The southern African country of Zambia has set a new record - one which no country would wish to hold. The average life expectancy in the country is 33 years - by far the lowest in the world - and it is all due to Aids.

For the first time since the breakout of AIDS, infection rates are showing widespread signs of stagnating or declining in some of the hardest-hit urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new US analysis. US and United Nations officials have found a decline or leveling off of HIV rates in cities in 11 countries, greatly expanding earlier reports that the deadly virus was in retreat in Uganda and among young people in Zambia.

This document presents an overview of the situation of increasing numbers of orphans and children affected by HIV/Aids worldwide. It states that both communities and governments are reaching crisis point in trying to cope with these children.

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Children in South Africa are being infected with HIV through dirty needles, experts have claimed. Researchers have suggested hundreds of thousands of children may have contracted the virus in this way.

The success of Botswana's "radical" antiretroviral drug program has made the country a "test case" for AIDS treatment in sub-Saharan Africa, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Botswana, which has the world's highest HIV prevalence rate - 38.5% of people between the ages of 14 and 49 are estimated to be HIV-positive - began offering treatment last year.

The June 2003 issue of 'Development'(Volume 46, Number 2) will focus on the theme of Globalization, Reproductive Health and Rights. The articles it contains present case studies from many countries around the world, as well as strategies for action and advocacy campaigns. The reproductive health and rights agenda can no longer be understood as a narrow technical issue but as an agenda that must respond to the challenge that fundamentalisms of the 'free market' and ethnic and religious groups are posing. Women's reproductive rights and health is not only a key issue in itself, but it is also critical to the achievement of economic and social justice.

The current HIV prevalence rate among Mozambican adults is 14.6 per cent, Deputy Health Minister Aida Libombo told the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Wednesday.

In the developed world, telemedicine has been criticised as a cost-cutting device that leads to a depersonalised approach to healthcare. It has also been criticised in the developing world as an expensive, high-bandwidth overkill approach that focuses attention away from real problems and sucks up scarce resources. But at a hospital in South Africa telemedicine has proved to be more of a hands-on approach to patient care.

The World Health Organisation announced that it would provide technical support to Tanzania for the commercial production of a plant-based medicine reported to have the "highest cure rate" for malaria, Irin news reports.

The 3rd International Conference of the International Society for Equity in Health will be hosted by the Health Systems Trust (HST), a South African-based NGO, the Southern African Regional Network on Equity in Health (EQUINET) and the Global Equity Gauge Alliance (GEGA), an international consortium of initiatives to support health equity. The meeting will bring together researchers, policy-makers, practitioners and others concerned with equity in health to develop an international health agenda for governments, universities and organisations all over the world. The 3rd International Conference theme is “Pathways to equity in health: Using research for policy and advocacy”. The Conference will explore this theme through a varied program of plenary sessions, forums, poster sessions and scientific sessions. We invite and welcome your participation in the effort towards advancement of knowledge, fostering of the exchange of experiences and promotion of equity in health.

This posting from Africa Action contains several updates on developments related to access to AIDS treatment. Included is a notice from the Treatment Action Campaign on the temporary suspension of their civil disobedience campaign pending a new meeting with the South African government, two short press releases from the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA) in South Africa against the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Assocation (PMA), and an analysis from Brook Baker of Healthgap of the recent move by GlaxoSmithKline in lowering the cost of its antiretroviral drugs. Another posting contains new press releases and other material from Africa Action related to the Africa's Right to Health Campaign.

This policy paper by the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) reflects what is known so far about HIV/ AIDS and food security and describes the practical considerations thus far identified that are necessary for successful project implementation. The authors state that little work has been carried out on how food, and specifically food aid, can be best integrated into programmes designed to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on poor households' food security.

House maids in Tanzania are at a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS because their male bosses, their male children, and other male family members force them to have sex, a country-wide survey shows.

The approach of the new Kenyan administration to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the country is a breath of fresh air compared to the previous government, Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, told a press briefing last week after a visit to the country where he met with President Mwai Kibaki and other senior government officials.

The impact of the deadly Sars virus in Africa would be devastating and the continent cannot afford to see the disease spread there, warns a World Health Organisation (Who) spokesperson. Christine McNab told journalists that one of the UN agency's long-running fears was that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) might take a grip in developing countries where health systems were severely deficient or precarious.

The National Association of People Living with HIV/Aids has intensified its struggle by targeting individual Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PMA) affiliates who are responding negative to their demands, says Thanduxolo Doro, NAPWA Deputy Director and Spokesperson.

Swaziland is facing a water crisis after hoped-for summer rains failed to materialise, and a dry autumn is expected to be followed by a rainless winter. Coming on the heels of last year's severe drought, the impact of the water shortage is already being felt, and is expected to worsen a national food emergency.

Only about 100 people with HIV/AIDS in the Republic of Congo (ROC) had access to adequate treatment, Health Minister Alain Moka told medical workers during a training seminar on Monday in the capital, Brazzaville.

Following a meeting with South African Deputy-President Jacob Zuma last week, AIDS lobby group, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), announced it would suspend its civil disobedience action aimed at forcing the government to introduce a national HIV/AIDS treatment programme. The following is a chronology of events during 2002 and 2003 over South Africa's controversial HIV/AIDS treatment access programme.