SAfAIDS

Men speak out on circumcision

2007-02-05T12:32:00.000+02:00

Men speak out on circumcision
Beatrice Tonhodzayi
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For two weeks running we have been touching on the hot subject of adult male circumcision and how it has been found to be effective at cutting in half chances of a man getting infected with HIV during heterosexual sex.

The responses from readers have been wide and ranging but the most encouraging thing has been the fact that men, for so long viewed as a species, which does not want to open up, which is stubborn and hesitant to accept other view points- have really opened up on this subject- showing a willingness to open up to new ideas, especially if they may change life for the better.

Opening up about HIV and AIDS issues has helped us in the long run. It has led to more and more people realizing the need to get tested and know their status. Some of those that test positive are living positively and in some cases are now on treatment while those that test negative are trying to maintain their HIV negative status (I hope so.)

That is the reason I have decided to dedicate this piece to giving voices to our men out there, so they speak out on what they think and feel about male circumcision, something that very few men this side of the globe consider as important.

Now that low levels of male circumcision are being linked to our highly alarming HIV statistics in Southern Africa- let us see what our men have to say.

Some, as I expected wanted to know whether “my man” is circumcised or not and suggested that I get him circumcised before I advocate that they do the same. Other circumcised men said it was naughty to suggest that uncircumcised men performed better than them as this would lead to their partners leaving them to search for uncircumcised men.

People, people we miss the point. The point is informing each other of what latest findings say, and how we can use these findings to help ourselves. It is not about me encouraging men to go and get circumcised so they don’t get HIV at all for that is not so. It is about getting information to them so they can make informed decisions should they wish to.

It is not true that once a man gets circumcised, he will never get HIV, NO WAY. If a man goes around like a bird that lands everywhere, he is bound to land in murky waters at some point so be warned. Circumcision is just like a condom, which helps reduce the risk of transmission but is not a guarantee against HIV infection so before men just go for circumcision en masse thinking it is a license for irresponsibility- they should know why they are going for it.

One of our readers Fani wrote: “I have followed your articles about male circumcision and agree with men who are circumcised that, it is indeed a smart thing to do. Apart from reducing HIV infection and other niggling infections as indicated by research, my observation is that it gives a man complete control over his sexuality and gives endurance which translate to multiple orgasms for the female partner.

Ngoni had this to say” People should just turn to God and read the Bible I have recently been born again and been reading the Bible, and read recently this Chapter - Genesis 17:9-14 which says: “Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between you and me. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner - those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant," he said.

A reader who preferred anonymity writing from South Africa had this to say: “I personally think it is a good thing to be circumcised and it should be done when children are still young, they will be grateful. My family is from Dembaremba in Honde Valley and from the great grandfathers to my generation we were all circumcised during the first five weeks of birth. I went to a boarding school, Marlborough High School and there, almost, everyone was inspired by my circumcision.

I am really happy that my parents thought of doing this and am grateful to them for such a blessing. By the way, in case other dudes are worried, SA chicks, especially Xhosas and Cape Coloreds like circumcised dudes, he said. Another reader writing from South Africa had this to say: “I am 33 years old male and went voluntarily through the procedure at the Avenues some seven years ago when I was 26 years.

The talk was already there amongst Canadian scientists that circumcision in males could reduce the transmission rate of HIV. So being the visionary that I was, I contacted Dr Raju at Baines and I got circumcised. I found it to be very hygienic. The foreskin is cauldron of bacteria because it is moist. So I can guarantee you that an uncircumcised penis is very difficult to keep clean. Women too are exposed to lots of yeast infections due to the bacteria kept in the folds of the foreskin.

I have not noticed any adverse difference in my enjoyment of sex since circumcision. One thing for sure is that my drawers don’t smell and they are clean. I have a four -ear old son and I am definitely going to have him go through the procedure. Keep the good work.’

Others like Simba wanted to know where to go to get it done. “Which doctors would you suggest I go see and can I know if I will heal quickly for I do not want to go for two months of pain without any activity?”
Micheal Krafft, A Kenyan who has been circumcised for years however had this warning: “I think we all realize that the problems are enormous and will take more people understanding and learning about HIV in schools and in clinics for it to start subsiding. I would not want anyone to think that getting circumcised is as good as using protection. It is a little similar to people thinking that if they are riding in a jeep or landrover that they will be safe in a car crash...the key is to drive safely and not get in a car crash.”

So so true and as a parting shot- I could not have summed it up better myself.

Circumcised or uncircumcised however- be responsible and protect yourself. And do not shut your mind to circumcision men- it is worth thinking seriously about.

Till next time, get me on beatrice@safaids.org.zw

Men should seriously consider circumcision

2007-01-25T09:15:00.000+02:00

It is not unheard of. Some men have actually done it and haven’t been maimed for life. On the contrary, some of them called in to tell me that they are circumcised and have not had any far-reaching problems as a result.

For those of you who had fears about your performance after the procedure, it might cheer you a bit to know that five brothers called to tell me that they were circumcised.

And the glory of it — they are all HIV negative.

Now, before you get excited and pin their HIV negative status on circumcision, we cannot be sure whether they are HIV negative because they were circumcised or they have just been lucky.

While two swore that they were faithful to their wives and have been faithful for the past five years, the other three say they have been naughty from time to time and indulged in unprotected sex not because "vaitemba circumcision" but because they just had to have it unprotected.

When they tested negative, however, they vowed to never be careless again.We are still on the subject of adult male circumcision as something that is increasingly becoming effective at cutting in half men’s risk of getting HIV through heterosexual intercourse.

My question last week was if that is the case, should men in this country and region, the epicentre of the pandemic, not start considering it in earnest?Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all the foreskin from the male reproductive organ. This removal reduces the ability of HIV to penetrate the skin of the male reproductive organ.

Men with a foreskin are more prone to sexually transmitted infections and several studies now suggest that female partners of circumcised men have a lower risk of cancer of the cervix and re-infections with yeast infections.It is against this background that my piece last week was calling out to men to consider circumcision along with other known and proven prevention methods like the condom.

My thrust was "is it not time to be open-minded and try anything, anything at all that may assist us to get the greatest treatment of all time — PREVENTION.And have you given a thought to the hygiene aspect of circumcision?I observed something --- the foreskin at times makes it difficult to really clean oneself up. How many little boys have you seen hopping from one foot to the other saying "my wee itches?"I have a three-year-old son and he used to complain about this problem and I would worry.

The granny then suggested that I bath him myself at least three times a week and really ensure that he got cleaned under the foreskin. He has not complained since and I trained my helper at home to clean him thoroughly as well.Now with a circumcised little boy (had the good fortune of seeing a niece’s son who was born in the United States) it’s very easy to clean him for everything is out in the open.

Nothing is hidden and as such, he stays dry, unlike the warm moist conditions under the foreskin where bacteria can find a really good home. In addition on the underside of the foreskin are located many immunological cells which are prime targets of HIV. In fact, among some of the responses from readers were some from women who echoed my sentiments that the foreskin hid a lot of things, even sores.

"A man without a foreskin is one without surprises. While his performance is definitely surpassed by one with a foreskin there are many bonuses, chief being that everything is there for the eye to see. There are very few surprises and there is no place for bacteria or gems to hide.

"We keep on getting re-infected with yeast infections and other transmissible infections because they find a warm spot to hide under the foreskin," the very vocal 35-year-old Lissa who is based in London said.

Matthius, who e-mailed me all the way from Australia, said a doctor in Marondera had circumcised him in 2002 after suffering from some problems that made him suffer excruciating pain during sexual encounters. This would result in bruising, which made him very vulnerable to infections.

"I got circumcised and would just like to urge my brothers back home and elsewhere in the region that if circumcision can cut the risk of catching HIV even by two percent, it is worth it. "We are really in a tight fix and should consider anything that might help people," he said.Others, of course, wanted to know whether we have in this country, medical practitioners able to perform the procedure.

I asked around and would just like people to know that there are so many medical practitioners who are qualified to conduct the procedure.

If you need to get it done, have your general practitioner refer you to someone.I was expecting some of the doctors to write in and let the world know the medical aspect of the procedure but our good doctors did not do so. We still would welcome their input though so that we can supply our readers with the correct information.While I have opened my mind to male circumcision and am even considering taking my son in for the procedure (for hygienic purposes though I worry about his reaction when he is older, maybe he would want to make the decision, himself)!

I would like adult males who decide to have it done to know that circumcision is not a licence for irresponsible sexual behaviour. A circumcised man still has to behave very responsibly or else they will still risk getting infected with HIV. And be advised: circumcision also works best with other already proven methods of preventing HIV infection so if it is condoms — they still need to be correctly and consistently used.

If it’s being faithful to one uninfected partner — remain faithful.

Till next time, let’s keep talking about it for in talking about Aids we will demystify it and help each other with answers and information.

Get me as always on beatrice@safaids.org.zw

Perspective: Male circumcision may halve risk of infection

2007-01-19T12:49:00.000+02:00

Beatrice Tonhodzayi
18 January 2006
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It’s not just myth or a piece of fiction. There is growing evidence that it is indeed true.

Circumcising adult men may indeed cut in half their risk of getting HIV through heterosexual intercourse.

Several cross-sectional, prospective and population level studies have actually identified lack of male circumcision as a risk factor for HIV infection. The first major clinical trial of 3 000 men in South Africa found in 2005 that circumcision cut the HIV risk by 60 percent.

I don’t know about you but to me that sounds like something worth sitting up and taking notice of.

At a time when prevention is one of the best methods we have of fighting the spread of HIV head on- should we not start looking at male circumcision as one of the ways in which together with the use of condoms, abstaining and being faithful to one uninfected partner- we can reduce some new infections.

I know this is a sore issue with most men this side of the globe, most of who view circumcision as “the last thing” they would ever agree to. They see it as taking away their manhood and as a life-altering experience.

I write this today not because I want to advocate that all men in Zimbabwe and the Southern African region should get circumcised and that way avoid getting infected with HIV. NO way, this remains an individual decision that one reaches after a lot of soul searching, after weighing the pros and cons of such action but my duty is to let you know some of these things so you can be informed and that way-make informed choices.

First of all there is need to know what male circumcision is- male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or the entire foreskin from the male reproductive organ. There are several biological explanations as to why this operation may reduce the risk of HIV infection. Removal of the foreskin reduces the ability of HIV to penetrate the skin of the male reproductive organ. The underside of the foreskin is home to many special immunological cells that are prime targets of HIV.

Men with a foreskin are more prone to have sexually transmitted infections, which can enhance HIV transmission.

While circumcision is common in the United States where it takes place at birth and Moslem countries as well as parts of North Africa and others, where HIV rates are quite low (its difficult to tell whether this is due to circumcision or other factors- though it would be worthwhile to look into it), -here in Sub Saharan Africa where Southern Africa falls- which is home to more than half of the world’ 40 million HIV infected people -it remains rare.

There are some ethnic groups, cultures that practice it but again- they are very few.

Which is why people on this side of the continent need to start thinking of circumcision in earnest-provided of course, they think, like our partners like the UN, which has lately been calling on people not to rule out circumcision when looking at methods of prevention. The UN has been saying together with other preventive methods-circumcision could be an effective tool.

I asked three male colleagues recently if they would consider circumcision and the answer from all quarters was a big fat NO, NEVER.

In fact one of them said I was crazy to suggest such a thing and should first of all get my husband to do it before I went and told other people to do it. Which brings me to the point I made earlier- it’s a sore issue and understandably sore.

The males I spoke to expressed some fears about the safety of undergoing circumcision and I decided to do some checking and found that the most common complications arising after circumcision are minor bleeding and local infection- which is normal after surgery. I delivered my son through Caesarean section and these were the same complications I was advised to expect. Luckily I never had them.

In fact in the recently completed South African study of adult circumcision by general medical practitioners in their surgical offices, the overall complication rate was 3,8 percent. The most commonly reported complications were pain, followed by swelling or hematoma, bleeding and problems with appearance. There was 0,3 percent damage to the male organs, 0,2 percent infection and the only delayed wound healing was a minimal 0,1 percent.

And that is that!

Against the fact that researchers enrolled 2 784 HIV negative men in Kisumu, Kenya and 4 996 HIV negative men in Rakai, Uganda into the studies. Some were circumcised, others were just monitored. Over two years, 22 of the circumcised Kenyans became infected with HIV compared with 47 uncircumcised men, a 53 percent reduction. In Uganda 22 circumcised men became infected versus 43 of the uncircumcised, a 48 percent reduction.

Besides showing that circumcision can be effective at cutting down one’s chances of getting infected with HIV- this also shows that circumcision is not a magic bullet. Ii does not follow that once one is circumcised they can go around like a bird- which is free to sleep land or even leave its dropping anywhere, even on your arm or car window.

Circumcised or uncircumcised – men still have to be responsible. It’s just like a condom, which helps to reduce the risk of transmission but is not a guarantee that one is safe. For circumcision to be really effective-one still has to be faithful to one uninfected partner or use it with other known preventive measures like the condom.

The real issue for most men around the issue of circumcision has been found to be concern about their sexual prowess after circumcision and here it would be interesting if some circumcised males out there would write in and share with us their experiences. Women with circumcised partners- we would also love to hear from you.

From what I came across on the Internet- some women complained that circumcised men did not have as much staying power as their uncircumcised counterparts. Circumcised men, on the other hand said their sexual lives were much better and it was easier for them to practice higher standards of hygiene

Given it that way- what do you think?

-------
Beatrice Tonhodzayi
SAfAIDS
Email: beatrice@safaids.org.zw

Male Circumcision Should Never Pre-Empt Other HIV Prevention Measures, UN Warns

2007-01-12T10:41:00.000+02:00

(UN News Service (New York)

December 14, 2006

United Nations health agencies have given a guarded welcome to United States trials in Africa showing that male circumcision halves the risk of HIV infection in men in heterosexual relations, warning that it should never pre-empt other preventive measures such as the use of condoms.

Proper guidelines "will be necessary to prevent people from developing a false sense of security and, as a result, engaging in high-risk behaviours which could negate the protective effect of male circumcision," they said in a joint statement.

They plan to quickly draw up guidelines after examining the implications, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere with high HIV prevalence and low male circumcision levels, taking into account cultural and human rights aspects and the need to ensure that circumcisions are performed safely by well-trained practitioners in sanitary settings.

"Although these results demonstrate that male circumcision reduces the risk of men becoming infected with HIV, the UN agencies emphasize that it does not provide complete protection against HIV infection," they said. "Circumcised men can still become infected with the virus and, if HIV-positive, can infect their sexual partners.

"Male circumcision should never replace other known effective prevention methods and should always be considered as part of a comprehensive prevention package, which includes correct and consistent use of male or female condoms, reduction in the number of sexual partners, delaying the onset of sexual relations, and HIV testing and counselling," they added.

The statement was issued by the UN World Health Organization (WHO), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and World Bank.

Noting that the trials' results will likely heighten interest in male circumcision from governments, non-governmental institutions and the general public, the agencies said they would define specific policy recommendations for promoting male circumcision after a detailed review of the findings.

The recommendations will take into account cultural and human rights considerations; the risk of complications from the procedure performed in various settings; the potential to undermine existing protective behaviours and strategies; and the fact that the ideal and well-resourced conditions of a randomized trial are often not replicated in other settings.

To support countries or institutions that decide to scale up male circumcision, the agencies are developing technical guidelines on ethical, rights-based, clinical and programmatic approaches.

They are also drawing up 'rapid assessment toolkits' for determining circumcision prevalence and acceptability; identifying key providers; estimating costs; and monitoring numbers of circumcisions performed, their safety, and their potential impact on sexual behaviour.

Questions and Answers: NIAID-Sponsored Adult Male Circumcision Trials in Kenya and Uganda

2007-01-12T10:39:00.000+02:00

1. Who funded and who conducted the two adult male circumcision trials in Africa?

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), supported two clinical trials, one in Rakai, Uganda, and the other in Kisumu, Kenya, designed to determine whether adult male circumcision is safe and can prevent men from acquiring HIV infection in geographic areas where heterosexual transmission of the virus is most common.

The Ugandan study, led by Drs. Ronald Gray and Maria Wawer of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Drs. David Serwadda and Nelson Sewankambo of Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, enrolled 4,996 men since the trial began in August 2003.

The Kenyan trial, also known as the UNIM trial (Universities of Nairobi, Illinois and Manitoba trial), opened in February 2002, in a collaborative effort between U.S., Canadian and Kenyan researchers. Drs. Robert Bailey, University of Illinois, Chicago, Stephen Moses, University of Manitoba, Jeckoniah Ndinya-Achola, University of Nairobi, and Kwango Agot, UNIM, are funded by NIAID and the Canadian Institute of Health Research. This trial enrolled 2,784 men.

2. What is a Data and Safety Monitoring Board, and how does it monitor this study?

A Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) is an independent committee composed of clinical research experts, statisticians, ethicists and community representatives. The DSMB reviews data while a clinical trial is in progress to ensure the safety of participants. The DSMB may recommend that a trial, or part of a trial, be stopped if there are safety concerns or if the trial objectives have either been achieved or are unlikely to be achieved. During the trial, the DSMB looks at analyses that are not available to the investigators or to anyone else.

3. What were the results of the most recent DSMB review of the two circumcision trials?

The NIAID adult male circumcision trials have been under the review of the NIAID Prevention DSMB. On December 12, 2006, the NIAID DSMB reviewed an interim data analysis of the trials and determined the following:

Adult male circumcision performed by trained medical personnel and with appropriate post-surgical follow-up to ensure management of any infections or other problems with wound healing was shown to be safe.
Among men in these trials, adult male circumcision reduced the risk of acquiring HIV infection by 48 percent in the Ugandan study and by 53 percent in the Kenyan study.
Given these results, both trials will offer men in the control group circumcision. In order to understand the long term impact of adult male circumcision, the studies will continue to measure HIV infection rates and to study the risk-taking behavior and attitudes of participants.

4. What is adult male circumcision and how was it performed in these studies?

Adult male circumcision is a surgical procedure to remove the foreskin (prepuce) of the male penis. The NIAID-supported trials tested whether there is a decreased risk of HIV infection among men who were circumcised, in which their foreskin has been nearly or completely removed, compared with men who were not circumcised. Both studies performed the circumcision in a surgical room with local anesthesia.

The circumcision procedure used in the Kenyan trial was the foreskin clamp method. The Kenyan trial procedure took about 25 minutes and used stitches to control bleeding and improve wound closure. The circumcision procedure used in the Ugandan trial is known as the sleeve method and takes about 30 minutes. The Ugandan trial used cauterization of the blood vessels to control bleeding and stitches to close the wound. Both methods are commonly used throughout the world.

5. How were the studies designed?

Both trials recruited healthy, HIV-negative uncircumcised men who planned to remain near the study site for the duration of the trial. The trial in Uganda recruited men between 15 and 49 years old; the trial in Kenya recruited men between 18 and 24 years old.

After an initial HIV screening and a medical exam, eligible men were randomly assigned either to receive circumcision immediately or to wait two years before circumcision. All participants were closely followed for two years to collect information about their health, sexual activity, and theirs and their partners’ attitudes about circumcision; to counsel participants in HIV prevention and safe sex practices; and to check the HIV status of the volunteer. Participants in the Kenyan study were scheduled for six visits over the two-year follow-up, compared with four visits for the Ugandan trial participants. In addition to the study visits, men enrolled in the Kenyan trial were encouraged to receive all of their outpatient health care at the study clinics, which enabled researchers to collect information on the safety of the procedure and the number of other sexually transmitted diseases the men had during follow-up.

6. What were the primary objectives of the adult male circumcision trials?

The primary objectives of these studies were to determine whether adult male circumcision 1) can be administered safely, and 2) reduce the risk of acquiring HIV infection through heterosexual contact.

7. Why were these studies done?

Previously published studies on male circumcision found a protective effect against HIV acquisition ranging from 40 to 88 percent. However, since male circumcision is closely tied to culture, it was not possible to rule out other cultural factors as the reason for the lower HIV rates in circumcised men. Scientists concluded that there was insufficient evidence from these observational studies to support adult male circumcision as a means of reducing HIV acquisition in men, and therefore, called for randomized controlled trials of adult male circumcision.

8. What other trials have been conducted?

The first randomized controlled trial of adult male circumcision was funded by the French government’s research agency, Agence Nationale de Recherches sur la SIDA (ANRS). The trial, ANRS-1265, was conducted in South Africa to test the effect of adult male circumcision on HIV acquisition. Led by Dr. Bertran Auvert, the investigators found a 60 percent reduction in HIV acquisition for the men enrolled in the circumcised arm of the trial. (Auvert B, et al. Randomized, controlled intervention trial of male circumcision for reduction of HIV infection risk: the ANRS 1265 Trial. PLoS Med. 2005 Nov;2(11):e298. Epub 2005 Oct 25.) There were a total of 69 HIV infections among participants: 20 were among the 1,546 circumcised men and 49 among the 1,582 uncircumcised men.

Despite these results, there was still debate among clinicians, policy makers and the international community over whether these results could be generalized to different populations. These NIAID-sponsored trials provide additional scientific evidence for the role of adult male circumcision in HIV prevention.

9. How could male circumcision prevent HIV infection?

There are several proposed mechanisms for how male circumcision might reduce a man’s risk of HIV infection. The foreskin’s inner mucosal surface is more susceptible to HIV because it has more immune cells vulnerable to HIV infection than the external surface. Furthermore, the foreskin acts as a physical barrier, trapping HIV next to the mucosal surface of the penis for a longer period of time. In this moist environment, the virus can also survive longer, potentially increasing the risk of infection. Small tears in the foreskin as a result of intercourse could also promote entry of the virus. After circumcision the penile shaft and glans develops more epithelial keratinization, a process which makes the penis less susceptible to viral invasion.

10. What are possible negative biological and behavioral complications associated with adult male circumcision?

Male circumcision is a surgical procedure with recognized risks. There have been multiple reports of serious complications and adverse events following improperly performed male circumcision, including serious infection, severe loss of blood, mutilation, penile amputation and death. These serious complications are due to poor training of those performing circumcision, lack of appropriate surgical equipment, and lack of patient follow-up.

Furthermore, the procedure requires some time for healing, and during that time there is a break in the epithelial (skin) surface of the penis. This incision site may be a portal for HIV entry and until fully healed, it may increase the risk of HIV infection. For this reason, men in the trials were cautioned to not resume sexual activity until the incision was fully healed and checked by the physician.

As with most prevention strategies, adult male circumcision is not completely effective at preventing HIV transmission. Millions of circumcised men have become infected with HIV through heterosexual exposure to the virus. Men who receive adult male circumcision may perceive that they are at decreased risk for transmission and, therefore, may not maintain other risk reduction strategies. Modest increases in the number of sexual partners could negate the protective effect and increase the rate of HIV transmission in a community. Adult male circumcision will be most effective when integrated into a comprehensive prevention strategy which includes the ABCs (Abstinence, Be Faithful, and Condoms) of HIV prevention.

11. How common is male circumcision in Africa?

Studies have shown that overall, 62 percent of adult males in Africa are circumcised. However, there are significant differences in these rates by region and tribal groups. In particular, male circumcision is strongly tied to religious beliefs. In Southern Africa, where the HIV epidemic is the most severe, rates of male circumcision are less than 20 percent.

12. How acceptable is adult male circumcision in Africa?

Surveys conducted in Africa in both men and women have found that adult male circumcision is acceptable (50 to 86 percent), provided that the procedure is safe, affordable and has minimal side effects or pain. Among the reasons cited include better hygiene, lower sexually transmitted disease rates, more modern/urban appearance, peer pressure and perceived attractiveness to women. However, because of varying religious and cultural norms, not all groups or communities practice adult male circumcision.

13. How might these new findings affect future HIV prevention strategies?

These results indicate that HIV transmission to men could be lowered, though not eradicated, by increased rates of male circumcision.

Adult male circumcision is only one component of a comprehensive prevention strategy. As a partially effective procedure, it can be an important component of a comprehensive prevention strategy that also stresses the ABCs: abstinence and delay of sexual debut, overall partner reduction and reduction in number of concurrent partners and correct and consistent use of condoms.
These studies looked only at risk of heterosexual HIV transmission from females to males. The risks associated with other modes of transmission, such as male-to-male and male-to-female sexual transmission, are not addressed, and risks associated with needle sharing are not affected.

14. How will these findings influence other prevention trials already under way?

Other trials and research are under way to evaluate methods and strategies (e.g., microbicides, pre-exposure prophylaxis, vaccines and behavioral interventions) for HIV prevention. These studies are being conducted in a variety of different populations and settings.

These result indicate that adult male circumcision may play an important role in the prevention of heterosexual HIV transmission to males in some areas of the world. In areas where international and country-specific HIV prevention recommendations are adapted to include male circumcision, research trials will need to determine how to ensure that education about, and access, to safe male circumcision is incorporated into comprehensice trial prevention services.

15. Will these results have an effect on policy in Africa and other regions?

United Nations agencies, including the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), are multinational organizations that guide health ministries and aid organizations in determining how research findings should be applied to recommendations for and provision of health services in different parts of the world. These agencies will review the data from these studies and develop appropriate policy guidelines. In preparation for the possibility of these findings, WHO and UNAIDS are working with key stakeholders in several countries to host country consultations and conduct needs assessments to help prepare for any change in policy that may result from the findings of these studies. To learn more about the international response to the study findings, visit the WHO website at www.who.int/hiv and the UNAIDS website at www.unaids.org.

16. How will these results affect the U.S. epidemic?

These NIH studies have focused on populations in Africa, where the infection rate is high and where heterosexual sex is the predominant mode of HIV transmission. In the United States, the majority of adult men are already circumcised. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a 1992 survey, 77 percent of men in the United States reported being circumcised. In addition, there is a lower prevalence of HIV in this country, and the men at greatest risk have been those who have sex with other men. The degree of protection that circumcision may afford for men who have sex with men is unknown. For all of these reasons, the study findings will likely have less of an impact in the United States. Information about circumcision is available from the CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/circumcision.htm.

17. Are other studies of male circumcision being conducted?

In addition to the NIAID trials in Uganda and Kenya, a randomized trial led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University is studying whether male circumcision reduces male-to-female HIV transmission. (In contrast, the NIAID trials studied whether male circumcision reduces female-to-male transmission.) The Johns Hopkins-led trial, which is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is scheduled for completion in 2007.

Adult Male Circumcision Significantly Reduces Risk of Acquiring HIV: Trials Kenya and Uganda Stopped Early

2007-01-12T09:24:00.000+02:00

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced an early end to two clinical trials of adult male circumcision because an interim review of trial data revealed that medically performed circumcision significantly reduces a man’s risk of acquiring HIV through heterosexual intercourse. The trial in Kisumu, Kenya, of 2,784 HIV-negative men showed a 53 percent reduction of HIV acquisition in circumcised men relative to uncircumcised men, while a trial of 4,996 HIV-negative men in Rakai, Uganda, showed that HIV acquisition was reduced by 48 percent in circumcised men.

“These findings are of great interest to public health policy makers who are developing and implementing comprehensive HIV prevention programs,” says NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. “Male circumcision performed safely in a medical environment complements other HIV prevention strategies and could lessen the burden of HIV/AIDS, especially in countries in sub-Saharan Africa where, according to the 2006 estimates from UNAIDS, 2.8 million new infections occurred in a single year.”

“Many studies have suggested that male circumcision plays a role in protecting against HIV acquisition,” notes NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “We now have confirmation—from large, carefully controlled, randomized clinical trials—showing definitively that medically performed circumcision can significantly lower the risk of adult males contracting HIV through heterosexual intercourse. While the initial benefit will be fewer HIV infections in men, ultimately adult male circumcision could lead to fewer infections in women in those areas of the world where HIV is spread primarily through heterosexual intercourse.”

The findings from the African studies may have less impact on the epidemic in the United States for several reasons. In the United States, most men have been circumcised. Also, there is a lower prevalence of HIV. Moreover, most infections among men in the United States are in men who have sex with men, for whom the amount of benefit provided by circumcision is unknown. Nonetheless, the overall findings of the African studies are likely to be broadly relevant regardless of geographic location: a man at sexual risk who is uncircumcised is more likely than a man who is circumcised to become infected with HIV. Still, circumcision is only part of a broader HIV prevention strategy that includes limiting the number of sexual partners and using condoms during intercourse.

The co-principal investigators of the Kenyan trial are Robert Bailey, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Stephen Moses, M.D., M.P.H., University of Manitoba, Canada. In addition to NIAID support, the Kenyan trial was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and included Kenyan researchers Jeckoniah Ndinya-Achola, M.B.Ch.B., and Kawango Agot, Ph.D., M.P.H. The Ugandan trial is led by Ronald Gray, M.B.B.S., M.Sc., of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. Additional collaborators in the Ugandan trial were David Serwadda, M.Med., M.Sc., M.P.H., Nelson Sewankambo, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.M.Sc., Stephen Watya, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med., and Godfrey Kigozi, M.B.Ch.B., M.P.H.

Both trials involved adult, HIV-negative heterosexual male volunteers assigned at random to either intervention (circumcision performed by trained medical professionals in a clinic setting) or no intervention (no circumcision). All participants were extensively counseled in HIV prevention and risk reduction techniques.

Both trials reached their enrollment targets by September 2005 and were originally designed to continue follow-up until mid-2007. However, at the regularly scheduled meeting of the NIAID Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) on December 12, 2006, reviewers assessed the interim data and deemed medically performed circumcision safe and effective in reducing HIV acquisition in both trials. They therefore recommended the two studies be halted early. All men who were randomized into the non-intervention arms will now be offered circumcision.

“It is critical to emphasize that these clinical trials demonstrated that medical circumcision is safe and effective when the procedure is performed by medically trained professionals and when patients receive appropriate care during the healing period following surgery,” notes Dr. Fauci.

Researchers have noted significant variations in HIV prevalence that seemed, at least in certain African and Asian countries, to be associated with levels of male circumcision in the community. In areas where circumcision is common, HIV prevalence tends to be lower; conversely, areas of higher HIV prevalence overlapped with regions where male circumcision is not commonly practiced.

Results of the first randomized clinical trial assessing the protective value of male circumcision against HIV infection, conducted by a team of French and South African researchers in South Africa, were reported in 2005. That trial of more than 3,000 HIV-negative men showed that circumcision reduced the risk of acquiring HIV by 60 percent.

