Aids activists are waiting anxiously to see whether South Africa's government will appeal a landmark court ruling Friday that it must provide pregnant HIV (news - web sites)-positive women in state hospitals with a drug that can prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus.

An outbreak of the Ebola virus in the north-eastern Ogooue-Ivindo province of Gabon last week, may have been caused by consumption of monkey meat by the victims, news reports quoted the government as saying on Wednesday.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has expressed serious concern over the food situation in Somalia, saying it is deteriorating rapidly mainly due to drought.

Nigeria's "long-awaited" clinical trial of generic antiretroviral drugs has been delayed for the second time in recent months.

South Africa's second-largest miner of gold, Gold Fields Ltd., signed an agreement on Wednesday with the representatives of several mining unions to create "one of the most advanced" workplace HIV/AIDS programs in the country, Reuters reports.

In a historic victory for the Treatment Action Campaign, Pretoria High Court Judge Chris Botha ruled on Friday that the South African government must supply the antiretroviral drug nevirapine to all HIV-positive pregnant women in the public health system in order to reduce transmission of the virus from mother to child.

We - some 400 delegates from peasant and indigenous organizations,fishing associations, non governmental organizations, social agencies, academics and researchers from 60 countries met in Havana to analyze the reasons why hunger and malnutrition grow every day throughout the world, why the crisis in peasant and indigenous agriculture, artisanal fisheries and sustainable food systems has worsened, and why the people are losing sovereign control over their resources. We gathered to collectively develop viable alternatives for action on a local, national and global scale, aimed at reversing current trends and promoting new policies that can guarantee a hunger- free present and future for all men and women of the world.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is drafting plans to help thousands of impoverished Malawians survive this year's maize shortages.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is drafting plans to help thousands of impoverished Malawians survive this year's maize shortages.

Zambia's deepening food shortages, along with mismanagement and corruption, are the key issues dominating the country's general election campaign, opposition leader Dipak Patel told IRIN on Tuesday.

The purpose of the workshop in Cape Town is multifaceted. Primarily, it aims to train participants on how to use the "Youth to Youth" manual effectively, and thus to empower them to initiate youth activities around HIV/AIDS and Human Rights in their own communities. It is also hoped that the workshop will equip participants with the necessary skills to ensure that they, as future community leaders, will advocate the care of people living with HIV/AIDS in an ethical, judicious and most appropriate manner.

This is an opportunity to apply for a PhD/DrPH studentship to undertake a research project in any area of clinical, field, social science or associated laboratory work that is relevant to the control of malaria.

10 week course in Leeds is targeted at experienced managers and field staff from developing countries who are requiring a short course to improve their capacity to plan, implement and manage communication/health promotion components of projects.

To stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic from becoming a catastrophe, prevention strategies must do much more to reach young people right away, according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Hopkins call for a youth-centered strategy follows grim new United Nations statistics that show almost 12 million young people are now living with the deadly disease.

With HIV/AIDS infection rates showing no signs of abating, the urgency for a preventive vaccine has never been greater. Dr Tim Tucker, recently appointed head of the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI), shares some thoughts on the vaccine trials and the road ahead.

Each year more than 525,000 women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, over 50 million experience pregnancy-related complications, 15 million of which lead to long-term illness or disability. A new report from Panos "Birth rights: new approaches to safe motherhood", highlights the fact that since 1987, when an International Safe Motherhood Initiative was adopted, there has been little evidence of significant reductions in the number of women dying globally.

Former military intelligence officer Mohammed Farouk, leader of the Nigerian AIDS Alliance, received death threats Tuesday after criticizing on TV Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka's claim to have found a cure for the disease.

Peter Marais, former mayor of Cape Town and a member of the New National Party, was sworn in yesterday as premier of South Africa's Western Cape province in a power-sharing deal made with the ruling African National Congress and immediately voiced his support for anti-AIDS efforts, Agence France-Presse reports. In his inaugural address, Marais said that "HIV causes AIDS, full stop," a statement that appears to "sho[w] little caution" for the views of South African President Thabo Mbeki.

The majority of Nigeria's 80,000 sex workers are aware of HIV/AIDS, but most do not know how it is transmitted and almost half do not take measures to protect themselves, according to a recent study by the Nigerian Society for Family Health.

US House of Representatives just passed the "Africa: Hunger to Harvest Resolution" (H. Con. Res. 102). The companion measure passed the Senate last July (SConRes 53). The House has substituted the somewhat stronger Senate language requesting the Bush Administration to present Congress with a 5-year and 10 year plan to reduce poverty and hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa.