POZ - News

(Red) Brand Teams With Starbucks to Fight AIDS in Africa
Starbucks Coffee is partnering with AIDS-fighting consumer advocacy brand (Red), Adweek reports. The multiyear deal begins next month with the sales of three co-branded holiday drinks.

New Orleans Officials Delayed AIDS Funds 6 Months
It took New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin’s administration more than half a year to distribute money to agencies serving more than 4,000 HIV-positive people living in the city, The Times-Picayune reports.

Court Commits Mentally Ill, Positive Man for Unsafe Sex
Minnesota’s Court of Appeals upheld a decision to have David Kendall Renz civilly committed to a secure facility for admittedly engaging in unprotected intercourse without informing his partners that he is HIV positive, Gay City News reports.

October 30, 2008

Palin’s Fave Thrift Shop Infringes on AIDS Charity
After causing a stir for her reported $150,000 campaign wardrobe, Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin revealed that she’s “back to wearing my own clothes from my favorite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska.” CBS News reports. She said it’s called Out of the Closet! and is an upscale for-profit resale store.

Chilean Politico Quits Over Mishandling HIV Tests
Chile’s health minister is resigning amidst turmoil over the government’s failure to notify people who had tested HIV positive, The Associated Press reports. A spokesman for President Michelle Bachelet said that the president accepted Soledad Barria’s resignation on Tuesday.

U.K. Scouts Receive Safe Sex Education
The U.K.’s Scouting Association has issued new guidelines to provide its 14- to 18-year-old members with practical advice about sex, Agence France-Presse reports.

October 29, 2008

UNAIDS Head: Economic Crisis Linked to Spread of HIV
The growing economic crisis and the rising cost of food and energy across the globe may make people more vulnerable to AIDS, according to UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot and reported by kaisernetwork.org/CQ HealthBeat.

New Website Shows Faces of Positive Women in U.S.
Last week, the Southern AIDS Coalition and Test for Life launched a new website called the Southern AIDS Living Quilt (livingquilt.org) to help destigmatize HIV infection among U.S. women, The Times-Picayune reports. The site features video interviews with HIV-positive women, giving them a forum to disclose their status.

Zambia’s Presidential Hopefuls Silent on HIV
Both of Zambia’s presidential candidates have been silent on the topic of HIV/AIDS, and that is causing the country’s citizens to speak up for a leader who will help fight the disease, Reuters reports.

October 28, 2008

HIV Incidence in Philadelphia Is Five Times U.S. Average
The rate of new HIV infections in Philadelphia is 50 percent higher than that of New York City and five times the national average, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports

Lebanese Religious Leaders Combat HIV Ignorance, Stigma
Religious leaders from across Lebanon met in Beirut for a three-day conference designed to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, The Daily Star reports. The event included interactive workshops to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and reduce stigma toward people living with the virus.

WHO Forecasts Fewer AIDS Deaths by 2030
The World Health Organization (WHO) has drastically lowered its earlier projections of deaths related to HIV/AIDS, according to Agence France-Presse. In the next few years, deaths will continue to rise, from 2.2 million in 2008 to a maximum of 2.4 million in 2012—but then they’ll start to decline.

October 27, 2008

Chinese AIDS Activist Awarded Prize Amid Opposition
Hu Jia, a Chinese campaigner for civil rights, environmental protection and AIDS advocacy, will receive the prestigious Sakharov Prize despite opposition from China’s government officials, Agence France-Presse reports.

Uganda Launches New Plan to Reduce HIV Prevalence
A new national strategic plan was launched in Uganda to reverse its increasing HIV prevalence, AllAfrica.com reports.

Text Messages Urge HIV Testing in South Africa
About 350,000 people die of AIDS-related diseases in South Africa every year. Project Masiluleka hopes to reduce those deaths by sending a million free text messages a day to urge people to get tested and treated for HIV/AIDS, DigitalTrends.com reports.

October 24, 2008

Lancet Looks at 4 Finalists for UNAIDS Ex. Director
An editorial in the October 18 edition of medical journal The Lancet examines four individuals the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board recommended to replace the organization’s executive director Peter Piot, Kaisernetwork.org reports.

Keith Haring Documentary Recalls Artist’s Work, Life
Nearly two decades after Keith Haring’s death due to AIDS-related complications at the age of 31, his friends and admirers remember the prolific artist in the documentary The Universe of Keith Haring.

