“Women now account for half of the 33 million people living with HIV around the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, home to two-thirds of the world’s people living with HIV, women are even harder hit, making up 60 percent of those infected. Not only are women biologically more susceptible than men to HIV, many behavioral and social factors play into women’s vulnerability.
If a young woman is uninfected with HIV at the time of her marriage, traditional wisdom says that she has avoided the disease altogether. More and more, however, research shows …

Worapoj Petchkhoom who appeared ligthly dressed in Stage modelling magazine.

Thailand has a serious problem of, and with, its image. The recent fighting ban imposed on Muai Thai boxer Worapoj Petchkhoom is the latest example of politics based on, and aiming at, keeping up appearances and reputation at the expense of addressing more fundamental issues. Worapoj was banned from competition for 3 months because he posed lightly dressed for a Thai modeling magazine, Stage, which appeals to many gay readers.  The images were not considered obscene but still “they have tarnished …

33 million people are infected with HIV worldwide. But what does that tell us? The world is big. 67% of those infected lives in Sub-Saharan Africa. Still, Africa is a very large continent. 35% of all those infected live in southern Africa and within South Africa, the KwaZulu Natal province has the highest prevalence of HIV infection; 39% of women who attend an antenatal clinic are HIV positive.
Knowing the HIV epidemic is fundamental when setting up interventions and my opening statement clearly shows that generalisation are not very useful or …

Despite an increase in intergenerational sex amongst female teenagers, despite an increase in the number of multiple partners amongst men age 15-24, despite a decrease in HIV prevention knowledge, the third South African National HIV survey conducted in 2008 showed a promising decline in the number of HIV infections amongst the 15-24 years old.
“HIV prevalence among adults aged 15-49 has declined between 2002 and 2008 in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Northern Cape and the Free State, with the largest decline of 7.9 percentage points in the Western Cape.”
This may well …

Three major reports have been published recently about HIV prevention and how it is failing those most vulnerable.
The first reports comes from UNAIDS and the World Bank and concerns five sub-Saharan countries: Kenya, Lesotho, Swaziland, Uganda and Mozambique. The survey was conducted to find out how and where most HIV infections were occurring in each country, and whether existing prevention efforts and expenditure matched these findings.
An IRIN report noted that “In Lesotho, where nearly one in four are living with HIV, an analysis of national prevalence and behavioural data …