More proof that a snip in time could save men from HIV

2007-01-12T09:15:00.000+02:00

JOHANNESBURG, 13 December (PLUSNEWS) - American research bodies have called an early halt to trials of adult male circumcision in Kenya and Uganda after results showed that men who had undergone the procedure dramatically lowered their risk of contracting the HI virus.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced an early end to two clinical trials of adult male circumcision after an interim review of the data revealed that medically performed circumcision significantly reduced a man's risk of acquiring HIV from having heterosexual intercourse.

The trial involving almost 3,000 HIV-negative men in Kisumu, in the western highlands of Kenya, showed a 53 percent reduction in contracting HIV among those who were circumcised, while a trial with about 5,000 HIV-negative men in the Rakai District of central Uganda showed that HIV acquisition fell by 48 percent in circumcised men.

"These findings are of great interest to public health policy-makers who are developing and implementing comprehensive HIV prevention programmes," said NIH Director Dr Elias Zerhouni in a statement. "Male circumcision, performed safely in a medical environment, complements other HIV prevention strategies and could lessen the burden of HIV/AIDS, especially in countries in sub-Saharan Africa where, according to the 2006 estimates from UNAIDS, 2.8 million new infections occurred in a single year."

This confirmed research conducted last year by a team of French and South African scientists, who found that circumcision appeared to reduce the chances of HIV infection in such men by up to 60 percent. So dramatic was the protective effect that the South African trial was also stopped early because it was considered unethical not to offer the uncircumcised men in the control group the chance to have the operation immediately.

More than 30 studies around the world have suggested that circumcision can protect men from HIV to some degree, but the South African trial was the first randomised, controlled study to demonstrate the extent of protection.

After calls for safe male circumcision to be integrated into national HIV-prevention strategies, several African countries have acted on the results of the South African-based study: Zambia and Swaziland both launched national male circumcision programmes, while a report by the 14-member Southern African Development Community described male circumcision as "a one-off intervention conferring lifelong reduced biological risk". Other countries, including South Africa, have delayed action until the results of the study in Kenya and Uganda were available.

NIAID has warned that this does not mean circumcision alone can prevent men from becoming infected with HIV during sexual intercourse, emphasising that "circumcision is only part of a broader HIV prevention strategy that includes limiting the number of sexual partners and using condoms during intercourse".

Sentences Get Tougher

2006-12-12T15:28:00.000+02:00

By Wezi Tjaronda
New Era
28 November 2006

Sentences being passed on convicted offenders of gender-based violence crimes have increased since the coming into force of the Combating of Rape Act, the Chief Justice Peter Shivute has said.

“The courts have therefore endeavoured to give meaning to the provisions of the new legislation and to play their part in the protection of victims and potential victims of this scourge,” he said last week when he spoke at the launch of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence.

Shivute said statistics of the five regional courts indicate that the courts heard 40 cases of rape, and considering the sentences imposed on the offenders, there has been a paradigm shift as far as sentencing is concerned.

Out of the 16 cases of rape in Windhoek, the highest sentence imposed was 22 years and the lowest 10 years, while out of 14 cases of culpable homicide, the heaviest sentence was 25 years and the lowest 12 years. The Otjiwarongo Regional Court completed four rape cases in which the complainants were aged between eight and 18 years.

At the town, the highest sentence was 20 years, while the minimum was 12 years. Compared to murder cases, the highest was 17 while the lowest was 15 years.

The Oshakati court handled the biggest number of cases of 24 of females aged between five and 60 years during which the highest penalty imposed was 15 years and 10 for the lowest. Compared to the culpable homicide cases handled by the same court, the sentences ranged from 10 to 20 years.

Shivute said: “What these figures clearly establish is that the sentences passed on offenders convicted of crimes involving gender-based violence have substantially increased from the levels they used to be during the periods prior to the introduction of new legislation to deal with the scourge of gender-based violence.”

The chief justice also gave examples of cases handled by the High Court and Supreme Court where the courts expressed themselves strongly on violent crimes and the need to pass harsh sentences to protect society.

However, the sentences passed on offenders at the Keetmanshoop court show they were clearly outside the minimum sentences prescribed in the Act.
Out of the 11 rape cases held at the courts, six years was the highest, while four was the lowest sentence imposed.

“It seems likely that the crimes were either committed prior to the coming into force of the Act or if the offenders were charged under the Act, then the court must have found that there were no coercive circumstances present,” he said.

Gender-Based Violence Still On Upswing

2006-12-12T15:25:00.000+02:00

By Thato Chwaane
Staff Writer

Judging from the number of people who visit the Kagisano Society, Women's Shelter Project, media and police reports, gender-based violence is not reducing, director Lorato Moalusi-Sakufiwa has stated.

In a week the project sees up to 10 people, most of them women.

In an interview with The Monitor, Moalusi-Sakufiwa said observing the 16 days of activism on violence against women and children, which began over the weekend, would create awareness and focus on the issues at hand and educate the public on gender based violence.

This year's theme is, "Male involvement in sexual and reproductive health and the elimination of gender based violence". Moalusi-Sakufiwa said that perhaps violence was now more visible because more women were coming out and "know that they can always move away from violent relationships".

She noted that police were more sensitive and that there were more organisations monitoring issues of gender based violence. Sixteen days of activism against gender-based violence is observed to educate people that they should not live in violence and the abuse should stop, whilst also letting people know that there are services available. "Gender-based violence is a social ill that should be removed from society," Moalusi-Sakufiwa emphasised.

She said while male partners tended to look at their material and financial contributions when resisting rejection, they often did not count the emotional input by their partners. "But this is not to say all women are financially dependent," she said. "Men tend to be emotionally dependent on women and yet you cannot measure it, it is only until they leave that they want to kill them," she said.

However, she noted that those who murder their partners have found an outlet of killing and because they cannot emotionally stand it so they take their own lives too. Sometimes it is a build-up of other issues over a period of time such as feeling like a failure in life that makes it easier to attribute the killings to failed love relationships.

She questioned whether intimate homicide could be a result impulse control, when people commit these murders without looking at the implications.

In urging men to be more involved in sexual and reproduction health, she said statistics have show that more women visit health facilities than their male counterparts and therefore are more informed. She said men need to come in as well and do necessarily know where to go.

Moalusi-Sakufiwa said that abusive men do not recognise that their violent behaviour actually hurts them personally. She said violence in men is traceable to their childhood, whether it be from their homes, school or the society. She noted that those exposed to abuse, have less self esteem and hence cannot negotiate for safe sex or use of condoms. A trend in research, indicates that those abused sexually, their innocence is stolen before they can develop negotiation skills.

She pointed out that contrary to the claim by some that her organisation wrecks marriages, women run to the shelter to seek protection and abusers are embarrassed that they are not protecters.

Zambia: More than 10 girls raped every week

2006-12-12T15:22:00.000+02:00

PLUSNEWS
29 November 2006

A Zambian nongovernmental organisation (NGO) revealed this week that it records eight cases of rape of young girls every week at its centre in the capital, Lusaka.

The statistics were released by the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Zambia to mark the start of the global campaign, '16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence', which runs from 25 November - International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women - until International Human Rights Day on 10 December.

Katembu Kaumba, YWCA's executive director, said alongside the abuse of girls, the organisation's shelter in Lusaka also recorded 10 cases of rape of adult women every week. "Since we have only two safe houses - one each for the girls and women - they are full all the time."

"Nationally, the figure is much higher - about 12 every week," said Superintendent Presphord Kasale, who heads the Victims Support Unit of the Lusaka Division of the Zambia Police Service.

A joint report by the support unit, the YWCA, Women in Law in Southern Africa, a rights NGO, and the government's Child Justice Forum released more shocking statistics: almost half of married women aged over 15 reported being battered or physically abused by their husbands, and 53 percent of women overall experienced physical violence.

Kaumba said the number of cases of gender violence was high because girls and women were now more prepared to report the abuse.

She added that alcohol and substance abuse was often a contributory factor in abuse cases. "We found that in a majority of cases of rape that we recorded at our unit, the perpetrators blamed alcohol for their behaviour."

The unit and its NGO partners have begun an awareness campaign in schools to give the students tips to on how to protect themselves. "We find that most of the rapes are committed between 6 [pm] and 7 pm, when most children are sent out on errands. We advise them never to go out without an adult companion during these hours."

The Zambian government, in collaboration with civil society, has also begun a consultation process on a gender-based violence bill, and the YWCA said an amendment to the penal code providing stiffer sentences for rapists was before parliament.

"We are supporting a minimum sentence of 35 years up to life imprisonment in the case of rape of minors [contained in the draft amendment]," said Kaumba. The NGOs are also advocating for a separate penalty for infecting the person who had been raped with HIV.

The penal code amendment is expected to be enacted during 2007.

Zambia: Stiffen Laws Against Gender-Based Violence - NGOCC

2006-12-12T15:19:00.000+02:00

November 24, 2006
The Times of Zambia

The Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has urged the Government to enact legislation to curb the problem of violence against women and children.

Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) president, Maggie Kaphiya, said lack of the law in place was hindering the fight against gender-based violence.

She said this at a Press briefing yesterday in Lusaka to mark the commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence starting this week.

This year's theme is "Celebrating 16 Years of 16 Days: Advancing Human Rights - End Violence Against Women."

"We challenge the Government to speed up the remaining stages of the constitutional review process and enact a Constitution that provides for non-discrimination of women," she said.

The Government should domesticate international instruments on gender violence in line with local laws in an effort to protect women and children.

Ms Kaphiya said once the measures were implemented, violence cases against women would reduce.

She said gender violence did not exclude bEducationoys and men. As such any form of violence by any one would not be condoned.

She cited the recent incidence where a Lusaka mother burnt her two children who were aged eight and six years over the alleged stolen K150,000 as one of the forms of corporal punishments to be discouraged in homes.

NGOCC said men, like women who were beaten and abused by their spouses, should be brave by reporting the cases to police.

The statement issued from Gender in Development at Cabinet Office yesterday in Lusaka said the Government during this campaign week would be tasked to come up with practical measures.

"We must seek to ensure that women's human rights concerns, including violence, are fully integrated into all Government's agendas," the statement read in part.

The 16 days campaign provides an opportunity to pressure governments to make greater concrete commitments to eradicating violence against women.

The campaign demands support services for survivors, enhance prevention efforts, press for legal and judicial reforms and use international human rights instruments to address violence against women as a human rights violation.

Government warns against gender violence

2006-12-12T15:13:00.000+02:00

By Monica Mayuni
03 December 2006
The Sunday Mail

Government has warned Zambians to guard against accepting violence against women as part of their lives.

Speaking yesterday after the march past to mark `16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence’, Ministry of Justice permanent secretary, Gertrude Imbwae said people must continue to fight such violence.

“Violence against women no doubt occurs on such a massive scale that at times it can be perceived as a natural thing that women have to put up with it,” she said.

Ms Imbwae said while the size of the problem could at times make one lose the motivation to fight it, people must continue to fight violence against women at all times and on all fronts.

“At least 57 per cent of married women are reported having been beaten or physically mistreated since age 15,”she said.

Ms Imbwae said as a lawyer and a permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, she has taken up the challenge to fight violence against women because it was a practice that should never be tolerated or be entrenched in society.

Ms Imbwae said, the duty of gender violence activists and individuals in positions of influence should be to advocate for the human rights of women and polices that would place women in an advantageous position.

Speaking at the same function, Non-Governmental Organisation Co-ordinating Committee (NGOCC) founder member, Mary Kazunga said the Zambian Constitution had continued legalising discrimination of women because there was no legal definition of gender violence.

She said the Zambian Government has signed but not ratified or domesticated the protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on Rights of women in Africa.

Minister of Gender and Development, Sara Sayifwanda said there has been a high number of cases on gender-based violence brought to the attention of relevant authorities.

“In order to ensure that cases being reported are expeditiously dealt with, Government through the Victim Support Unit and Civil Society, have been able to set up one-stop centres for victims of gender violence in some districts,” she said.

Mrs Sayifwanda said Government would not relent in its efforts to smash the ugly face of gender violence.

This year’s celebration of 16 days of gender based violence is under the theme: “Celebrating 16 years of 16 days: Advance Human Rights - End Violence Against Women.”

Men must help fight HIV/AIDS

2006-12-05T15:30:00.000+02:00

04 December, 2006

Men have been challenged to assist government in fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic through self preservation.

The Zimbabwean Ambassador to Botswana Mr Thomas Mandigora made this challenge during the World AIDS Day commemoration in Francistown.

He said by ensuring that we stay negative, we would have preserved our lives and those of our spouses and children.

Mr Mandigora said couples should be faithful to one another adding that having multiple partners contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS. He said the so called small houses was a sign of unfaithfulness by men.

Mr Mandigora said it was worrying that the small house practice was accepted and tolerated by the society.

He therefore called on sexually active men to have one partner and advised young boys to delay sex. Mr Mandigora said by doing that men would be responding in accordance with the vision 2016 goal of zero transmission.

Furthermore, Mr Mandigora said men should desist from the inter-generational sex. Men commonly referred to as sugar daddies have the economic power which they flaunt around to attract young girls.

He said the relationships were not based on love but on lust. Mr Mandigora said a responsible man would not take advantage of a young girl to have sex with.

I urge all men concerned, to stop and imagine how you would feel if it was your own daughter used by sugar daddy, said Mr Mandigora.

Mr Mandigora also said men should see their partners as equals as this would minimise gender based violence. He said violence against women reduces womens capacity to make decisions relating to safer sex.

Mr Mandigora said men should display responsibility as family leaders by discussing sexual matters with their children.

The 2004 statistics showed that Francistown was the second district with high HIV prevalence of 24.6 percent. This daunting number has compelled Francistown community to commit itself to fight the scourge.

This year Francistown AIDS day commemoration theme was Men Stop AIDS. Keep the promise and it focused on the role of men in fighting the scourge.

The formation of True Men organisation was a move by men to show commitment in fighting HIV/AIDS. Its objective is to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

True mens motto is: a true man loves and is caring, is patient, has one partner and does not bring HIV home. From the motto True men strives to inculcate into its members values that would enlighten them about their responsibilities.

The commemoration was also graced by soccer star and Zebras goalkeeper Kagiso Tshelametsi. Tshelametsi said as sports persons they were not only focusing on sports but on health as well.

He said Zebras was committed to be true men adding that some Zebras players were being trained as peer educators.

He said the launching of Zebras HIV/AIDS testing plan Zebras for life and test for life showed their commitment to the fight against HIV.

Stop new HIV infections, says Tlou

2006-12-05T14:23:00.000+02:00

04 December 2006

Batswana have been encouraged to stop new infections and commit to zero HIV transmission lifestyles, as this obliges one to surrender to a lifestyle that ensures no transmission of the virus.

This was said by the Minister of Health, Prof Shelia Tlou during the World AIDS Day that was commemorated in Tshabong last Friday.

She said that the challenge of zero transmission manifested more in the area of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Prof Tlou said the position of government was that every citizen has a right to have children and that it should be through an informed decision making process.

It is also governments position that nobody has the right to knowingly transmit HIV or knowingly expose another person partner, spouse or child to possible HIV infection, while in pursuit of their own rights, she added.

She said that the country has been able to approach routine testing strategically and that 50 per cent of patients requested to be tested. She said that is an indication that Batswana have embraced the aspect that HIV testing is passport to life.

She said individuals have the onus of preventing the spread of HIV and adhering to the treatment, the government is keeping its promise, individuals should also keep the promise, she added.

Prof Tlou also urged the youth to keep the promise through going for an HIV/AIDS test and if negative to do everything in their power to stay negative, and if positive to live positively with the virus and avoid its spread.

She also said that the new challenge emerging among those who have seen the success of the ARV treatment is a stubborn believe that there is a cure for HIV/AIDS.

She said that was so despite all education and persuasion materials provided in all health sectors.

They have thrown caution to the wind and reverted to risky sexual behaviours and practices and this as a result has undermined and compromised our prevention initiatives and efforts, she said.

She said such a behaviour was suicidal and criminal. She also urged health partners who practice traditional and spiritual healing to communicate the message that there is no cure for HIV/AIDS to their clients.

The National Coordinator of NACA Mr Batho Molomo said that it is not yet clear whether or not infection levels are declining but preliminary indications are suggestive in that direction.

Mr Molomo said there is some evidence that the national response to HIV/AIDS is making the desired impact. He said that has been done through two strategies voluntary counseling and testing and routine testing.

He said what was most notable was the decrease in the proportion of HIV positive first time testers at Tebelopele, there were approximately 29 per cent HIV positive people in the quarter ending June 2005, but 20 per cent in the quarter ending September 2006, he added.

He however said that this decline should be viewed with caution so that the nation should not be over optimistic about what might be incidental.

Efforts are also being made to explore methologies for estimating incidence to inform on new infections, he added.

Reading the UN General Secretary s message Dr Jean Kalilani, UN resident coordinator, said all people should be accountable in fighting HIV/AIDS because the response has now started to gain real momentum and the stakes are higher now than ever before.

But accountability applies not only to those who hold postions of power. It also applies to all of us. It requires business leaders to work for HIV prevention in the workplace and in the wider community, and to care for affected workers and their families.

It requires health workers, community leaders and faith-based groups to listen and care, without passing judgment, she said.

Dr Kalilani said in the 25 years since the first case was reported, AIDS has killed 25 million people and infected 40 million more and that it has become the worlds leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 59.

Govt to introduce cheaper ARVs

2006-12-05T13:24:00.000+02:00

Health Reporters

Government is working on plans to introduce cheaper medical tests to enable more people living with HIV and AIDS to get access to antiretroviral drugs, the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa said yesterday.

Dr Parirenyatwa was speaking during the World Aids Day commemoration at White City Stadium in Bulawayo.
He said the expensive tests done before a person could start taking antiretroviral drugs had prohibited many people from accessing treatment hence the need to find cheaper alternatives.
“One of the challenges in terms of increasing the number of people on ARVs is that the tests done before one can access ARVs are very expensive, hence the need to find cheaper alternatives,” he said. Dr Parerinyatwa said Government will work with its
partners to find a solution to the problem.
He said Government was working on achieving universal access to treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS.
He said Government wanted to ensure that by 2010 all people who require ARVs had access to the drugs.
Dr Parirenyatwa said encouraging was the fact that the country was witnessing a general delay in the age of “sexual debut” by girls.
“According to this year’s Demographic Health Survey, the age of sexual debut by girls has moved from 15 years to 15 years and nine months. This is an indication of a positive behaviour change,” he said.
The minister urged young people to delay their “sexual debut “as this reduces their chances of contracting HIV and AIDS.
About 50 000 people are taking ARVs yet more than 300 000 are in urgent need of the life prolonging drugs.
The drugs cost $50 at Government health institutions.
The cost of ARVs continues to rise with a month’s course costing more than $30 000 at pharmacies.
Dr Parirenyatwa said he was disappointment to note that the private sector was not rolling out ARVs for its workers.
“The private sector is not doing enough to ensure that workers have access to treatment. Some faith healers are also abusing their clients and this is contributing to the spread of the pandemic.”
“I am also disappointed with students at universities and colleges as indications are that they have not changed their behaviour,” he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa also commended the Minister of Finance, Dr Herbert Murerwa for allocating 70 percent of the National Aids Trust Fund (NATF) towards the procurement of ARVs and drugs for opportunistic infections.
Speaking during the same occasion, the National Aids Council’s board chairman, Reverend Murombedzi Kuchera said there was need for accountability at all levels of society.
“Our situation calls for accountability at all levels of society, including Government, youths, PLWA, married people as well as the general community in order to fight the pandemic,” he said.Dr Kuchera said NAC was spending $250 000 monthly on the procurement of ARVs, although this was only 45 percent of the NATF as the rest of the money was sourced from its partners.

‘The disabled need Aids intervention programmes’

2006-12-05T10:50:00.000+02:00

By Sarah Tikiwa
The Sunday Mail, 03 December

AS the world commemorates World Aids Day, people with disabilities in Zimbabwe have called for urgent interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of Aids among them.

The National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH) said people with disabilities were largely marginalised from HIV and Aids intervention programmes despite irrefutable evidence showing how vulnerable they were to the pandemic.
"Despite the chilling revelations of high vulnerability to sexual abuse among people with disabilities, this sector has largely been marginalised from HIV and Aids intervention programmes.

It is people with disabilities who need HIV and Aids intervention programmes more than the rest of society, which has been inundated with such programmes.

"The facts are irrefutable. People with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to Aids due to their low literacy levels, little access to health care, high vulnerability to sexual abuse, lack of information on Aids, especially for the visually impaired and hearing impaired, and consequent lack of inclusion in Aids intervention programmes," said Lovemore Rambiyawo, the information and communications officer for NASCOH.

The association took note of police reports indicating the increase in the number of rape cases of people with disabilities, committed this year compared to those of last year. "This makes sad reading, especially when viewed against the fact that the majority of rapists, if not all, do not use condoms," said Rambiyawo.

He said just as people with disabilities were a forgotten and invisible group in society, they were also forgotten in planning for HIV and Aids programmes.

"In the majority of cases, people have found it convenient to wink at the issue of Aids among people with disabilities, to find solace in the mistaken assumption that disabled people do not engage in sexual activity, or just regard the problem as inconsequential.

"The reality is that disabled people are just as sexually active as the rest of the society and are even more at risk of the infection because of the obvious barriers that they encounter in accessing vital information on HIV and Aids, not to mention access to health care."

Recent research has showed that hearing and visually impaired people registered lower scores on the HIV and Aids Knowledge Index than hearing people, thus indicating low levels of awareness of Aids issues.

Incidence of alcohol abuse among the hearing impaired community is estimated to be at 35 percent compared to between 12 and 14 percent among the general population.

It is also estimated that one in every seven hearing impaired people has a substance abuse problem, compared to one in 10 people in the general population.

People with learning disabilities have difficulties in negotiating safe sex. Incidences of homosexuality were also noticeably higher among this community.

A strong connection between increased risk taking behaviour and risk of contracting HIV has been documented among adolescents hospitalised for emotional behaviour.

Compliance and adherence to tuberculosis medication is very low for the mentally ill, and homeless. The issue of HIV and Aids among people with disabilities is further compounded by superstitions and myths among the able-bodied population.

The myths of virgin cleansing, and that if you have sex with a person with disability, you will be cured of HIV, have contributed to the rape and sexual abuse of people with disabilities.

15 Declare HIV-Positive Status

2006-12-04T16:18:00.000+02:00

By Michael Liswaniso
4 December 2006

The musical performance by the prominent long-serving band of Opuwo, Bullet ya Kaoko, set the tempo as early as 07h00 at the Opuwo sports complex on Friday, when all roads led to the official commemoration of World AIDS Day that was held at the town for the first time at national level.

Before the keynote address was delivered by Minister of Education, Nangolo Mbumba, on behalf of Prime Minister Nahas Angula who was attending a meeting in Nigeria, the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Richard Kamwi, who gave a brief overview of the acceleration of HIV prevention, said Opuwo’s HIV/AIDS prevalence rate as in the year 2004 was ranked the lowest.

Opuwo, according to Kamwi, stood at 9 percent compared to Katima Mulilo in the Caprivi Region that stood at 43 percent.

He applauded the town and the region in particular for this, saying the town should keep it up and where possible drag it down some more.

He pledged government’s continued support towards the fight against HIV/AIDS by giving a brief background that since 2002 when government introduced the mother-to-child prevention programme, a lot of people have benefited, while the programme is still in force in all 35 state hospitals in the country.

Kamwi pointed out that plans are underway to also include clinics and health centres.

“Twenty-seven people are receiving anti-retroviral drugs in public hospitals, whereas 8 000 people are from private institutions and out of this figure, 16 percent are children.”

He also added that the figure is one of the highest in Africa.

Acknowledging that he was aware of his own HIV status, Kamwi challenged whether everyone present at the Opuwo sports complex knew his or her own HIV/AIDS status. He strongly advised that knowing one’s status is vital, since that is the only way that treatment and counselling can be obtained should they be needed. At the same time, he called on people to stop discriminating against those infected with the virus.

“Let us treat those infected with a human face.”

At the same occasion, 15 women who are residents of Kunene, mainly from the Outjo constituency, publicly declared their positive HIV/AIDS status.

They were led by Claudia Ais, a member of the Outjo support group who delivered motivational remarks on their behalf, saying she had been living with the disease for the past eight years but she is still going strong. For her, living with the virus is not the end of the world but what she termed “a new beginning of something in life”.

She thanked government for the current support and called on people to stop discriminating against those infected with the virus.

“HIV/AIDS is the enemy not the people who are infected, because we the people need you and you need us, so let us fight the disease together not the people.”

The gathering was guided by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, who was the director of ceremonies.

Men Don’t Pitch for Testing

2006-12-04T16:12:00.000+02:00

By Petronella Sibeene
4 December 2006
New Era

President Hifikepunye Pohamba has expressed concern over Namibian men’s reluctance to accompany their partners to prevention-of-mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programmes at clinics, in order for them to be tested and counselled as well.

He called on Namibian men to accompany their female partners to these clinics that are open countrywide. Pohamba was speaking at the World AIDS Day commemoration in the Oshana Region over the weekend.

According to the 2005/6 statistics for Oshakati Hospital, out of 40 000 expectant mothers who attended PMTCT clinics, only 805 were accompanied by their partners.

“I am calling on all our male compatriots to accompany their partners. This will enable those who are HIV-positive to access care and treatment and in so doing protect the most valuable assets of Namibia, our children,” he said.

PMTCT services are provided to expectant women when they attend antenatal care clinics. These services are available at state hospitals and currently approximately 70 percent of pregnant women have access to these services.

Pohamba further commended all those who have been tested for HIV, saying these people are in a better position to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Namibia is ranked among the countries in the world with the highest HIV infection rates. Its impact due to the loss of lives, orphans and the loss of social and economic productivity is devastating.

Given the current situation, the President appealed to all Namibians to go for HIV testing, saying this will be the only way they will participate in the programmes available at health centres.

“There is hope even if you have tested HIV positive,” the President encouraged.

Namibia has 34 state hospitals that provide antiretroviral treatment, and the number of patients at present are about 30 000.

“Not too long ago, before the antiretroviral treatment was available, having HIV was synonymous with a death sentence. Today, more than 95 percent of patients receiving treatment have become socially and economically productive.”

While the number of patients receiving ARVs could be impressive, one of the challenges facing patients is the lack of access to adequate and nutritional food. Pohamba acknowledged that people living with HIV are particularly vulnerable because without sufficient food to meet their nutritional needs, they are prone to other life-threatening infections and cannot sustain good health.

While this problem has been pending for some time, Pohamba says government recognizes the need for people with HIV/AIDS to have access to food and thus he recently met with cabinet members and instructed relevant ministries to submit recommendations on the best strategies to ensure food availability for people living with this disease, especially those receiving ARVs.

The government through its Ministry of Health and Social Services is in the process of subcontracting the Namibia Red Cross to assist in the distribution of nutritious cereal based porridge, E-pap.

Besides, the Ministry of Health and Social Services recently launched the Namibian national Guidelines on Nutritional Management for People Living with HIV/AIDS. This, he added, was developed to provide health workers with basic skills and practices in nutrition for HIV-infected people.

“This nutritional book is indeed essential and should reach all our communities to ensure that our people living with HIV/AIDS receive appropriate nutritional care,” said Pohamba. The president reiterated the need for all Namibians to go for HIV testing and to ensure that stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS is ended.

United We Win, Divided AIDS Wins

2006-12-04T16:07:00.000+02:00

By Mbatjiua Ngavirue
New Era
4 of December 2006

The Ministry of Lands and Resettlement commemorated its own World Aids Day, attended by a large number of ministry staff, to complement the main national event held in Opuwo.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Frans Tsheehama, explained that even though the main commemoration was in Opuwo, the ministry felt it should also make its own contribution towards World AIDS Day.

The large group of staff members in attendance listened to presentations on “Leadership and HIV/AIDS in the Workplace” by ministry official, Crispin Matongela, and “Workplace Policy and Programmes” by Kaarina Nitembu.

The main speaker at the event was Minister of Lands and Resettlement, Jerry Ekandjo, who spoke on this year’s theme for World AIDS Day: “Stop AIDS – Keep the Promise” and “Be Accountable”.

Ekandjo felt it was the right time to place the focus on accountability because of the strong significance this year held in the worldwide response to HIV/AIDS.

World Aids Day was crucial for accountability because there was a need to find out why programmes that worked had not been implemented in the light of Universal Access and country target-setting.

“I would like to make sure that all staff members of the ministry are informed and are aware because this financial year we want to accomplish all the promises we made,” Ekandjo said.

He went on to say that the growing number of HIV/AIDS infected, and affected, people was one of the main development challenges confronting the Namibian government.

The epidemic has seriously impacted on the whole society and the economy of the country.

Ministry of Health and Social Services report of 2003 showed that the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Namibia stood at 21.3%, with 55% of those living with HIV/AIDS being women, and 57 000 orphans resulting from HIV/AIDS.

According to Ekandjo there is, however, light at the end of the tunnel because studies had found that the general knowledge about HIV/AIDS in Namibia was becoming relatively higher.

Above all, the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS had dropped to 19.7% in 2004.
Lands and Resettlement is also making efforts to fight HIV/AIDS at ministerial level.

Task force committees, both at national and regional levels, had tried hard to raise awareness among all staff members of the ministry, as well as resettled communities that fall under the ministry.

The ministry has also provided training to managers, focal persons, task force members and peer educators to equip them with basic knowledge on matters surrounding HIV/AIDS. This training was conducted locally, as well as outside of Namibia.

“We need to be united by a commitment to save lives, even if we may have differences on tactics. We must spend our energy on fighting this epidemic.
“Surely one of the main lessons of these past 25 years is that when we are united we win, when we are divided, AIDS wins,” Ekandjo urged.

World AIDS Day and its revolving themes

2006-12-04T15:47:00.000+02:00

By TUDUETSO SETSIBA
Staff Writer
Mmegi

December 1 has now become synonymous with HIV/AIDS as each year thousands of people gather in various places to commemorate the day that has been set aside to remember those who have been affected and infected and to consolidate messages of prevention.

Ever since its inception, the World AIDS Day has been commemorated under different themes, which would be relevant to the state of affairs of that time. Established by the World Health Organization in 1988, World AIDS Day serves to focus global attention on the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It started after the health ministers from around the world called for a spirit of social tolerance and greater exchange of information on HIV/AIDS. At that time information on AIDS was vital as it was a new disease, which people did not know about. In 1988, the World Aids Day commemoration focused on information. During those years, governments focused mainly on the screening of blood to eliminate the risk of HIV transmission through blood transfusion. The second stage of fighting and the first Medium Term Plan (MTP) saw the introduction of information, education and communication programmes, but the response was still quite narrowly focused.

