SABC, 2 August 2014

HIV/Aids researchers say primary health care workers need to be taught more about the early symptoms of HIV. This has transpired at an HIV/Aids Symposium in East London.

A 2012 survey revealed that the infection rate stood at 23 % for women and 15% for males. HIV/Aids Researcher David Patient says reducing the window period from three months to two weeks could make a huge difference.

Patient says, "There are very specific symptoms, it is called the acute retro viral syndrome, and those are flu like symptoms, the aching bones, sore throat, the fever and those kinds of things. The difference is there is no mucus, or discharge of any kind and what is happening in the primary health care sector is because the nursing staff has not been trained adequately enough, they are saying to the person you have flu take medication, drink water and go rest."

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Yuma Sun, 2 August 2014

While those infected with HIV or AIDS in Yuma County can still lead long fulfilling lives, the earlier they are diagnosed with the disease, the better the prognosis for their quality of life becomes.

"Do not be afraid" of getting tested, said Martha C. Rodriguez, Yuma County Health Department, HIV Program Medical Case Manager.

"If you are going to have something positive, you'd rather have HIV -- not AIDS -- because AIDS is now a disease. Can you be saved? Absolutely. The problem that folks (we) see with AIDS – they are immune compromised, more so than an HIV-positive person," and are highly susceptible to other diseases such as the flu.

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the Washington Post, 2 August 2014

When African leaders arrive in Washington this week to meet with President Obama, one of the most politically sensitive issues expected to be discussed is the future of the U.S. commitment to global efforts to deal with HIV/AIDS.

For more than a decade, the United States has taken the lead in this fight, providing significant funding — $52 billion so far — to the cause through a program known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Begun by President George W. Bush in 2003, it is widely considered to be among the most successful foreign policy initiatives in history, credited with saving countless lives and helping to enhance the nation's image abroad.

The program remains one of the country's most important foreign aid initiatives under Obama, but its budget has been cut significantly in recent years. Administration officials say it's time to start shifting some of the responsibility for funding and managing the epidemic to the affected countries. That has been an unwelcome change for many — disrupting care on the ground for some patients and creating worry among HIV/AIDS advocates that some nations don't have a robust enough medical infrastructure to handle the additional burden.

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ST Louis Post Dispatch, 2 August 2014

MARTUR, INDIA

Sister Gracy Vailapally tries to keep secret the HIV status of the children she serves.

But often she fails.

"We won't tell that the child is positive," she said. "But somehow from the local people, they know."

A case in point: an 11-year-old boy born to a woman named Naomi.

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Media for Freedom, 2 August 2014

Joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is mobilizing governments and other partners to achieve new set of targets, referred to as, 90:90:90 by 2020, but with current set of tools, approaches, funding commitments, and challenge that HIV poses to the world, the goal seems certainly a bold and ambitious one. Without innovation, at current pace of HIV responses on the ground, we are very likely to fail meeting the targets. We not only need to accelerate the search for better and effective technologies to help fight AIDS effectively but also need to improvise and innovate in rolling out evidence-based approaches.

Innovation can surely help provide more value for every dollar of investment. But then the dollars must be there to help innovation maximise the returns. Hence, besides innovative ways to do HIV programming more effectively we also need to increase HIV financing. The resources for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) and PEPFAR, among others, have almost flat-lined over the past 5 years or so. Without sufficient financial investment in HIV programming, it will be difficult to reach the new set of targets by 2020.

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