E-cards Send HIV Alerts to Sexual Partners
More people are using new technology to notify their partners that they’ve been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection (STI)—they’re sending the alerts via electronic postcards, or e-cards, Reuters reports.

HIV, Women’s Health Advocate, Dr. Allan Rosenfield, Dies at 75
Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and global HIV/AIDS and women’s health advocate Allan Rosenfield, MD, died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on October 12 at his home in Hartsdale, New York, according to The New York Times. He was 75.

October 23, 2008

Up to 50 St. Louis Students Possibly Exposed to HIV
Earlier this month, St. Louis County Health Department officials announced that they will offer HIV tests at Normandy High School after a public health inspection determined that some of its students may have been at risk for HIV infection. On October 22, however, officials said that the estimated number of students who may have been exposed to the virus may be as high as 50, the St. Louis Dispatch reports.

Swedish Health Agency Refused to Help Police in HIV Probe
The Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control is under fire for refusing to help police catch people who deliberately infect others with HIV, The Associated Press reports.

Aboriginal Youth in British Columbia Learn About HIV
Aboriginal youth gathered at a three-day Youth Train-the-Trainers conference in Prince George, British Columbia, to learn more about HIV/AIDS and how they can help end the virus that is spreading among their communities, reports the Prince George Citizen.

October 22, 2008

New Study Stresses HIV Med Adherence
A new study suggests HIV can remain inactive inside a small amount of cells or a single cell only to re-emerge later and wreak havoc, HealthDay reports.

Gates Foundation Funds Testing of Potential HIV Cure
Thanks to a new initiative to stimulate bold approaches to global health, University of Washington researcher Keith Jerome, MD, PhD, will have one year and $100,000 to prove that his proposed cure for HIV is effective, The Seattle Times reports.

Advocates Call for Women-Focused HIV Prevention
While Ghanaian advocates of women’s reproductive health rights recognize the recent gains in HIV prevention, they also call attention to the role that gender inequality plays in more and more women becoming infected, Ghana’s Public Agenda reports.

October 21, 2008

Bush Urges Leaders to Honor Foreign Aid Commitments
With the global economy in crisis, President George W. Bush urged countries in the developed world to honor their commitments to programs—including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)—that provide foreign assistance to fight disease and counteract poverty around the world, The Associated Press reports.

Lawsuit: Atlanta Cops Violated HIV-Related Privacy
A man who applied to become a police officer in 2006 sued the Atlanta police department, claiming they tested him for HIV without his consent and then wouldn’t hire him after learning his HIV-positive status, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Utah Expert Links Meth to High-Risk Behavior, HIV
Much like cocaine in the 1980s, methamphetamine use is increasing the rate of today’s HIV infections, according to an expert at the Living With AIDS Conference, held at Salt Lake Community College in Sandy, Utah, the Desert News reports.

October 20, 2008

Obama Campaign Set to Boost Domestic HIV/AIDS Funding
In an October 16 conference call, Senator Barack Obama’s campaign highlighted specific strategies to fight HIV/AIDS in the United States and abroad; they included increasing funds for research, care and prevention as well as developing a national AIDS strategy within the first year of his presidency if elected, The Advocate reports.

Researchers Evaluate AIDS Vaccine Development
Researchers at the weeklong International AIDS Vaccine Conference in Cape Town, South Africa—which ended October 17—voiced their disappointment in failing to discover an AIDS vaccine and said they are now forced to rethink their approach in combating the disease, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.

N.Y. Health Care Workers Challenge Testing Law
EMTs, paramedics, emergency room workers and other health care providers in New York are trying to change the state law that requires written consent before testing patients for HIV in the event that an accidental needle prick occurs, the Times Union reports. New York also does not permit HIV testing if the patient is unconscious or dead.

October 17, 2008

U.N. Official Urges Female Empowerment in AIDS Fight
Nafis Sadik, U.N. special envoy for HIV/AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region, told a poverty alleviation conference in Beijing that a lack of respect for women is fueling the spread of the virus, Reuters reports.

Brazil’s President to Build HIV Drug Factory in Mozambique
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Mozambique on October 16 to launch a project to manufacture generic antiretroviral medications there, Agence France-Presse reports.

