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How many times have you started to have a conversation with someone about Hepatitis C only to have it blow up in your face? Have you ever heard someone say something about Hep C that didn't seem quite right to you? You were probably right something was amiss. A discussion about Hepatitis C can...
As per Wikipedia, the definition of a stigma is as follows: "Stigma is a word that originally means a "sign", "point", or "branding mark"." Wikipedia goes on to call stigma "A badge of shame, a physical mark of infamy or disgrace." Damn that w...
Recently, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) issued a statement that all Baby Boomers should be tested for Hepatitis C. The question often comes up as to why this particular segment of people is so vulnerable. What does being born between 1945 and 1965 have to do with Hepatitis C? What was di...
Buyer Beware! There are several snake oil salesmen out there who are claiming to have cured their own Hepatitis C with herbs, supplements and parking lot gravel. Okay, maybe not the parking lot gravel but it might as well be. What you need to remember is that there are two different types of...
Most every adult woman (and an occasional man) has enjoyed a manicure and a pedicure at a nail salon or spa. That 30 minute pedicure can be so relaxing but are you aware of the danger lurking in that nail salon? Although few individuals recognize the medical risks associated with this common pr...
The HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs in the Libyan capital Tripoli is at an alarming 87% according to the results from bio-behavioral surveys conducted by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine with the support of the European Union. Reaching out to 328 injecting drug users, 227 men who have sex with men (MSM) and 69 female sex workers, the study was designed to indicate the progression of HIV prevalence among key populations at higher risk.
The results of the study were presented during the first National HIV Symposium in post-conflict Libya that took place 26 June in the Libyan capital Tripoli under the auspices of the Libyan Minister of Health in collaboration with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
In light of the new evidence, the Libyan Minister of Health, H.E. Dr Fatima Elhamrosh called for urgent action from all concerned sectors in Libya. “We will need to develop and implement comprehensive programs to respond to the growing AIDS epidemic among key populations in Libya,” said Minister Elhamrosh.
Before the revolution that took place in the spring of 2011, it was difficult for UNAIDS and international development partners to work systematically in Libya. AIDS was not openly discussed nor considered a priority. The new data confirms that the HIV situation in Libya is worse than what was officially reported in the past.
“We very much welcome the remarkable political commitment of the government of Libya towards responding to the AIDS epidemic,” said Hind Khatib, Director of UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Middle East and North Africa. “The commitment of Her Excellency, the Minister of Health to expand drug treatment services providing a range of evidence-based responses and the establishment of eight Voluntary Counselling and Testing centers focusing on key populations are clear examples of the growing governmental commitment,” added Ms Khatib.
UNAIDS recommendations in relation to HIV prevention responses among injecting drug users stress the need to develop a comprehensive set of measures consisting of the full range of treatment options—notably drug substitution treatment—and the implementation of harm reduction measures—through, among others, peer outreach to injecting drug users, and sterile needle and syringe programmes. Also, voluntary confidential HIV counseling and testing, prevention of sexual transmission of HIV among drug users (including condoms and prevention and treatment for sexually transmitted infections), access to primary healthcare and access to antiretroviral therapy. Such an approach must be based on promoting, protecting and respecting the human rights of drug users.
Following the change of government, UNAIDS has provided technical support to the Ministry of Health and UN Country Team in Libya to address the emerging HIV priorities. This has resulted in better identification of priorities, improved understanding of the HIV situation and response, the establishment of the Joint UN team on AIDS and improved commitment from the government, UN and civil society organizations.
At the end of the symposium, participants endorsed a statement of commitment to scale up the national AIDS response in Libya with focus on HIV prevention programs among key populations, rights of people living with HIV and expanded role of civil society in the national response.
UNODC also re-launched the second phase of their HIV project in Libya that focuses on HIV prevention among people who injecting drug and in prison settings. The project, funded by the Libyan government, was suspended in 2011 due to the security problems and is now being resumed.
"UNODC warmly welcomes the expressions of political will and commitment by the Libyan government to respond to the HIV and drug use crisis as a matter of national priority,” stated Masood Karimipour, Regional Representative of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. “UNODC is proud to be in partnership with Libya to help provide a comprehensive response to prevent drug use and the spread of HIV as well as to treat people in need in coordination with all national stakeholders, UNAIDS and the international community,” Added Mr Karimipour.
Please sign the ATC Salvage Therapy Petition Join us in asking Congressman Alcee Hastings and Congresswomen Maxine Waters to send a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter to Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID, asking for the federal facilitation of apricitabine (ATC). ATC is a phase III nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) that has been shown to be safe and effective in treating people with HIV. It works against viruses that are resistant to several other nukes and could ...
