OF NOTE THIS WEEK

Antonio Maria Costa, the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said Thursday that spreading HIV through drug abuse is rampant in overcrowded prisons around the world, Reuters reports. The problem of overcrowding in jails is especially bad in Africa and Central America, he said.

Last week, Mozambique held a National Seminar on Prison Health to address the issue. During the summit, Justice Minister Benvinda Levy warned about the threats of HIV/AIDS and the UN's Brian Tkachuk said that distributing condoms in prisons could help curb the spread of the disease and other STIs.

NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DONORS

• The World Bank approved a $44.6 million credit to support the implementation of Mozambique's Health Service Delivery Project
• The Global Fund helps launch the Affordable Medicines Facility, a $225 million initiative to expand access to malaria drugs
• The Global Fund holds its sixth regional meeting for the Middle East and North Africa

OTHER NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

• UN: Poor Prisons Creating HIV Time-Bomb (Reuters)
• Obama Administration May Flat-Line Funding for PEPFAR (Kaiser Network)
• Zambian AIDS Hospice Provides Comfort, Care (Voice of America)
• HIV Testing, Counselling to Go Up in Door-to-Door Drive (Business Daily)
• Generics Deal Cuts Cost of AIDS Drugs Further (Reuters)
• Circumcision Does Reduce Risk of HIV, Say Researchers (SAPA)
• Op-Ed: Criminalizing HIV/AIDS Is Not a Win-Win Situation (New Vision)