First man to be cured of HIV now suffers from terminal cancer

A new HIV treatment, injected every eight weeks, is supposed to reduce stigma and discrimination in Uganda. The drug could be a breakthrough for all those infected — if African leaders are ready to invest.

24-year-old Ugandan Hillary Nuwamanya rides his bike around the wider Kampala area, saving lives by delivering antiretroviral drugs to HIV positive Ugandans during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Twelve years ago, the man known as "the Berlin patient" received a bone marrow transplant which permanently cured him of HIV. The man, Timothy Ray Brown, told the AP news agency that he is now facing terminal leukemia.

Timothy Ray Brown has passed away after battling leukaemia for five months, his partner said on Facebook. The American was the first known HIV patient to be cured after extensive treatment in Berlin in 2007.

Despite recent progress, the HIV pandemic is far from over, especially in Africa. DW correspondent Adrian Kriesch reports from South Africa where one in five people is infected with HIV. But there is hope is on the horizon.

The University of Queensland-CSL vaccine trial was terminated amid concerns that it could interfere with HIV diagnosis. The company will now produce more units of rival vaccine AstraZeneca instead.

The EU nation has said a delayed British shipment is causing the bottleneck. Rights groups retort that the government's laissez-faire approach is to blame.

APIN Public Health initiatives and the Ondo state government are expanding access to HIV and AIDS services.

Hundreds of babies and children tested positive for HIV in 2019 after a whistleblower doctor uncovered a scandal involving the re-use of needles in southern Sindh province. Pakistan's largest HIV testing and treatment centre was established in the rural town of Rota Dero in the wake of the disaster, dishing out life-saving anti-retroviral drugs. But affected families must cover further costs arising from the illness themselves.

In Uganda, people living with HIV and the medical community point to prejudice as a major barrier to the well-being of those infected. Segregation of HIV-positive people is common because people are afraid of contracting the virus. Despite the country's progress in fighting HIV in Uganda, the challenges are still immense.

Decades on from the start of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, researchers are yet to crack a successful formula for a vaccine. But now we have eight COVID vaccines in 18 months, people are asking: Can we speed things up for HIV?

African children are neglected when it comes to HIV treatment. Without any intervention, many will die before their second birthday, according to a UN report.