HIV-Positive Muppet Still Reaches S. African Children
Kami—an HIV-positive Muppet character that has been instrumental in generating AIDS awareness among South African children—made an appearance at the Soweto Hospice and the Mapetia Day Care Center on October 13 to commemorate World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, America.gov reports.

October 16, 2008

HIV Scare Hits St. Louis High School
St. Louis County Health Department officials will offer HIV tests at Normandy High School later this month after a public health inspection determined that several of its students may have been exposed to HIV, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Indonesia Encouraged to Treat Jailed Drug Users
With an estimated 25 percent of Indonesia’s convicted drug users believed to be HIV-positive, the country is encouraged to decriminalize drug use and expand its drug treatment centers, The Associated Press reports.

Monkeys Subject of HIV Testing Debate
Researchers at the International AIDS Vaccine Conference 2008 debated as to whether macaques monkeys should be the “gatekeepers,” the preliminary test subjects for what could be human clinical trials of new vaccines, South Africa’s The Times reports.

October 15, 2008

Elton John to Pen an AIDS Musical Comedy
In an interview with GQ’s Men.Style.com, Sir Elton John revealed his plans for an upcoming film musical—an AIDS comedy starring Ben Stiller.

McCain, Obama Vow to Improve Global Health
Both U.S. presidential candidates promise to improve global health by boosting funds to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world, Voice of America News reports.

Kenya Lowers Minimum HIV Testing Age for Infants
The Kenyan government has lowered the minimum age at which infants born from HIV-positive mothers can be screened for the virus from 18 months to six weeks, allAfrica/The Nation reports.

October 14, 2008

U.N. Chief: Financial Crisis Impairs Goals to Fight AIDS
The global financial crisis may hinder efforts to halt the spread HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries by 2015, according to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and reported by Agence France-Presse/The News International.

Iran’s 30% Spike in HIV Connected to Drug Use
Iranian officials believe that a surge in intravenous drug use is to blame for the country’s increase in HIV infections, Agence France-Presse reports.

New HIV Infections in S.E. Idaho Linked to Online Dating
Half of the 19 new HIV cases reported in southeastern Idaho were linked to couples who met on the Internet, The Associated Press reports. According to the Southeastern District Health Department, 10 men and one woman tested HIV positive during the past three weeks and each case traced back to online dating.

October 13, 2008

Nobel Winner: Economic Crisis Hinders Medical Research
Françoise Barre-Sinoussi—who shared the 2008 Nobel Prize for medicine with fellow researcher Luc Montagnier for discovering HIV in 1983—says that the world economic crisis will hurt medical research, Agence France-Presse reports.

AIDS Researchers Redirect Vaccine Focus
At AIDS Vaccine 2008—a weeklong conference beginning October 13 in Cape Town, South Africa—HIV researchers will propose shifting vaccine efforts away from human clinical trials to small-scale laboratory work, Reuters reports.

No More Extra Pay for Positive Civil Workers in Malawi
The Malawi government suspended extra monthly payments to 38,000 HIV-positive civil workers, Agence France-Presse reports. The cuts resulted from “gross abuse” of a program aimed to improve workers’ nutrition and help them access HIV treatment.

October 10, 2008

Magic Johnson Accused of Faking HIV
Conservative morning radio duo Chris Baker and Langdon Perry of Twin Cities, Minnesota station KTLK (100.3 FM) accused NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson on October 8 of faking being HIV positive, the Star Tribune reports.

Big Pharm Agrees to Help Poorer Regions Affected by HIV
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced on October 9 that major pharmaceutical firms have pledged to boost funding for HIV research and diagnostic procedures for developing countries, Reuters reports.

China Struggles with Drug-resistant HIV Strains
Drug-resistant strains of HIV are spreading among China’s general population, Reuters reports.

October 09, 2008

AIDS Institute Executive Director Dies
Gene Copello, executive director of the AIDS Institute, died October 7 in Alexandria, Virginia, from kidney complications, the Washington Blade reports. He was 49.

Family Support Helps Prevent HIV in Mentally Ill Teens
New research shows that parental encouragement is key in preventing HIV infection in teens living with mental illness, who have been shown to have high rates of risky sexual behavior such as not using condoms, United Press International reports.

New HIV/AIDS Agenda in Papua New Guinea
A five-year research agenda was recently launched in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG), in the hope of strengthening the country’s response to HIV/AIDS, the Post-Courier newspaper reports.

