The Kettil Brunn Society KBS will hold a thematic meeting on alcohol epidemiology and policy in Kampala, Uganda in November.

The African Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA) has announced that its International Conference on “Drugs and Society in Africa” will take place in Abuja, Nigeria, in August 2010. The conference will focus on the role of alcohol and other drug use in the HIV/AIDS epidemics in different African societies.

A new study establishes a causal link between alcohol use and the risk of contracting TB and pneumonia, as well as influence from alcohol use on the progression of TB and HIV.

An international group of experts have concluded on the current knowledge base on possible linkages between alcohol and infectious diseases like tuberculoses and HIV/AIDS. Their conclusions are now summarized in an editorial in the international scientific journal Addiction.

By innovative and well designed programs it is possible to involve men in changing sexist, risky and violent behaviour. This is the conclusion of a WHO report which has reviewed 58 programs aimed at engaging men in changing male identity and behaviour.

New data show that global HIV prevalence – the number of people living with HIV – has levelled off. The number of new infections has fallen. This was the conclusion drawn by UNAIDS when new AIDS statistics were presented.

The latest issue of the African Journal of Drug and Alcohol studies is devoted to broadening the knowledge base on the role of alcohol and drugs in the spreading of HIV/AIDS in Africa. New research material is presented from Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

A number of patterns of interaction exist between alcohol use and sexual risk taking. This is one of the findings of the WHO study “Alcohol Use and Sexual Risk Behaviour: A Cross-Cultural Study in Eight Countries”. This has implications for prevention programmes, both in the alcohol and in the hiv/aids field.

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published its HIV and AIDS policy in the form of a position paper in development cooperation. In the document the growing understanding of alcohol's role in the spread of the infection is reflected.