Why did the US invade Afghanistan after the Taliban twice offered to extradite Osma Bin Laden? The answer is that they are after the huge oil reserves of Central Asia, argues Donna Baillie in this month's edition of Red Pepper.

AIDS groups in Zimbabwe this week condemned a "political" decision by the government to transfer control over money from a national AIDS fund to ruling party-run district
councils, activists told IRIN.

Six months after African leaders at an Abuja, Nigeria, summit pledged to devote more attention and greater resources to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, many health experts say "far too little" has been accomplished, Reuters reports.

South African Anglican Bishop Peter Lee recently sent a letter to Cedric Mayson, the African National Congress' religious affairs director, saying that President Thabo Mbeki's questioning of the causal link between HIV and AIDS has led many men in the rural KwaZulu-Natal province to erroneously believe that sex and AIDS are "not linked," the Daily Mail & Guardian reports.

The Ugandan government on Thursday welcomed a declaration by the World Trade Organisation that should allow developing countries to use generic drugs in times of health crises, overriding the patents held by major pharmaceutical companies.

This is the declaration that was finally passed after a seemingly unending Ministerial in Doha. This is an important declaration that marks an significant if partial victory for developing countries.

A new resource center with accurate and up-to-date information on HIV/AIDS will be established by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP) in Ethiopia, a country that has one of the world’s highest HIV prevalence rates.

eMedicine.com, the publisher of the world's largest online current medical reference, announced today they will use models developed by major publishers, to determine which third world countries will get free access to their online medical reference.

The one hundred and forty two countries meeting at the 4th WTO ministerial conference in Doha clearly affirmed that governments are free to take all necessary measures to protect public health. Now, if drug companies price drugs beyond the reach of people who need them, governments can override patents without the threat of retribution.

Oxfam is giving a four-out-of-ten score to the WTO deal struck at Doha. There is a clear victory on public health, but Oxfam fears that developing countries can be bulldozed into agreeing a huge trade agenda which could exacerbate poverty and inequality.

Although many program planners see schools as a convenient location for HIV prevention programs, there is controversy about whether school programs can ever be strong enough to go beyond improving knowledge and attitudes to increasing the adoption of safe sexual behaviors. Evaluations of school programs in Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand focus on this question: Can school HIV programs change behavior? In each country, local organizations have worked with educators on teacher training and course design to ensure high-quality school interventions.

KFSN has featured articles on weblogs (blogs) before. Now, take a look at this site which calls all inhabitants of the online publishing community to link to this page on World Aids Day on the 1st December. Get some African web presence linked in.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) last week distributed over 1,000 metric mt of food under various programmes in Guinea. The bulk of the supplies - more than 600 mt - went to refugees in the southwestern region of Kissidougou. Other recipients included children and pregnant and nursing women in nutritional centres in Albadaria, north of Kissidougou, and internally displaced persons in the eastern area of Kerouane, WFP said on Friday.

Research compiled by an environmental group has, for the first time, linked land use changes with negative effects on public health. The comprehensive report by the group Sprawl Watch spotlights the connections between suburban sprawl and rising rates of asthma, obesity, and other health problems.

The Ministry of Health is negotiating the importation of cheap generic Aids drugs from Pakistan, Minister for Public Health, Mr Maalim Mohammed, has said.

The Government has announced an end to free distribution of male condoms.
Condom users will henceforth be required to buy the devices in a new cost-sharing strategy.

This is to invite you to participate in an online debate on the future of HIV/AIDS Communication, and particularly the challenges of evaluation in this field. The debate is designed particularly to help inform the agenda and discussions of this forthcoming meeting of the Communication for Development Roundtable - a meeting of senior representatives from United Nations, donors and other international organisations working on HIV/AIDS Communication issues. The debate is open both to all participants in the meeting and to any others who wish to engage in it.

HIV prevalence in Zambia is among the highest in the world, but prevention campaigns have so far had little impact. Many Zambians seek healthcare from both traditional and formal sectors. Is there a role for traditional healers in the fight against HIV? Are traditional and formal healthcare workers willing to work together?

Why do so few people in sub-Saharan Africa use condoms regularly? How can condom promotion campaigns be more effective? Researchers from a collaborative study between institutions in Europe and Africa report on a study in four cities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Nearly a third of all children under five years old in sub-Saharan Africa are underweight. With evidence that health risks are elevated even for children who are only mildly to moderately underweight, tackling malnutrition is crucial for reducing infant mortality.