IN 1989, the commemoration focused on youth, mainly because they were getting infected in larger numbers. Even today, the statistics indicate that the age group of between 15-49 years is adversely affected. The theme 'Women and AIDS' followed in 1990. Women, especially in African societies, including Botswana, have always been vulnerable to HIV infections because of cultural influences and economic factors. In Setswana culture, a man is the head of the family; therefore, the final decision lies with him on matters that concern his household. A male partner would decide when to have sex, how many children to have and whether to have protected sex or not. Not only that but females depended on their male partners for social provisions such as money and food for the household. As a result, women had little say on their sexuality. The 1990 theme was meant to address such issues and sensitise the community on matters affecting women and HIV. In 1991 the theme was sharing the challenge, which implored communities to take responsibility and participate in the fight against AIDS. It was followed by community commitment in 1992, then Act in 1993. It was during the same year that the government adopted the Botswana National Policy on AIDS.

The 1994 commemoration focused on AIDS and Family. The theme was meant to bring all members of the family to take responsibility in ensuring prevention of HIV infection. 1995 focused on shared rights and responsibilities. In 1996, the world commemorated under the theme 'One World One hope.' At this time, the AIDS message had already reached a lot of communities, people had information on HIV/AIDS and it was vital to bring hope to those who were already infected and affected. The year that followed focused on children living in a world with AIDS. At that time a number of children born with HIV were increasing and it was vital to bring them on board. In 1998, the youth were once again urged to pay attention through force for change: World AIDS campaign with young people. It was emphasised the following year with Listen, Learn, Live: world AIDS campaign with children and young people. It was crucial that young people be provided with HIV education and prevention messages to help protect them from infection. Among those performing this role in Botswana is the Youth Health Organisation (YOHO), a youth-run non-governmental organisation that conveys its messages through art festivals, dramas and group discussions.

In 2000, the theme was, AIDS: Men make a difference. This was an effort to bring men aboard. Even today, men are still not very active in the fight against AIDS. In 2001 the theme was, I care. Do you? This was followed by stigma and discrimination in 2002 and 2003. The theme was repeated as the problem still persisted. However, it was crucial to fight the stigma as many people were enrolling for the anti retroviral therapy. The 2004 theme focused on Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS. This, perhaps, was prompted by the 2002 survey of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Botswana. It was found then that an average HIV prevalence rate of 35.4 percent existed. In the absence of any interventions, around a third of the babies born to HIV-positive mothers would become infected during pregnancy and delivery or through breastfeeding. However, early enrolment of women in PMTCT programmes was disappointingly low, in the range 11-20 percent, and this was blamed on a shortage of staff and inadequate infrastructure. The Government responded with training and recruitment programmes for PMTCT counsellors.

Focus on women was also essential as the status of women in relation to men created further problems. Many women lack the power to control decisions about sexuality, and remain under the authority of their husbands, parents and in-laws all their lives.

In 2005, the world focused on 'Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise' and the same theme was forwarded to 2006 with emphasis on accountability "Commit to Zero Transmission Lifestyles: Keep the Promise". The government has taken a more individualistic approach to encourage people to take responsibility over zero infection through being faithful to one partner. Each year, the government takes the commemoration to various communities.

The 2006 World AIDS day commemoration shall be held in Tsabong.

HIV Threatens Our Progress

2006-12-04T15:45:00.000+02:00

By Michael Liswaniso
New Era
4 of December 2006

Prime Minister Nahas Angula has acknowledged that HIV/AIDS is a great threat facing the country. The disease is undermining the progress that has been made since independence, given the fact that it is having a negative impact on the lives of young people who are the most economically productive members of society.

However, in his keynote address at the official commemoration of World AIDS Day in Opuwo, Angula quoted from the 2004 Data Sentinel Surveillance, which was conducted by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, and reiterated the remarks by the Minister of Health and Social Services, who said that the town indicated the lowest HIV infection rates among pregnant women, standing at 9 percent at the time.

Commending Opuwo for the low rates, he added that he hopes to see similar results when the 2006 survey is out soon.

“My sincere hope is to see a further decline of HIV infection in this region.”
Angula’s speech was read on his behalf by Minister of Education, Nangolo Mbumba.

He noted that the government through its bilateral and multilateral partners is managing to show that it cares, considering that more than 30 000 Namibians are on anti-retroviral treatment. However, despite all achievements, HIV/AIDS still remains a problem and challenge due to new infections that occur every day, he admitted.

Angula bemoaned the fact that even though Namibia’s external support to complement government’s efforts to fight HIV/AIDS has increased, especially from the Global Fund and the United States President’s Emergency Fund, among others, it is disturbing to see more new infections.

“It is disheartening to see new infections as we are now well equipped with adequate knowledge and skills to halt the spread of the pandemic and also to provide the necessary care and support for both the infected and affected.”

The Premier cited the lack of implementation of HIV prevention intervention efforts in sufficient scale and coverage as the major problem leading to new infections, which he said if implemented in the right way could halt the epidemic.

Half of the new infections, according to the Premier, occur in young people aged between 15 and 24 years, while the increasing risk of infection is more evident among women and young girls who constitute about a third of the overall population of young people living with HIV/AIDS.

“This huge burden of the epidemic no doubt calls for the adoption and implementation of special measures and emergency action to stop the further spread of HIV. We cannot afford to fail, nor do we have excuses to do so,” he declared.

Because the new infections are prevalent among young people, a fact that prompted this year’s national theme, “Zero tolerance of new infections among the youth”, Angula advised young people to postpone the onset of sexual activity until such time as they are more ready to commit themselves to safe relationships.

He advised young people to stop the abuse of alcohol but rather concentrate on education and to log onto other developmental projects.

Calling on people to keep their promises and prevent new infections, Angula asked all parents to talk to their children about the scourge of HIV/AIDS, a strategy that he believes is another tool in mitigating the pandemic.

The PM thanked non-governmental organizations and all people involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS as well as all those present at the national commemoration, adding that without their support, the day could not have been held.

“Your unwavering support is giving us hope where once we could only see darkness. The presence of many of you here today, and your commitment in assisting the Namibian nation to win the fight against HIV/AIDS, is good.”
He also promised that government is ready to support all efforts and will not fail.

All the day’s proceedings were translated by the regional head of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Weich Mupya, from English to Otjiherero, while Revonia Brandt of Medicos del Mundo, translated into Damara/Nama.

18 Years into AIDS Day

2006-12-04T15:43:00.000+02:00

By Michael Liswaniso
New Era
4 December 2006

Friday last week marked the 18th anniversary of World AIDS Day, which this year was officially hosted at national level by Kunene’s regional capital, Opuwo.

The day, which was commemorated under the international theme: “Stop AIDS-Keep the Promise”, saw Namibia adopt its own national sub-theme: “Zero tolerance to new HIV infections among the youth”.

A chain of cultural performances by local groups featured on the entertainment list, together with netball and football tournaments which ended yesterday.

The Minister of Education, Nangolo Mbumba, delivered the keynote address on behalf of Prime Minister Nahas Angula.

Other prominent figures who delivered brief remarks were the Gender Equality and Child welfare Deputy Minister Angelika Muharukua, United Nations’ Resident Coordinator Simon Nhongo, Senior Traditional Councillor of the Vita Thom Royal House Mika Muhenje and as well as the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Richard Kamwi, who gave the public an overview of the acceleration of HIV prevention.

Everyone spoke about the negative impacts that the disease has on the country and called for teamwork and other support, given the current governmental and global support at hand.

Opuwo Mayor Peter de Villiers, who delivered the vote of thanks, reiterated Governor Dudu Murorua’s welcoming remarks by thanking the government for its support and for choosing Opuwo as the official host of the national day that was also commemorated in other parts of the country.

The international day is commemorated on the 1st of December each year with the aim to increase awareness, fight discrimination and improve education.

South Africa: HIV/AIDS still running amok - report

2006-12-04T15:41:00.000+02:00

PLUSNEWS
1 December 2006

HIV/AIDS continues to wreak havoc in South Africa, with the nation's youth appearing to be hardest hit, researchers said on 1 December, World AIDS Day.

The nation's 15-year-olds now had a 56 percent chance of dying before the age of 60, compared to a 29 percent chance of dying of an AIDS-related illness in 1990, according to 'The Demographic Impact of HIV/AIDS in South Africa: National and Provincial Indicators for 2006', a joint study issued every two years by the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Leigh Johnson, a senior ASSA researcher, warned that the youth were facing a bleak future, and much still had to be done to protect and support this vulnerable group. "Even with current youth-directed prevention campaigns being rolled out, approximately 250,000 of all new infection this past year occurred among the 15 to 24 age group," he told IRIN/PlusNews.

Overall, in 2006 there were 950 AIDS-related deaths per day in South Africa, and approximately 1,400 new HIV infections daily - a total of 530,000 new infections per year. Johnson said there was an urgent need to strengthen existing efforts to respond to the epidemic.

The government's anti-AIDS strategy, often at the centre of international criticism for its snail-paced approach to tackling the pandemic, has been revamped, with the Health Department emphasising that the key to success in the fight against AIDS was reducing the number of new infections among young people, while promoting delayed initiation of sex among youth aged 14 to 17 years.

Doctor Francois Venter, an HIV specialist at the University of Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, warned that abstinence and delayed sexual debut might not be the most effective approaches to addressing the needs of adolescents.

"The greatest challenge is to develop new strategies for preventing HIV transmission, not just among youths but the population in general, and what is needed is for us [government and civil society]: to all go back to the drawing board on our current approaches," Venter said.

ASSA suggested that high rates of AIDS mortality would persist in South Africa for at least the next decade, although projections were sensitive to assumptions regarding future access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. "That's why it is vital for the government to rapidly expand its ARV rollout programme to reach all people in need of immediate treatment," Johnson added.

A further challenge would be the provision of care and support to growing numbers of orphans, expected to double between 2006 and 2015 to an estimated 2.5 million children.

Venter and Johnson agreed that the recent reformation of the South African National AIDS Council and the restored spirit of co-operation between government and civil society would go a long way to addressing the points of concern highlighted in the report.

On World AIDS Day, UN leaders underline need for accountability

2006-12-04T15:08:00.000+02:00

By Dr. Peter Piot of UNAIDS

1 December 2006

Stressing this year’s theme of accountability, senior officials from across the United Nations system have marked World AIDS Day with calls for international leaders to maintain recent momentum and make good on their promises to ensure greater access to treatment, prevention and support.

“The latest global AIDS figures give us reason for concern and for some hope,” said Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, (UNAIDS), in one of a series of messages today by the heads of UN organs and agencies.

Almost 40 million people live with HIV and another 4.3 million will be infected this year, while at least 25 million others have died from AIDS-related diseases in the 25 years since the first case was reported. The pandemic is now the leading cause of death among both men and women aged between 15 and 59.

Yet the number of countries providing antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to sufferers and the breadth of access to HIV testing, counselling services and health care have also continued to expand, including in sub-Saharan Africa, the region hardest hit by AIDS.

“However, we must increase the scale and impact of HIV prevention activities, including those directed at the drivers of the epidemic,” Dr. Piot said. “New data show that HIV prevention programmes have better results if focused on reaching people most at risk and adapted to changing national epidemics.”

General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa said the theme of accountability applied to everyone, from world leaders who have previously vowed to improve reproductive health care services and information, particularly for women, to individuals who can help establish healthy behaviour when their children are young.

“The challenge for all of us is to make good on our commitments and work in closer partnership towards our common goal. Civil society, NGOs [non-governmental organizations], the media, private sector and faith groups have an important role in promoting public awareness and holding leaders to account for their promises,” she said.

Anders Nordström, Acting Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), said the international community had reached “a critical juncture” and needed to become smarter and more adaptable as it responded to HIV/AIDS.

“We have to be… aware of which approaches are successful, and flexible enough to adapt our resources accordingly,” Dr. Nordström said. “We do not just need ‘more.’ We need to commit to clear-sightedness about what is working and what is not – and quickly apply that knowledge.”

Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), warned against the stigmatization and marginalization of people living with HIV/AIDS, especially women, young people, injecting drug users, prisoners and victims of human trafficking – all groups that are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic.

The UN Population Fund’s (UNFPA) Executive Director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, saw signs of hope among the young, noting that HIV prevalence rates among youth have fallen in several countries because of increased condom use and other behavioural changes.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said it was vital that Member States are made to live up to their earlier commitments to eventually provide universal access to comprehensive prevention programmes, treatment, care and support by 2010.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said it was important to recognize that combating HIV/AIDS is linked to resolving other key global challenges, from promoting economic development and fighting poverty in poorer countries to encouraging gender equality to supporting environmental sustainability.

Numerous events are being staged around the world today to draw attention to the pandemic and to some of the ways that individuals can help to reduce or ameliorate its impact on communities.

In New York, Drawing IT Out, an exhibition of 300 cartoons drawn by artists, in 50 countries opened at UN Headquarters. The event is sponsored by UNAIDS, the Brazilian Ministry of Health and the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region.

Nigeria: Obasanjo On World Aids Day, Takes HIV Test

2006-12-04T14:50:00.000+02:00

By Josephine Lohor
December 2, 2006
This Day

President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday took further steps to ensure that all Nigerians know their HIV/AIDS status when he formally launched the National Counselling and Testing Programme; with himself first bracing the trail by getting tested.

The President launched the programme during a ceremony to mark the World AIDS Day at the Eagle Square in Abuja .

In a demonstration of the Federal Government's call on all Nigerians, Obasanjo also took a voluntary HIV/AIDS test at the event; though the result of the test will only be made available to him.

Speaking at the event, Obasanjo said the National Counselling and Testing Programme would enable many people have access to HIV/AIDS response information and services.

He said that the programme would be located at the primary health care level, adding that the plan is to have at least two counselling and testing centres in each local government of the federation.

"It is expected that beyond the mobilisation of the masses that this intervention will effect, it will also provide the much needed opportunity for potential people living with HIV/AIDS to know their status and so be in a position to access the treatment which the Federal Government is now providing for free," he said.

Obasanjo said the programme would reduce the risks of mother to child transmission by ensuring that "most if not all pregnant women will have access to counseling and testing and open themselves to the simple technologies that are now available for the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV."

He said Nigeria has recorded encouraging results in the efforts to prevent and check the spread of the pandemic in the country.

According to him, "a great majority of Nigerians have now come to accept the reality of AIDS, a great improvement from six years ago when we adopted the multisectoral paradigm for our national response."

"As at the end of 2005, the national average prevalence was 4.4 per cent, a reduction of 1.4 per cent from 1999. This is a step in the right direction but we can certainly do more. Our dictum should be zero tolerance to new HIV infections since this compromises the future of our young men and women.

"Ours was the first African country to provide antiretroviral therapy in the public health system. Our commitment was to provide subsidized treatment for 10,000 adults and 5,000 children.

"Today we have long surpassed these numbers and I am reliably informed that we are currently treating about 100,000 patients in over one hundred sites across the country," he said.

Obasanjo also commended the various stakeholder involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country.

Africa: AIDS Treatment Still a Pipe-Dream – Report

2006-12-04T14:45:00.000+02:00

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
November 30, 2006

Global communities and national governments are failing to scale up antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in poor countries, said a group of 800 AIDS activists from more than 125 countries.

In its latest report, 'Missing the Target #3: Stagnation in AIDS Treatment Scale Up Puts Millions of Lives at Risk', released ahead of World AIDS Day on 1 December, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) said the the momentum created by the World Health Organisation's (WHO) campaign was rapidly fading from most government interventions.

The WHO's '3 by 5' initiative to have three million HIV-positive people in developing countries on ARVs by the end of 2005 deadline passed without being fully met and fell short by at least one million people.

Fatima Hassan, of the AIDS Law Project, a nongovernmental organisation providing legal assistance in South Africa, and an ITPC member, said the initiative was still a positive step towards realising universal access to anti-AIDS prevention and treatment.

"Donor communities and local governments could do well to emulate the target and deadline-driven urgency of the WHO plan when trying to scale up treatment, especially in South Africa, where hundreds of thousands of people who need ARVs are not getting them," she told IRIN/PlusNews.

Close to 214,000 South Africans were receiving anti-AIDS medication at public health facilities by the end of October 2005, but an estimated 600,000 who desperately needed the drugs were still unable to access them.

The Health Department's requirement for provincial treatment facilities to be inspected by national office officials before rolling out ARVs was causing needless delays in accrediting new treatment sites, Hassan said.

However, wide-scale treatment failure was an issue in all of the six countries analysed by ITPC - including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa - with the number of people receiving ARVs dwarfed by the number in urgent need of the life-prolonging drugs.

The treatment shortfall was particularly glaring when it came to women and children in the focus countries, where programmes to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child were reaching just 9 percent of HIV-positive women in Africa, the report commented.

"Many local governments have failed to make treatment delivery a priority ... with no clear global targets being set by most for the scale-up of anti-AIDS services, any interventions embarked upon over the last three years run the risk of dissipating," warned Hassan.

The ITPC advised countries to take greater responsibility by setting their own national treatment goals.

Among other recommendations, the coalition called on health officials to "follow through with swift action to establish widely supported treatment targets; address severe human resources shortfalls; revise national paediatric guidelines; and greatly accelerate the pace of treatment scale-up".

Africa: Time for a rethink on AIDS campaigns - UNAIDS

2006-12-04T14:39:00.000+02:00

PLUSNEWS
1 December 20006

Despite a boom in publicity campaigns on World AIDS Day, the disease continues to spread in Africa because basic details about the illness are not reaching the right people, UNAIDS has warned.

According to a report released last week by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), 4.3 million new HIV cases were registered in 2006 and 65 percent of them were in Africa. Some three million people met an early death because of HIV/AIDS in 2006, the report said.

In sub-Saharan Africa, there are 24.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS, five million more than in 2004.

A glimmer of hope comes from West Africa, where except for Mali the prevalence shows signs of stabilising, and in some cases even slowing.

Southern Africa remains the most affected region, but isolated Zimbabwe has nonetheless registered a drop in prevalence rates amongst pregnant women, the report said.

Prevention is the key, according to UNAIDS.

"New data suggests that where HIV prevention programmes have not been sustained and/or adapted as epidemics have changed - infection rates are staying the same or going up," UNAIDS said in a statement at the report’s release.

The report singled out Uganda as an example both of possibilities and pitfalls. Often praised for reducing its infection rate from 20 to six percent in 10 years, thanks to a voluntary prevention policy, Uganda is now showing a resurgence in HIV/AIDS infections.

"This is worrying - as we know increased HIV prevention programmes in these countries have shown progress in the past - Uganda being a prime example," said Dr Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS. "This means that countries are not moving at the same speed as their epidemics."

According to the UNAIDS report, "People at highest risk - youths, women and girls, men who have sex with men, sex workers and their clients, injecting drug users and ethnic and cultural minorities - are not adequately reached through HIV prevention and treatment strategies because not enough is known about their particular situation."

The report did point towards healthier sexual behaviour among youths, which it said contributed to a decline in prevalence rates in youths between 2000 and 2005, especially in Rwanda, Burundi and urban areas in Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire.

But Piot said that is not enough. "Action must not only be increased dramatically, but must also be strategic, focused and sustainable to ensure that the money reaches those who need it most," he said.

South Africa: Government outlines new AIDS strategy

2006-12-04T14:18:00.000+02:00

PLUSNEWS
1 December 2006

The South African government marked World AIDS Day with the release of a broad framework for its HIV/AIDS strategy over the next five years.

The nine-page document listed as key targets a 50 percent reduction in the rate of new HIV infections by 2011, and the provision of treatment, care and support to 80 percent of HIV-infected South Africans. Youth were identified as "a special target group" that would receive particular focus in the new plan. A monitoring and evaluation framework, an element acknowledged as largely missing in the previous plan, was also identified as a priority.

The framework's release coincided with publication of guidelines for the restructuring of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), much criticised in the past as ineffectual and non-inclusive. Poor coordination by the country's national AIDS body was identified in the framework as a major weakness of the 2000-2005 National Strategic Plan.

A new and improved SANAC will consist of high-level representatives from the business, religious, NGO, academic, media and human rights sectors, as well as a number of government departments. A technical committee charged with monitoring implementation of the national strategic plan is to meet at least four times a year. Another committee, "linked to but separate from SANAC", will be responsible for financial management, including grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Several elements of the framework and the SANAC guidelines seemed to reinforce recent moves by the South African government to work more closely with civil society in its AIDS response. A commitment to involve all government departments and civil society sectors appeared first in a list of principles underpinning the framework. The SANAC document concludes: "If we work together, AIDS can be beaten. South Africa is uniting in its efforts to combat the epidemic and from now on, SANAC will embody that unity and purpose."

Government bowed to pressure from activists and medical experts last week to delay the launch of the full National Strategic Plan for 2007-2011, originally intended for release on Friday.

"It was largely a matter of a need for broader consultation," explained the health department's chief director for HIV/AIDS, Dr Nomonde Xundu. Input from a technical task team over the next three months will culminate in a conference in March 2007, at which representatives from the various sectors will adopt a final version of the plan. A first meeting of the newly formed SANAC is expected to take place shortly after the conference.

AIDS activists and experts who have seen drafts of the strategic plan welcomed the delay. "ARV [antiretroviral] treatment is the most complex health initiative ever undertaken in this country," said president of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, Dr Francois Venter. "We need this plan to be fantastic and, at the moment, it's not even close."

Xundu described the draft plan as in need of "fine-tuning", but AIDS Law Project head Mark Heywood said it contained serious shortcomings, including the lack of a thorough assessment of the previous strategic plan, the absence of a budget, and the lack of engagement with the recommendations that emerged from a civil society conference in October.

"There hasn't been much consultation with stakeholders who have the most immediate relevance, in particular the medical community - the health professionals and the health researchers," Heywood said.

The latest draft, dated November 2006, set a goal of increasing provision of treatment by 100,000 a year to adults, to reach a target of 650,000 by 2011 (the target figure for children was 100,000). The targets have been widely criticised as too conservative, considering that an estimated 800,000 people need treatment now and an additional 500,000 HIV-positive people are expected to need treatment every year, according to the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society. "We need to scale up much faster," said Venter, pointing out that the draft targets would meet only about 20 percent of the need.

The broad framework released on Friday contained no target figures for treatment, but Xundu confirmed that the figures in the draft would be reviewed in the coming months. She also made the distinction between the strategic plan and a yet to be developed operational plan.

"This is a statement of what needs to be done and should be used as a guide," she told PlusNews. Local and national government departments will use it as a basis for developing implementation plans.
At a World AIDS Day event in Mpumalanga Province on Friday, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka called on all South Africans to work together in fighting the HIV and AIDS pandemic. "If we focus our energies on conflicting with one another and on differences between us, we will lose sight of our shared goals, and weaken collective resolve and effort to implement this plan. We have a lot more that unites us."

The Plans Are Complete - Now Let's Build!

2006-11-30T12:21:00.000+02:00

Fungai Machirori
30 November 2006

The ages of sixteen and eighteen are widely believed to symbolise emerging maturity and wisdom. This year, the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence and World AIDS Day (WAD) respectively achieve these milestone anniversaries. Oftentimes, in the fervour of the commemoration of such events, the resolutions made over the preceding year are drowned out by the promises for the year ahead, so it is important, at this opportune time, to remind ourselves that our activism and advocacy needs to be consistent and relevant throughout the year.The 16 days of Activism is a period that celebrates activism in the field of women's human rights and honours the defenders of these rights. This year's 16-day period runs from 25 November to 10 December under the theme, "Advance Human Rights. End Violence Against Women." During this period, WAD will be commemorated on 1 December. The national theme for this year's WAD events is "HIV Prevention Now!" - an advocacy call for prevention that is in line with this year's African Union launch of the Year for Accelerating Access to HIV preventionIn 2006, the Domestic Violence Bill was gazetted in Zimbabwe's Parliament, while national statistics revealed another drop in Zimbabwe's HIV prevalence rate, from just over 20% to 18.1%. Recent reports show that Zimbabweans have the worlds highest condom use, suggesting that a high level of sexual activity need not go hand in hand with an increased HIV epidemic. At the same time, the government, with support from the United Nations and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs), has devised a strategy to fight HIV and AIDS in the agricultural sector. The proposed five-year plan also seeks to address the issue of stigma against people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) as well as fight gender inequality and domestic violence.But amid this progress, there have been setbacks. Recent statistics show that 60% of all murder cases heard in courts are attributable to domestic violence - an injustice that the Domestic Violence Bill, currently with the Senate, seeks to tackle. Universal treatment access has proved to be an enormous challenge - many Zimbabweans remain on long waiting lists to access free antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) through government-funded programmes. Currently, only about 42,000 of the over 300,000 Zimbabweans in need of ARVs are able to access them. Local manufacturers of the cheaper generic drugs do not have the capacity to produce all the needed quantities due to the nation's critical lack of foreign currency.The Domestic Violence Bill is no magic elixir to all the problems of violence in the country. In fact, domestic violence is but a component of the wider issue of gender-based violence (GBV). Gender-based violence, by definition, encompasses sexual harm such as rape and forced prostitution, verbal abuse, physical harm and other forms of violence, which include stalking and neglect. Domestic violence is usually perpetrated by one's intimate partner, or relative, and usually takes place in the home setting, but also refers to violence against workers employed in the home. Currently, domestic violence is reported as a common law offence, which has tended to limit the scope and severity of domestic violence, since the existing laws do not tackle many aspects of domestic violence, such as economic, emotional, verbal and psychological abuse.The Domestic Violence Bill has however created a flurry of debates in the run-up to the 16 Days period. Many articles have been written by professionals and the wider public, and conflicting views have been aired and challenged. These forms of exchange and debate are critical as this Bill, when passed into law, will affect and challenge many of the issues commonly thought to be private, since they take place within the home.Timothy Mubhawu's now infamous proclamations that women are not equal to men began the intensification of these messages through the mass media, providing the necessary platform for the public to openly discuss issues around domestic violence. The same platform should be extended throughout the 16 Days period and World AIDS Day, for the link between GBV and HIV and AIDS is inescapable. Women and adolescent girls make up almost 60% of all people infected with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa and this is largely due to their exposure to gender inequity and violence. GBV puts women, already at greater biological risk than men, in danger of HIV infection when they fail to negotiate safer sex for fear of GBV, or face GBV through rape and coerced sex with an HIV positive partner.Activism around these issues should be inclusive and participatory, involving the mobilisation and empowerment of all sectors of society and communities through the provision of accurate and consistent information and advocacy messages. It is vital to remember that we are all at risk of GBV - both women and men and children. As such, men need to be brought into campaigns against GBV as partners, and not seen merely as perpetrators of the offence. Peer pressure is an important factor in much of men's negative behaviour towards women and is equally relevant in motivating behaviour change for the better. The same idea applies to HIV and AIDS activism. HIV and AIDS are not selective in their infection process, and again, all are at risk.And while the national HIV prevalence rate continues to decline, it must still be remembered that it is remains one of the highest in the world. Efforts to curb this epidemic cannot stop at present successes and demand the commitment of every person, whether living with HIV or not, to prevent initial infection, or re-infection for those who are HIV positive, day after day, every day, and not just at special summits or events such as World AIDS Day.One social commentator recently bemoaned the state of media advocacy noting that far too many media institutions have adopted the "ostrich with its head in the sand" approach when it comes to HIV and AIDS, believing that doing a supplement around World AIDS Day, or making similar token gestures, represents an epic effort in fighting the epidemic. This highlights the media's inadequate response to HIV and AIDS, but most other institutions fall equally short of appropriately addressing the issues. Activism and advocacy have to take place at all levels at all times - within all legal, political, social and economic institutions and their accompanying spheres.As was graphically illustrated in an advertisement recently published in a South African newspaper, legislative frameworks are just that - frameworks. In a parody of the children's tale about the three little pigs and the "big bad wolf", the animation shows the pigs cowering in a house made of papers, which are actually all the South African Acts and charters that protect women's rights. The big bad wolf is depicted with a message that reads, "Ongoing Male Violence" across his chest, and he is lurking behind a tree saying ironically, "How daunting! A house of paper!" As many who know the story will recall, the little pigs use weak materials to build their homes, which the big bad wolf has no problem in huffing and puffing and blowing down.This piece of satire drives home an important point - a house made of papers, bills, Acts, charters and declarations is not enough to withstand the gusts of criticism and the whole edifice of male dominance, in which so many vested interests lie. Advocacy built on words without actions and implementation plans is just as weak. World AIDS Day and 16 Days should be built upon all year round and not just on the days set aside to commemorate them. Each year, our house should get stronger and safer, with bricks and mortar added to the important paper frameworks that guide our foundations.

Southern Africa: SADC Region Steps Up Fight Against HIV/AIIDS

2006-11-30T09:32:00.000+02:00

By Sydney Chisenga
November 27, 2006, The Times of Zambia

A latest UNAIDS/WHO report on HIV/AIDS has revealed that the global AIDS epidemic continues to grow and there is evidence that some countries are seeing a resurgence in new HIV infection rates which were previously stable or declining.
However, declines in infection rates are also being observed in some countries, as well as positive trends in young people's sexual behaviours.
According to the latest figures published in the UNAIDS/WHO 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update, an estimated 39.5 million people are living with HIV.
There were 4.3 million new infections in 2006 with 2.8 million (65 per cent) of these in sub-Saharan Africa and important increases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where there are some indications that infection rates have risen by more than 50 per cent since 2004. In 2006, 2.9 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses.
The reports indicate that new data suggests that where HIV prevention programmes have often not been sustained or adapted as the epidemics have changed, infection rates in some countries are staying the same or going back.
And some countries that had shown earlier successes in reducing new infections, such as Uganda, have either slowed or are experiencing increasing infection rates.
New data from the report show that increased HIV prevention programmes that are focused and adapted to reach those most at risk of HIV infection are making inroads.
According to the report, declines in HIV prevalence among young people between 2000 and 2005 are evident in Botswana, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The annual AIDS epidemic update reports on the latest developments in the global AIDS epidemic.
With the world commemorating the Worlds Aids Day on December 1, under the theme "Accountability", clearly, the report indicates that the pattern in HIV/AIDS infections are increasing in most countries particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and HIV/AIDS response in the region standing at crossroads.
The ravages of the pandemic have not spared the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region, though, according to the report, some member countries have made remarkable efforts in the fight against the incurable disease.
The region, like the rest of the developing world, is concerned about the ever increasing HIV infection rates and the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on the people. Also pressing is the need for care and support of the increasing number of children who have lost their parents due to AIDS.
The SADC region has the highest levels of HIV infection globally. The magnitude of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and its impact on the social fabric of societies in the SADC region, as well as on the economies of the SADC member states has had a devastating effect.
Nearly two thirds of the people in the region are directly or indirectly affected by the pandemic. Although HIV/AIDS is a global problem, the southern African region is the worst hit, with approximately 15 million people who are HIV positive. This represents 51 per cent of all infections in Africa and approximately 37 per cent of the global total, thus making the SADC region the worst affected in the world. It is estimated that to date, close to 10 million people have died of HIV/AIDS related diseases in the region, with over 1 million having died in 2001 alone.
It is a known fact that HIV/AIDS is the number one development hurdle for SADC countries. There is, therefore, a very urgent need to confront the pandemic and deal with its impact on the people and the long term development of the economies of the region. The impact of AIDS is taking a heavy toll on economies across the region, a toll which will mount steadily over the coming years if efforts are not intensified to contain the epidemic. HIV/AIDS is now reversing the major socio-economic gains of the past three to four decades in such areas as health, agriculture and education. Health care systems are overwhelmed with HIV/AIDS patients and health care costs are escalating as acute conditions are crowded out. Conditions such as tuberculosis (TB) which were almost brought under control in the 1970's have re-emerged as a result of the pandemic.
The demographic impact of the disease in the region has also been serious. Life expectancy, for example, is estimated to have dropped to 40 years or lower in several countries, a loss of 30 years. Apart from reducing life expectancy, and through it, the size of the overall work force overtime, AIDS tends to kill prime-age adults, many of whom are skilled and at the peak of their economic productivity.
A number of countries however, despite the challenges brought about by HIV/AIDS, have demonstrated that the epidemic can be turned back and overcome if appropriate action is taken and sustained. Uganda is a classical example. Therefore, to succeed, SADC member states will need to intensify both their national and collaborative action to a much greater degree than the region has done so far.

