"Sugar poses enough health risks that it should be considered a controlled substance just like alcohol and tobacco, contend a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)," in an opinion piece called "The Toxic Truth About Sugar," published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, TIME's "Healthland" blog reports (Rochman, 2/2). "While acknowledging that food, unlike alcohol and tobacco, is required for survival, [authors Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis] say taxes, zoning ordinances and even age limits for purchasing certain sugar-laden products are all appropriate remedies for what they see as a not-so-sweet problem," the Wall Street Journal's "Health" blog writes (Hobson, 2/2).

Panel Discussion Shows Heated Controversy Over H5N1 Research

"The controversy over research about potentially dangerous H5N1 viruses heated up [Thursday night] in a New York City debate that featured some of the leading voices exchanging blunt comments on the alleged risks and benefits of publishing or withholding the full details of the studies," CIDRAP News reports. "The debate, sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences, involved two members of the biosecurity advisory board that called for 'redacting' the two studies in question to delete details, along with scientists who want the full studies published and representatives of Science and Nature, the two journals involved," the news service adds (Roos, 2/3).

Supporting Scientific Evidence Under PEPFAR To End AIDS

On Wednesday, several HIV experts spoke at a Capitol Hill briefing "supporting the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program's reliance on scientific evidence to drive its work to end AIDS," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports. The speakers, including Diane Havlir of the University of California, San Francisco, RJ Simonds of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Renee Ridzon of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Chris Beyrer of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, talked about using antiretroviral treatment as a prevention method, the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, voluntary medical male circumcision, and preventing HIV among marginalized populations at high risk of infection (Mazzotta, 2/3).

WHO Disputes Study's Claims That Global Malaria Deaths Are Double Current Estimates

The WHO has disputed a study published last week in the Lancet "that claims nearly twice as many people are dying of malaria than current estimates," VOA News reports. The WHO "says both its estimates of malaria deaths and those of the Lancet study are statistically the same for all groups in all regions," with one exception, VOA writes, noting, "WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl says there's a notable statistical difference in regard to children over five and adults in Africa."

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Producing innovative programming focusing on PMTCT workshop

In early November more than 40 TV and radio program producers from 15 African countries gathered in Johannesburg for a three day workshop on producing innovative programming focusing on PMTCT. The workshop, organized by the African Broadcast Media Partnership (ABMP)—a pan-African coalition of more than 60 African broadcast companies committing significant airtime and production resources in the fight against HIV/AIDS—focused on developing innovative approaches to broadcast programming promoting access to services for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. The workshop is part of a year-long broadcast media campaign launched by the ABMP last August designed to increase public awareness of PMTCT and to encourage broader community support for HIV positive women who are pregnant. The campaign is anchored by a series of television and radio ads, reinforced by longer form programming produced by local broadcasters. With the support of C-Change/USAID the ABMP developed a series of programming manuals to help broadcasters produce informative and entertaining programming on the topic of PMTCT and related issues such as partner support, stigma and traditional attitudes to child bearing and birth.

The training workshop was organized with the support of AusAid, UNICEF, UNAIDS and WHO.
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TIME FOR A NEW CAMPAIGN, NEW FOCUS AND NEW PASSION MAKE IT POSSIBLE. IT BEGINS WITH YOU!

The ABMP has launched a fresh 12-month TV and radio campaign (August 2010 – August 2011) focusing on the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. The ABMP’s campaign is part of a worldwide effort to achieve universal access to PMTCT services and to end HIV infection in babies by 2015. It is achievable. Today, the risks of HIV transmission from mother to child can be virtually eliminated if the mother follows the correct PMTCT protocol.

To learn more, click here
To access the full report on the PMTCT Strategic Vision (2010–2015), click here

The ABMP ads focus on:

increasing awareness of PMTCT and its effectiveness in reducing HIV infection in babies;
encouraging pregnant women to test early for HIV and to register for PMTCT if necessary;
reducing stigma by underscoring that pregnant women need support from family and community in accessing PMTCT services;
promoting collective responsibility for achieving the goal of an end to HIV infection in babies (Make it Possible: It Begins with YOU!).

To view the television ads, click here.
To listen to the radio ads, click here.
To view the programme guides, click here.

PMTCT Study Shows Few Infants Get Protective Drug

"In parts of Africa, only about half of babies born to mothers with HIV receive the HIV prevention drug nevirapine," according to a study published July 21, 2010 by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The HealthDay News/U.S. News & World Report writes that the study, which was part of an HIV/AIDS theme issue in JAMA to coincide with the International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010, "highlights the need to expand global programs designed to prevent HIV/AIDS in newborns. It also points to the need to incorporate ongoing monitoring and quality improvements into all nevirapine-based care programs, the study authors concluded." Read more here.

To see JAMA study, click here.
For WHO international guidelines for use of antiretroviral drugs, go here
To read WHO press release, click here.

New Radio Programming Guides for Radio Producers

A new HIV/AIDS programming guide for radio program producers is now available. Designed to provide ideas about longer form programs such as talk shows, documentaries, news and magazine programs that expand the key themes of the YOU campaign, the guide follows the unfolding saga of the mini radio drama series Can Tru Luv Withstand the Test? The series, now in its second year, follows the daily lives of a group of twenty-somethings as they navigate their way through the challenges of early adulthood. The current series focus specifically on themes of gender equity, stigma reduction, HIV-testing, and multiple concurrent partnerships.
To access the Programming Guide, click here
To hear episodes of Can Tru Luv Withstand the Test? click here