HIV/AIDS in the People's Republic of China

The 3rd South African National HIV Communication Survey (NCS) results, released at the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., revealed new data that show substantial increases in behaviors that reduce the risk of HIV: condom use, HIV counseling and testing and voluntary medical male circumcision. The data also confirm that exposure to HIV communication programs have a direct impact on people practicing these behaviors.

This new UNAIDS report contains the latest data on numbers of new HIV infections, numbers of people receiving antiretroviral treatment, AIDS-related deaths and HIV among children. It highlights new scientific opportunities and social progress which are bringing the world closer to UNAIDS vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

The report also gives an overview of international and domestic HIV investments and the need for greater value for money and sustainability.

Calling for global solidarity and shared responsibility, the UNAIDS report contains commentaries from global and community leaders as well as people living with and affected by HIV.

The final report of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law presents a coherent and compelling evidence base on human rights and legal issues relating to HIV

Leaders from around the world attending the 2011 High Level Meeting on AIDS committed to work towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and reducing AIDS-related maternal mortality. This is to be accomplished through the implementation of a new Global Plan* for scaling up comprehensive prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
(PMTCT) programmes. The Global Plan calls for broader thinking and action both within and outside the formal health-care delivery system. An important feature of the plan is its emphasis on community engagement as an integral part of the scale-up strategy.

The global war on drugs is driving the HIV/AIDS pandemic among people who use drugs and their sexual partners. Throughout the world, research has consistently shown that repressive drug law enforcement practices force drug users away from public health services and into hidden environments where HIV risk becomes markedly elevated. Mass incarceration of non-violent drug offenders also plays a major role in increasing HIV risk. This is a critical public health issue in many countries, including the United States, where as many as 25 percent of Americans infected with HIV may pass through correctional facilities annually, and where disproportionate incarceration rates are among the key reasons for markedly higher HIV rates among African Americans.

This guide summarises The Union's experience in developing approaches to integrated TB-HIV care for adults in resource-limited settings. It is recommended for health professionals at the implementation level and national programme staff in charge of policy and practices for collaborative TB-HIV activities.

Between 31 January and 2 February 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a meeting of experts to discuss recent research on use of hormonal contraception by women at high risk of HIV and those currently living with HIV and its implications. The Technical Consultation brought together 75 participants from 18 countries; 18 agencies were represented. The multidisciplinary group comprised experts in international family planning and HIV, including clinicians, epidemiologists, researchers, programme managers, policy-makers, guideline methodologists, reproductive biologists and pharmacologists, HIV advocates, and women’s health advocates.

New WHO guidelines recommend offering HIV testing and counselling to couples, wherever HIV testing and counselling is available, including in antenatal clinics. For couples where only one partner is HIV positive, the guidelines recommend offering antiretroviral therapy to the HIV positive partner, regardless of his/her own immune status (CD4 count), to reduce the likelihood of HIV transmission to the HIV negative partner.

This report draws on recently collected field data from numerous countries where the International HIV/AIDS Alliance operates to explain why the funding crisis requires urgent action on the part of Global Fund donors and all other stakeholders. The Alliance’s recommendations for responding to the crisis are based on our analysis of the implications of funding shortfalls in the following specific areas: HIV treatment; HIV prevention; care and support; services for key populations at higher risk of HIV infection; and efforts to create an enabling environment.

Recent developments suggest that substantial clinical and programmatic advantages can come from adopting a single, universal regimen both to treat HIV-infected pregnant women and to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This streamlining should maximize PMTCT programme performance through better alignment and linkages with antiretroviral therapy (ART) programmes at every level of service delivery. One of WHO’s two currently recommended PMTCT antiretroviral (ARV) programme options, Option B, takes this unified approach.