South Africa: Youth the Focus of New AIDS Plan

2006-11-30T08:29:00.000+02:00

By Kerry Cullinan
November 26, 2006, Health-e

Young people between 15 and 24 have been identified as the priority by the country's new HIV/AIDS strategic plan, due to be presented to the country on Friday (1 Dec).
The key aims of the National Strategic Plan 2007-2011 are to drastically reduce the numbers of people getting infected with HIV and to minimise the impact of HIV on people already infected.
The initial targets contained in the plan have been scrapped after organisations such as the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the HIV Clinicians' Society complained that they were too low.
At a special meeting this week of the SA National AIDS Council (SANAC), which is driving the development of the plan, it was agreed that targets will be set at a consultative conference in March next year.
SANAC also agreed that a technical task team of HIV/AIDS experts would be set up to refine the initial targets.
Between now and the March conference, different sectors - including youth and women - will hold summits on the plan.
A SANAC meeting, to be chaired by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and attended by decision-makers from sectoral organisations, will meet immediately after the national conference to finalise targets.
These targets will also be closely monitored - including by national surveys to see whether the incidence of HIV is dropping and behavioural surveys to see whether people are engaging in less risky sex.
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) general secretary Sipho Mthati said that there had been "some hiccups" in the process of developing plan.
"But we have been able to engage with government and raise our difficulties and feel that we are being listened to," said Mthati. The plan also addresses one of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting antiretroviral treatment to all those who need it - the shortage of health staff.
It recommends that there should be one government employee dedicated to HIV/AIDS per 100 000 people. To achieve this, it calls for the "fast-tracking the recruitment of foreign doctors and pharmacists" and for private health practitioners to be contracted to help.
Treasury is currently working out how much the plan will cost, and it is expected that provinces will get conditional grants specifically to implement the plan.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women:Statement by Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA

2006-11-29T16:10:00.000+02:00

22 November 2006

Every woman and girl should live in a home where she is free from the threat of violence. Every girl should be able to attend school without the risk of abuse. Every woman and girl should be free from gender-based violence.
As we commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, these would appear to be minimal aspirations shared by all of humanity. They are based on commitments made and reiterated by governments the world over and enshrined in international law.
Yet, data from various countries show that, at some point in their lives, between 10 and 60 per cent of women will suffer physical violence at the hands of their male partners and 20 to 75 per cent will suffer emotional abuse. Up to 20 per cent of women will be targets of sexual violence.
UNFPA is proud to join the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Women. We are working with partners to end impunity, to promote and protect the rights of women, including the right to sexual and reproductive health, and to foster equal opportunity, participation and decision-making.
Today, we pay tribute to the women in every country who are bringing these issues to the forefront and demanding justice. We acknowledge the governments and parliaments that have enacted legislation. Today, 89 governments have some legislative provisions that specifically address domestic violence; marital rape may be prosecuted in at least 104 countries; 90 governments have some form of legislative provision against sexual harassment; and 93 nations have legal provisions against human trafficking.
We urge the governments and parliaments that have adopted laws to ensure their implementation. We express appreciation to those who have put in place programmes for women and girls affected by violence. We are heartened by the increased attention being paid to the role of men and boys in preventing violence against women, and the link between gender-based violence and the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Today, we call on all governments and parliaments that have not yet done so to adopt laws, policies and programmes to ensure a quality and compassionate response to victims and to actively monitor the progress that is made. There is much we can learn from each other and we need to share best practices. Our collective success in achieving peace and security and in making poverty history depends on our ability to end discrimination and violence against women and girls.

Botswana: Making a Statement

2006-11-29T15:43:00.000+02:00

The Voice
EDITORIAL
November 28, 2006

On Monday it will be exactly two weeks after Mr President's national address. But we still reel in disbelief at what we saw and heard at the National Assembly that day.
We were not only spellbound by the top man's statements, but we were equally fascinated by the fashion statements made by our ladies, who left us with the thoughts of getting a new wardrobe.
These thoughts have since disappeared due to the scarcity and rarity of the Pula (our money). Enough about fashion statements. Next Friday we commemorate World AIDS Day with the rest of the world.
We have had HIV/AIDS for 21 years. Which is why we beg each and every reader to make a commitment today to stop new HIV infections.
President Festus Mogae has stated in the nation address that "we can not meet our Millenium Development and Vision 2016 goals unless there is a significant change in behaviour.
"In this respect, I appeal to every citizen to make a personal commitment to abandon risky behaviour that might lead to HIV infection," he said.
We have ears, let us hear. We can stop the spread of HIV by knowing our HIV status instead of assuming that we are HIV negative and indulging in unprotected sex. Let us refrain from having sex with minors after abusing alcohol. After all the youth are our future leaders.

Violence by any other name is still violence

2006-11-29T15:30:00.000+02:00

Fungai Machirori
23 November 2006

"If we agree to this Bill, we will be trapped. If I catch my wife with another man, I cannot discipline her because once she reports it, it becomes domestic violence.” One of Zimbabwe’s Members of Parliament, Zacharia Ziyambi, offered the statement in a sitting of Parliament for the second reading of the country’s proposed Domestic Violence Bill.

These words hold a frighteningly powerful answer to the question of why domestic violence persists, and will continue to do so in our societies, unless we re-think the beliefs and expectations we hold about this most serious offence.

The current law in Zimbabwe treats physical and sexual abuses of women as crimes of common assault in Zimbabwe. The Domestic Violence Bill is now at the committee stage where it will be debated in the House of Assembly.

Only a handful of countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have specific Domestic Violence Acts in place – including Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, and Seychelles. Even in countries that have such a law in place, domestic violence continues to be a pervasive problem.

The Zimbabwe Domestic Violence Bill currently in the pipeline incorporates provisions for preventing violence, including the establishment of a non-Domestic Violence Committee composed of government, non-governmental organisations, churches and traditional leaders. It also provides for a definition of domestic violence that encompasses physical, emotional, verbal and psychological abuse, as well as "economic" abuse, that is, the misuse of financial assets to the detriment of the partner and other members of the family.

Ziyambi’s comments show how people still run ropes around the issue, refusing to accept their own actions as domestic violence. He would like to believe that domestic violence begins when the law enables his wife to report such acts to the police.

However, domestic violence does not require the state’s approval in order to define it. It refers to the gross use of one’s own power, whether physical, verbal, emotional, psychological, financial, or otherwise, to dominate and harm another human being and thus rob them of their inherent rights and dignity.

The point is not to analyse jealousy, infidelity, and the factors that lead to these abuses. We must highlight the arrogance and lack of awareness that exists among perpetrators of domestic violence.

People who hold Mr. Ziyambi’s views believe that as long as the act of striking a partner or child, or using other means to create fear and subordination, occurs within the four neat walls of the home, the matter remains solely their business. Therefore, to them, the Domestic Violence Bill, if passed into law, would serve as a pervasive Big Brother-like structure that would impinge upon their right to privacy and ‘freedom’ to discipline errant behaviour.

The statement from Tafara-Mabvuku MP, Timothy Mubawu that women are not equal to men and any legislation supporting such claims would be diabolical, resulted in mass protests by women’s groups. Yet, other speakers echoed his sentiments more subtly showing that this Bill is making many people, particularly, men, very uneasy.

Unfortunately, this discomfort is not born from concern for the loss of mutual respect and trust that ought to form personal relationships, but instead, from the sanctions that a criminal charge of domestic violence would bring.

In the same session of Parliament, Binga representative, Joel Gabbuza noted, “It (the Domestic Violence Bill) is against jealousy and extreme possessiveness but I have to be possessive because she (his wife) is the only asset I love.”

Here, possessiveness is equated to and understood as an offshoot of love, when in fact real love must entail trust and respect in order to be called such. The statement implies that women are valued as mere assets to yield investments on bride price through servile behaviour and childbearing - to be further disposed of if they fail to fulfill these roles. This implies that women can never be equal partners and stakeholders within marriages and societies.

It was refreshing, however, to hear one male policy influencer, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, note that domestic violence cannot be justified through traditional customs and values. Chinamasa contradicts such claims and urged Zimbabweans to move away from a system of condoning domestic violence in the name of culture.

He, and hopefully many others, realise that culture is dynamic and as such must adapt to ever-changing environments in order to remain viable and relevant. Gender equality and equity are values that we need to start appreciating in homes and other social institutions to create a culture of tolerance and respect for each human being’s individuality and security of person.

Violence begets violence and violent acts in the home must be recognised for what they are - violence.

How the dream of a white wedding turned into a nightmare

2006-11-29T15:26:00.000+02:00

Nyarai Madzima
28 November 2006

It had always been my dream to have a white wedding and I thought I had met my soul mate in Tom. He seemed besotted with me and I thought it was just a matter of time before he popped the question. I was ecstatic.

When he suggested we move in together, I quickly agreed telling myself this would give us the chance to get to know each other better. I was already renting a lovely place, so he naturally moved in with me.

A few months into our relationship, I fell pregnant. I began to see signs of a bad temper, but was determined to make the relationship work. We had our first child, a son and five years later, we had another son. Still no lobola, and no white wedding, but I was still hopeful.

During the second pregnancy, Tom became very abusive. My story is about the violence that each day corroded this man until it eventually took his life, and very nearly took that of my child as well. Telling my story is one of many ways in which I am trying to find myself again.

I guess the real turning point in our lives came one day in my eighth month of pregnancy. I came back from work to find my domestic worker sitting outside with a child. I learned the child was Tom’s from an affair with his former domestic worker, which caused his first wife to divorce him. I was devastated.

Now, in addition to my own young children, I had a disabled boy who needed special care. At seven, he still wore diapers throughout the day and could not feed or bath himself.

My blood pressure shot up and I was hospitalised three weeks before my due date. Tom visited in the first week, but when I gave birth, he never came to see me. I looked enviously at attentive spouses fussing over other young mothers. I cried myself to sleep most of the time. I resolved to leave Tom, but when the time came, I could not do it.

Tom beat me. He also beat his helpless son. Eventually, I sought counseling from my church and some friends advised me to take the child to an institution where he would receive proper care. When I raised enough money, I told Tom of my idea. He refused and beat me up demanding that I continue to look after the child.

For the first time in our relationship, I disobeyed him. I enrolled the child in the home where he remains today. His father never visited him or phoned to check on him.

I thought this would give us breathing space and we could try to work at our relationship and make a happy home for our children. Tom became even more aggressive. If I refused him sex, he would force himself on me and accuse me of having affairs. He beat me up in front of the children and I grew thin and scared.

One day, my boss saw my blue eye and asked me what I was doing with such a violent man. When I started coughing up blood, she demanded that I seek the help of a lawyer before it was too late.

This gave me courage. In the presence of a lawyer, I told Tom that I wanted him to move out. The lawyer also notified Tom that he would get a peace order against him. I was so relieved, but I did not realise my worst nightmare was about to begin.

When we left the lawyer’s office, Tom spoke reasonably and promised he would move out that day. I went back to the office and he went back to his work, or so I thought.

Tom drove around trying to buy fuel. The country had a fuel shortage, so he only managed to get a five-litre gallon of petrol. He picked up our four-year old from pre-school. He went to the house and doused the curtains, lounge suite and beds with petrol and set everything on fire while our son waited in the car. He drove away in search of more fuel.

He phoned and told me what he had done. He said he had our youngest child and was heading for our other son’s boarding school to collect him. He said he would kill himself and the children.

I did not think he was serious because he had threatened to do this on several occasions in the past. I thought he wanted me to change my mind about wanting him to move out.

Half an hour later his office phoned to warn me that he had called them with the same story. I panicked. I phoned my son’s school and asked them to get police protection. I also phoned the police who promised to mount a roadblock somewhere along the road towards my son’s boarding school.

Meanwhile, Tom had laced a packet of fresh chips and some biscuits with rat poison. He urged the four-year-old, who had seen him sprinkle the poison, to eat, but he refused. Tom drove towards the school, searching for fuel. All the time he had a rope around his neck.

The car was low on fuel and he drove into someone’s farm a few kilometres outside of Harare. After sitting the little boy on a rock and again encouraging him to eat the poisoned food, he hung himself from a tree in full view of his child.

My four-year old son narrated this whole ordeal to me. An old woman who was looking for firewood discovered him crying and walking around the tree. Tom was driving a company car inscribed with the company name, so the farm owner called his office.

We have been in counseling for the last two year to help us deal with this trauma. At first, I blamed myself for Tom’s death but the love and support of friends and colleagues helped me work through my confusion, pain and feeling of helplessness.

I feel stronger now, but I am afraid of men. Maybe one day I will meet someone who will help me overcome the way I feel. I still yearn for a fulfilling relationship but memories of the nightmare I went through are still very vivid in my mind.

Right now, I also feel I should focus more on raising my children, help them forget this horrible chapter in our lives. I am struggling to give my children a sense of security. My self-esteem is much better today and I feel stronger. I know now that I should never have accepted brutality.

Stop trafficking, protect women

2006-11-29T15:02:00.000+02:00

Rebecca Wynn
29 November 2006

To mark 16 Days of Activism, Mozambican youth group Alertos Da Vida will tour mining communities, transit points, and community venues in South Africa with a theatrical production to raise awareness about human trafficking.

Each year thousands of people are lured to South Africa with promises of jobs, education, or marriage, only to be sold into slave-like conditions. Southern Africa’s young women are especially vulnerable to the recruitment tactics of traffickers because civil unrest and economic deprivation leave them with few opportunities at home, and make migration, and the opportunities it promises, seem a natural and common solution.

Some of these women end up in the brothels of Hillbrow and Berea in Johannesburg, or in more private venues in the City’s upmarket suburbs, the mining areas of Carletonville, and in Cape Town’s red light district. When we look at eliminating gender-based violence in South Africa, it is essential that we address the fate of these women, often hidden from public view, by increasing awareness and access to help.

An activity financed by IOM’s Southern Africa Counter Trafficking Programme (SACTAP), and implemented by Community Media for Development, the Portuguese-language theatrical production targets the Mozambican community living in the country.

IOM estimates that at least 1,000 women are trafficked into South Africa from Mozambique each year, with poverty a huge factor in their susceptibility to promises made by traffickers. As one former police informant told IOM; women “hear about, and see on television, the glitz and glamour of Johannesburg, and think its heaven. They would all like to go there for an easier life.”

Traffickers exploit the desperation of these women with promises of a better life, and with few other alternatives, many take jobs offers on trust without questioning potential dangers. After being offered jobs as waitresses, trafficked Mozambican women may find themselves working in Johannesburg’ sex industry or sold in mining areas as “wives” and forced to act as domestic servants and sex slaves without remuneration.

Human trafficking is certainly not a new phenomenon. In 1810, Dr William Dunlop, a surgeon visiting South Africa from London, promised 21-year old Saartjie Baartman a job, fame and fortune in a foreign land. All she needed to do was board a ship to England. For a farm servant, well past the traditional age of marriage among her people, and with little prospects of improving her condition, she took up the offer.

What awaited Baartman in London was neither fame nor fortune nor freedom. Fascinated by her ‘exotic’ appearance, Dunlop chose to parade Baartman naked in front of large crowds of Londoners, who paid one shilling each to gawk at the ‘Hottentot Venus’ from Africa.

Rather than improving over the last 200 years, trafficking in persons is flourishing throughout Southern Africa, typically involving young women who are trafficked to South Africa from other countries in Africa, South East Asia and Eastern Europe. Baartman’s experience of recruitment by deception and cross-border transportation for sexual exploitation is still a living reality for many thousands of women in Southern Africa today.

Traffickers often use security guards, violence or threats of violence, and confiscate documents prevent trafficked persons from escaping.

The theatre project is part of a nationwide information campaign targeting both trafficked persons and potential whistle-blowers. Billboards and other signage will appear in areas with a heavy concentration of trafficked persons and information materials will be translated into the languages commonly spoken by victims.

Information campaigns have a key role to play in motivating community members to report suspicious activities. Materials are also available for interested community groups and organisations to distribute.

There is also a need to support the South African government’s efforts to outlaw human trafficking and put in place effective legislation. In February 2004, South Africa signed the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. This committed South Africa to criminalising trafficking and developing legislation against it.

A forthcoming anti-trafficking bill is an important piece of legislation for civil society to support. Trafficking has thrived in Southern Africa in part because it has offered traffickers high profits with relatively low risks.

A comprehensive anti-trafficking law will help change this, as it will add to the arsenal of legislation that law enforcement agencies in South Africa can use to prosecute traffickers. Other Southern African countries are also looking to outlaw trafficking and their efforts should be encouraged and supported by concerned civil society.

As we mark 16 Days of Activism against gender violence in 2006, it is tragic that Saartjie Baartman’s story is still a living reality for many women in Southern Africa today. We need to act now to ensure that South Africa has the tools it needs to prevent trafficking, protect the victims and prosecute traffickers. We need to stop history repeating itself.

National Launch of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence in Zimbabwe

2006-11-29T14:50:00.000+02:00

By Beatrice Tonhodzayi
SAfAIDS
They came in all sizes and colours to witness the national launch of the 16 Days Campaign against Gender Based Violence (GBV) on Friday 24th of November at Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare.
The campaign runs from 25th November to 10 December and encompasses within that period, the International Day of Violence Against women, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, World Aids Day, the International Day of Disabled Persons and Human Rights Day. It was a vibrant lot that could be seen being bussed in from all parts of the country. From as young as six (that little girl in school uniform) to as old as 70 (that grandmother in the church uniform) women from all walks of life devoted the day to the launch of the campaign.
And as they entered the venue for the launch they could be seen rushing to grab whatever reading material was on offer. Organisations like the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) and non-governmental organisation partners like Girl Child Network and Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS), were distributing material that ranged from pamphlets and the 16 Days Calendar to ribbons and badges on the 16 Days campaign.
“I did not get a badge like that one you are wearing but I want one, what does it say?” asked Mbuya Cecilia Mamvura who came from Glen Norah to attend the launch of the campaign. She could not read and could not therefore decipher the messages on most of the material she was collecting but that did not matter to her.
“The important thing, my child, is that I take this material back with me to my home area. The young ones who have been to school will read it out for me and from doing that they will be educated. They will know that they do not have to tolerate beatings from abusive men, that they do not have to keep quiet after getting raped,” Mbuya Mamvura said with energy, showing that she knew that the purpose behind the launch had something to do with stopping violence.
And that was the general belief among most of the women gathered at the launch, that it was a forum to hear more on the punishment that awaited men who beat on women, that GBV is about women getting physically abused by men.
A testimony from a male survivor of GBV from Padare on how his wife was physically and psychologically abusing him, drew laughter from the close to 3,000 strong crowd in the auditorium, who felt that there was something wrong with a man who put up with such behaviour from his wife.
But a testimony from a female survivor who is currently sheltered by Musasa Project of similar abuse drew sighs of sympathy from the audience showing that there is still a lot of work to be done in educating people what GBV is, that it can affect both men and women, and that the Domestic Violence Bill, currently before the Senate is meant to protect not just women but men,
children and everyone within the domestic sphere, including domestic workers.
In her address Zimbabwe’s First Lady Mrs Grace Mugabe, guest of honour, said: “Changing negative attitudes and practices that promote Gender Based Violence” is indeed the best theme for this country because there are so many attitudes and practices we keep that promote Gender Based Violence.
While the Global theme for the 16 Days campaign is “Celebrating 16 Years of 16 Days- Advance Human Rights-End Violence Against Women” the national theme is about changing negative attitudes. “The way we all laughed when this brother shared his testimony of an abusive marriage shows that to us, a man should not be tolerating such kind of behaviour from his wife, that he should teach her a lesson by beating her or leaving her.“Are we not sitting here though, because we do not want to hear or see any more cases of women being battered by men? If
that’s the case, why are we laughing at this brother and why should we think only women can suffer GBV, when it is obvious that men are affected too,” she said.
“Women”, said the First Lady, “are their own worst enemy sometimes, for it is common for a mother-in-law to incite her son into assaulting his wife as a means of disciplining her. Mothers were also not doing enough to raise their boy children to be true gentlemen who did not abuse their partners.
Currently 60 percent of all murder cases coming before Zimbabwean courts are GBV related and the victims are mostly women.”
There is also a disturbing link between GBV and HIV, as there is a strong likelihood that women and girls who are subjected to various forms of GBV, such as sexual abuse, will be infected with HIV. Women with abusive partners are also unable to say “No” to their partners even when the partner is infected with HIV, or has multiple sexual partners. In his message for the 16 Days campaign, United Nations Secretary General Koffi Annan, says violence against women causes
untold misery, harms families across generations, and impoverishes communities. It stops women from fulfilling their potential, restricts economic growth, and undermines development. When it comes to violence against women, there are no civilised societies
Fighting this scourge, said Annan, required us to change a mindset, which is still too common and deep-seated. “For years, women’s organisations and movements round the world have worked tirelessly to take violence against women out of the private domain and into the public sphere - into the arena of State accountability. Many States have enacted and implemented effective laws and provided comprehensive and gender-sensitive services to victims. And there has also been progress in creating international standards,” he said. Annan said the UN must play a stronger, better co-ordinated and more visible leadership role, while member states must do more to implement the international legal and policy framework to which they have committed themselves. This means that it is not enough for Zimbabwe to have an act to deal with Domestic Violence, for there is still a lot of education that needs to take place if the legislation is to become meaningful.Women’s organisations, Government, the UN and other partners need to continue educating people about what exactly GBV is, how the Domestic Violence Bill protects them and the first step to take after suffering GBV.
In her message for the 16 Days campaign Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Service (SAfAIDS) executive director Lois Chingandu throws out this challenge: “Let it not be a 16 Days of anger that we feel, let it be 365 days anger. If we make noise throughout the 16 Days of Activism and then hear that another woman has been bashed or willfully infected with HIV on the 17th day, what would we have done?” says Chingandu, “cannot make a difference- it should be an everyday thing.
The campaign should not therefore come to an end on December 10 but should be ongoing. It is still a long way till the time everyone will know what GBV is and how to stop it.”As they say- it stops with you and me-Today!

Botswana: Much More Needed to Curb Gender Violence

2006-11-29T14:46:00.000+02:00

November 23, 2006 Mmegi/The Reporter

The world commemorates Sixteen Days of Activism on Violence against Women and Children from November 25 to December 10 at a time mankind is facing major challenges. In Botswana, there has been an unprecedented high incidents of femicide and other crimes such as rape and defilement.
It is commendable that the theme of this year's commemoration is 'male involvement in sexual and reproductive health and the elimination of gender-based violence'. The University of Botswana has already started the campaign by looking at the male involvement in the prevention of violence and HIV/AIDS. It is interesting that men are coming on board, as seen by the efforts made by the Men's Sector in encouraging men to know their status and support women in the national HIV/AIDS programmes. Even in recent advertisements both in print and electronic media, men are seen sending the positive messages, that it is important and responsible to take part in the national prevention of mother to child transmission programme. The Men's Sector should be commended for their campaigns, as they aim to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in men and sexually active boys in Botswana. Hopefully this will reflect in the HIV/AIDS prevalence in women going down as well.
To achieve the desired behavioural change in the fight against HIV/AIDS, information should be available and the services should be accessible to men.
Gender-based violence is still a serious source of concern in Botswana, especially with rising femicide. Another cause for concern is the number of reported rapes. Femicide, rape and defilement have no place in our society.
Batswana should make an undertaking never to commit or condone violence against women and children and to speak out about violence when they see it.
Observing the 16 Days of Activism will increase awareness of the negative impact of violence on the development of women and children. The world should seize upon the commemoration and explore best ways to deal with issues afflicting women and children vis-à-vis violence.
It's important to see how, regardless of race or religious faith, violence against women is not perceived as a good thing.

Zimbabwe: Perspective: Harrowing tales recounted at the Domestic Violence Bill hearing

2006-11-29T14:37:00.000+02:00

Fungai Machirori, Southern Africa AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) September 28, 2006

The beginning of the public hearing on the Domestic Violence Bill scarcely betrayed hinted at the poignancy of many of the testimonies that would follow. Women and girls - professionals, students, housewives, some barely able to walk with age, some clutching babies at their hips - sang, danced and ululated as they made their grand entrance into the public meeting room. But soon after came the disbelieving silence as victims of domestic violence shared their horrific ordeals.
The hearing was held in order for organisations and the general public to make submissions on the Domestic Violence Bill to the Portfolio Committees on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, as well as Youth, Gender and Women's Affairs. In her address to the committees, the Director of Girl Child Network (GCN), Betty Makoni, gave an account on behalf of a group of victims and survivors of domestic violence present at the gathering. She recounted the ordeal of a family of three young siblings, the oldest barely 10 years old, who had watched their father bludgeon their mother to death. Her crime was that she had wanted to attend a funeral - something her husband found suspicious, as this was the second she was to attend in quick succession. He is currently in prison. Another story was shared of a girl who was raped and impregnated by her own father. She gave birth to her child around the same time as her own mother - both women bearing children by the same man. One victim showed her physical reminder of the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her husband - the blood-soaked T-shirt she had been wearing that day. Many sighed and moaned under their breath at the stories.
"This so-called private matter is a matter of public policy," noted the Director of Women's Trust, Luta Shaba. This points to the need for openness in discussing issues around domestic violence as shown by the testimonies and submissions presented before the panel of government officials. Present were the Minister of Gender, Women's Affairs and Community Development, Oppah Muchinguri, Minister Shuvai Mahofa, Members of Parliament and senators. Organisations dealing in gender, law, human rights and HIV and AIDS, such as GCN, Zimbabwe Women Lawyers' Association (ZWALA), Padare/Enkhundleni, SAfAIDS, Zimbabwe Women's Resources Centre and Network and many others were also in attendance.
The main recommendations made to the committee were in terms of planning and implementation around the Bill, once it is passed into law. The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) advocated for society preparedness campaigns for the care of abused women and children. The agency also called for massive training on domestic violence in all sectors of society. During this process they suggested that best practices would also be tabulated.
The National Coordinator of Women and Law in Southern Africa, Sylvia Chirau, expressed the need for a resocialisation process in terms of challenging society's attitudes and values around gender and violence, beginning with giving children as young as nursery school, anti-violence lessons.
Emilia Muchawa of ZWALA noted that while the Domestic Violence Bill provides a harmonised procedure for a person who is a victim of domestic violence, it still requires amending in order to strengthen it. For instance, she noted that no minimum sentence is provided for the offence of domestic violence, which leaves this to the magistrate to decide. Many echoed this sentiment, calling for much stiffer penalties than the 10-year maximum prison sentence and the level fourteen fine (Z$25 000) the Bill currently offers as punishment. Also of great importance to note is that most domestic violence cases are not heard in national courts but filtered through the junior magistrates' courts where fines are as low as $4,000. This means that perpetrators of domestic violence can easily pay their fine, re-enter society and commit the same crimes again.
ZWALA also urged the Portfolio Committee to consider issues of access to justice. Magistrates' courts and police are not easily accessible to rural people and a suggestion was made for chiefs to have powers to grant protection orders to protect victims from further abuse. ZWALA noted that the rural setting meant that few NGOs were available to provide anti-domestic violence counselors and therefore, a proposal was made that people at village and ward levels be trained to provide the service. Under the proposed law, a panel of social welfare officers and members of private voluntary organisations concerned with domestic violence will be constituted to counsel and advise survivors of domestic violence.
Disappointingly, no submissions by HIV and AIDS organisations were made to the Portfolio Committees, especially in light of the fact that the Bill never makes direct reference to the link between domestic violence and HIV. Rape and coerced sexual activity are important drivers in the spread of HIV, while women who demand condom use in their relationships are often subjected to abusive retaliation by their partners. Current statistics show that over half of all people living with HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe are women.
The Bill is also being mooted near to the time of the annual commemorations of the 16 Days of Activism to stop Violence Against Women, with the campaign beginning on the 25th of November. The event provides women human rights defenders with a powerful platform for continued lobbying for the immediate passing of the Bill into law. This will be assisted by the October release of the UN Secretary General's in-depth study into all forms of Violence Against Women.
While many of the speakers at the public hearing voiced frustration at the long wait for a law to protect them from the on-going violence, they maintained determination to see their efforts succeed. And as the meeting drew to a close, all were reminded once more of it significance when one of the young boys who had watched his father beat his mother to death came forward to give his views on the Bill. He and his brother and sister now live with their 90-year-old grandmother who is barely able to support them. "I watched my father kill my mother," recounted the barefoot boy. "I want him in jail for forty years or more."