Researchers from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts Medical School announced today at CROI2013 the discovery of the first infant functionally cured of HIV. The baby, a female now two and a half years old, received 3 HIV medications when brought to the hospital at 30 hours old. Viral load tests were performed during the first few weeks that showed a rapidly decreasing viral load which reached ...
At the 19th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington D.C., the CDC reported that only 1 out of 4 HIV patients in the U.S. have HIV under control, which is defined as complete viral suppression. Warning bells should be ringing in the scientific and HIV advocacy communities. While much progress has been made in the last three decades in the treatment of HIV, tens of thousands of people living with HIV (PLWH) are currently struggling to construct viable treat...
Paige Rawl is 17 and HIV positive, but while her life has been shaped by HIV it isn't ruled by it. When Paige Rawl starts her senior year at Indianapolis’s Herron High School next month, she'll be cheer captain and a member of the student government and prom committee. This summer, the 17-year-old held down a part-time job at Hollister, hawking the popular Southern California-inspired clothing brand. The all-American girl — who happens to be HIV positive. Paige was in...
The HIV community has been abuzz with the August FDA approval of what had been termed “the Quad”, the second one-pill-once-a-day combination antiretroviral drug. Marketed by Gilead under the name Stribild, the drug contains two NRTIs (tenofovir and emtricitabine), an integrase inhibitor (elvitegravir) and an integrase booster (cobicistat) and is approved for use in treatment naïve patients with either drug resistant or wild type virus. In comparison to Atripla, the first...
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for SUSTIVA® (efavirenz), including dosing recommendations for...
California and other states would be pressured to amend or repeal criminal laws that single out HIV-positive people under a bipartisan bill co-authored and introduced this week by Rep. Barbara...
Mission Statement
At HIV Haven we wish to provide our readers with vital cutting edge information to help expand HIV knowledge and promote activism, particularly that which works towards an end to the HIV pandemic. It is our desire to bring to you the scientific, medical and social advances that given the appropriate attention and support, could change the course of the HIV pandemic, lessen the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS, better the quality and quantity of life for people living with HIV and even yield an eventual end to the HIV pandemic. We also provide the basics of HIV transmission and treatment.
We will focus on issues such as innovative drug development, strategic activist campaigns, HIV relationships and novel HIV and HIV cure research. We also will bring you advances in Hepatitis C (HCV), a common HIV co-infection. Whether you are living with HIV/AIDS, HIV and HCV, love someone who is, are an activist, advocate, researcher, physician or just an interested party, we hope here at HIV Haven we can help you find what you are looking for.
HIV Haven is kindly hosted by 
Makerere University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP) is this July launching another third Phase I trial to develop an HIV vaccine since 1999 when the first trial was launched. Phase I is the first...
Rubaga Girls Primary School pupils had assembled to listen to an HIV awareness talk.The school always created an opportunity for the pupils and their parents to learn about different issues,...
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AUSTRALIA is way behind the US and Europe in protecting medical workers from sharp objects, says a former US nurse who contracted HIV and hepatitis C through a needle injury. Dr Karen Daley, in...
Background: The resurgence of infectious syphilis in men who have sex with men (MSM) has been documented worldwide; however, HIV coinfection and syphilis reinfections in MSM in inner Sydney have not...
'Your Body Blueprint', a new campaign for people living with HIV has just been launched by AFAO. Based around an interactive website, the campaign is designed to encourage and support people...
DESPACHO GERAL, a Santos-based custom clearance agency for over twenty years, has successfully navigated the protocols for shipping the Spirit of Malabo to New York. The vessel departs today on...
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There was no fanfare on May 20, 1983 when Science published what is undoubtedly among the most important medical papers of the 20th century. In the usual dry prose, researchers from the Institut...
“It will take 10 years.” That is what researchers usually say when asked how much longer it will take to develop a safe and effective HIV vaccine.Some of the world’s brightest minds have been on...
Bottling up emotions is thought to harm both mind and body, but a new study suggests that the opposite extreme may be no better. In a study of thousands of heart attack patients, those who...
An explosion of cheap generic substitutes for widely used prescription drugs last year helped drive the first decline in pharmaceutical spending in the U.S. in nearly six decades. Drug makers...
An antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhea—now considered a superbug—has some analysts saying that the bacteria's effects could match those of AIDS. "This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the...
