Archbishop Desmond Tutu, evangelical leaders Rick and Kay Warren and the Rev Gideon Byamugisha, the first African Anglican priest to openly say he is HIV-positive, are contributors to an Advent Calendar focussing on HIV-AIDS awareness.

Africa Action has welcomed revised estimates of the global AIDS pandemic published yesterday by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) but cautioned that funding levels for tackling HIV/AIDS were still far too low.

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As World AIDS day approaches (1st December), Christmas shoppers are being urged to give virtual gifts that benefit sufferers of HIV and AIDS around the world - from HIV education through to giving condoms.

World Vision has launched its Alternative Gifts’ Christmas catalogue, encouraging the UK public to buy Alternative Gifts this Christmas and help make a life-changing difference to families and communities living with poverty around the world.

The Anthem for AIDS campaign featuring desmond Tutu aims to set a Guinness World Record for the first charity single to achieve one million sales by download only.

African religious leaders have heard that gender-based violence is increasingly becoming a weapon of war in the continent's trouble spots, with some saying sacred scriptures are being used to justify violence in general.

The Chinese authorities have prohibited a meeting of activists gathering to discuss the rights of people living with AIDS, because of official fears over foreign involvement in the sensitive issue.

A Christian health organization in India has warned that new official statistics showing a fall in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the south Asian country should not lead to people lowering their guard.