Tough measures needed to halt increase in HIV cases
Nearly 90 million more people in Africa could be infected with the HIV virus in the next 20 years unless strong control programs are implemented. The UNAIDS agency has released a report forecasting infection rates and scenarios for preventing such crises. Reuters

Fighting poverty means fighting HIV/AIDS
More money for preventative measures and treatment of HIV/AIDS is required if poverty in the Asia-Pacific region is to be halved by 2015. The human, social and economic losses c aused by the epidemic will reverse gains made in the region's poverty reduction if action is not taken. Sydney Morning Herald

Child death can be solved with simple initiatives
Investment in simple, low-cost initiatives could dramatically slash the global death rate among newborn babies. New medical research has outlined measures which could help the Millennium Development Goal of a two-thirds reduction in the death rate of children under five by 2015. ABC

Sudan crimes must end
UN Secretary General Koffi Annan has told the UN Security Council that action must be taken to end "appalling" crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan. He called on the Council to impose sanctions on those who block peace moves in Darfur where more than 100,000 people are believed to have died and two million have been displaced in the past two years. BBC

Gender equality still elusive
While women have advanced their political, economic and social position in recent years, the pace of change is too slow in many regions, including sub-Saharan African countries where women are struggling with poverty, conflict and the effects of HIV/AIDS. Sydney Morning Herald

Aid and Development: not so simple
"...many governments are in no state-being corrupt or unstable, or both-to absorb large sums of money all of the sudden and divert them to sustainable infrastructure and development programs within 10 years. In fact, this "fast-track" campaign could very well make the road to sustainable human development even longer and bumpier by taking precedent over a more measured campaign that builds up civil society structures in these countries-an important component if the development is to be sustainable." Mother Jones

The Refugee Network
This site - about to be updated - brings together all the resources available in Australia in support of refugees including opposition to detention centres; online petitions and links to support groups.
www.safecom.org.au/network2.htm

Cutting Edge: Purple Hearts
More than one thousand US soldiers have been killed in Iraq and more than seven thousand have been severely injured. This programs features three of the injured who question the validity of the war.

SBS TV, Tuesday March 22, 8.30pm

"Come to the living God,
Come to stand alongside the poor.
Come to struggle with those who seek freedom.
Come to resist all that offends God's justice.
Come to the living, disturbing God." Caritas