October 08, 2008

Circumcision May Not Prevent HIV in MSM
While African trials have shown that circumcision lowers the risk of female to male HIV transmission by 60 percent, a U.S.-based study has recently found that HIV prevalence among circumcised men who have sex with men (MSM) is not significantly lower than their uncircumcised counterparts, BBC News reports.

San Francisco Divided Over Legal Prostitution
Proposition K—a measure that would decriminalize prostitution in San Francisco—is coming under fire for failing to set limits on street prostitution, regulate the locations of brothels, assist sex workers who want to leave the profession, and require HIV tests, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Vietnam Launches Nationwide HIV Prevention Campaign
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health is urging all of its citizens to participate in an HIV/AIDS campaign, the Vietnam News Agency reports.

October 07, 2008

Number of Undiagnosed HIV Infections Falls 4% in U.S.
New estimates show that one in five HIV-positive people in the United States is unaware of his or her status; the previous estimate was one in four, according to recent estimates in the October 3 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and reported by aidsmap.com

Annie Lennox Calls for Internet Activism to Fight AIDS
Singer Annie Lennox called on world leaders to increase foreign spending on programs benefiting children impacted by HIV/AIDS worldwide at the Fourth Global Forum Affected by HIV and AIDS, held in Dublin, The Irish Times reports.

UNESCO Gives Meds to Zimbabwe’s Positive Teachers
Zimbabwe’s HIV-positive educators will receive free antiretroviral medications under a new network formed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO), Xinhua News Agency/The Herald reports.

October 06, 2008

Activist Proposes Condom Distribution in Tenn. Jail
A condom distribution proposal for inmates in Tennessee’s Shelby County jail was met with mixed reactions, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.

Scientists Who Discovered HIV Win Nobel Prize
French scientists Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier were awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering HIV in 1983, CNN.com reports.

Kenyan Women Risk Getting HIV to Support Families
In effort to support their families, young girls and women in Kenya’s town of Nyatiike are selling more than food to the male miners, PlusNews reports.

October 03, 2008

Condoms Stolen From Missing Mexican Condom-Mobile
A truck used by safe-sex advocates to distribute condoms throughout Mexico was stolen, The New York Times reports. On October 1, the police recovered the vehicle, but the thieves made off with 5,000 prophylactics.

China: HIV Spreads Beyond High-Risk Groups
According to new data, HIV infections have increased among heterosexual women in addition to men who have sex with men (MSM), Reuters reports.

HIV-Positive People Living Longer Than Ever Before
The number of HIV-positive people living in the United States increased 11 percent from 2003 to 2006, which experts attribute to life-prolonging antiretroviral therapy, Bloomberg News reports.

October 02, 2008

Private Practice Episode Dissects Bioethics of HIV
In its October 1 season premiere, ABC’s medical drama Private Practice explored HIV/AIDS from a bioethical perspective, The Associated Press reports.

Study: HIV Goes Back 100 Years
A new study suggests that AIDS originated 100 years ago, decades longer than scientists thought, The Associated Press reports. Scientists have reason to believe that HIV emanated in 1908 rather than 1930, the disease’s original discovery date.

McCain Talks Gay Rights and Domestic HIV/AIDS
In an interview with the Washington Blade, Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain expressed support for a National AIDS Strategy and discussed gay rights legislation and his thoughts on President Bush’s domestic AIDS efforts.

October 01, 2008

Czechs Forego HIV Protection for Hormonal Birth Control
Czech women are not shy about using hormonal and intrauterine birth control. As a result, fewer are using condoms as contraception, which means they’re not protecting themselves from HIV, Czech News reports. According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Health and Statistics, 70 percent of women in capital city Prague and neighboring regions use hormonal or intrauterine contraception.

Atlanta ASO Closes Due to Idea AIDS Is Under Control
Atlanta’s nonprofit group AIDS Survival Project (ASP) shut down operations because of increased competition for grants and the prevailing notion that HIV/AIDS is no longer a crisis in the United States, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The advocacy group specializes in testing and training HIV-positive people to counsel peers, lobby politicians and educate the public.

Europe Woos Health Workers From Poor Nations
A deficit of health care workers within developing countries can partially be blamed on the West, Reuters reports.

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