Archive for the ‘News’ Category
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Are We Honest About HIV & AIDS?
Press Release: WAD 2008: Are we honest about HIV & AIDS?
Asian People's Alliance for Combating HIV & AIDS (APACHA)
Asia is facing an unprecedented challenge of HIV&AIDS, with possibly huge economic and social consequences. Despite series of claims and commitments of the governments, donors and civil society in seriously pursuing the epidemic, large numbers of people continue to face a crisis of existence.
The debilitating human rights condition, increasing democratic deficit, unabated conflicts and increasing religious fundamentalism in most of the countries of Asia, pose great challenges to address the causes and consequences of HIV&AIDS. To add, increasing inequalities, mass exodus and exacerbating violence, particularly against women make the issue of HIV&AIDS more complex.
Families, particularly poor families, with HIV cases have started to face serious and multiple crises. They have not been able to meet treatment costs and are compelled to sell their land and properties hence trapped into the vicious circle of poverty and illness. Children are compelled to drop out of schools. Stigma and discrimination on the other hand is challenging people's right to lead a dignified life. Women and children are among the hardest hit.
Weak Public Health Care systems in the region do not have capacity to bear the burden of the disease. Governments are still reluctant to allocate sufficient budgets in this sector. Most of the ongoing programs are donor funded which constraint the liberty of national institutions as well as putting them under the fear of psychosis. In the mean time, most of the ongoing programs in the region are not sustainable.
Governance is another serious area which needs immediate attention. Money is not reaching the communities and this raises BIG and ethical questions- Are there quality funding mechanisms? Are there effective monitoring and evaluation systems? Are there enough and transparent governance mechanisms at global to local levels?
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Second-line treatment for HIV patients at PGI
Even as the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) reached the crucial benchmark of providing first line treatment to more than thousand persons living with HIV/AIDS in the city, it has plans to provide second line treatment in PGI from December 1 - the World AIDS Day.
Second-line treatment is required for patients who are resistant to the first line. As of now, out of 150 anti-retroviral centres across the country, only two centres were offering these drugs. Now, PGI will offer this treatment, said care support and treatment consultant, State AIDS Control Society (SACS).
As per the NACO figures, over 1.62 lakh persons living with HIV+ are enrolled in 150 anti-retroviral centre for the treatment across the country. Till now, only 15 per cent were getting second line treatment, as this drug therapy was available only in Mumbai and Chennai. President of Chandigarh Netwok, Pooja Thakur, said almost 3,500 persons living with HIV/AIDS were registered at ART, the PGI and out of those, 100 needed second-line drug therapy.
Tribune News Service -
NACO Statistics Advertisement 1st Dec 2008
The following are some statistics released through advertisement on 1st December 2008 to coincide with World AIDS Day by the National AIDS Control Organisation, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India; www.nacoonline.org
National AIDS Control Programme III (2007-2012) is on.
The Red Ribbon Express (special train) has completed its 27,000 kilometer long journey to spread awareness across the length and breadth of India. It halted at 180 stations in 24 States and reached out to over 62 lakh (6.2 million) people with messages, over 1.1 lakh people have been counseled and about 68,000 resource persons trained.
Prevention achievement since July 2007
· 5,100 new Condom Vending Machines installed, taking the total number to 16,125
· 797 million condoms socially marketed
· Voluntary blood donation increased from 56.4% in July 2007 to 59.1% in November, 2008
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Brother’s death draws Carla to AIDS campaign
A singer and former model, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the French first lady, is to launch herself on the international humanitarian stage with an announcement that she is to become a figurehead in the global fight against Aids.
Bruni, who married President Nicolas Sarkozy in February, was expected to be appointed an "ambassador" for the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a Geneva-based organisation backed by the United Nations.
She had for long been trying to decide what cause to embrace as first lady, and the choice of Aids appears to have been influenced by a family tragedy that occurred in 2006, when Virginio, her brother, with whom she had a close relationship, died after a long battle with the illness at the age of 46.
Matthew Campbell, for The Times of India -
S. Africa ends decade of denial on AIDS
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- Church bells tolled, workers put down their tools and court proceedings stopped Monday as South Africa marked a minute of silence for AIDS victims and ended a decade of denial about the epidemic.
Activists hold balloons, reading: "Protecting Oneself Is Also Getting Infromed," during a rally in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Monday.
Peter Piot, the top U.N. official dealing with the disease, joined political leaders and hundreds of AIDS activists at a rally in the coastal city of Durban to show his support for a government that has made a break with the discredited AIDS policies of former President Thabo Mbeki.
"We are the first to admit that a lot still needs to be done," said Baleka Mbete, the deputy president, as she lit a candle in remembrance of the victims.
South Africa has an estimated 5.5 million people living with the HIV virus -- the highest total of any country in the world and more than one-sixth of the global total. About 1,000 South Africans die each day of the disease and complications like tuberculosis. Even more become infected because prevention messages haven't worked.
CNN.com -
Changes proposed by Law Ministry are against PLHA
28th November 2008, New Delhi: A coalition of activists and organizations working on HIV has denounced the Law Ministry for its insensitive handling of the HIV/AIDS Bill. Changes proposed by the Law Ministry are seen to undermine rights of people living with HIV and go against the grain of the National AIDS Control Programme.