Event: World AIDS Day with Kofi Annan

2006-11-21T14:13:00.000+02:00

Anastasia Andrzejewski, USA

Please join us at a free public event for World AIDS Day!
Confirmed speakers:*Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General,*Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS*Joan Holmes, President of The Hunger Project*a representative of the movement of people living with HIV/AIDS*and featuring the Swaziland Redemption Choir here in New York as part oftheir AIDS benefit tour.
The event will be held at:St. Bartholomew's Episcopal ChurchPark Avenue & 51st Street in New York City
Date: Thursday, November 30, 2006Please arrive before 6:20pm due to security
Please RSVP to RSVP@thp.org
Co-sponsored by St. Bartholomew's, UNAIDS, The Hunger Project, the Population Council, the World Council of Churches, the World Council ofConservative Synagogues, the Islamic Cultural Center of NYC, and the Interfaith Center of New York.
Sent by: Anastasia AndrzejewskiEmail: aha@thp.org

March in Botswana for HIV-Related Rights in the Workplace

2006-11-20T15:25:00.000+02:00

A march and rally in Gaborone on 11 November brought together hundreds of concerned citizens, union members, people living with HIV, students, and many more to call on the Botswana Government and policymakers to put in place a law to protect HIV-related rights in the workplace.
A petition to the government to protect workers rights, assure confidentiality, and combat discrimination was publicly read. The petition, signed already by over 5000 people will be presented to government officials on World AIDS Day. The HIV Employment Law Campaign is spearheaded by the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA) and the Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) with support from many other organizations.

Fifth Anniversary of Doha Declaration: Has the Declaration Delivered?

2006-11-20T14:05:00.000+02:00

Government leaders, through their inability to fulfil the promises made in the Doha Declaration, have failed millions of people around the world whose lives depend on access to essential medicines," states Marcel van Soest, executive director of the World AIDS Campaign.
The World Trade Organization made a ministerial declaration on the TRIPS Agreement (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and public health on 14 November, 2001, in Doha, Qatar. The declaration emphasized that trade rules should support countries' right to protect public health, particularly "access to medicines for all".
The declaration recognized concerns about the effect of the TRIPS Agreement on prices of medicines, but today new medicines continue be priced exorbitantly high. The declaration reaffirmed the right of governments to use the flexibilities of TRIPS, but now some countries are using new bilateral and regional trade agreements specifically to remove these flexibilities. The declaration called for a solution that would allow medicines made under compulsory licences to be exported to countries without manufacturing capacity but despite claims that this has been solved, so far no one has managed to do this.
Campaigners call for more commitment on alternative ways of balancing intellectual property rights and public health.
"This World AIDS Day, civil society is calling on leaders at all levels to be accountable to the promises they have made," says van Soest, "This includes implementing the spirit and intent of the Doha Declaration."
In 2005 the G8 meeting and UN World Summit committed to scaling up HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services, “with the aim of coming as close as possible to the goal of universal access to treatment by 2010 for all those who need it.” This promise was reaffirmed by all member states at the UN High level AIDS Meeting in New York on June 2 this year.
This also means, according to van Soest, that “Access to medicines for all can only be reached by starting to keep the promise of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health and the production of generic medicines.”
Principles that have been implemented from the Doha Declaration that have led to reductions in first line ARVs, for example, have benefited countries. However, the access to to generics competition of ARVs and other essential medicines needed by people living with AIDS are under serious threat by additional provisions in bilateral and regional trade agreements, particularly with the US. In addition, newer medicines come from single sources, and without competition, the price of second generation ARVs is prohibitive. Limitations imposed by companies to accessing the lowest price has led to huge discrepancies among developing countries. Middle-income countries are still paying 1.5 times the price paid in low-income countries for first-line ARVs and even up to nine times more, for new ARVs such as LPV/r, according to data published by the World Health Organisation.
Honoring the Doha Declaration includes a moratorium on any new bilateral and regional trade agreements that include provisions involving intellectual property rights and medicines, as well as ensuring that countries will not enforce any provisions in such agreements that are contrary to the 2001 Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health.
But next to that is the need to renew the international debate to replace the TRIPS model for a model that ensures that essential health research and development meets real health needs, rejects rationing as a basis for innovation and divorces pricing from the financing of research and development.

World AIDS Day Campaign 2006: 13 Million Children to Join Giant HIV and AIDS Lesson

2006-11-08T11:46:00.000+02:00

08 November 2006

Over 13 million children from 60 countries worldwide will join a giant simultaneous lesson on HIV/AIDS this World AIDS Day, 1 December, 2006.
Hundreds of thousands of schools and youth groups in countries from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe will participate in the Lesson for Life, learning about HIV/AIDS and mobilising children and their communities to work together to change the destiny of children affected with HIV and AIDS.
Organised by the Global Movement for Children in the framework of the World AIDS Campaign, the Lesson for Life will involve some children urging their governments to take as much action on HIV/AIDS as children themselves are taking.
"In the Lesson for Life, children from across the world will be tackling the HIV/AIDS crisis head on," said Miquel De Paladella, from the Global Movement for Children. "Our leaders must sit up and take notice of these children - their innovation and energy puts on governments to shame."
In Zambia, children have been visiting ministers and will speak at a launch event to demand free treatment for their friends living with AIDS, in Vietnam children will quiz ministers in a live Q & A session, and in France children from across Paris will meet for a giant lesson in UNESCO's general assembly.
Children are missing from global awarenss, budgets and action on HIV/AIDS, and do not have the services, care, support and knowledge that they need.
Fewer than 5% of HIV-positive children have access to treatment. Less than 10 % of children who have lost parents to AIDS get public support or care.

World AIDS Day Pre-Launch Activities set for Bulawayo

2006-11-07T14:37:00.000+02:00

Fungai Machirori
SAfAIDS
3 November 2006

World AIDS Day 2006 is less than a month away and activities to mark the commemorations promise a range of arts, cultural, community and sporting events for Bulawayo city, which will this year host Zimbabwe’s official launch of the WAD campaign.
Zimbabwe’s national theme for this year’s World AIDS Day is “Prevention Now!” while the slogan remains “Stop AIDS. Keep The Promise”. This theme is in line with the African Union’s declaration of 2006 as the “Year for Acceleration of HIV Prevention” in the African Region, and the call on Member States to intensify HIV prevention efforts. However, activities arranged around WAD will represent diverse HIV and AIDS thematic areas, which will include fighting stigma and discussing anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
The campaign is set to begin on Monday, November 27 with an HIV and AIDS film festival, which will run jointly at Amakhosi Cultural Centre and the Bulawayo Art Gallery until Thursday, November 30. On the same day, the Bulawayo Art Gallery will be the venue of the launch of a week-long children’s art exhibition. Most of the children engaged to take part in the activity are on ART and will produce works on several HIV and AIDS themes in order to give a child’s perspective on the epidemic. Bulawayo’s 9th Avenue, one of the city’s busiest roads, will host a street clean up on the following day, Tuesday, November 28. This will provide an opportunity for HIV and AIDS organisations to distribute materials, as well as participate alongside private companies and the general public in helping to prepare Bulawayo’s streets for World AIDS Day. An HIV and AIDS race for People living With HIV and AIDS (PLWHAs) will be run along the same avenue on the same day. This will be staged as an anti-stigma activity to highlight the achievements and abilities of those living with HIV and AIDS. Entertainment, which will include music and dance performances, will be provided.
An HIV and AIDS dialogue will take place at the Bulawayo City Hall on November 30, the eve of the WAD launch. High-ranking government officials and HIV and AIDS experts are expected to attend this discussion, which will address such issues as ART, Home-Based Care (HBC) support, HIV and gender issues as well as acceleration of HIV prevention initiatives as part regional commitments.
A marathon is also set for November 30, with a church service and candle light ceremony following the event. Another PLHWA activity, a soccer match between two of Bulawayo’s districts, is also set to be played. Trophies, featuring the red ribbon that symbolises action against AIDS, will be presented to the two participating teams.

World AIDS Day 1st December

2006-11-01T14:03:00.000+02:00

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are 38.6 million people living with HIV, including 2.3 million children, and during 2005 some 4.1 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.
Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.
Started in 1988, World AIDS Day is not just about raising money, but also about increasing awareness, education and fighting prejudice. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.
The theme for World AIDS DayFor many years, World AIDS Day was organised by UNAIDS, who chose the theme after consultation with other organisations. However, in 2005 UNAIDS handed over responsibility for World AIDS Day to an independent organisation known as The World AIDS Campaign (WAC).
The WAC’s theme for their campaign is "Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise". This theme is however not specific to World AIDS Day alone but to the work the WAC does throughout the year. It will also remain the focus until 2010. "Keep the Promise" is an appeal to governments and policy makers to ensure they meet the targets they have agreed to in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
This change in the way that World AIDS Day is organised has caused some confusion among HIV & AIDS organisations. Some chose to adopt “Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise” as their theme for World AIDS Day 2005. Others, for the first time, picked their own topic for the events they held last year on the 1st of December. Whatever you decide to do for World AIDS Day however, the most important thing is that you follow its basic principals by raising awareness and understanding where you live and by remembering the millions living with HIV or suffering because of AIDS.

Past World AIDS Day themes have been:
2006 - Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise - Accountability
2005 - Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise - Make the Promise
2004 - Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS
2003 - Stigma & Discrimination
2002 - Stigma & Discrimination
2001 - I care. Do you? 2000 - AIDS : Men make a difference
1999 - Listen, Learn, Live: World AIDS Campaign with Children & Young People
1998 - Force for Change: World AIDS Campaign With Young People
1997 - Children Living in a World with AIDS
1996 - One World, One Hope
1995 - Shared Rights, Shared Responsibilities
1994 - AIDS & the Family 1993 - Act
1992 - Community Commitment
1991 - Sharing the Challenge
1990 - Women & AIDS
1989 - Youth
1988 - Communication

The red ribbon
The red ribbon is an international symbol of AIDS awareness that is worn by people all year round and particularly around World AIDS Day to demonstrate care and concern about HIV and AIDS, and to remind others of the need for their support and commitment.
The red ribbon started as a "grass roots" effort, and as a result there is no official red ribbon, and many people make their own. It's easily done - just use some ordinary red ribbon and a safety pin!

What can I do to support World AIDS Day?

There are many ways in which you can support World AIDS Day. For example:

Raise awareness of HIV and AIDS in your area
Wear a red ribbon and ask others to do the same
Protect yourself and your partners - this is the first and best way to stop the spread of HIV
If you are worried - get tested.

At school or work, you can support World AIDS Day by:

Having a dressing up, down or fancy dress day
Putting up some posters (see below) - get people talking
Selling red ribbons
Organising a creative writing/poster campaign
Setting up a debate or a quiz - there're lots of ideas for topics on our site
Cooking an international meal or having a cake sale
Arranging a sponsored three-legged race or balloon release
Getting your friends, family, colleagues or pupils to express their feelings and expand their knowledge about AIDS
Using your imagination!

World AIDS Day on the web

The internet is a great way to reach people all around the world - other people in many countries are reading this page right now. People now spend more of their daily lives online - at work, at school, at home. People shop, chat, make new friends, study and work online. If you want to get a message to as many people as possible, this could be the way to do it.

Think about:

Providing information on your website about World AIDS Day, and about any local events taking place in your community.
Asking your school, college or employer to provide information on their website.
AVERT.org has a selection of booklets that you can download from our education section. If you'd like to use anything from anywhere else in the site, please send us an email - we'll check the copyright situation and get back to you. Please don't just copy big chunks of our site!
Learning more about HIV and AIDS: AVERT.org has a great deal of information about the global epidemic, HIV and AIDS statistics and education. Other sites specifically related to the "Keep the Promise" theme can be found in our links page.

Keep the Promise for Labour

2006-11-01T13:02:00.000+02:00

HIV/AIDS is an important issue for trade unions because workers – and the families, workplaces and communities that depend on them - are bearing the brunt of the epidemic.

The HIV epidemic threatens the capacity of trade unions:

to represent the interests and protect the rights of their members
to maintain a corps of experienced leaders and organizers
to participate in social dialogue on national issues affecting employment, the labour market and human resources, and even to survive.

Labour organisations around the world have been some of the most effective campaigners on World AIDS Day. For many years, December 1st has been brought workplace events in many countries. Work has not been limited to World AIDS Day. The labour campaign against AIDS already has an impressive global profile. Earlier in 2006 the Global Unions have been calling for stronger leadership on AIDS, particularly from the G8.

The theme for labour on World AIDS Day 2006 will be “Universal Access to HIV/AIDS Services in the Work Place by 2010”. This message will be locally adapted and refined where appropriate. Labour organisations around the world will hold a variety of events relating to this theme. In richer countries the message of “Universal Access to HIV/AIDS Services in the Workplace by 2010” may be used as advocacy to improve services in poorer countries. In the countries most affected by AIDS, specific aspects of the message, such as those relating to treatments or HIV testing services might be particularly appropriate.

Keeping our Promise

Trade unions are part of local and global networks that can be harnessed to inform and educate significant numbers of people. They are actively engaged in campaigns on sustainable development and poverty reduction, human resources for health, trade agreements and the pricing of ARVs, human rights and gender equality.
Campaigners should hold leaders accountable to ensure national AIDS plans include a strategy for the workplace, and national bodies should include the social partners.
Unions and employers increasingly agree that it is in their common interest to take action against AIDS.
“The IOE and the ICFTU … call on [our] affiliates and their members.., wherever located, to give the issue highest priority, … and to work together to generate and maintain the momentum necessary for successful interventions.”
From ‘Fighting HIV/AIDS together: a programme for future engagement’ - Joint statement by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
The workplace is one of the most effective points for tackling the epidemic: it brings together working people and has structures and facilities that can be used for education and for care and support. Of special importance to the AIDS response is the occupational safety and health system, where employers and workers already have a basis for common action, usually through joint workplace committees, supported by ministries of health and labour.

Trade unions are able to:

mobilize extensive networks of members and contacts;
negotiate workplace agreements/policies with employers and help ensure implementation;
combat discrimination and stigma, build trust and encourage VCT;
build on their influence in the community, provide leadership, and help ensure accountability.

A Commitment to Act. Take action:
A mass photo event using your work uniform either at the Work Place or in another public setting. Wearing red t-shirts to work, as a mark of global solidarity with campaigners in other settings. An AIDS awareness and advocacy session. This could take the form of a short video being played in the workplace followed by a debate or other appropriate activities.

Accountability; main message on World AIDS Day

2006-10-31T16:09:00.000+02:00

Executive Director of the World AIDS Campaign, Marcel van Soest speaks to UNAIDS about the history of the World AIDS Campaign, how people can become involved in this year’s events and why ‘accountability’ is such a crucial theme for World AIDS Day 2006.

Q: Could you tell us how and why the World AIDS Campaign was created?
A: The World AIDS Campaign has a long history, it was established by UNAIDS in 1997-98 when it was a part of the
UNAIDS Secretariat. In 2001, there was huge concern within UNAIDS when AIDS appeared to be slipping off the political agenda. So UNAIDS held a number of consultations with different stakeholders, particularly with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s), and came to the conclusion that the World AIDS Campaign needed to be strengthened and made into more of an independent campaign with greater civil society involvement and leadership. So in 2004, exactly two years ago in September, the World AIDS Campaign was established as an independent campaign outside of the UN and outside of Geneva. UNAIDS of course still plays a strong supporting role but it no longer has a decision making role, this is now the job of the different civil society groups.

Q: How is the World AIDS Campaign governed?
A: For the last two years we have been working very hard on getting the right structure for the Global Steering Committee which now represents the different constituencies including internationally and globally organized actors with country memberships or country affiliates. For example, the Global Union Federations which represent all the country trade unions all over the world are part of our Global Steering Committee. Faith-based and religious leaders, the youth movement and the women’s movement are also represented. As are the traditional actors in the AIDS response like the NGO’s and networks of people living with HIV. We are still reaching out to academics, researchers and the media who will hopefully join the Global Steering Committee shortly. So these actors actually own the World AIDS Campaign and we are a small international support team that helps to strengthen
mobilization and connect messaging from all the different campaigns on AIDS that exist at the international as well as the country level. We try to facilitate and contribute to a stronger social movement that is really needed to actually get things done in this world.

Q: How does the World AIDS Campaign decide on the themes for the campaigns?
A: The way that it works at the moment is that the International Support Team consults with all the different partners in the AIDS field from around the world to discuss the key issues throughout the year. We feed a lot of that information and insight into the discussions that are then brainstormed by the Global Steering Committee where all different constituencies of Civil Society have a seat and who then agree upon a strong theme.
This is how, two years ago, this Global Steering Committee adopted ‘Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.’ as the focus, a tagline for the coming years, with the recommendation that there would be a variation on the theme each year for World AIDS Day. Last year the theme was ‘Make the Promise’ and this year it’s ‘Accountability’.

Q: Why is World AIDS Day such an important date in the yearly calendar?
A: World AIDS Day was introduced by the World Health Organisation on 1 December 1988. This was the first time that attention around the world was focused for one day in the year on AIDS. It provided a unique opportunity to highlight the seriousness of the epidemic.Since 1988 World AIDS Day has developed into a huge event. It has become so big that in many countries it is no longer only just one day; but a whole week of events and activities. It starts with the launch of the new statistics in the AIDS Epidemic Update the week before World AIDS Day – and during the whole of the following week more and more events are taking place involving stakeholders from all over the world so it has become a very important day in the yearly calendar.But of course one day a year is not enough, which is one of the reasons why the World AIDS Campaign was established to really look beyond World AIDS Day and keep the attention focused on AIDS issues and themes throughout the year.

Q: As you say, the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is “Accountability”. What inspired this theme? 2006 World AIDS Day poster – part of the resource kit available from the World AIDS Campaign
A: Accountability came up in the discussions a year ago as 2006 is an important year in the AIDS response. A number of key events have taken place this year including; the High Level Meeting on AIDS, held at the UN in New York in June which was the five year review of the Declaration of Commitment on AIDS; the five year review of the Abuja Declaration in Africa; the Toronto AIDS Conference; and on the 14 November it will be five years since the Doha declaration was signed on access to generic drugs. 2006 also marked the 10 years of UNAIDS and the 25 years of AIDS. 2006 is a year of looking back to learn from the past and looking forward to see how to plan and strategise further on issues like Universal Access. So having these important moments this year we felt that it was the right time and that focus was needed on accountability because of the strong significance this year holds in the AIDS response. World AIDS Day is crucial for accountability because we know what works and we need to find out why programmes that work have not been implemented in light of Universal Access and country target setting. We want to make sure that the world is informed and aware and that all the leaders know that the public and civil society are watching and that we are very serious about all these promises.

Q: Who is the message of accountability targeted at this World AIDS Day?
A: This message is for all kinds of leaders from all the stakeholders including civil society and the business sector, the multilaterals like the UN and all the governmental leaders. It ranges from the top influential leaders, like the leaders of the G8 for example, right down to local community leaders so that grassroots groups can really look at promises and commitments that leaders have made and make sure that they are held accountable. It’s really to show that these promises are now being monitored and that they must be kept.

Q: The theme is a continuation of last year’s theme – is this a long-term campaign?
A: ‘Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.’ is a tagline that we want to keep at least until the end of 2010, because of the Declaration of Commitment targets as well as the Universal Access commitments for 2010. We will be reviewing whether the same tagline will continue until 2015 in line with the UN Millennium goals or whether we will change to another tagline. But for now World AIDS Day each year will have different variations of the theme whilst keeping the tagline ‘Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.’

Q: How can organizations and individuals become involved in this year’s World AIDS Day activities?
A: People can get involved in many different ways. For example on the World AIDS Campaign website we have a calendar where more and more organisations are now listing information on their planned activities for World AIDS Day. So people can have a look at the website to find out what’s happening in their country or in their region. If they can’t find an event near to them there is also a partners page where all the World AIDS Campaign partners in countries are listed so that people can contact them to find out more. People can also contact their own local AIDS organisations, see what’s happening locally and find out how they can engage in events or offer their support. We try to make sure that organisations are linking up locally with other organisations so that at least there is some kind of communication between the different organisations to enable them to link up together afterwards and combine their efforts. If people or organisations want to set up their own events on World AIDS then we have a range of resources available to them on the World AIDS Campaign Website. For example we have a CD-Rom that provides ideas and gives information on what different groups are doing on World AIDS Day. We have designed a model this year using the colour red and on the CD-Rom there are all kinds of ideas about how they can organise a simple event using the colour red to target leaders on accountability issues.

Q: Are there any other materials you can provide people with who are planning to hold an event on World AIDS Day?
A: This year we have more resources available than any previous years. We have posters which are designed in such a way that they are easily adaptable to include local relevant key messages as the wording and even the pictures on the posters can be changed or modified for the countries that have the resources to print them locally. The printed posters and CD-Roms are partly being distributed by the WHO/UNAIDS distribution system but can also be ordered from the World AIDS Campaign website where the International Support Team will send the packages. The posters come with the CD-Rom which contains information on possible topics and messaging for World AIDS Day and has a full spectrum of ideas for events and what different groups like faith, labour or NGO’s are doing on the day. We also have PSA’s, videos and photos available.

Q: How can people share information about their events?
A: People can post information about their events on the WAC website. If they go to the home page and click on the WAD 2006 Events calendar there is a form which they can fill in directly on the website, through this they can post their own text and photos on the site. Beyond the events page they can always send further campaign information to the World AIDS Campaign helpdesk at info@worldaidscampaign.org and we will be happy to post on the website for them.

Q: What are the plans for next year?
A: We are currently having discussions for on the plans for next year, but we are hoping to make it bigger and better than ever. We are planning to adapt the theme locally as we would like to stimulate and bring resources for materials for posters, CD-Roms to the sub-regional level. We want to give people information on how events can be organised jointly between, for example, trade unions, religious leaders and networks of people living with HIV. We are very keen on the idea of joint messaging and are looking forward to developing a great range of materials for next year’s events.

About the World AIDS Day

2006-10-31T13:33:00.000+02:00

Supporting AIDS Campaigning Globally

The AIDS epidemic is a global emergency that affects people in every country on earth. UNAIDS estimates that, by the end of 2005, a total of 25 million people had died of AIDS since it was first recognised in 1981. In 2005 alone, some 38.6 million people were living with HIV, 4.1 million people were newly infected and 2.8 million people lost their lives.
The fight against AIDS is over twenty five years old. Throughout this struggle, campaigners have galvanized action and protested against inaction. In the current era, national leadership on AIDS is being supported as never before. AIDS organisations are proliferating. Campaigners still speak out on a multitude of issues – yet one overarching campaign, the World AIDS Campaign, links their concerns at the global level.
The World AIDS Campaign fights to ensure that campaigning voices, north and south, continue to be heard. The World AIDS Campaign works to create solidarity and collaboration between campaigners, ensuring impact at the local and international level. The AIDS sector is now huge, spending billions of dollars a year. Yet this effort can not afford to lose the energy, innovation or public awareness campaigners bring. The World AIDS Campaign will protect and support the voices of campaigners worldwide.
The most visible aspect of the work undertaken by the World AIDS Campaign is World AIDS Day, a day of global shared action and awareness on AIDS. However, our work does not stop here. Throughout the year the World AIDS Campaign works to connect and strengthen campaigning voices across the globe.
In all our work, we start with the premise that civil society is central in meeting the challenges of the AIDS epidemic. We recognize that professional non-government agencies represent only one small part of civil society. Faith communities, labour and youth organisations and other large scale, grass-roots movements are integral to our efforts. We work through a range of partnerships to ensure our campaigning voice captures the aspirations of these different constituencies.
The primary campaigning objective of the World AIDS Campaign, from 2005 to 2010 is to make sure policymakers keep their promises on AIDS. Accountability is also the specific theme we are promoting for World AIDS Day 2006. The theme for World AIDS Day next year may change. It will once again be selected through consultations with partners. Yet for the World AIDS Campaign our underlying objective will remain centred on accountability, and the slogan, Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise. will continue to guide our work.

Our vision
Our vision is of a world campaign built on the experience and passion of those most affected, a campaign that also brings together a broad range of partners in the Global North and Global South. We believe this vision of a global movement will bring renewed impetus and resolve to the fight against the epidemic. We believe that the "business as usual" approach to HIV and AIDS and campaigning is a thing of the past. We see many more partners joining the response, more money being allocated and existing efforts redoubled. This requires a strong international campaign, bringing the energy and innovation of civil society into the centre of the response.

A brief history of World AIDS Campaign
Since its inception in 1997 until 2004, the World AIDS Campaign was managed by UNAIDS and focused on raising public awareness on specific issues related to HIV and AIDS. These included the importance of fighting stigma and discrimination and the disproportionate impact of AIDS on women and girls. Over the years, feedback from campaigners has suggested that the Campaign has helped influence the international agenda around HIV and AIDS. However, due to its global nature and, to some degree, its close association with UN agencies, it fell short of reaching its full potential at national and local levels. As a result, with financial support from UNAIDS, in 2004 the World AIDS Campaign became independent. UNAIDS remains a close partner, providing technical and logistical support to the Campaign.

How we work
In order to achieve our ambitious campaigning objectives, we work on four areas.
People: We work to bring people together to make stronger campaigning possible. For example we support national, regional and international level campaigning meetings where collaboration and planning can take place. Content: We collect relevant campaigning information and assist in making this accessible around the world. For example we produce materials for World AIDS Day in a number of languages, and disseminate them worldwide. Skills: We work to ensure that civil society organisations are armed with the skills, strategies and tools in order to campaign successfully. For example we work at the country level to host skills meetings and facilitate the sharing of experiences.
A Conducive Environment: We work to ensure that campaigners have the resources they need and the opportunities to influence policy. For example we help ensure civil society have a voice at high level meetings, such as the UN High Level Meeting on AIDS, New York 2006.

Press Release: SAfAIDS Skills Building Session at IAC - Women's HIV/AIDS Treatment Literacy Toolkit

2006-08-25T11:40:00.000+02:00

The Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) conducted the English version of the Skills Building Session on the SAfAIDS " Women's HIV/AIDS Treatment Literacy Toolkit for Communities" on 15 August 2006, at the XVI International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Toronto, Canada. The second session, in Shona (an African vernacular language from Zimbabwe), was conducted on 17 August 2006.
The Skills Building Session, entitled "Promoting Women's Treatment Literacy As A Scale Up Strategy For Universal Access" equipped and empowered participants to be better advocates in the area of women's treatment issues, as a response to gender neutral and insensitive HIV/AIDS treatment initiatives currently prevailing in the majority of communities of practice across southern Africa and other low income regions. The Skills Building Session served as a platform for harmonising the uniqueness of the SAfAIDS Toolkit participants' country specific efforts, experiences and innovat ions.
This was realised through providing participants with relevant and adequate knowledge, materials and urgings that they can utilise to educate and empower others in their families, religious circles, workplace, social an d peer groups; as well as mobilising communities to influence decision-make rs towards protecting and promoting the HIV/AIDS treatment related rights of women in their constituents. It was an inspirational platform for participants to facilitate empowerment of women in treatment issues, upon return to their constituencies.
Facilitators of the session shared: "With the IAC theme being "Time to Deliver" SAfAIDS has recognised the gross gaps in addressing women's specific needs in the treatment continuum, and we are delivering".
In 2005, SAfAIDS in partnership with the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) and ActionAid International proudly launched the Women's HIV & AIDS Treatment Literacy Toolkit, which was received with tremendous enthusiasm at the 10th AWID International Forum on Women's Rights and Development in Thailand (October 2005), as well as its Africa launch at the 14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STIs) in Nigeria (December 2005).
The "Women's Treatment Literacy Toolkit for Communities" offers practical information on antiretroviral treatment to women, girls and those supporting them. It is currently available in English, Shona and Ndebele and awaits printing in Portuguese and French. SAfAIDS has recognized that rolling out antiretroviral therapy is not about availing antiretroviral drugs but a complex exercise whose planning should adequately address special treatment concerns of girls and women. They include adherence, women-specific opportunistic infections, effects of treatment their biological (physical and emotional) lifecycle and reproductive and sexual health and choices, post-exposure prophylaxis in view of rampant gender-based violence and PMTCT Plus programmes.
The toolkit is now in roll-out phase and shall empower women in communities with accurate and relevant information to enable them to make informed decisions in terms of accessing and demanding their rights to full participation in antiretroviral treatment programmes. The roll-out shall further fortify women's coping mechanisms in adhering to antiretroviral treatment (ART), and their ability to support their counterparts within the same continuum of care; and build capacity in communities to effectively utilize the various components of the Women's Treatment Literacy Toolkit. These efforts would fortify women's ART coping mechanisms, sustain their support networks across the care-scale, and promote the crucial principle of Meaningful Involvement of Women Affected/Infected by HIV/AIDS (MIWA).
The roll-out activity generated the following comments from users, that reinforced the demand-need ratio it is serving at community level: "At my ARV access point I have tried stress to other women the importance of adherence, but I am usually talking from my head, and the other women do not take me seriously. But now the toolkit speaks for itself and gives me the confidence to demonstrate what I preached, especially using the adherence calendar" 96 woman living positively from Uthano community, Zimbabwe
Rouzeh Eghtessadi, primary facilitator for the Skills Building Session, highlights that "Reversing the feminisation of the current AIDS epidemic will become a reality only when we design & execute responses that are feminised in themselves - we can no longer afford to remove our gender lenses. The status of women - particularly African women - must be engraved on all Treatment Agendas, if we sincerely expect to savour the glimmerings of Universal Access."
SAfAIDS reiterates that only when women's practical and strategic needs are recognised fully, will the Millennium Development Goals and the Universal Access targets be achieved in a sustainable manner.

Rising HIV Prevalence, Resistance to Antiretrovirals in Some African Countries, Studies Say

2006-08-24T14:38:00.000+02:00

From the kaisernetwork

Resistance to antiretroviral drugs and HIV prevalence are on the rise in some African countries, according to studies presented Thursday at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, the Washington Post reports. A study conducted in northern Tanzania finds that 32% of HIV-positive people become resistant to some antiretrovirals. Researchers found that people who purchased antiretrovirals themselves were more likely to skip doses and become resistant. In addition, the study finds that 'virological failure' rises the longer people are required to pay for drugs. In a separate study conducted in Uganda, researchers tracked HIV prevalence among men and among women in a rural population and women at 24 prenatal clinics, the Post reports. The study finds that in the rural population, HIV prevalence among men rose from 5.6% to 6.5% and in women it rose from 6.9% to 8.8% in the past four years. The study also finds that in seven prenatal clinics HIV prevalence fell, in seven prenatal clinics it leveled off and in 10 it increased. The reason for the rise is unknown, according to the Post (Brown, Washington Post, 8/18). 'It's very alarming,' study author Leigh Anne Shafer of the Medical Research Council said, adding, 'We want to stress the importance of taking action immediately because waiting another year or two for more data could cost thousands of lives' (Smith, Boston Globe, 8/18). According to the Post, mortality rates among HIV-positive people in Entebbe, Uganda, improved with the introduction of antiretrovirals in the area. Before the drugs were available, the mortality rate was 577 deaths per 1,000 people, and now it is 34 deaths per 1,000 people (Washington Post, 8/18).

