Al Jazeera, 10 August 2014

The government gives foreign inmates treatment for only opportunistic infections, such as tuberculosis [EPA]

Southern African nation dragged to court by foreign prisoners who say they have been deliberately denied AIDS treatment.

Gaborone, Botswana - Dickson Tapela and Mbuso Piye are two of nearly 1,000 foreign prisoners languishing in Botswana's 23 state prisons.

The pair, from Zimbabwe, are both serving 10-year prison sentences for armed robbery. They shot to fame after filing a court case challenging the Botswana government's policy of denying AIDS treatment to foreign inmates.

Both men have been living with HIV/AIDS for several years and have no access to anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs).

Tapela says that after being sentenced to a decade behind bars, his girlfriend informed him that she had been diagnosed with HIV and advised him to go for a test, which turned out to be positive.

Shanghai Daily, 9 August 2014

CAPE TOWN, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- All pregnant HIV positive women will be able to access lifelong anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, beginning from January next year, South African President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday.

All others living with HIV will be eligible for treatment at CD4 count 500, Zuma said at an event marking the country's Women's Day in the eastern port city of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province. Currently HIV patients in the country obtain treatment at CD4 count 350.

CD4 refers to cells that send signals to activate one's body immune response when they detect "intruders," like viruses or bacteria.

Nigeria Observer, 10 August 2014

The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Cross River chapter, has organised a sensitisation workshop on the Human Immuno deficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome HIV/AIDS as part of activities to mark the 2014 International Youth Week celebration.

Speaking at the workshop in Calabar the Chairman of the organisation, Mr. Okori Oko, described youths as the conscience of the society.

the Jakarta Post, 9 August 2014

Cilacap Deputy Regent Ahmad Edi Susanto says his administration will be paying close attention to the incidence of HIV/AIDS, as housewives now accounted for about 26 percent of the total number of HIV/AIDS cases in the regency in Central Java.

"We are closely monitoring five districts with the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases by establishing a WPA [AIDS care community] and a VCT [voluntary counseling test] clinics," Edi said on Friday.

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