Editor's note

Scientists are hard at work trying to develop an HIV vaccine that is both safe and effective. As the South African AIDS Conference draws to a close in the city of Durban, Glenda Gray discusses three of the major human clinical trials that are underway around the world.

Stigma is among the biggest issues related to HIV and AIDS today. People in many parts of the world are afraid to disclose that they have the condition, as they worry about being ostracised and persecuted. Bonnie Fournier writes about efforts in Uganda to revive a tradition among the country's Acholi people that will give particularly adolescents the chance to tackle stigma, talk openly about HIV and reconnect with their own culture.

Ina Skosana

Health + Medicine Editor

Fighting HIV

Shutterstock

The three big studies pushing at the frontiers of HIV prevention

Glenda Gray, South African Medical Research Council

Researchers around the world are working hard to find a vaccine that is safe and effective.

Dutourdumonde Photography/Shutterstock

How an ancient fireside gathering could tackle HIV stigma in Uganda

Bonnie Fournier, Thompson Rivers University

Addressing HIV stigma through utilising the Acholi’s own local cultural system is an empowering process that will position the role of the elders back into the community.

Politics + Society

Boko Haram deploys lots of women suicide bombers. I found out why

Jordan N Galehan, Southern Illinois University

Boko Haram has the highest number of women fighters in the history of terror

Hong Kong in crisis over relationship with China – and there does not appear to be a good solution

Tony Walker, La Trobe University

Protestors have taken to the streets over an extradition bill that could see alleged criminals extradicted to China, and Beijing is doing little to assuage their concerns.

Chernobyl: we lived through its consequences – holidays in the fallout zone shouldn’t be a picnic

Milka Ivanova, Leeds Beckett University; Dorina-Maria Buda, Leeds Beckett University

The HBO series 'Chernobyl' has reignited interest among tourists to visit Pripyat, but growing up in the disaster's shadow has made us wary.

‘There’s always someone else’: Argentina’s struggle to improve domestic workers’ labour conditions

Francisca Pereyra, Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento

Domestic workers in Argentina are essentially women employed in the informal economy which can enable forms of mistreatment. Today they’re fighting to formalise their status.

Business + Economy

Ramaphosa’s critical choices to get South Africa back on track

Sean Gossel, University of Cape Town

If the country is to survive its current crisis, government will need to undertake two difficult tasks simultaneously.

Mending hearts: how a ‘repair economy’ creates a kinder, more caring community

Katherine Wilson, Swinburne University of Technology

A throwaway economy harms more than the natural environment. It also harms our mental environment.

En español

Ser una persona con albinismo no es igual en Europa que en África

Lluís Montoliu, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB - CSIC)

El Día Internacional de Sensibilización sobre el Albinismo es una ocasión para recordar que esta condición genética es perseguida en algunos países por culpa de creencias supersticiosas.

¿Estamos más solos a pesar de estar más conectados?

Marta Miret, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Elvira Lara Pérez, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Nunca antes hemos estado más conectados. Las redes sociales pueden fortalecer relaciones. Sin embargo, un uso excesivo puede hacer que nos sintamos cada vez más solos.