MSH welcomes the news that Uganda's anti-homesexuality law has been annulled by the country's Constitutional Court. President Yoweri Museveni signed the law into effect in February.

According to BBC News Africa (August 1, 2014):

[The Ugandan Constitutional Court] ruled that the bill was passed by [Members of Parliament] in December without the requisite quorum and was therefore illegal.

Homosexual acts were already illegal, but the new law allowed for life imprisonment for 'aggravated homosexuality' and banned the 'promotion of homosexuality'.

Several donors have cut aid to Uganda since the law was adopted.

Read MSH's statement on the anti-homosexuality law (March 3, 2014).

To commemorate World AIDS Day, Management Sciences for Health (MSH) recently teamed up with Save the Children and ONE in conjunction with the Office of Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) to co-host an event on Capitol Hill entitled Getting to an AIDS-Free Generation: Overcoming Remaining Challenges.

Advancing a health systems strengthening approach to HIV & AIDS requires advocacy and education, especially of decision makers. In honor of World AIDS Day 2013 (December 1, observed in some places December 2) we invite you to commemorate the day wherever you are, and help our global family achieve an AIDS-free generation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) made waves at the International AIDS Society conference in Kuala Lumpur when it issued revised guidelines for HIV treatment. The new guidelines—WHO’s first major update since 2010—recommend an earlier start to treatment, from a CD4 threshold of 350 cells/mm³ to 500 cells/mm³. While most patients don’t show symptoms of disease at these higher CD4 counts (a measure of immune system strength), the new guidelines responded to evidence that an earlier start improves long-term clinical outcomes and that ARV treatment dramatically reduces patients’ likelihood of transmitting the virus to sexual partners.

This week’s Lancet returns the spotlight to Option B+, an innovative strategy for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV which was first developed in Malawi with technical assistance from MSH. Four letters respond to the concern that international organizations have too quickly endorsed the Option B+ approach of providing lifelong triple antiretroviral therapy (ART), irrespective of CD4 count, to pregnant women with HIV in high-burden countries.

MSH experts Scott Kellerman, Jonathan Jay and Jonathan Quick argue that “a strong case exists for expanding research on Option B+, but not for impeding countries that pursue it on the basis of available evidence and programmatic experience:”

It's been nearly two weeks since former President William J. Clinton closed the last session of the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) and delegates returned home.

This year's conference featured commitment and calls for an AIDS-free generation, a growing interest in Option B+, and new research towards a cure.  Here are some reflections from what we learned at AIDS 2012, where we truly started "turning the tide together".

Clinton calls for a blueprint toward an AIDS-free generation

Secretary Hilary Rodham Clinton announced significant funding towards preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, South Africa’s plan for voluntary medical male circumcision, and money for “implementation research,” civil society, and country-led plans. Sec. Clinton also called on Ambassador Eric Goosby to provide a blueprint for achieving an AIDS-free generation during her plenary address. Numerous other stakeholders echoed her commitment. But, if we really want to achieve an AIDS-free generation, the $7 billion funding gap that stands between where we are now, and where we should be, will need to be erased

The prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV is taking center stage this week during USAID’s 5th Birthday campaign -- and rightly so.  Preventing mother to child transmission of HIV is one of the most critical, effective tools to helping kids reach their fifth birthdays.

Kalu, a young man from Kenya, dreamed of becoming a star footballer (soccer player). Little did he know when he traveled to South Africa to pursue his dream that he carried in him a hidden passenger: the HIV virus. And little did he know that his forbidden romance with Ify, the coach’s daughter, would spread the virus, infecting her with HIV.

Presented by Discovery Channel Global Education Partnerships (DCGEP) and produced by Curious Pictures, Inside Story: The Science of HIV/AIDS is a modern tale of young love with false accusations, heartbreak and ultimately reconciliation. Inside Story is an African sports drama, with team rivalries, individual jealousies and xenophobia. In its most creative dimension, Inside Story is a masterful and pioneering AIDS education vehicle with sophisticated animated clips that show the science of HIV including the virus infecting cells.

We know how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. But without intervention nearly 40 percent of mothers with HIV/AIDS in developing countries will transmit the virus to their newborns.

I’d like to call attention to an important set of articles in the recent HIV/AIDS themed issue of The Lancet. Erik Schouten of Malawi Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival (BASICS) has published a commentary (free registration required) about Malawi’s push to be the first country to implement a “B+” approach to reducing mother to child transmission.