Related Study

In a related study, also presented Thursday at the conference, French researchers used statistical models to examine how increasing the number of HIV-positive people who are receiving antiretrovirals in six African countries would affect those countries' economies, the Globe reports. HIV/AIDS has 'drained the fiscal vitality of nations in sub-Saharan Africa, with businesses unable to function and government agencies crippled because of so many deaths,' the Globe reports. The study finds that expanding access to antiretrovirals in Angola, Benin, Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire would reverse the negative effects of HIV/AIDS on the countries' economies by 2010. According to the study, the effect 'would be more muted' because of financial and political issues in Central African Republic and Zimbabwe, the Globe reports. Mark Wainberg, co-chair of the conference and director of the McGill University AIDS Centre, said, 'The potential for economic devastation in Africa may be so great, we may do our own economies long-term harm if we don't help.' He added that it makes economic sense for developed countries to pay for antiretrovirals. '[I]t's very important to get drugs to people as soon as possible,' Jean-Paul Moatti, co-author of the study, said, adding, 'At the level of global economic policy, this is very important' (Boston Globe, 8/18).

Nevirapine To Prevent Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Does Not Undermine Health of Women, Study Says

2006-08-24T13:57:00.000+02:00

From the kaisernetwork

Nevirapine, the antiretroviral medication that is widely used in Africa to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, is safe and does not affect the long-term health of women who take it, according to a study released Wednesday at XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, the Birmingham New reports. Previous research in Uganda indicated that taking a single dose of the treatment could create a drug-resistant HIV strain in some women and children who took it, the News reports. For the new study, conducted at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Benjamin Chi, lead author of the study and an assistant professor at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, examined 4,552 women receiving HIV/AIDS treatment, including 445 women who had used a single dose of nevirapine to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. After one year, there was no significant difference in mortality or in serious illnesses between women who had taken nevirapine and those who had not, Chi said. The study did find a potential risk of antiretroviral treatment failure for a small group of women who had begun the treatment fewer than six months after receiving nevirapine. According to Chi, that group of women might have had more advanced cases of HIV/AIDS and should have begun a full antiretroviral regimen before delivering to protect both themselves and their infants. Chi said further research on the subject is needed, but he stressed that pregnant women should be tested more vigilantly for HIV and be provided with effective antiretroviral treatment. The Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia is a partnership between UAB and the Zambian government, and the study was funded by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the News reports. The foundation and CIDRZ have been developing programs on mother-to-child transmission of HIV for the last five years, and they support more than 90 clinics in Zambia (Parks, Birmingham News, 8/17).

Antiretrovirals, Bottle-Feeding Could Reduce Risk of Vertical HIV Transmission, Study Says

A new regimen that combines antiretroviral drugs and bottle-feeding for infants could help reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission, according to a study presented Thursday at the AIDS conference, AFP/Turkish Press reports. Researchers at the French National Agency for Research on AIDS from 2001 through 2005 studied 808 HIV-positive pregnant women who gave birth to 711 infants in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Some of the pregnant women were given a combination therapy that included zidovudine, also known as AZT, during the last four weeks of pregnancy and a single dose of nevirapine during labor. The other pregnant women received a combination of AZT and lamivudine in the last eight weeks of pregnancy and a single dose of nevirapine during labor. All of the infants received a dose of nevirapine two days after they were born and AZT for one week. The women either began bottle-feeding the infants immediately or breast-fed the infants for four months. Among the pregnant women who took AZT and lamivudine and bottle-fed their infants, 5.6% of the 126 infants were HIV-positive, according to the study. The researchers found that among the women who took AZT and nevirapine and breast-fed their infants, 15.9% of 169 infants were HIV-positive. 'This is the first demonstration in Africa of the benefit of managing HIV-infected pregnant women with a combination of antiretroviral treatment and alternatives to prolonged maternal feeding,' Valeriane Leroy of ANRS said. Leroy emphasized that women who are encouraged to bottle-feed their infants need to have access to clean water, as well as bottle-feeding equipment. According to UNAIDS, in 2005, less than 6% of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa were offered services to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. Without antiretrovirals, a pregnant woman has a 20% to 45% change of giving birth to an HIV-positive infant, the AFP/Press reports (AFP/Turkish Press, 8/17).

Few Children in Need of HIV/AIDS Medications Receiving Them, MSF Says

2006-08-24T13:50:00.000+02:00

From the kaisernetwork

Five percent of the children who urgently need HIV/AIDS medications are receiving them, according to research released Tuesday by Medecins Sans Frontieres at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Reuters AlertNet reports. About 2.3 million of the HIV-positive children worldwide live in southern Africa, MSF says. Most pregnant women in sub-Sarahan Africa who are HIV-positive do not have access to prenatal care, thus increasing the risk of transmitting the virus to their infants, according to MSF. About nine out of 10 children with HIV contracted the virus through mother-to-child transmission, Reuters AlertNet reports (French, Reuters AlertNet, 8/15). Diagnosing HIV in infants is difficult, and antibody-detection tests used for adults are often inappropriate for infants. Antiretroviral medications for children also often can cost up to six times that of antiretrovirals for adults, MSF said (Parenthoen, AFP/Yahoo! News, 8/15). MSF released data on 3,754 children younger than age 13 who were participating in MSF treatment programs in 14 countries. According to the data, 80% of those children were alive and continued to receive treatment after 24 months (MSF release, 8/15). 'Because the vast majority of infected children live in poor countries, most pharmaceutical companies are hardly investing in developing pediatric formulations,' MSF officials said in a statement. 'We see the number of children born with HIV constantly growing in Africa, because expecting mothers don't have access to [prenatal] care and children born to HIV-positive mothers are largely lost to follow-up,' Moses Masaquoi, an MSF physician in Malawi, said, adding, 'We know that treating children works, but, with better tools, we could be treating so many more' (AFP/Yahoo! News, 8/15). The agency is calling on international organizations, such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF, to ask pharmaceutical companies to produce antiretrovirals for children (Reuters AlertNet, 8/15). 'Lack of guidance from WHO is making the treatment of children even more confusing, and some clear indications three years ago could have really helped avoid this,' Fernando Pascual, a pharmacist with MSF's Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, said (MSF release, 8/15).

Botswana: Sex Workers Demand Rights

2006-08-24T10:02:00.000+02:00

By Thato Chwaane
August 23, 2006
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)

Sex workers from 18 countries demonstrated last week at the international AIDS conference in Toronto, Canada, demanding to be included in the fight against HIV. Speaking to Mmegi, Claire Thiboutot, the executive director of Stella - a sex workers' group from Montreal said their human rights must be upheld. She said it is important to get sex workers to be recognised as they can negotiate safe working environment.
She said that in Canada, it is not illegal to work in the sex industry but it is illegal to be found in a brothel or to live on its proceeds. As a result, she said that some sex work organisations were fearful of being arrested and refused to accept condoms in case they are raided.
Thiboutot said that the Abstain, Be faithful and Condomise (ABC) approach of American President George W. Bush is stupid for sex workers. She said that some sex workers in certain parts of the world did not have access to condoms, which means that they have to either decide to work without or stay at home and starve with their children.
Sex workers said the 2003 Bush government's global AIDS Act has been undermining sex workers' efforts in the struggle against HIV. The Act requires that international NGOs that receive HIV prevention funding from the American government President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) must have in place a policy that explicitly opposes prostitution. It requires countries that receive funding to devote at least 66 percent of the sexual transmission prevention efforts to the promotion of abstinence and faithfulness.
In their chanting, the sex workers noted that in order to fight HIV, sex workers need freedom from discrimination in accessing health services, including HIV prevention, treatment and care, freedom from violence and criminalisation of their lives and work.
Harera Begum from Bangladesh broke down as she stated how the sex work project in her home country has had to close their centres for sex workers due to lack of funding. She said the sex workers were now scattered around with no access to condoms. "They are really in trouble now," she cried. She said by closing down the centres, it was like closing down the sex workers' homes - where they slept, ate and used bathroom facilities.
Brazilian sex worker, Gabriela Silva Leita said they refused to sign the prostitution pledge to gain PEPFAR funds. She said currently, they continue to do their work with Brazilian funds.

South Africa: Resistant Tuberculosis On the Rise

2006-08-24T09:19:00.000+02:00

August 23, 2006
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

A deadly new strain of tuberculosis (TB) that is resistant to virtually all available medications is becoming increasingly common in South Africa.
According to Dr Karin Weyer, of the Medical Research Council, South Africa was in danger of an uncontrollable epidemic of drug-resistant TB and blamed the growing problem on the government's poor record of keeping TB patients on treatment.
"No attention is being given [by government health facilities] to patients who default on treatment," Weyer said. "After 25 years working in TB treatment, I am extremely concerned - we see very little progress, and there seems to be complacency in general about TB."
TB is a common co-infection in HIV-positive people and the drug-resistant strain, which usually occurs when patients do not complete their course of medication, is particularly difficult to treat. TB patients with multidrug resistance who default on treatment a second time are vulnerable to an extremely drug-resistant form of the disease, XDR TB. This has so far only been detected in 347 individuals worldwide, but a study conducted in rural KwaZulu-Natal found 53 cases in just over a year. Dr Neel Gandhi, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York, who presented the findings to the International AIDS Conference in Toronto last week, said most of the cases in KwaZulu-Natal were transmitted from person to person rather than resulting from poor adherence to TB treatment. All but one of the patients diagnosed with XDR TB subsequently died.
About 25 percent of TB patients in South Africa drop out of treatment, well above the World Health Organisation target of less than 10 percent.

Kenya: Resistant Sex Workers Have Their Genes to Thank

2006-08-24T09:12:00.000+02:00

By Dagi Kimani, Special Correspondent
August 22, 2006
The East African (Nairobi)

Kenya's apparently HIV-resistant commercial sex workers have their genes to thank for it, a report presented at the 16th International Aids Conference in Toronto says.
According to the report by researchers from the University of Manitoba, genetic variations explain why the sex workers continue to be Aids-free despite engaging in extremely high-risk behaviour, even as some of their colleagues succumb to the disease. The report was based on follow-up studies of more than 850 commercial sex workers at the Nairobi Majengo slum, historically the city's red light district. Over a three-year period, most of the women became HIV-positive but at least 130 remained negative despite each having unprotected sex with at least 500 men. Some of the sex workers, research data compiled by University of Nairobi researchers says, routinely have as many as 30 clients in a day.
According to the report presented in Toronto, the sex workers protection may be based on a gene called human leukocyte antigen-G, or HLA-G, which helps the immune system recognise viruses such as HIV.
Discovery of the infection-resistant commercial sex workers in the late 1990s led to the development of a test vaccine by researchers drawn from the universities of Nairobi, Oxford and Manitoba. The test vaccine was subsequently tested in dozens of volunteers in both Kenya and Britain. In 2004, researchers involved in the project announced that although the trial vaccine had been found to elicit some immune response, this was not enough to make it clinically viable.
Earlier, researchers involved in the vaccine search said that the sex workers apparent immunity was due to an immune response involving killer-T cells, which are a specialised form of white blood cells that are particularly potent against disease-causing organisms. Continuous exposure to HIV on a daily basis due to multiple clients, the researchers theorised, made the immune systems of the sex workers produce high levels of killer-T cells, thus conferring immunity. The failed test vaccine was designed to provoke this reaction without the danger of actual infection. The findings from Majengo that there could be a genetic basis for immunity against HIV will boost the unpublished theory that there are a significant number of people who are naturally immune to HIV, although these are far out-numbered by those who are susceptible. Natural immunity, Aids experts say, could explain the high number of long-term discordant couples in regions such as East Africa with high prevalence rates. Studies elsewhere have indicated that about 3 per cent of Caucasians cannot contract HIV even when exposed.
Elsewhere, the head of Kenya's National Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme (Nascop), Dr Ibrahim Mohammed last week attributed the dramatic decline in HIV prevalence rates to behaviour change among the country's youth, traditionally the most vulnerable group.
In a review paper authored together with Dr Mark Dybul, the US global Aids co-ordinator of the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), Dr Mohammed said that faithfulness to one partner among men aged 20-24 years had risen dramatically between 1998 and 2003, with those reporting contact with more than one sexual partner in the past year declining from 35 to 18 per cent.

South Africa: Lemons, Garlic - Mbeki's HIV Cocktail

2006-08-24T09:04:00.000+02:00

August 23, 2006
This Day (Lagos)

HIV/Aids campaigners have called for the resignation of South Africa's Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for daring to promote garlic and lemons as part of a comprehensive treatment for the dreaded pandemic, at the International Aids Conference in Toronto, Canada last week. This is only the beginning of what could be a long-drawn battle with the international community writes Constance Ikokwu
President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is not a friend of the West when it comes to the fight against HIV/Aids. When he is not being accused of championing unorthodox treatment, he is hauled and haranged for what critics say is a denial that his country is being ravaged by the pandemic. In the latest controversy, Aids campaigners called for the resignation of Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for allegedly minimising the role of anti-retroviral drugs at the just concluded International Aids Conference in Toronto, Canada.
What specifically are her sins? Lemon, garlic and beetrots were displayed, alongside anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) and condoms at South Africa's stand during the conference which ended last weekend. Tshablala-Msimang says the government is interested in a wholesome approach in fighting Aids. The problem though, is that some disagree with this method. More than 40 members of the country's main Aids lobby group, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said the minister deserved to be sent packing.
It snow-balled into an open row, with the United Nations (UN) Special envoy for Aids in Africa, Stephen Lewis quoted as saying that the country's AIDs policies are "more worthy of a lunatic fringe than of a concerned and compassionate State." Lewis had harsher words when he said the government was "obtuse, dilatory and negligent about rolling out treatment."
The African National Congress (ANC) on whose platform Mbeki rode to power, countered by saying "whatever criticisms they may have of South Africa's policies on HIV and Aids, they have no right to personalise these policies."
What are the issues? The conference which attracted high-profile delegates such as former President of the United States of America (USA) Bill Clinton and founder of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates seeks to make life bearable for sufferers of the disease by making available ARVs. ARVs have been shown to lengthen the lives of people living with HIV.
The conference also hopes to ignite the interest of state governments, particularly in developing countries where reports suggest the disease is prevalent. Perhaps, the pledge of $287 million made by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in July, for research on a vaccine for HIV/Aids underscores the importance attached to the issue. Aids campaigners say that it needs urgent attention bearing in mind that 40 million people are living with HIV world-wide, with Sub-Saharan Africa being the worst hit.
In South Africa, the Mbeki administration has chosen a different approach. The government has whilst providing ARVs, harped on the effectiveness of multi-vitamin supplements and a healthy diet comprising garlic, lemons, beetroot and other herbs. The government refers to its approach as a broad one. It is in line with this that the ANC stated that it "reaffirms its support for government's comprehensive plan for management, care and treatment of HIV and Aids, and for an approach that aims to combat HIV and aids in an all-embracing and integrated manner."
Head of the Aids Law Project in the country, Mark Heywood however warns that "people who follow her advice (health minister) in late stage of HIV infection and take garlic and lemons will die." Other Western Aids campaigners have expressed fears the method could send a wrong signal and that people might stop taking treatment.
In addition, a Holland based vitamin supplements company by name Matthias Rath Foundation has joined the campaign in South Africa against what it says are the side effects of ARVs. The group's spokesperson, Ralf Langner was quoted by a news agency as saying that "anti-retroviral drugs have been shown to have side effects, and doctors seem to ignore it. One has to ask whether they're reading the research or just accepting the spin of the pharmaceutical companies."
Langner appears to have hit the nail on the head. It is believed the HIV/Aids campaign is a front used by giant pharmaceutical companies searching for market for their drugs. There is also a feeling that some high-profile personalities have embraced the HIV/Aids cause as a way of remaining relevant in society.
In the United Kingdom (UK), the list of celebrities that have joined the cause include pop star, Madonna. She has a new pet project in Malawi that aims to raise at least $3 million to fund programs that will help children orphaned by AIDs. The plan is to build an orphanage that will feed and educate about 1,000 children a day. The star has approached Clinton to look at ways they could work together in addition to contributing a sum of $1 million for a documentary on Malawian children. Out of a population of 13 million, 1 million children in the country are said to have lost at least one parent.
Another contention is the source of the staggering figures dished out by UNAIDs particularly with regards to Africa. A research fellow in the field who prefers anonymity argues that mostly in Africa, sentinel data among pregnant women is used. There exist enough data to showing little or know difference between HIV in pregnant women and the general population, he says. The problem with sentinel surveillance is the choice of sites, if your sites are not chosen appropriately you could arrive at a wrong conclusion, because sentinel in itself is aimed at looking at trends over time and not meant to give national prevalence as most African countries do, he concludes. It is suggested that traditional medicine exists but this is still a subject of heated debate. The reason being that most of it is not accepted by science because they did not go through the required procedures to be certified, the issue of safety, the required dosage, long term effects and problems of repeated use have to be addressed.
With approximately six million people HIV positive in South Africa, according to reports, it appears the government is not about to budge with regards to its chosen approach in fighting the pandemic. Mbeki is confident his government is doing the right thing. This will certainly be a constant source of friction between his country and the West. This does not however mean the government is not making ARVs available. It claims to have spent R6.8 billion on ARVs over three years. The expenditure on prevention including educational programmes rose from 30 million rands in 1994 to more than three billion between 2005 and 2006.
South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Bangumzi Sifingo says the situation in the country is exaggerated. He questioned how the figures are arrived at and strongly believes that his country is misunderstood "because we are being open about some of the problems that we have. And it does not mean we are not doing anything about them."

Leaders can be blamed for Aids inaction

2006-08-23T09:12:00.000+02:00

By Thato Chwaane
22 August 2006
Mmegi (Botswana)

Toronto: South African government was in the spotlight on Friday when it was described as the unkindest of all when it comes to treatment, a United Nations special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, said at the end of the 16th International AIDS conference in Toronto, Canada.
"It is the only country in Africa, amongst all the countries I have traversed in the last years, whose government is still obtuse, dilatory and negligent about rolling out treatment," adding "it is the only country in Africa whose government continues to propound theories more worthy of a lunatic fringe than of compassionate state," he said.
Lewis said that with between 600 and 800 people a day dying of AIDS in South Africa, the government has a lot to atone for. "I am of the opinion that they can never achieve redemption," he said to the applause of the audience.
Lewis said although some may say as a UN official, he has no right to say that about a member state - he said he sees as an envoy on AIDS in Africa whose function is to advocate for those who are fighting to achieve social justice. "It is not my job to be silenced by a government when I know that what it is doing is wrong," he said.
In an earlier statement by the co-chair of the conference, Mark Wainberg, said in South Africa there were more cases of HIV than anywhere in the world and yet leaders still state lemon juice as a key strategy in the HIV intervention.
Weinberg termed this as nonsense. He rhetorically asked how many additional millions of HIV cases are attributable to the failure of certain world leaders to directly and honestly address issues of HIV/AIDS with their people. The conference whose theme was 'time to deliver' attracted over 24 000 people from around the world.
Lewis said that it was indeed time to deliver and continue to roll out treatment.
He said circumcision as a preventative intervention and abstinence are the programmes that do not work. "Ideological rigidity almost never works when applied to the human condition," Lewis said.
He said so few HIV positive pregnant women have access to Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission and that it was inexcusable that in Africa and other parts of developing the world, they continue to use single dose Nevirapine rather than the full triple therapy as in western countries like Canada. He said this means hundreds of thousands of babies continue to be born with HIV.
"I ask, what kind of world do we live in, where the life of an African or Asian child is worth so much less than the life of a Canadian?" he questioned. Lewis also noted that the growing embrace of routine testing and counselling, with an option to protect human rights is the appropriate emerging consensus. He called for major social welfare programmes that will recognise grandmothers, as caregivers, and offer the guarantee of sustainable incomes - from food to school fees to income generation.

Feminisation of AIDS and poverty on the rise

2006-08-23T09:07:00.000+02:00

By Kristin Palitza
22 August, 2006
Mmegi (Botswana)

TORONTO: HIV has the face of a woman - particularly in Africa, but also in Asia. This so-called 'feminisation' of the AIDS epidemic is to a large degree caused by gender discrimination, social restrictions, gender-based violence, as well as women's lack of access to education, employment and decision-making power.
Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and now Executive Director of the Ethical Globalisation Initiative, expressed disappointment at the fact that women's rights were not central to the debates of the 16th International AIDS Conference.
"Women's rights activists and NGOs are talked down to rather than actively included in the discussions," she observed, noting that there was a lot to learn from women's daily struggle at grassroots level.
Women's activists need to ensure that women's rights will be made a central theme at the next international AIDS conference in Mexico in 2008, Robinson demanded, complaining that only a small percentage of international funding reached HIV/AIDS initiatives targeting women and girls.
Women make up nearly 60 per cent of all HIV infections in Africa - in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, more than 75 per cent of HIV-positive people aged 15 to 24 years are female.
In South and South-east Asia, 35 per cent of those living with HIV are women. Crucially, the feminisation of HIV/AIDS goes hand-in-hand with the feminisation of poverty. According to the World Health Organisation, twice as many HIV-positive women in low-income settings require treatment than in high-income countries.
Activists at the conference were in agreement about how to reverse this trend. "We need to improve the conditions under which women can exercise their sexual and reproductive rights," demanded Sara Araya of Chilean NGO Vivo Positivo, adding that "young women are most vulnerable but have less access to health services [than men]".
In many developing countries, HIV-positive women have to face human rights abuses when trying to access medical services, such as coerced sterilisation, refusal of treatment or lack of access to contraception. Apart from the right to equitable medical services and treatment, women need social and economic rights to be able to decrease their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
Activists also demanded that women's rights be swiftly translated from theory to practice. "Change will only occur if we have legislation. Otherwise, women's rights will remain where they are now... on paper," declared Promise Mthembu, Global Advocacy Officer of the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS.
Elizabeth Minda, an activist from Tanzania, agreed. "The situation of women still remains desperate," she said. "When a husband dies in rural Tanzania, his widow is also treated as a dead person and loses all social and land rights."

Toronto AIDS conference focuses on prevention

2006-08-23T08:31:00.000+02:00

22 August 2006 (PLUSNEWS)

As the 26,000 delegates who attended the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada, prepared to head home on Friday, the pervading mood was one of guarded optimism.The conference theme, 'Time To Deliver', set the tone for a week of reflection on lessons learned from the past 25 years of the AIDS epidemic. UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis used it as a rallying call in his closing speech to define the needs of the next 25 years, with a special focus on prevention.At the previous conference, two years ago in Bangkok, the issue of prevention was largely eclipsed by the push for treatment access. In Toronto there was consensus that the goal of universal access to treatment would remain beyond reach as long as new HIV infections outpaced the ability of governments to deliver treatment and care.According to UNAIDS, new HIV infections every year are outrunning AIDS-related deaths. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, there were 2.7 million new infections in 2005 compared to 2 million deaths, but less than one in five people at risk of becoming infected has access to basic prevention services.Lewis echoed the view of many speakers in Toronto who criticised abstinence-only prevention programmes as both ineffective and dictated by the ideological bias of funders. Others argued that behaviour-based prevention programmes could work when they were based on evidence rather than ideology, but were overshadowed by the nearly unanimous bashing of the 'ABC' approach - 'Abstinence, Be faithful, Condom use' - advocated by President Bush's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The UN envoy added his voice to those of Bill Gates and former US President Bill Clinton who put their considerable weight behind the delivery of an effective female-controlled microbicide, and the rapid rollout of male circumcision that initial data suggested could be 60 percent effective in reducing HIV transmissions among men.Lewis also pointed out that existing prevention methods, such as the use of combination antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, were being severely underutilised in the developing world, where most countries were still giving HIV-positive pregnant women less effective single-dose nevirapine, if anything at all."This means that hundreds of thousands of babies continue to be born HIV-positive rather than reducing the transmission rate virtually to zero," he said.Earlier in the week, delegates learned that ARV treatment itself has a role to play in prevention. Efficacy trials of an approach called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP), in which ARV drugs are administered to prevent infection, are underway in three countries and could produce results as early as 2007. Julio Montaner, the director of British Columbia's AIDS Centre in Vancouver, presented a mathematical model showing that if all identified cases of HIV were treated, prevalence would drop to virtually zero by 2050 because treated people were much less infectious.The likelihood of achieving universal access anytime soon looks remote at current rollout rates. Lewis said the number of people on treatment only rose by 350,000 in the last six months, bringing the total to 1.65 million of an estimated 6.5 million people in immediate need of the drugs. According to Lewis, "a huge financial crisis" threatens closing of the treatment gap - commitments by G8 leaders in Gleneagles last year are already unravelling and no one is sure where the billions of dollars needed to achieve universal access, prevention and care will come from. The focus on prevention and treatment was not popular with everyone at the conference. Several delegates from organisations working in Africa pointed out that ARVs and new prevention methods were beside the point when the real drivers of the pandemic in developing countries were economic and gender inequality. "We need to go far, far beyond the technologies that are being highlighted here," said Stuart Gillespie of the Regional Network on HIV/AIDS, Rural Livelihoods and Food Security (RENEWAL). "We need to go beyond even food aid; we need to look at livelihood security."On the final day of the conference, Lois Chingandu, executive director of the Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS), expressed disappointment that governments had not used the conference as an opportunity to set long-term financial targets for combating the epidemic. She told journalists that community-based organisations and health workers were already well-positioned to deliver treatment, prevention and care, but needed political leaders to make good on promises of "sustainable, predictable and flexible financing that allows us to respond in our own way".Lewis agreed that the key to capitalising on the cautious optimism of the conference lay at country-level. "If the next 25 years are to link, inseparably, poverty and disease ... then it has to happen in-country, on the ground - organised and orchestrated by the countries themselves."

Women's rights paramount in fighting AIDS: Lewis

2006-08-22T14:55:00.000+02:00

18 August 2006
CBC News

Overcoming the "vexing and intolerable" state of women's rights is key to curbing the spread of AIDS, Stephen Lewis, the UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, said Friday as the International AIDS Conference came to a close.
'Everything in the battle against AIDS has been put at risk by the behaviour of the G8,' says Stephen Lewis. (Aaron Harris/Canadian Press) "It's the one area of HIV and AIDS that leaves me feeling most helpless and most enraged," Lewis told the conference in Toronto.
"Gender inequality is driving the pandemic and we will never subdue the gruesome force of AIDS unless the rights of women become paramount in the struggle."
Lewis delivered a strongly worded keynote speech during the event's closing ceremonies in which he also called South Africa "negligent" in its rollout of treatment, warned of the mounting crisis of children orphaned by AIDS and condemned the shortfall of funding from G8 nations.
No one is asking for more than was promised, said Lewis.
"Everything in the battle against AIDS has been put at risk by the behaviour of the G8."
Lewis called upon conference delegates — estimated at 31,000 from 140 countries — to hold people and governments accountable and not to let the G8 "off the hook."
Lewis also drew attention to HIV/AIDS issues at home, asking the federal government to extend the mandate of Vancouver's controversial supervised injection facility — the only one of its kind in North America.
"It would be absolutely perverse to close the safe injection site in Vancouver.... In fact, there should be several more such facilities in Canada and around the world," Lewis said to thunderous applause.
During its six days, the conference drew a number of high-profile speakers, including former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
There had been speculation Ottawa would use the conference to announce new AIDS funding or whether it would renew the injection site's mandate — issues that motivated demonstrations during the week.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it wouldn't be the right time to make announcements because the issue had become "so politicized" during the week.
Harper was criticized for not attending the conference, as some accused the Conservatives of not considering fighting HIV/AIDS a priority.
But Harper said there was appropriate representation from his government, noting that the conference was attended by three of his cabinet ministers, including Clement, as well as Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean.
Dr. Mark Wainberg, Canadian co-chair of the conference, said he thinks the federal government was caught off guard by the scale of the event and that the Conservatives initially saw it as just another medical conference.
During the closing ceremonies, Wainberg said the conference has presented groundbreaking science, lots of information and new drugs and prevention strategies "giving hope to the future."
"We have shown here this week that partnerships that link science, medicine, community and political activism can translate into action."
Anders Nordstrom, acting director general of the World Health Organization, highlighted three key elements to conquering the disease: money, medicines and a motivated workforce.
He said more funding is needed for HIV/AIDS programs, access to drugs worldwide needs to be improved, and most importantly, more health workers are required.
"There are too few people with the right skills," said Nordstrom. "More people registered to attend this conference than there are doctors in the whole of Eastern and Central Africa."
The closing festivities also included cultural performances and a handover ceremony with Toronto Mayor David Miller and Julio Frenk, Mexico's minister of health.
The next International AIDS Conference will be in 2008 in Mexico City.

Single-dose nevirapine not jeopardising mother's treatment, large Zambian study reports

2006-08-22T14:50:00.000+02:00

By Michael Marco
August 17, 2006

Single-dose nevirapine used for prevention of mother-to-child transmission does not appear to be jeopardising the future treatment responses of mothers who take it, researchers from Zambia reported this week at the Sixteenth International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada. Their study is the largest investigation to date of the effects of single-dose nevirapine on subsequent maternal treatment response.
Two years ago at the Eleventh Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in San Francisco, French researchers presented findings that suggested a poorer virologic response to nevirapine-based combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) in women who had been exposed to single-dose nevirapine at the time of delivery in order to prevent transmission of the virus to their child. Subsequent concern about these findings led to numerous analyses of nevirapine resistance rates in women exposed to single-dose nevirapine at the time of delivery, and these studies showed alarmingly high rates of resistance – as much as 69% – in the early weeks after delivery.
With these nevirapine-resistant mutations declining in frequency as time went on, researchers were left with an important question: Will resuming nevirapine-based antiretroviral treatment in the future when the woman is in need of therapy lead to a resurgence of those mutations and the failure of treatment? In essence, what are the clinical implications of single-dose nevirapine resistance and does it jeopardise a woman’s future treatment options?
Researchers in Zambia, where a large number of women are receiving nevirapine-based ART, decided to observe treatment outcomes in 4,772 women who started nevirapine-based ART between May 2004 and November 2005. They found that 560 of the women had previously received single-dose nevirapine for prevention of mother-to-child transmission approximately 500 days before starting ART. Roughly 80% of the women were exposed to nevirapine more than 180 days prior to starting ART. At baseline, women with previous nevirapine exposure had a higher mean CD4 cell count (169 vs. 143 cells/mm3) and lower WHO clinical staging classification: 60% were stage 3 or 4 compared to 71% of those without nevirapine exposure.
After adjusting for baseline CD4 cell count, WHO clinical stage, TB status, BMI and age, no significant difference in immune response, as measured by CD4 cell increase, was documented between women previously exposed to nevirapine and those unexposed. After six and twelve months on therapy, there were no statistically significant differences observed in mean CD4 cell increases between the two groups: 178 vs. 200 CD4 cell increase (p = 0.14) at 6 months and 209 vs. 196 CD4 cell increase (p = 0.60) at twelve months. No difference in CD4 cell increases were observed in women who had been exposed to single dose nevirapine in the prior 180 days compared to women whose exposure was more remote. Lastly, no difference in clinical treatment failure or mortality was document between the nevirapine-exposed and unexposed women.
The authors did point out a few limitations of their study, including short duration of follow-up (18 month), lack of information regarding virologic treatment failure, and an inadequate sample size for detecting subtle difference in outcomes. Interestingly, loss to follow-up in the cohort was not revealed.
Nevertheless, this study offers promising news that single-dose nevirapine administration for prevention of perinatal transmission does not appear to jeopardize a woman’s short-term outcome when nevirapine-containing combination antiretroviral therapy is initiated. And dual or triple antiretroviral therapy is currently recommended for the prevention of perinatal transmission, single-dose nevirapine is still a viable and necessary option in settings where no other therapy is available or feasible.

