HIV – Global Reproductive Health at Duke

HIV Patients Sue Government Over Lack of Septrin

December 3, 2018December 3, 2018 by Faith OtewaNo Comments

Co-trimoxazole preventive therapy is a feasible intervention for people living with HIV. It works to reduce HIV-related morbidity and mortality through an off-patent drug, which is widely available in resource-limited settings. The World Health Organization (WHO) conditionally recommends the use of co-trimoxazole as treatment for opportunistic infections in people living with HIV/AIDS. In Uganda, previous reports by the State Minister for Health stated that there was a funding shortage for the drug. The Global Fund, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland has since stepped in to provide all funds for the drugs available from July 2018 onwards. This is good news, as daily intake of co-trimoxazole relieves symptoms and prolongs life for people living with HIV/AIDS. However, a human rights organization and two people living with HIV have sued the Ugandan Government and the National Medical Stores (NMS) for alleged failure to supply public health centers with septrin as one of the essential drugs for treatment of AIDS for the months of March...

Malaysia Eliminates Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission

November 16, 2018November 16, 2018 by Faith OtewaNo Comments

Malaysia is currently celebrating a milestone victory in progress towards preventing preventable diseases in babies. It has become the first country in the Western Pacific region to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and syphilis. Malaysia was one of the early global adopters of the program Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) for HIV and syphilis, starting antenatal screening in 1997. Today, services are fully integrated within Malaysia’s Family Health Programs, and testing is provided free of charge. Virtually all women have access to quality health services including contraception and birth assisted by skilled healthcare workers. This programming strategy has dramatically reduced the number of babies born with either syphilis or HIV and is compatible with global elimination criteria. Transmission of HIV can occur from an HIV-positive woman to her child during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. This type of transmission accounts for the vast majority of new HIV infections in children, and remains a significant challenge for low- and middle-income countries in breaking...

Multi-Lateral Call to Action to Attain Universal Health Coverage through Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights that include HIV linkages

August 3, 2018August 3, 2018 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Despite the many interconnected risk factors and affected populations, the integration of HIV prevention and treatment services and sexual and reproductive health and rights has not been straightforward. Recently, there has been an increase in the calls for integration from some important global health group. A recent Comment in the Lancet responded to the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) report, which highlighted the need for universal access to integrated SRHR packages, including HIV prevention and treatment. The authors set out three main strategies to improve this: 1) Empower women at the individual and community level, 2) Secure accountable leadership, governance and financing from government and international agencies and 3) Improve the coordination and cooperation across various sectors. This was followed by a more specific call to action launched at AIDS 2018. More than 35 international agencies signed on to these 10 key actions necessary to advance both SRHR and HIV treatment, prevention and care. The...

New HIV infection rate declines in South Africa, survey data shows

July 19, 2018 by Anna KatzNo Comments

In South Africa, the number of new HIV infections is on the decline. The newly-released South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour, and Communications Survey, 2017 is the fifth wave of a series of cross-sectional surveys on HIV/AIDS in the country, and offers a comprehensive look at how HIV/AIDS affects the population. According to the study, the HIV incidence rate--or the rate of new infections--declined by an impressive 44%, from 0.85% in 2012 to 0.48% in 2017. The incidence rate was highest among females aged 15-24. The overall decrease in incidence suggests that progress is being made in antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage. Contraceptive use and increased HIV education may have also contributed to the change. The survey also found that over 60 percent of South Africans living with HIV, an estimated 4.4 million people, were on ART in 2017. In addition, viral suppression was 87.3% among people living with HIV who were on ART. Overall, approximately 7.9 million South Africans were...

Experimental HIV vaccine could move to human trials next year

June 25, 2018July 4, 2018 by Anna KatzNo Comments

An HIV vaccine could be closer than we think. A study published in Nature Medicine earlier this month highlights significant progress in efforts by scientists at the National Institutes of Health to develop an HIV vaccine. By targeting a vulnerable part of the virus, scientists were able to elicit antibodies that neutralized almost one-third of HIV strains in mice. The vaccine produced a similar neutralizing response in guinea pigs and rhesus monkeys, suggesting that their approach is promising. The researchers will continue to optimize the vaccine in the coming months, and anticipate beginning a preliminary human trial of the new vaccine regimen in late 2019. - Anna Katz, Communications Intern...

Photo Essays: HIV/AIDS

November 30, 2017November 30, 2017 by Amelia CheathamNo Comments

While a stream of statistics sheds valuable light on global impacts of HIV/AIDS, evaluations of programs and populations can make it easy to forget the epidemic, at its core, is about individuals. Though words are among humanity's most powerful tools, they may fail to convey the full narrative. In a world divided by a plethora of languages, sometimes photographs--a universal form of communication--tell the best stories. In preparation for #WorldAIDSDay2017 tomorrow, we've compiled a list of photo essays that document the impacts of HIV/AIDS over time and across the world. Keep scrolling to check them out and learn about efforts to combat this issue around the globe. "Life on London's First AIDS Ward" (photo courtesy Gideon Mendel) "26 Powerful Photos Of The US AIDS Crisis In The '80s" (photo courtesy Barbara Alper/Getty Images) "Namibia's HIV/AIDS and Poverty Crisis" (photo courtesy UNICEF) "Sex and Drugs in an HIV-Infected Paradise" (photo courtesy Mia Collis/PBS NewsHour) "HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe" (photo courtesy Malcolm Linton) "World AIDS Day 2012: Imagine being...