Free AIDS drugs reduce Malawi death rates

Greater access to free medicine has helped slash AIDS-related deaths in Malawi by 75 percent in the last four years, a senior government official said on Monday.HIV/AIDS has been blamed for 59 percent of deaths among those aged between 15 to 59 years in the southern African country, which has a population of 13 million.But Malawi has made progress since 2004, when it started to offer free antiretroviral therapy -- drugs that help treat immunodeficiency virus -- to thousands of patients."I am happy that AIDS related deaths have decreased by over 75 percent over the last four years in comparison with the AIDS related deaths we had in 2003-2004 because of increased free treatment," said Mary Shawa, Malawi's principle secretary for HIV & AIDS.Malawi has had about 800,000 AIDS related deaths since 1985, when the first case was reported. As of March this year, the government has put 159,111 people on free antiretroviral drugs and 106,547 of those are still alive."This represents a 67 percent survival rate. But we still need to do more, because those who did not make it may have died because they started the treatment late or did not have access to proper nutrition," said Shawa

World Bank shifts HIV/AIDS focus in Africa

The World Bank on Wednesday unveiled a four-year strategy to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa that shifts focus from emergency response to long-term development.
The change was made possible after billions of dollars in grant funding became available from the U.S. Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Geneva-based Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which alone has committed $10.7 billion to fight disease.
The World Bank has sent $1.5 billion to more than 30 African countries to fight HIV/AIDS since 2000.
"With AIDS the largest single cause of premature death in Africa, we can't talk about better, lasting development there without also committing to stay the course in the long-term fight against the disease," said Elizabeth Lule, manager of the World Bank's AIDS Team for Africa.
The World Bank said it would concentrate on advising countries on how best to manage the new international funding, and at the local level try to help governments take a long-term view on how to best tackle the disease.
It plans to help governments integrate HIV/AIDS services with those for pregnant mothers and children and services which fight malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases.
New HIV/AIDS infections in Africa are rising. For every person starting HIV drug treatment, which can keep patients healthy for years and prevent the development of full-blown AIDS, another four to six are newly infected, the World Bank said.
However statistics do indicate falling prevalence in Kenya, parts of Botswana, the Ivory Coast, Malawi and Zimbabwe

Uganda turns to mass circumcision in AIDS fight

Ugandan authorities have launched a mass circumcision drive with the hope it will reduce HIV/AIDS rates in the east African country.Some studies indicate circumcision could be 70 percent effective in protecting men against infection by the disease during heterosexual intercourse, when used in conjunction with condoms and other safe-sex practices.Government officials in Kampala have decided to take advantage of a month-long traditional "circumcision season" practiced by some tribes to drive the message home."Socially, it is uniting, and now it has also been proven medically, that is gratifying and it is part and parcel of now the strategy for fighting AIDS," Kibale Wambi, chairman of Sironko district in eastern Uganda, told Reuters.The government plans to circumcise more than 3,000 local youths between the ages of 12 and 18. HIV activists say there needs to be more money and efforts like this on a global scale.But some critics of circumcision in Uganda say it is brutal and dangerous. In traditional settings like Sironko, circumcisers have used the same knife for each young man.This time, the government has introduced a strict one knife per operation ruling to ensure no infections are passed on."If a knife is to be re-used on another person, it first has to be sterilised," Wambi said, wearing a traditional hat covered with cowrie shells."We have also discouraged the traditional practice of forcing the circumcised males into sexual intercourse to prove their manhood after the wound heals, to avoid the spread of sexually transmitted diseases."Some experts fear that some of the newly circumcised men may believe they are immune following the procedure -- translating into even more risky sexual behaviour."All I know is that when I am circumcised, it will not be as easy for me to get infected with HIV/AIDS," said one young man, Kizeja Michael, as he lined up for the operation."People who are circumcised are not able to get AIDS," said his friend, Peter Kibatsi.Uganda has been widely praised for an education campaign about condoms that is credited with cutting HIV prevalence rates from 30 percent two decades ago to about 6 percent today.