South African health minister urged to quit

2006-08-22T14:37:00.000+02:00

A keynote speaker from South Africa at the International Aids Conference in Toronto, Canada, has called on South Africa's health minister to resign. Mark Heywood, head of the Aids Law Project in South Africa, said Manto Tshabalala-Msimang had minimised the role of anti-retroviral drugs.
The minister has not responded directly to Mr Heywood's criticism.
She said this week her government wanted to give its citizens choices, including traditional treatments.
"A minister tells people about garlic and lemons, but doesn't tell people about anti-retroviral medicines," Mr Heywood told delegates - a reference to certain foodstuffs that the South African government has promoted as being useful for Aids patients.
"People who follow her advice in late-stage HIV infection and take garlic and lemons will die," Mr Heywood continued.
"People who take anti-retrovirals in late-stage HIV infection will return to health."
Lemons and garlic were among the items displayed alongside anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) and condoms at South Africa's exhibition at the International Aids Conference in Toronto.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) - which works closely with the Aids Law Project - said in a statement it would announce plans on Friday "to ensure that the health minister is sacked tomorrow".
The vital ARV treatment came too late, say the TAC
TAC said it was meeting officials from South Africa's Human Rights Commission, after learning that a prisoner identified as "MM" had died two weeks ago.
"MM" was one of 15 HIV-positive inmates at Westville Prison in Durban who won a court case ordering the prison authorities to supply them with ARV medication.
The government appealed against the ruling, and TAC says the delay in supplying ARV drugs led to the prisoner's death.
After pressure from activists, South Africa changed its policy and started distributing ARVs at government clinics in 2004.
The government currently gives ARVs to over 100,000 of the approximately 6m South Africans who are HIV-positive.

Press Release: US free trade agreements block access to medicines

2006-08-22T14:29:00.000+02:00

16 August 2006

US efforts to introduce stronger intellectual property rules in bilateral trade agreements undermine the availability of affordable medicines in developing countries, and therefore their fight against HIV/AIDS, international agency, Oxfam, said today.
"Under the name of 'free trade', the US is pushing for monopoly on new medicines, thus driving up costs for some of the world's poorest people," said Rohit Malpani, Policy Adviser for Oxfam International. "Neither patients nor governments will be able to afford the new anti-retroviral medicines, essential for those most affected by the pandemic."
US free trade agreements severely restrict generic versions of new medicines, which is the only proven mechanism for lowering prices. Until generics came on the market, antiretroviral therapy cost $10,000 per patient per year. Thanks to generic competition, the price for these medicines in preferred fixed-dose combinations dropped to $140 year.
“After campaigning by NGOs and people living with disease, the World Trade Organisation reaffirmed public health flexibilities in intellectual property rules,” said Dr. Mohga Kamal-Yanni of Oxfam. “Now the U.S. is systematically forcing poor countries to give up their rights and ability to protect public health.”
In the past five years, the US has concluded negotiations with twelve developing countries. Each agreement includes intellectual property rules which exceed WTO standards and often exceed U.S. law. The US is currently negotiating bilateral agreements with six others nations, including Thailand, Malaysia, Ecuador and Panama, as well as seeking regional negotiations with Southern Africa and the entire Western Hemisphere (FTAA).
U.S. bilateral trade agreements include provisions to:

expand the scope of pharmaceutical patents to include new indications, new formulations, and other minor changes;
limit grounds for issuing compulsory licenses to emergencies, government non-commercial use, and competition cases only;
bar parallel trade of on-patent drugs sold more cheaply elsewhere;
extend patent monopolies for administrative delays; and
enhance protections for clinical trial data by providing at least five years of data exclusivity and by linking drug registration rights to patent status.

“To confront the AIDS pandemic, countries need affordable medicines,” Malpani said. “The US must stop demanding new intellectual property rules in trade agreements.”

Oxfam press release: Time for Political Leaders to Deliver

2006-08-22T14:22:00.000+02:00

17 August 2006

Political leaders north and south are the missing quotient to stem the tide of the AIDS pandemic, said international agency Oxfam today, as the 2006 International AIDS Conference wound down. Over the course of this conference, more than 50,000 people died from AIDS-related causes and another 80,000 became infected, the agency said.
"This unique gathering has demonstrated that communities across the world are delivering prevention, care and treatment in innovative and exciting ways. And it has shown that scientific research is delivering consistent progress," said Oxfam Policy Advisor Dr. Mohga Kamal-Yanni. "But, with a few notable exceptions, neither governments nor donors are putting their full weight behind scaling up the response, rebuilding health systems, and removing barriers to access to medicines."
Oxfam also criticised pharmaceutical companies for dragging their feet on decreasing prices of second-line treatment, while at the same time blocking generic competition - the surest mechanism of decreasing the price of medicines.

50,000 die during International AIDS Conference 2006
“Let us not forget the urgency of the matter. Since the conference began 50,000 people have died of AIDS-related causes,” Kamal-Yanni said, “and another 80,000 have become infected.”
Oxfam urged political leaders, north and south, to act now on the priorities identified this week. In particular Oxfam called for:
massive investment in health systems, especially to increase the quantity and quality of health workers policy changes to encourage generic competition and lower the cost of medicine leadership to end stigma and fulfil the rights of women and marginalized people to participation and services predictable, sustainable funding for prevention, treatment and care, especially via fully funding the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria
“It is high time the politicians caught up with the rest of us,” said Robert Fox, executive director of Oxfam Canada. “The impressive efforts of citizens and science can only go so far when faced with such a vast catastrophe. Rich country leaders must pay their fair share to the Global Fund, and refrain from ideologically-inspired restrictions on what works. And developing-country leaders must dedicate all the political weight and resources needed to make the promise of universal access a reality.”

WFP wants more than just ARVs

2006-08-22T14:08:00.000+02:00

17 August 2006 (PLUSNEWS)

The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday that although donor nations were pumping huge sums of cash into HIV/AIDS treatment in Africa, Asia and Latin America, little thought was given to nutrition.WFP officials at the International AIDS conference in Toronto, Canada, called for action by all stakeholders to make food and nutritional support part of their antiretroviral (ARV) rollout packages."We cannot win the battle against AIDS by focusing on drugs alone. Funding ARVs with no thought for food and nutrition is a little like paying a fortune to fix a car but not setting aside money to buy gas," said Robin Jackson, director of WFP's HIV/AIDS department.The organisation estimated that around one million of the 6.4 million people expected to begin taking ARVs in 2008 would need some kind of nutritional support.

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) Calls for New Measures to Accelerate the Search for an AIDS Vaccine

2006-08-22T14:04:00.000+02:00

15 August 2006

Today at the XVI International AIDS Conference, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) proposed new scientific and policy initiatives to accelerate AIDS vaccine development, foster capacity building in developing countries, and build and sustain long- term commitment from multiple stakeholders. The initiatives are detailed in IAVI's biennial flagship publication, the AIDS Vaccine Blueprint 2006: Actions to Strengthen Global Research and Development, which provides:
- An assessment of vaccine candidates in the pipeline; - An overview of key scientific obstacles to the discovery and development of a preventive HIV vaccine; - An analysis of financial and political challenges that are impeding the AIDS vaccine search; and - Bold new recommendations for overcoming these challenges.
The Blueprint calls for a new vaccine development model to move more novel candidates targeting different immune responses into the pipeline and to speed feedback on their immunogenicity. The required components are the expansion of a rational vaccine design effort to solve key scientific questions and translate answers into improved AIDS vaccine design, coordinated and prioritized scientific empiricism to test only those candidates that improve upon the best current products and accelerated clinical trials to yield faster efficacy and safety data.
"The AIDS pandemic continues to outpace our efforts at prevention and treatment, damaging societies and undermining social and economic progress in developing countries. We must find better HIV prevention technologies; A vaccine remains the best hope for ending the epidemic," said Seth Berkley, MD, CEO and founder of IAVI. "That is why it is imperative that we focus the best tools of science and establish better models for conducting AIDS vaccine research."
The Blueprint highlights the need for a dynamic global research and development (R&D) program that has clear spending targets and an equitable financial burden-sharing formula, with developed and developing governments contributing to AIDS vaccine R&D. In addition, there is a call for increased engagement by the private sector, which holds much of the needed expertise -- product development, manufacturing and commercialization -- to create an AIDS vaccine.
"Wider involvement of vaccine companies and biotechs is vital -- history has shown the central role that industry must play in order to make a successful vaccine," said Dr. Berkley. "Companies must step up their efforts, while governments must put in place incentives that will help them to overcome the scientific and commercial risks they currently face in the AIDS vaccine field."
R&D should be conducted in a variety of epidemiological, political and cultural settings, especially in countries hardest hit by the pandemic, according to the Blueprint.
"Developing countries are becoming key partners in AIDS vaccine research -- our scientists and research institutions, our communities who are eagerly participating in vaccine trials, and our politicians who speak out in favor of a stronger vaccine effort," said Dr. Pontiano Kaleebu, Assistant Director, Uganda Virus Research Institute and Head MRC/UVRI Basic Sciences, at today's launch of the Blueprint. "Expanding research capacity in these countries will also set the stage for faster approval and uptake of a vaccine that can save tens of millions of lives in Africa and elsewhere."
The Blueprint stresses the importance of strong and sustained political backing for AIDS vaccine R&D pointing to encouraging signs, including recent endorsements from the G8 heads of state, the United Nations General Assembly, and from global AIDS organizations which recognize the importance of a vaccine in an overall response to the epidemic.
"There is an urgent need today for a comprehensive approach to HIV/AIDS -- one that balances the expansion of current prevention programs with targeted investments in new medicines and preventive technologies to reverse the epidemic," said Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, also participating in the IAVI briefing. "IAVI and its partners are proposing novel ideas that could get us to an AIDS vaccine many years sooner. The international community should take serious note and strongly back these recommendations."

Gov'ts Harshly Berated At Close of Aids Meet

2006-08-22T13:01:00.000+02:00

By Stephen Leahy
August 19, 2006
Inter Press Service
Action -- not promises or pledges or more meetings -- is what will bring the HIV/AIDS pandemic under control and save tens of millions of lives, concluded delegates at the wrap-up of the 16th annual International AIDS Conference in Toronto Friday.
But when it comes to taking action, governments in the North and South are not doing nearly enough. The South African, U.S. and Canadian governments were singled out by some officials and activists for what amounts to willful negligence.
The government of South Africa remains "obtuse, dilatory and negligent about rolling out treatment" for HIV, preferring instead to promote lemon juice and garlic "cures", said Stephen Lewis, the U.N. special envoy for AIDS in Africa.
For a number of years, South African President Thabo Mbeki had publicly denied any link between HIV and AIDS, and then resisted the use of antiretroviral drugs. Mbeki's health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, came to the Toronto conference to promote the use of lemons, garlic and beet root as treatments for AIDS.
Every day, between 600 and 800 people die of AIDS in South Africa, said Lewis, whose term as envoy ends this year.
"South Africa's actions are wrong, immoral and indefensible," he said to thunderous applause during the five-day conference's final session.
Later, conference co-chair Mark Wainberg, director of the McGill AIDS Centre in Montreal, asked how other countries could continue to let South Africa fail to provide adequate health care for its people.
"We have sat back far too long watching South Africa deteriorate in terms of millions of people contracting HIV while their health minister prefers to talk about lemon juice," Wainberg told IPS.
Lewis also criticised the George W. Bush administration's insistence on abstinence as the main form of prevention, saying there is clear evidence that such programmes do not work unless they are part of other prevention methods like condoms. Moreover, dictating to other governments how they should allocate prevention money was "neo-colonialism", he said.
The U.S. government was also admonished for refusing to fund HIV/AIDS programmes that fail to pledge opposition to commercial sex work.
And while funding by governments and other donor groups has improved significantly in recent years, there are troubling signs that political will has begin to ebb.
"We are on the cusp of a huge financial crisis," said Lewis.
A multi-billion-dollar funding shortfall is looming as the pledge by the Group of Eight (G8) most industrialised countries last year to achieve near universal access to treatment by 2010 is not being fulfilled, he said.
Global AIDS programmes will need 15 billion dollars this year and 22 billion by 2008, but the U.S. contribution will likely not exceed its present level of three billion dollars per year, he said.
"That seems pretty paltry from the world's superpower," Lewis commented.
The hope of universal access to treatment will be doomed without billions more in funding, he said, urging conference delegates and activists to pressure governments, especially the G8, to deliver on their promises.
"This issue of resources makes or breaks the response to the pandemic," he said.
Political leaders' failure to fully invest in the fight against HIV/AIDS is tantamount to genocide, said Juilo Montaner, the president-elect of the International AIDS Society.
The International AIDS Society organised the conference and is the world's leading independent association of HIV/AIDS professionals. Montaner is a respected AIDS researcher at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver. Current drugs are effective in greatly prolonging lives and should be made available to everyone in the world who is infected and would benefit, regardless of the cost, Montaner told delegates.
Providing universal access to drugs would cost an estimated seven billion dollars annually, and about the same again for related testing and health care.
Despite a record 31,000 participants, the Toronto conference will be judged a failure without dramatic and rapid expansion of access to antiretroviral drugs for millions of people around the world and a simultaneous scale-up of prevention efforts, said Wainberg.

Comment: Human Rights and HIV/AIDS: Now More than Ever at 2006 IAC

2006-08-22T12:53:00.000+02:00

By R. Lovelace, U.S.A.

First, let me begin by congratulating the Law and Health Initiative (LAHI) of the Open Society Institute (OSI) for bringing focus to the critical issues related to human rights issues related to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This is and will remain critical work and is very worthy of continued support. I wish you well in Toronto and hope your work is productive. I am, however profoundly struck by the omission of a critical rights-based element and that is the plight of public health care providers. No one, either a person going to work or seeking treatment should fall prey to infectious disease. Yet, it is clear in many countries this is a distinct possibility even though we know how to prevent such infections. We can talk all we want about setting targets for universal access to treatment by 2010 and then we will move the goal post yet again when we fail. I do not know anyone who really believes these goals are attainable particularly given what, if any, health care infrastructure in place in the countries most afflicted. There will be a lot of talk in Toronto about health care workers and a fair amount will undoubtedly be focused on community-based solutions. To fight HIV/AIDS and OIs will require every resource in our arsenal, but to substitute donor supported community-based solutions thereby letting national governments off the hook is unsustainable and irresponsible . There are no substitutes for proper health care, every resource is needed. For national governments to fail to provide even the most basic protections for public health care providers is unacceptable. For donors to support community-based programs that cannot do the same is unacceptable. Health care providers whether public or private are a front line of defense and they must be protected. I sincerely wish that one of the things that comes out of Toronto is the appreciation a good deal of effort needs be made to build upon the public health care infrastructure that does exist and to find effective ways to supplement those efforts and meet the demands of the pandemic until the national systems can stand on their own feet.

UN Envoy Lashes 'Colonial' Bush Aids Plan

2006-08-22T12:47:00.000+02:00

By Tamar Kahn in Toronto
August 15, 2006
Business Day

The United Nations (UN) special envoy on AIDS for Africa, Stephen Lewis, launched a blistering attack yesterday on US President George Bush's $15bn Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS (Pepfar), saying its ideologically driven policies were undermining African countries' efforts to combat the disease.
Pepfar is the world's biggest donor programme for HIV/AIDS.
It targets countries that have been hit by the pandemic, including SA to which it has pledged $450m over five years.
One of the most controversial aspects of US global HIV policy is a provision that at least 33% of its prevention funding be earmarked for programmes promoting abstinence from sex until marriage.
In SA, 36% of Pepfar funds allocated for 2004 and 57% of funds allocated for last year went to programmes promoting abstinence and faithfulness, an analysis by the US-based Centre for Health and Gender Equity shows.
"No government in the western world has the right to dictate policy to African governments on the way they structure their response to the pandemic," Lewis said at the 16th International AIDS Conference. "That kind of incipient neo-colonialism is simply unacceptable."
Lewis was backed by US congresswoman Barbara Lee, one of the chief co-authors of the legislation that established Pepfar. While the bilateral aid programme had strengths on the care and treatment front, its prevention policies were deeply flawed, she said. Lee recently introduced legislation to the US house of representatives, called the Pathway Act. The act proposes scrapping what she described as Pepfar's "terrible" prevention provisions -- the requirement that at least one-third of US global HIV funding go to programmes that promote only abstinence before marriage.
"The abstinence-until-marriage policy makes no sense for women when they face gender-based discrimination, violence, rape and can't control their own bodies," she said.
Pepfar's policies were distorting programmes in many African countries.
"We have been forced to cut funding to support effective, evidence-based programmes that prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child, or that provide comprehensive HIV prevention services, including condoms, to vulnerable populations," Lee said.
Jodi Jacobsen, the executive director of the Centre for Health and Gender Equity, said there was growing evidence that global US AIDS funding was restricting access to health information, condoms, and increasing stigmatisation and discrimination. She said condoms were being shunted at high-risk groups, such as prostitutes, and away from the general population.
There were signs that Pepfar had undermined HIV-prevention programmes in Uganda to such an extent that the rate of new infections was on the increase.
This undermined progress made over the past 20 years in promoting safe sex. "The result is ... to stigmatise condoms and the whole notion of safer sex."

Activists call for leadership to combat HIV/AIDS

2006-08-22T12:38:00.000+02:00

18 August 2006
PLUSNEWS

Mark Heywood, national treasurer of the South African AIDS lobby group, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), used the International AIDS Conference in Toronto as a platform on Thursday to implore the world to speak out against what he described as the South African government's lack of political leadership in combating HIV/AIDS."One of the greatest missing pieces in this conference has been the question of political leadership," he told delegates. "Without political leadership it will not be possible to turn the scientific discoveries we've heard about into public health initiatives."South Africa has more than five million HIV positive people, and of the 800,000 in urgent need of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, just 180,000 receive it. Heywood blamed the silence of world leaders about South Africa's "failures" to tackle HIV on "global geopolitics and the rules of 'diplomacy'"."It's likely I'll be accused of being disloyal and unpatriotic, but AIDS in South Africa is not for the South African government alone - it is a matter for the global community," he said. "When this many people are dying, the world has to speak up."Describing the lack of access to treatment for large numbers of infected South Africans as a human rights violation, Heywood called for the resignation of South Africa's Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. He and other speakers were later joined on-stage by TAC supporters holding placards saying: "Fire Manto Now."Prof Alan Whiteside of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, who was in the audience, pointed out that South Africa was not alone in lacking leadership in HIV. Governments in many other countries have been guilty of denial and foot-dragging, while leaders from the G8 countries have failed to deliver on promises. "The next five years needs to be about social mobilisation," he said.Other speakers and delegates criticised the attention given to high-profile western donors, like Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, and new prevention and treatment technologies. The real fight, they said, was not about money or science, but about creating a larger movement for social and economic justice.Gregg Gonsalves of the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa said the "root causes that drive health disparities" should be examined. "It's no coincidence that these multiple epidemics exist among marginalised communities across the globe."Musimbi Kanyoro, general secretary of the World Young Men's Christian Association, who shared the stage with Heywood, argued that while governments have much work to do, civil society, the private sector and individuals should also take moral responsibility for reversing the HIV epidemic. "We need leadership at every level," she said. "In our hospitals, in our homes and in our youth clubs."

Press Release: UN-organized 'Red Ribbons' awarded for local AIDS initiatives

2006-08-22T12:30:00.000+02:00

UN News Centre
17 August 2006

As part of an effort to highlight some of the most outstanding and least recognized participants in the frontline response to HIV and AIDS, the first-ever Red Ribbon Awards were handed out to five local community groups at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto last night.
Nearly 600 communities around the world were nominated for the $20,000 awards, which were organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Twenty finalist communities will also receive $5,000 each.
"The Red Ribbon Award is a great opportunity to bring communities together that have fought this disease," said UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis. "Sometimes they work in extremely difficult situations, in contexts of war or extreme poverty, and yet they have found ways despite these obstacles to make things happen, to generate some real success on the ground."
Zimbabwe's Girl Child Network, which counsels and supports girls in rural areas, including victims of sexual abuse, received the award for best practice in overcoming women's equality from UNAIDS Special Representative HRH the Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.
The Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, which successfully campaigned to bring anti-retroviral treatment into Thailand's public-health system, was honored for its role in providing access to care, treatment and support.
The All Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, a lobbying group, was rewarded for its efforts to address stigma and discrimination, secure treatment and organize support for people living with HIV/AIDS in Ukraine.
Durjoy Nari Shongo, a Bangladeshi project that educates, protects and advocates for sex workers and their families, received the award for its work in promoting prevention initiatives.
Mboole Rural Development, a youth-led community network in Zambia that sews school uniforms for AIDS orphans, was also honored last night.
The winners were chosen by an international jury that included the Norwegian Crown Princess, actress Naomi Watts, and former Irish President Mary Robinson.

Gateses Open XVI International AIDS Conference Calling for Increased Efforts To Develop Microbicides

2006-08-22T12:21:00.000+02:00

Kaisernetwork.org
14 August 2006

The scientific community and the pharmaceutical industry need to redouble their efforts to develop microbicides and pre-exposure prophylaxis methods to prevent HIV transmission, Bill and Melinda Gates said Sunday at the opening session of the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, the Washington Post report (Brown, Washington Post, 8/14). Microbicides include a range of products -- such as gels, films and sponges -- that could help prevent the sexual transmission of HIV and other infections (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/26). "We want to call on everyone here and around the world to help speed up what we hope will be the next big breakthrough on the fight against AIDS -- the discovery of a microbicide or an oral prevention drug that can block the transmission of HIV," Bill Gates said (Fox, Reuters, 8/13). Large-scale microbicide trials can require at least $100 million over many years, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (Russell, San Francisco Chronicle, 8/14). Melinda Gates expressed hope that the World Health Organization and other international organizations would draft ethical standards for such trials to accelerate their completion. She also urged advocates and governments to join the call for microbicide research. Before the speech, Bill Gates said the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to increase funding for research on microbicides and PrEP, although he did not specify how much additional money the foundation would provide (Chong, Los Angeles Times, 8/14). UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot at the conference opening joined the Gateses' call for more resources for microbicide research, saying that the development of a vaccine to prevent HIV transmission is many years away (Picard, Globe and Mail, 8/14). Piot said a "top priority is to immediately double funding for microbicide research and development" (Teotonio/Westhead, Toronto Star, 8/14). U.N. Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis on Saturday ahead of the conference said the "search for a microbicide is one of the most important things the world is doing" (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/14). According to London's Guardian, the role of women in the developing world is likely to be a key point of discussion at the conference (Boseley, Guardian, 8/14). "We need to put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women," Bill Gates said, adding, "No matter where she lives, who she is, or what she does, a woman should never need her partner's permission to save her own life" (Globe and Mail, 8/14).

Prevention
According to Bill Gates, the struggle to end HIV/AIDS needs to shift to focus on prevention rather than only on providing treatment for HIV-positive people (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/14). Bill Gates said it will cost more than $13 billion annually to provide antiretroviral drugs to all people who need them (Sternberg, USA Today, 8/14). "When you extrapolate five to 10 years, you quickly see that there is no feasible way to do what morality requires -- treat everyone with HIV -- unless we dramatically reduce the number of new infections," Bill Gates said, adding, "The harsh mathematics of this epidemic proves that prevention is essential to expanding treatment. Treatment without prevention is simply unsustainable" (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/14). Piot also supported greater prevention efforts and long-term planning, saying, "It is now time we move from crisis response to a long-term sustainable response" (Smith, Boston Globe, 8/14). Although Piot said providing universal access to treatment is a crucial goal, he asked, "Who is going to pay for that?" (Guardian, 8/14). According to Melinda Gates, fewer than one in five people who are vulnerable to HIV transmission have access to basic prevention tools -- such as condoms, clean needles, education and testing (Globe and Mail, 8/13). Piot at a youth congress specifically called for efforts to encourage older men to change their sexual behavior in terms of having multiple sex partners and being faithful to their wives.

Stigma
The Gateses also called for an end to the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. Melinda Gates called the stigma associated with the disease "cruel" and "irrational," and the couple specifically said stigma against women in developing countries must end because such women usually are not in a position to control their health or sex lives (Duff-Brown, AP/MLive, 8/14). "When Bill and I visit other countries, we are enthusiastically accompanied by government officials on all our stops -- until we go to the sex workers," Melinda Gates said, adding, "If you are turning your back on sex workers, you're turning your back on the faithful mother of four" (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/14). Piot also said stigma, gender inequality and homophobia must be tackled to curb the pandemic. Also at the conference opening, Indonesian HIV/AIDS advocate Frika Chia Iskandar spoke out against the stigma and discrimination that people living with the disease face on a daily basis (Al-Atraqchi, Al-Jazeera, 8/14).

Africa: Combined malaria/AIDS treatment urged

2006-08-22T12:07:00.000+02:00

18 August 2006 (PLUSNEWS)

South African musician Yvonne Chaka Chaka, a UN Children's Fund (Unicef) ambassador, has called for greater attention and resources to be devoted to malaria and HIV co-infection, particularly in pregnant women.At an important AIDS gathering in Toronto on Thursday, Chaka Chaka told the media: "Having HIV and malaria ... at the same time is especially dangerous ... it can lead to serious complications for both the mother and her unborn baby."Maternal anaemia in expectant mothers, and low birth weight and possible HIV transmission to the unborn baby, were of particular concern.Chaka Chaka said antenatal services for HIV-positive pregnant women should include insecticide-treated nets and malaria prophylaxis.

African agenda missing at Toronto AIDS conference, say African groups

2006-08-22T11:33:00.000+02:00

By Olayide Akanni
August 18, 2006 Journalists Against AIDS, Nigeria

African activists attending the 16th International Conference here in Toronto have decried the non-inclusion of Africa-specific issues and lack of African perspectives at the conference.
They also believe that the conference had failed to sufficiently give voice to the gender perspectives that fuel the epidemic on the African continent as well as the plight of orphans and vulnerable children.
At a press conference held yesterday, four leading African AIDS advocates noted that, while the Toronto conference witnessed the participation of many Africans, issues discussed at the meeting did not reflect Africa’s priorities.
“There are very few Africans speaking about African issues”, said Elizabeth Ngugi, a notable AIDS researcher from Kenya and a professor at the University of Nairobi.
“We expected to see more plenary sessions that highlight the drivers of the epidemic on the continent. Voices of African women as well as orphans and vulnerable children are missing from this meeting”, she noted.
Mrs. Beatrice Were, coordinator of HIV/AIDS at ActionAid Uganda, noted that the conference did not discuss the failure of African leaders to deliver on their commitment to set targets for achieving prevention and treatment services for all Africans by 2010.
“I am concerned about the broken promises. The targets in the Abuja documents which our leaders agreed to in May 2006 still remain merely pen on paper. We have seen some African countries trying to push back on Abuja targets. This is the kind of issues that we expect the conference to discuss”, she said.
Mrs Nike Essiet, Executive Director of Action Health Incorporated, a youth-focused organisation in Nigeria, also stressed the need of “making sure the work matches the talk”.
According to her, in many African countries, the funding structures being proposed by donor countries are tied to ideology-based conditions, which do not address the realities of majority of African young people.
“Some of the donors are requiring that you promote abstinence-only programmes for youths, while there is clear evidence-based data that shows that such interventions would not work for young people in the African context”, she remarked.
She however applauded the conference for addressing the issue of microbicides – a gel under development that can offer additional protection to women at risk of infection – and for increasing the presence of young people.