The HIV/AIDS bill was drafted in 2004 after wide ranging consultations with HIV positive people, vulnerable communities, women and childrens' groups, health care providers, employers and trade Unions, lawyers, civil society organizations, State AIDS Control societies and other concerned departments.
Backed by extensive research, it is one of the first bills in the history of independent India to be prepared with the participation of affected individuals and communities. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) endorsed it after receiving feedback from State Governments and other Ministries.
The Health Minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, has long supported the need for such a law. In September 2007, the Ministry of Health sent the HIV/AIDS Bill to the Ministry of Law and Justice for vetting. A year later, the Bill has been returned with substantive changes, which, the coalition claims "*detracts from the aims and objectives of the original proposal*". " *By deleting large parts of the original draft, the law ministry shows lack of respect for people's voices and views*" said Anjali Gopalan, who has been working on HIV for over two decades.
Raman Chawla, for Lawyers Collective -
U.N. warns against cuts to AIDS prevention programs
GENEVA (Reuters) - HIV infections could surge if countries pinched by the global financial crisis cut AIDS prevention programs, a United Nations agency said on Friday.
Paul De Lay, a senior official at UNAIDS, said that economic turmoil was a threat to development programs as cash-strapped governments start to pare back on international aid.
The world must maintain current assistance levels, he told a briefing before World AIDS Day on Monday.
"(Or) what we'll find in the next four or five years is a resurgence in new incident infections and we won't be able to scale up the treatment that is clearly going to be needed as more and more people become symptomatic and need access to drugs," he said.
An estimated 33 million people worldwide were living with the HIV virus, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, at the end of 2007. AIDS has killed 25 million since being identified in 1981.
An estimated 2.7 million people become infected each year.
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Action: WAD 2008: “I am HIV Positive” Campaign
This time around, we the R.E.A.C.H Team have decided to 'Be HIV Positive." Positive about awareness, positive about education, and positive about supporting and reaching out to people living with HIV and AIDS.
The "I am HIV Positive" campaign will be launched on the 1st of December 2008, to commemorate Worlds AIDS Day. The campaign will consist of many sub campaigns.
The details of the activities/sub campaigns that will take place on that day are as follows:
Positive about Education
'I am HIV Positive' is an awareness campaign that targets a total of about 2000 students of 50 schools all over Colombo. Of a team of 100 volunteers, two will be stationed at each school and an information desk will be set up. From this information desk, students will be able to collect informative material such as leaflets and pin-flags and put forward any queries relating to HIV and AIDS and have them answered. This will also be an opportunity for them to openly discuss what they feel about the epidemic and bring it out into the open. In addition to the above, on request, a presentation and discussion on HIV and AIDS will be conducted by our team for the students.
"I am HIV Positive" T-shirt
T-shirts with "I am HIV Positive" printed on them will be distributed to volunteers participating in this campaign and representatives from various organizations sharing similar goals as us. These t-shirts will help spread awareness by creating hype in workplaces, schools and around Colombo in general.
"We are HIV Positive" March
Participants and Volunteers wearing "I am HIV Positive" t-shirts, along with whoever that wishes to join in will march on the streets from Borella to Maradana waving themed flags and banners that communicate positive messages on HIV and AIDS to onlookers.
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Staying positive
At least once a year, Delhi pulls out its red ribbons, symbolising solidarity with HIV+ people and the fight against the epidemic itself. For the other 364 days, though, most of Indias estimated 2.5 million HIV+ people deal with the stigma of their condition without the support of the be-ribboned. So, this year, to mark the 20th World AIDS Day on December 1, the theme is Lead-Empower-Deliver - tying together the need to halt the spread of the disease with the need to provide treatment, care and support to those who suffer from it.
The World AIDS Campaign, Wake Up Pune and Delhis Naz Foundation (India) Trust are organising a series of events this fortnight, with the support of United Nations Population Fund and the Netherlands-based AIDS Fond (AIDS Fund). These events are targeted primarily at the youth because, as Anjali Gopalan, executive director of Naz told us over email, "In India and the world, youth are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Youth leadership is vital because the youth are the ones who will decide how HIV/AIDS is viewed in the future. We need to eliminate stigma and discrimination amongst the youth to ensure that future generations will not face the same discrimination as people living with HIV/AIDS do today."
In the run up to the event at Lal Chowk in Pragati Maidan, Naz is organising various street plays in places like Basant Lok in Vasant Vihar. On November 30, there is a mela as well as a concert to look forward to in Lal Chowk. Nazs peer educators, who are students from the University of Delhi, will set up a stall at the mela, where they will distribute brochures, provide information on HIV/AIDS and answer questions. There will also be "educational games" at the stall, aimed at dispelling myths and misconceptions surrounding HIV/AIDS and sexuality.
Meanwhile, a VJ from MTV will welcome the audience and invite local university bands on to the stage. Their act will be followed by a concert by Delhi band Advaita. Gopalan told us that events like this, with well-known names, ensure that HIV/AIDS "is no longer taboo or hidden away" and help in awareness generation. Besides, when young people assist in organising the event, they feel a greater sense of ownership. "Even though my contribution may be small, I have found immense satisfaction in what I do. This programme could probably be the key to a much bigger change," said Namita Sivashankaran, a Naz peer educator, about her work with Naz.
Radhika Arora, for Time Out Delhi
© 2008 Wake Up Pune.
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