department of Health gave almost $2 million in grants to 13 organizations with abstinence-only education programs that provide little health-related information, The American Independent reports.
Philippines Warns Geckos Are Not an HIV Cure
The Philippines has issued a warning against using geckos to treat HIV/AIDS, impotence and other conditions, The Associated Press (AP) reports.
BI and BMS Start Negotiations With Medicines Patent Pool The Medicines Patent Pool has started negotiations with two pharmaceutical companies, Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), and is in negotiations with five other patent holders, according to a UNITAID statement.
HIV Treatment Research Funding Exceeded $2B in 2009 The collected data on global investments in HIV research shows that funding for treatment research topped $2.46 billion in 2009, according to a joint report from The Treatment Action Group, AVAC and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Armenia Lifts Its HIV Travel Ban The government of Armenia has lifted all travel restrictions on people with HIV, according to a Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) statement.
July 15, 2011
DEA Declares Marijuana Has No Accepted Medical Use
Nine years after cannabis supporters asked the U.S. government to reclassify marijuana, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ruled that marijuana has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous and addictive drug on the level of heroin, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Gates Foundation Announces “Grand Challenges Explorations” Grant Winners The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has recently announced that 12 grantees will receive another round of funding as part of Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE), a tier-based initiative supporting unorthodox research and ideas that address persistent health and development challenges.
Five Emerging Countries to Improve Medical Access Health ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (The BRICS) said they would work with international groups such as the World Health Organization and UNAIDS to provide access to low-cost and high-quality medicine, reports Agence France-Presse news.
July 14, 2011
HHS Releases Guidelines for Affordable Insurance Exchanges
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a plan to implement Affordable Insurance Exchanges, a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. health care reform, according to an HHS statement.
Half of MSM Worldwide Can’t Access HIV Prevention or Treatment
A new global survey shows that less than half of men who have sex with men (MSM) have access to HIV prevention and treatment services, according to a Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) statement.
Australia Migration Policies Discriminate Against HIV Positive The Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations (AFAO) released a paper condemning its federal government’s migration policies that discriminate against people with disabilities, including those living with HIV, SX News reports.
July 13, 2011
PrEP Reduces HIV Risk in Two Major Studies Two major studies of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) provide additional evidence that antiretroviral (ARV) drugs can be used to prevent HIV transmission, according to early results from both clinical trials, released ahead of their full presentations at the 6th International AIDS Society Conference of HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention next week in Rome.
Poverty Linked to HIV Rates in the Southern United States Counties in the South with the highest HIV rates are among the poorest in the United States—about one in five people in the most HIV-affected counties in the South live below the federal poverty line, USA Today reports.
DC Court of Appeals Rules Man Can Sue for HIV Misdiagnosis
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has ruled that a man who spent five years thinking he was HIV positive can sue the DC clinic that allegedly gave him the misdiagnosis, the Washington City Paper reports.
White House Gives National HIV/AIDS Strategy Update On the occasion of the July 13 one-year anniversary of the release of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), the White House has released an implementation update, according to the White House blog.
July 12, 2011
Gilead Is First Drug Company to Join Medicines Patent Pool Gilead Sciences has expanded its global access program for HIV medications in developing countries and has become the first pharmaceutical company to enter into licensing agreements with the Medicines Patent Pool Foundation, according to a Gilead statement.
UNAIDS Welcomes the Republic of South Sudan
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has joined the international community in welcoming the world’s newest nation, the Republic of South Sudan, according to a UNAIDS statement.
NIH Gives $14M in 2011 to HIV Cure Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is providing grants to three research teams working on strategies to eradicate HIV from its reservoirs in the body, according to an NIH statement.
AIDS Resources of Rural Texas to Close Sept. 1
AIDS Resources of Rural Texas will permanently close September 1, leaving hundreds of clients without medical care, a food bank and other social services, wfaa.com reports.
Appeals Court Rules HIV "Prostitution Pledge" Unconstitutional A federal appeals court has ruled the U.S. government cannot force U.S. groups to take a “prostitution pledge” or “anti-prostitution loyalty oath” to get U.S. international HIV/AIDS funding, RH Reality Check reports.
Creating a Global Drug Safety Monitoring System for ARVs As more people worldwide gain access to antiretroviral (ARV) medications, there is a growing need to improve global drug safety monitoring or pharmacovigilance, according to a report in PLoS Medicine.
July 06, 2011
HIV Medicare Fraud Gets Miami Physician 20 Years in Prison A Miami physician was sentenced to almost 20 years in prison for his key role in a Medicare fraud conspiracy, The Miami Herald reports. Rene de los Rios, MD, and accomplices at two local clinics—Metro Med of Hialeah and J&F Community Medical Center—charged Medicare $19.7 million in HIV treatments that were either unnecessary or not provided to patients.
Germany Releases Half of $290M Pledge to Global Fund Germany has released $145 million that it withheld from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria earlier this year, The Associated Press (AP) reports.
Nigeria Seeks to Replace PEPFAR Funding of HIV Meds The Global HIV/AIDS Initiative in Nigeria (GHAIN) will end in a few weeks, and advocates are concerned about the 68,000 HIV-positive people who currently receive antiretroviral (ARV) treatment under the expiring program, AllAfrica.com reports.
July 05, 2011
Colorado Springs Increases Medical Marijuana Fees On July 1, the Colorado Springs City Council increased its fee on all medical marijuana businesses in the city to $2,200, The Colorado Independent reports.
UNAIDS: Millions Will Die If India Stops Cheap ARVs
The head of UNAIDS says millions of people worldwide will die if India stops making cheap antiretroviral (ARV) medications as a result of its trade deal with the European Union (EU), Reuters reports.
July 01, 2011
Christie’s to Sell Elizabeth Taylor Collection in December The renowned collection of jewelry, art, fashion and memorabilia of the late Dame Elizabeth Taylor will be sold in a series of auctions at Christie’s in New York City, Reuters reports.
UAB Gets $31.7M Renewal Funding for Youth HIV Prevention The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has received a five-year, $31.7 million grant for its Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Intervention (ATN), according to a UAB statement.
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