Daily Roundup from the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada

2006-08-22T09:21:00.000+02:00

Delegates at the closing of the XVI International AIDS conference in Toronto were reminded that now is the “Time to Deliver.”
“This conference cannot be deemed a success unless we collectively realize our theme of Time to Deliver,” said Conference Co-Chair Dr. Mark Wainberg, Local Host Board Chair and Director of the McGill University AIDS Centre. “Indeed, we will have failed unless we dramatically and rapidly expand by millions the numbers of people around the world with access to antiretroviral drugs. Clearly, progress cannot be achieved if more people continue to become infected by HIV each year than the numbers that are able to access treatment.”
“No one has the capacity to manage HIV/AIDS alone,” said Anders Nordstrom, Acting Director-General, World Health Organization. “Universal access demands a universal response. Think of this as a borderless society for health; one that includes everyone in the continuum of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support; that embraces all who can make a difference, from political leaders to scientists, health workers, to young people, people living with HIV, the poor, sex workers, injecting drug users, men who have sex with men, people in prison. This includes the NGOs, civil society, the activists we just saw the private providers, pharmaceutical companies, community groups. And of course, this includes not only health care workers, but also the education, infrastructure, finance and other sectors. We need a strong gender perspective in our work to ensure that women and men, girls and boys are provided with equal opportunities. All of us are responsible for the next steps as we are going back to our homes.”
“In my view, as delegates doubtless know the most vexing and intolerable dimension of the pandemic is what is happening to women,” said Stephen Lewis, U.N. Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. “It’s the one area of HIV/AIDS which leaves me feeling most helpless and most enraged. Gender inequality is driving the pandemic, and we will never subdue the gruesome force of AIDS until the rights of women become paramount in the struggle. I challenge you my fellow delegates, to enter the fray of gender inequality. There is no more honorable and productive calling. There is nothing of greater import in this world. All roads lead from women to social change, and that includes subduing the pandemic. For my own part,when I leave the post of Envoy at the end of the year, I have asked that my successor be an African, but most important and African woman.”
“More than ever, we confirmed during this week that prevention and care are two faces of the same coin,” said Pedro Cahn, IAS President. “More than ever biomedical and behavioral scientists have the challenge and the opportunity to work together with people living with HIV and community organizations towards our common goals. Of course, all the knowledge, the innovative research, the new tools, will not be effective without the political leadership that is essential to halting this disease. We must keep the pressure on the G8 leaders to follow up on their commitment to achieve universal access to prevention, care and treatment by 2010. We are still far from the $22 billion per year that will be required by 2008 to achieve that goal, and we must – as the theme of this conference reminds us – tell them that now is the ‘Time to Deliver’ on that commitment. Again allow me to raise very loudly the voice of IAS: we will not endorse any type of Schindler’s List, by accepting that while those included save their lives, others are just left behind suffering and dying.”
“It is no coincidence that this conference will be held in Mexico,” Luis Soto Ramirez, Local Host Chair, Mexico. “Latin American is faced with many challenges in its response to HIV. An urgent need for prevention, a lack of infrastructure to ensure access to antiretrovirals in some regions as in Africa and in Asia, and the consequence of antiretroviral treatments as seen in developed countries. Moreover, migration, stigma and human rights are not issues that are completely solved in our region. According to the World Health Organization, 68% of those in care in Latin American have access to antiretrovirals, but that number does not take into account the huge number of people that already infected that have no idea they are HIV positive. But numbers are just cold figures. We will talk at AIDS 2008 about human beings, each of whose life -- as Melinda Gates reminded us at the opening ceremony -- are of equal value: whether you are gay or straight, sex trade worker or stay at home mom, black or white, mestizo or native, rich or poor, young or not so young.”
“On behalf of Mexico, I thank the International AIDS Society for having selected us as your next host,” said Julio Frenk, Health Minister of Mexico. “We will live up to your trust. Working with all of you we will make sure that the voices of youth, of women, of MSM, of commercial sex workers, of intravenous drug users, of migrants, of indigenous populations of all people living with AIDS and those caring for them are heard load and clear in Mexico. We will do our very best to have a great program of quality sessions, to create an environment where we can all learn from each other, to make you feel positive about the great work you are carrying out. So you see we have been preparing ourselves by changing, changing to improve. And we are now fully prepared to welcome you to Mexico, welcome you to Latin America where we always say, ‘Mi casa, es tu casa.’”

Africa: Hunger and HIV go hand in hand, experts warn

2006-08-21T14:15:00.000+02:00

PLUSNEWS
18 August 2006

After five days of high-profile debate about the latest scientific developments in HIV prevention and treatment, talk at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto turned on Thursday to one of the major drivers of the epidemic in Africa - hunger.Stuart Gillespie, director of the Regional Network on HIV/AIDS, Rural Livelihoods and Food Security (RENEWAL), a project by the International Food Policy Research Institute, described how food insecurity not only created greater biological susceptibility to HIV by weakening the immune system, but encouraged behaviour - such as commercial or "survival" sex, or migration to higher prevalence areas - that put women, in particular, at greater risk.A vicious cycle was set up, as families affected by HIV experienced a drain not only on their financial resources but also on the labour needed to grow food. Results of a study of 15,900 households in southern Africa, presented by Robin Jackson of the World Food Programmes's HIV/AIDS unit, demonstrated that HIV-affected households were more likely to experience food insecurity: they borrowed more money and sold more productive assets, and those headed by women experienced the most severe food shortages.According to Gabriel Rugalema, of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), women's lack of property and inheritance rights in many African countries have made them and their children even more vulnerable to HIV, poverty and poor nutrition. Leonider Amollo Akeye, founder of GROOTS (Grassroots Organisations Operating Together in Sisterhood), a community-based organisation in rural Kenya, explained how women who lost their husbands to HIV often experienced a second blow when in-laws confiscated their land and property. Akeye's organisation works with local chiefs to persuade them to intervene on the women's behalf.As part of its response to HIV and food insecurity, the FAO has been working with governments to change legislation that barred women from owning property. In countries not enforcing existing legislation, the FAO was training NGOs to provide women with legal support.The FAO has also been running agricultural training programmes for AIDS orphans, who have missed the opportunity of learning these skills from their parents. The goal is to move from short-term interventions, such as the distribution of food aid or nutritional supplements, to helping affected communities restore agricultural production and develop alternative livelihoods. Other initiatives promoting food security and economic empowerment for people living with HIV/AIDS were mostly community-based and small-scale. Siphiwe Hlophess described how the organisation she co-founded, Swaziland Positive Living (Swapol), was supporting people living with HIV to grow food for consumption and sale. Their major constraint was lack of funding. "Donors want to give us food handouts, but we want to be empowered to grow our own food," she said.The need to translate such programmes into wide-scale interventions was urgent but still not viewed as a priority by governments and donors. "Even today, it is difficult to persuade donors that food security is vital to HIV," said Rugalema. "That's why we're only operating in seven countries - much more investment is needed in this area."National and international HIV policies have yet to catch up with evidence supporting the links between HIV/AIDS and food insecurity. UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis, who moderated the one session on the topic at the conference, commented that there had so far been no action to implement a UN declaration calling for "all people at all times to have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food ... as part of a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS". The declaration was signed by 150 countries at the UN General Assembly's Special Session on AIDS in June.Many governments have yet to provide short-term interventions, like nutritional supplements for patients on free antiretroviral treatment. The drugs should be taken with food to avoid toxic side effects, but in many parts of Africa HIV-infected people could not afford a square meal every day. According to media reports, lack of nutritional support had resulted in some patients in Kenya selling their drugs to buy food.Festus Ilako, head of programmes for the African Medical and Research Foundation in Kenya, said the fundamental role of food security in relation to HIV had been largely overlooked. Countries should be held to account on the UN declaration, with targets that were monitored, he said. "Until we do that, we're in for a rough ride."

Milestone Reached in HIV Treatment Access in Sub-Saharan Africa, WHO Reports

2006-08-18T13:47:00.000+02:00

August 16, 2006

The number of people receiving HIV antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa has surpassed the one million mark for the first time, but much work remains to be done to reach the goal of providing universal access to prevention, treatment and care by 2010, said a UN health care agency official at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto today.
The one million figure represents a tenfold increase since December 2003, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Sub-Saharan Africa still accounts for 70 per cent of the global unmet treatment need, however, and 95 per cent of the 38.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS live in the developing world, where countries face tremendous challenges in dealing with the epidemic.
"In many ways we are still at the beginning of this effort," said Dr. Kevin De Cock, WHO's HIV/AIDS Director. "We have reached just one quarter of the people in need in low and middle-income countries, and the number of those who need treatment will continue to grow."
The WHO notes that many nations are suffering "crippling" shortages of HIV-related health workers, many of whom are either becoming infected themselves or leaving for better-paying jobs in larger cities and wealthier countries.
"The shortage of health workers is devastating public health systems, particularly in the developing world," said Dr. Anarfi Asamoa-Baah, Assistant Director-General of WHO. "It is one of the most significant challenges we face in preventing and treating HIV."
Some 57 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, need more than four million HIV-related health care workers to fill the gap, the WHO estimates. To confront the problem, the agency has launched, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration, a new plan called "Treat, Train, Retain".
The initiative is aimed at providing health care workers themselves with access to HIV/AIDS services while at the same time helping countries increase the number of health workers, maximize their efficiency and retain them.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling attention to the fact that millions of people still lack access to the most basic and available method for preventing HIV - the male and female condom.
"People are getting infected now," said Steve Kraus, Chief of the HIV Branch of UNFPA, in a statement. He noted that promising new technology is on the horizon but will not be widely available for years. "The condom already exists and it hasn't been delivered. It works and represents the best tool we have in the fight against HIV/AIDS."
The UNFPA points out that, in sub-Saharan Africa, men have access to only 10 condoms on average per year, while the eight to 10 million condoms being used in low- and middle-income countries represent only half of the total need.
At the same time, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is highlighting food and nutritional support as an essential, and often overlooked, part of essential care for people living with and affected by HIV.
The WFP cites a new study by HIV Medicine, which found that such people most often list food as their greatest need and that patients who start new antiretroviral therapy while malnourished are six times as likely to die.
The WFP estimates that nearly one sixth of the people enrolled in antiretroviral programmes in 2008 will need some kind of nutritional support, which could be provided for a mere 65 cents (US) per patient per day.
"We cannot win the battle against AIDS by focusing on drugs alone," said Robin Jackson, Chief of WFP's HIV/AIDS Service, at a press conference in Toronto today. "Funding antiretrovirals with no thought to food and nutrition is a little like paying a fortune to fix a car but not setting aside money to buy gas."

Africa: Circumcision urged as protection against HIV

2006-08-18T13:37:00.000+02:00

17 Aug 2006 (PLUSNEWS)

Scientists at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto have been calling for urgent action on compelling evidence that circumcision may reduce a man's vulnerability to HIV infection by as much as 60 percent.Prevention technologies such as vaccines and microbicides are still years away from reaching people at high risk of infection, while male circumcision is available now and could save lives without breaking the bank.Several African countries have already acted on the results of a South African-based study released last year, which appeared to confirm that circumcision has a protective effect against HIV transmission. Zambia and Swaziland have both launched national male circumcision programmes, while a new report by the 14-member Southern African Development Community described male circumcision as "a one-off intervention conferring lifelong reduced biological risk". Other countries, including South Africa, are delaying action until the results of further trials underway in Kenya and Uganda become available.Dr Robert Bailey of the University of Illinois presented an overview of the two-year Kenyan trial at the conference on Tuesday, but said results would not be available until September 2007. He did reveal that, one year into the study, the 50 percent of participants who had been circumcised reported using condoms more consistently and paying for sex less frequently.This is a key finding, in light of one of the biggest concerns surrounding male circumcision: that men might view it as an alternative to condoms and safer sexual behaviour rather than as an additional protection against HIV. Another study from Kenya, supported by the National Institutes of Health and presented by Dr Kawango Agot, also found no significant difference in condom use or risky sexual behaviour between samples of circumcised and uncircumcised men.Dr Kyeen Mesesan, of Yale University, used a mathematical simulation to estimate what impact male circumcision programmes of various sizes could have on the course of the epidemic in the South African township of Soweto. Based on a population of 823,000 sexually active men and women, she found that a programme targeting just 10 percent of men could result in 32,000 infections averted, and a drop in prevalence from 17 percent to 14 percent over 20 years. Without circumcision, her model predicted that prevalence would increase to 23 percent over the same period. "For South Africa and countries with similar epidemic profiles," she concluded, "even modest programmes offering male circumcision would confer enormous benefits in terms of HIV infections averted and should be introduced immediately".The cost-effectiveness of such programmes as a prevention method in sub-Saharan Africa was the subject of a presentation by Dr James Kahn of the University of San Francisco. Taking into account the costs of treating HIV-infected individuals over a lifetime, Kahn found that adult male circumcision could actually save money.Although presenters appeared to agree on the potential benefits of male circumcision, they did not touch on the logistical, social and cultural barriers to implementing national programmes. Circumcision is often an important rite of passage for boys into manhood, while other ethnic groups, even though they are hard-hit by the pandemic, regard it as "untraditional". In the Southern African kingdom of Swaziland, where the estimated HIV prevalence is over 40 percent, traditionalists have frowned upon circumcision as a custom of the AmaXhosa, an ethnic group in neighbouring South Africa.World Health Organisation (WHO) researchers and colleagues, while supporting the procedure as a prevention tool, reported that male circumcision could prevent millions of new HIV infections but warned against risky sexual behaviour. The organisation recently cautioned that circumcision showed promise in reducing the risk of aquiring HIV, but this did not mean circumcision alone could prevent men from becoming infected with HIV during sexual intercourse. "It will therefore be essential that it [circumcision] be implemented as part of a comprehensive prevention package, which includes correct and consistent condom use, behaviour change, and voluntary counselling and testing."

Daily Roundup from the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto

2006-08-18T13:21:00.000+02:00

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Today, achieving universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment was a major focus at XVI
International AIDS Conference in Toronto. And the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS
Director Kevin De Cock reported significant increases in antiretroviral therapy coverage or ART.
“Of the global total of 38.6 million persons living with HIV, approximately 6.8 million in lowand
middle-income countries currently require antiretroviral therapy," explained De Cock.
"WHO estimates that by end June 2006 some 1.65 million persons in need were accessing ART
with an overall coverage of 24%.”
More than one million sub-Saharan Africans now receive ART, but the vast majority of people
there are not getting HIV drugs. And with the number of people in need of treatment on the rise,
De Cock noted treatment access must expand more quickly.
While a recent study showed that ART has saved an estimated 3 million years of life in the
United States, Anthony Fauci of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
said current efforts to broaden treatment availability are falling short.
"But that's where we start getting in trouble because that is not enough," said Fauci. "And the
reason it’s not enough is that a large portion of the world has still not yet gotten the advantage of
those scientific advances."
Fourteen percent of new HIV infections globally are in children under age 15 years and most
contract it from their mothers. According to the WHO, an estimated 800,000 children around the
world are in need of HIV treatment, but fewer than 100,000 are receiving it.
Ruth Nduati of the University of Nairobi talked about the situation in sub-Saharan Africa, where
most of the world’s infected children live. “This epidemic is evolving in the midst of a chronic
crisis of child health and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa," explained Nduati. "And the problems
of poverty aggravate the HIV epidemic and the HIV epidemic in turn aggravates the poverty.”
Born HIV positive in the U.S. 22 years ago and told she wouldn’t live beyond her 5th birthday
Hydeia Broadbent told parents to communicate with their children.
"I think it is important that everyone know, your kids, we’re the future. We really are," said
Broadbent. "And if we’re not educated, we’re not going to have a bright future.”
Jill Braden Balderas with kaisernetwork.org

Africa: US abstinence campaign bashed

2006-08-17T15:15:00.000+02:00

PLUSNEWS
16 August 2006

The US came under attack on Tuesday for tying millions of dollars to its policy of teaching sexual abstinence in poor nations, which senior UN officials say is causing more harm than good.
Although the UN special envoy on AIDS for Africa, Stephen Lewis, commended some of the successes of President George W. Bush's US$15 billion global AIDS intervention, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), he said its ideologically driven policies were unrealistic in male-dominated cultures where women were powerless to refuse sex or negotiate safer sex.
PEPFAR was launched in 2003 to address the impact of AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, but one of its most controversial aspects has been a provision that at least 33 percent of prevention funding be earmarked for programmes encouraging abstinence until marriage.
"No government in the western world has the right to dictate policy to African governments on the way they structure their response to the pandemic. That kind of incipient neo-colonialism is simply unacceptable," Lewis said at the 16th International AIDS Conference, in Toronto, Canada.

Empowering women key to fighting AIDS: Gates

2006-08-17T14:54:00.000+02:00

By CTV.ca News Staff
August 14 2006

Empowering the world's most oppressed women is the key to stemming the HIV/AIDS pandemic, philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates told the opening of the 16th International AIDS Conference.
"No matter who she is or what she does, a woman should never need her partner's permission to save her own life," Gates said in Toronto Sunday.
"Being faithful will not protect a woman whose partner is not faithful. We need to put the power to prevent HIV into the hands of women."
The Microsoft founder also urged scientists to accelerate the development of microbicides and drugs that help protect women from HIV.
"We have to do a much better job of prevention," said Gates, whose foundation recently donated $500 million US to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
"We could revolutionize the fight against AIDS."
Melinda Gates echoed her husband's comments and in a clear swipe at leaders who preach abstinence over condom use, she said: "If you oppose the distribution of condoms, something is more important to you than saving lives.
"Withholding condoms does not mean fewer people have sex. It means fewer people have safe sex and more people die," she said to rapturous applause from thousands of delegates.
"Saving lives is the highest ethical act."
Harper slammed
Conference co-chair Dr. Mark Wainberg also drew a standing ovation when he slammed Prime Minister Stephen Harper for refusing to attend the conference, which has drawn 24,000 delegates from around the globe.
As people crowded the front of the stage, carrying signs that read "Sleep in Steve? HIV Never Sleeps," Wainberg said Harper had "made a mistake that puts you on the wrong side of history."
The director of McGill University's AIDS Centre said "the role of the prime minister includes the responsibility to show leadership on the world stage. Your absence sends a message that you do not regard HIV/AIDS as a critical priority."
Actor Richard Gere, whose charitable foundation includes support for HIV/AIDS, also took at shot at Harper.
He recalled that during the early years of the epidemic it took former U.S. president Ronald Reagan eight years to bring himself to say the word "AIDS."
Gere said in the waning years of his life, Reagan regretted his silence on the issue and was "deeply" apologetic.
"I think you have a prime minister who's going to be deeply apologetic," he said to enthusiastic applause.
Rally in Toronto
Meanwhile, as the conference continued Monday, hundreds marched down the streets of Toronto to demand urgent action for women and girls in the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The rally, which featured speakers such as Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and Louise Binder, of Blueprint for Action on Women and Girls, was followed by a march to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre -- the site of the conference.
The group supported a call for immediate, universal and equitable access to all prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment, support and research for women and girls around the world.
"Violence against women and girls, poverty, lack of education and housing, and lack of property rights, all fuel HIV/AIDS infection rates among women and girls," said Binder.
As well as the estimated 24,000 delegates, the conference has attracted some 3,000 journalists for the biggest gathering in the now-biennial meeting's 21-year history.
Joining Gates and Gere at the conference will be former U.S. president Bill Clinton, the crown prince and princess of Norway, UN AIDS for Africa envoy Stephen Lewis, and actors Sandra Oh and Olympia Dukakis.
During her opening speech Sunday, Haiti native Governor General Michaelle Jean recalled the stigma around HIV/AIDS to which people of her homeland were subjected and said it was time to change attitudes about the disease. "AIDS knows no boundaries, nor has it any regard for our prejudices or the ways in which we ostracize and abandon one another," Jean said.
"Is that not reason enough to put those prejudices to rest and come together to fight this universal threat?"
Sunday's opening speeches were followed by a concert featuring Alicia Keys, Barenaked Ladies, the Blue Man Group, Our Lady Peace, Amanda Marshall and Chantal Kreviazuk.
Conference workshops and plenary sessions officially begin Monday, and will deal with a wide range of issues -- from scientific research to caring for those with HIV/AIDS to preventing the spread of the virus, which has killed 25 million people in the last 25 years and infected about 40 million worldwide.

Daily Roundup from the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada

2006-08-16T11:57:00.000+02:00

Monday, August 14, 2006

Canada’s Governor General Michaëlle Jean welcomed an estimated 24,000 participants from more than 170 countries to the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto on Sunday. Frika Chia Iskandar of the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS asked delegates to consider the significance of this year’s theme -- A Time to Deliver. “It means that we are beyond words, beyond talk, beyond commitments. It is time for the real thing,” said Iskandar. “At this conference we want to make changes, overcome the challenges and deliver what is most needed on the ground; deliver what is needed to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS; and to deliver prevention of HIV/AIDS programs and involve more young people because prevention is still possible.”
While acknowledging there is still much more to deliver, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot encouraged the audience to build upon the current successes of scaling up prevention and access to treatment. “We have our first and perhaps our only opportunity to move the AIDS response into an entirely other league, where we build upon our emergency actions and put in place a long term and sustainable response,” Piot said.
Bill and Melinda Gates, co-founders of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, highlighted the need to put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women, and in particular to accelerate the development of microbicides that would allow women to protect themselves from HIV. “No matter where she lives, who she is, or what she does - a woman should never need her partner's permission to save her own life,” said Bill Gates.
On Monday, Bill Gates and former U.S. President Bill Clinton appeared together to discuss their priorities for ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Clinton emphasized the need to fight stigma. “If there is aggressive effort against stigma and an absolute guarantee you’ll have the medicine, the cure you need, then we could have more people know their status, and I think more people would be willing to do whatever is necessary not to infect others,” said
Clinton. “I don't see how we're ever going to catch up if people aren't at least aware they could be giving the virus to other people.”
At a session on women in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Melinda Gates also discussed overcoming stigma. “I think you need far more people talking out and actively saying I am HIV positive in my country; I’m living; I’m healthy; I’m on antiretrovirals,” said Gates. “And I think as we get more of those examples we’re going to start to break
through stigma. I think we’re just starting to see it now because it hasn’t been that long that you could get ARVs.” Respecting the needs and rights of HIV/AIDS affected communities was a focus of Monday’s events. Throughout the conference participants will also hear about scientific advances like novel drug treatments and new prevention approaches as well as theimportance of leadership and accountability.

Source: kaisernetwork.org

Africa: WHO calls for TB/AIDS programme interaction

2006-08-08T11:00:00.000+02:00

Africa: WHO calls for TB/AIDS programme interaction
PLUSNEWS

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for better coordination of global HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) programmes to be discussed at the upcoming International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada.

Doctor Mario Raviglione, head of the UN health agency's Stop TB programme, repeated warnings by former South African President Nelson Mandela during the Bangkok conference two years ago that "We can't fight AIDS unless we do more to fight TB."

In line with its recommendation, WHO has issued a 'Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015' detailing how programme interactions could help three million co-infected people benefit from antiretroviral medicines.

Raviglione stressed that besides research into new diagnostic and treatment options, "collaboration between TB and HIV communities to maximise access to existing interventions must be our collective global responsibility".

WHO research showed that tuberculosis was increasing at an annual average of 7 percent in countries with a high number of HIV-positive people.

Source: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?
ReportID=6221&SelectRegion=Africa&SelectCountry=AFRICA

A Special Invitation- Book and CD Launch

2006-08-08T10:51:00.000+02:00

A Special Invitation- Book and CD Launch " HIV/AIDS Laboratory Capacity: How far we have come and where we are going"

The capacity of laboratories to support HIV and AIDS programmes is a critical determinant to increasing access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. Since 2003, significant gains in strengthening laboratory capacities in many African countries through strong support from WHO/AFRO and the '3x5' initiative set forth by the WHO and the Joint United Nations Programme on HV/AIDS ( UNAIDS). The book and CD " HIV/AIDS Laboratory Capacity: How far we have come and where we are going" presents finding from a regional assessment of laboratory capacities in 2005. The publication critically analyses the capacity of laboratories to respond to HIV and AIDS and presents recommendations for achievable priority interventions for strengthening and expanding health systems in the years ahead. WHO/AFRO, SAfAIDS and AVVP ( African AIDS Vaccine Programme) would like to invite you to the launch of this important publication.

Date: Tuesday 14th August 2006
Time: 16:00 - 19:30
Venue: Royal York Hotel, British Columbia Room, Mezzanine Floor

For more information: Please contact Sara Page ( sara@safaids.org.zw )

SAfAIDS Skills Building Workshop at IAC, 2006

2006-06-28T15:40:00.000+02:00

Skills Building Workshop
Antiretroviral treatment programs continue to unfold outside a gender transformative sphere. Let’s Place Women of Africa on the Treatment Agenda.

Empower Her to Enjoy Life- Its Her Right

SAfAIDS welcomes you to join us in sharing, exploring and being inspired, through a Skills Building Session featuring the SAfAIDS Women's HIV/AIDS Treatment Literacy Toolkit for Communities, being hosted at the XVI International AIDS Conference (IAC), Toronto, Canada, 13th - 18th August 2006. We warmly acknowledge our donors, AJWS and ActionAid International, and all other partners who have supported us in delightful process of development and current roll-out of this critical response area.

Session Title: “Promoting Women's Treatment Literacy As A Scale Up Strategy For Universal Access"

English Session:
Date: Tuesday 15th August 2006
Time: 2.15 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Venue: Skills Building Room 1

Shona Session:
Date: Thursday 17th August 2006
Time: 2.15 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.
Venue: Skills Building Room 11

Hurudziro yekuvandudza ruzivo rwevanhukadzi maererano nokurapwa kwechirwere cheHIV/AIDS senzira yekuti vanhu vose vawane mukana yekurapwa kwechirwere.

Facilitators: Rouzeh Eghtessadi & Florence Sibongile Sithole. Please do not hesitate to contact either Florence (florence@safaids.org.zw ) or Rouzeh (rouzeh@safaids.org.zw), or our Information Desk ( info@safaids.org.zw ) for any further information or queries you may have regarding this Skills Building Session.

Civil Society Participation: Leaders at AIDS meeting have failed Africa, say activists

2006-06-07T10:25:00.000+02:00

African civil society organisations have denounced a political declaration adopted today by world leaders attending a United Nations AIDS meeting in New York.
At the High Level Review Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, which closed today, member-states negotiated a political declaration which African activists have described as 'utterly retrogressive' and 'a sham'.
AIDS organisations expressed their 'utter disappointment' at African leaders and negotiators at the meeting, for excluding key regional priorities and commitments in the political declaration.
"What has been signed on by African leaders at this meeting is a document that set us several years back, to the days of denial, complacency and a criminal refusal to act in the face of a consuming epidemic", said Prudence Mabele of the Positive Women's Network, a South African organisation that provides services to HIV-positive women.
"Our leaders have shown an utter lack of responsibility in standing up for the lives of 25 millions HIV-positive Africans", she added.
The activists particularly lamented the absence of any reference to the African Common Position on AIDS, adopted last month in Abuja, Nigeria, which lists targets, milestones and commitments which African states should meet to achieve universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support of HIV and AIDS by the year 2010.
"The political declaration has pushed Africa several steps back in our fight against AIDS," said Adenike Esiet of Action Health Inc, which runs youth reproductive health programmes in Nigeria.
"By refusing to push for inclusion of targets and commitments agreed to in Abuja, African leaders have shown that they are not to be trusted when human lives affected by HIV are concerned."
The activists are particularly angry at countries such as Egypt, South Africa and Gabon, which repeatedly blocked all references to the African Common Position, and removed references to specific populations that are most at risk of HIV, such as women and girls, sex workers, and men who have sex with men.
But they commended Nigeria and Namibia, which spoke out in support of the Abuja commitments, even when other African countries were not in agreement.
Also criticised was the attitude of many African missions as well as the African Union, whose diplomats stayed away from the key negotiations that produced the political declaration.
"It's a shame that many countries in sub-Saharan Africa that are most affected by this epidemic were nowhere to be found when it came to protecting the interest of their peoples", noted Innocent Laison of the African Council of AIDS Service Organisations, based in Senegal.
Civil society organisations are however resolute in defence of the regional and national targets as contained in the African Common Position. To this end, African CSOs have declared a Week of Action - from June 13 to 17 - to mobilize support at country and regional levels for the Abuja commitments. "We will not allow this betrayal to stand," said Ludfine Anyango-Okeyo from Kenya. "We will work tirelessly to hold our leaders accountable to their commitments."

For more information contact:
Omololu Falobi
Email: omololu@nigeria-aids.org
+1 646 578 6757 (in NYC till June 3)
+234 1 802 3139 636
Sisonke Msimang
Email: sisonkem@osisa.org
+27 83 450 7382

Source: African Civil Society Coalition on AIDS / Cross-posted by: AF-AIDS e-forum

President of MTV International Address to UNGASS

2006-06-06T12:52:00.000+02:00

During this High Level Meeting, 43,000 people globally have been infected.
- More than half of those new infections will be among young people, ages 15-24.
- More than half will be among women.
If they'd been chickens with Bird Flu, it would dominate the media. But because HIV and AIDS is still considered to be a disease of the marginalized – it is treated differently. Media has a powerful role to play in educating the world. I believe that HIV and AIDS programming needs to become part of the DNA of media companies globally.
Earlier today a report of the Global Media AIDS Initiative was presented to Secretary-General Annan.
-The GMAI involves 140 media companies around the world;
-Creating HIV and AIDS programming-Challenging stigma.
-Committing airtime (or inventory).
The breadth of collaboration is inspiring.
- In Asia, 14 broadcasters developed World AIDS Day programming
- In Africa, a 20-nation broadcast partnership has been formed.
- In Russia, 40 media firms united in a public health campaign.
Indeed, media can be a force for change in the world. It can save lives. But with 40 million people infected, our response has not kept pace with the disease. Our dread of HIV and AIDS is so strong we are challenged by:
- The Fear of being informed
- The Stigma surrounding the disease
- Widespread Resistance to testing.
That resistance is why the vast majority of infected people don't know they are carrying the virus. Stigma prevents people getting tested and getting treated. We need to encourage HIV testing. There are two ways to do this: Mandatory or voluntary.Let's be clear: mandatory testing is NOT an option. I believe that everyone should be tested. BUT testing must be:
- Voluntary
- Accessible
- Confidential
- Supported with Counseling
- And accompanied by access to Treatments wherever possible. Testing must be anchored in an approach, which respects:
- Human rights
- Dignity
- And Privacy (especially for girls and women).
The whole fabric of testing needs to become normal and accepted by all - from clinicians, religious leaders, village elders, the business sector and everyone in between - rather than be bound in myth and fear and prejudice. The great anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”We citizens of the world, sitting in this room today, have that power. We ALL must act. It's up to the generation living NOW to defeat this disease, and change the world.
Contact: Tim Thomas, Executive Director Staying Alive Foundation, MTV International
1515 Broadway, 47-69 New York, NY 10036 t. +1 212 864 6994 m. +1 646 469 7281
Web: www.staying-alive.org
Email: tim.thomas@mtvstaff.com

Source: Break the Silence e-forum

Draft Political Declaration

2006-06-06T12:44:00.000+02:00

We, heads of State and Government and representatives of States and Governments participating in the comprehensive review of the progress achieved in realizing the targets set out in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS on 31 May and 1 June 2006 and the High-Level Meeting on 2 June 2006;
Note with alarm that we are facing an unprecedented human catastrophe and that a quarter of a century into the pandemic, AIDS has inflicted immense suffering on countries and communities throughout the world, and that more than 65 million people have been infected with HIV, more than 25 million people have died, 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS, with millions more made vulnerable, and 40 million people are currently living with HIV, more than 95 per cent of whom are in developing countries;
Recognize that HIV/AIDS constitutes a global emergency and poses one of the most formidable challenges to development, progress, and stability of our respective societies and the world at large and requires an exceptional and comprehensive global response;
Acknowledge that national and international efforts have resulted in important progress since 2001 in the areas of funding, expanding access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and in mitigating the impact of AIDS, and in reducing HIV prevalence in a small but growing number of countries, and also acknowledge that many targets contained in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS have not yet been met;

Read Full Declaration

Source: UNAIDS