IRIN PlusNews Reports On Possible Effects Of Adopting WHO HIV/AIDS Treatment Guidelines In Malawi

IRIN PlusNews examines the outcomes of a WHO-supported study in Malawi to assess what adopting the new WHO HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines would mean for the country. “According to the feasibility study, [adopting the guidelines would increase] the number of people on treatment …  by about 50 percent, which could double the cost of the national ARV [antiretroviral] programme in terms of additional personnel and equipment, and would probably also mean waiting lists at many clinics,” the news service writes. “Bridget Chibwana, acting executive director of the Malawi National AIDS Commission, said finance was among the major hurdles to adopting the guidelines, as well as infrastructure, supply-chain management, and health worker shortages” (5/27).

U.S., Nigeria To Collaborate On HIV Vaccine Research

The U.S. will work with Nigeria on a joint HIV/AIDS vaccine research effort, Jack Lew, the U.S. deputy secretary of state, said on Tuesday during a visit to a medial center in Abuja, Nigeria, This Day reports. Nigeria and the U.S. will also work with researchers from other countries, according to Lew, who said the effort was part of the countries reinvigorated bi-lateral relations. “That research for an HIV vaccine is in partnership with our colleagues in Nigeria and the United States and multiple researchers all over the world. Nigeria is playing a central role in that pursuit and it is something to be very proud of,” Lew said (Nwezeh, 5/26).

Guardian Examines PepsiCo’s Plan To Reduce Factory Water Consumption

The Guardian reports on PepsiCo’s plan to reduce water consumption in some of its factories by extracting water from potatoes and recycling it. According to the article, “The issue of global water scarcity has shot up the agenda of major companies in recent years as they respond to the increasing unpredictability of weather patterns, growing economies and rises in population. Official U.N. figures show that 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water and more than double that number do not have proper sanitation. Some experts estimate that up to half the world’s population could in the future live in areas without sustainable clean water to meet their daily needs. … PepsiCo intends using the technologies that are being developed in areas of the world that are already suffering from water stress” (Confino, 5/26).