A reliable HIV self-test

What aspect of HIV does your study deal with? What are the findings? Interviewee:  Nitika Pant Pai

Moralists hitch on AIDS

Tattooing is evil and creates “aggression and hostility in the mind of a human being,” a voiceover says. This scene is part of a programme broadcast on Uzbek state television’s First Channel on February 20. Besides the “moral damage” tattoos do, a doctor included in the programme also tells viewers that tattoos have the potential to cause skin diseases and contribute to the spread of AIDS.

Morality v reality

A television ad in Kenya led to a public outcry and a national debate over how to encourage condom use. The ad features two women who are gong about their daily routine. One of the women is having an extramarital affair. The second advises her to use a condom to prevent spread of sexually transmitted infections like HIV.

Art from gaol

Men in a South Carolina prison for juveniles and professors of library science from the University of South Carolina have joined hands to fight AIDS with a graphic novel.

Science and Technology - Briefs

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Finned polluter

Letters - December 15, 2012

Leave Them Alone This is with reference to the article, “Tourism in Jarawa buffer, officially” (November 16-30, 2012). The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been home to several distinct tribes for tens of thousands of years. But the administration, first the British and later the Indian government, brought nothing but disaster for the tribes. Only the Sentinelese tribe remains untouched by the devastation due to their isolated location and aggressive behaviour towards outsiders.

Poor countries increase domestic funding for AIDS control programmes

As funds for AIDS programmes from developed nations gradually dry up, middle- and low-income countries are rising to the challenge. Domestic investments by BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) for the disease have increased by almost 120 per cent between 2006 and 2011, according to a new report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS or UNAIDS. These countries now fund, on average, more than 75 per cent of their domestic AIDS responses.

‘Manipulate market, lower drug prices’

What is UNITAID’s objective? Interviewee:  Denis Broun

News snippets

>> Google, Facebook, Twitter and AOL are joining forces to keep Web surfers safe from ads that serve up malware or scams. They have announced the formation of the Ads Integrity Alliance, which will be led by Maxim Weinstein, executive director of Stop Badware, a non-profit focused on protecting consumers from sites that lead to viruses, spyware and other malware.

Focus on nutrition of children with HIV: child rights commission

The government programmes for children suffering from HIV/AIDS should move from medicine-centric approach to include nutrition and preventive care, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has recommended. In its recently released report ‘Rights and entitlements of children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS 2010-11’, the organisation also advocated provisions for issuing BPL cards to children who have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS to ensure minimum food security and nutritional support. The report was put on the website of NCPCR in March.