IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 62
Africa
18 January 2002


NEWS:

SOUTH AFRICA: Government refuses Thai offer for cheaper drugs
BOTSWANA: Free antiretroviral campaign might not last
UGANDA: Government to promote condoms in villages
AFRICA: Men crucial in prevention of MTCT
AFRICA: Pilot programme offers accelerated HIV/AIDS treatment
SOUTH AFRICA: Local generic drugs available soon
RWANDA: UN reports on Country Cooperation Framework

LINKS:

1. CARE - AIDS Information Centre
2. Secure the Future
3. AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service(ACTIS)
4. Alliance for microbicide development

CONFERENCES/RESEARCH:

1. Quick reference guides to antiretrovirals
2. HIV+ women at risk of rare vulva cancer
3. Barcelona 2002 Deadlines

JOB OPPORTUNITIES:

1. District HIV/AIDS Programme Advisor
2. HIV/AIDS migration focal point
3. STP Professional - UNAIDS/ECA

SOUTH AFRICA: Government refuses Thailand's offer for cheaper drugs

The South African government has not taken up an offer by the Thai
government of free technology for the production of 300 generic drug
labels that could reduce prices for HIV/AIDS medicines even further. In
the past three years, Thailand has produced more than 300 different types
of generic drugs at between a fifth and a tenth of the price of
multinational pharmaceutical companies.

Sibani Mngadi, spokesperson for the department of health, told PlusNews on
Friday that there was "no need to pursue" Thailand's offer of
manufacturing a generic version of Fluconazole as the government had an
existing arrangement with pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=1192&SelectRegion=Southern
_Africa&SelectCountry=SOUTH_AFRICA

BOTSWANA: Free antiretroviral campaign might not last

Botswana's campaign to provide free antiretrovirals (ARV) to HIV positive
patients may not be sustainable over a lengthy period, President Festus
Mogae said this week.

The programme would cost US $24.5 million in 2002 and would cover 19,000
people, the South African Press Association reported. Thereafter 20,000
more people would be admitted to the programme each remaining year of the
five year programme, the report added.

"The programme is most likely not sustainable at that level. Our hope is
that over time, as the anti-AIDS messages sink in - our youth are starting
to listen - the rate of infections will fall and there will be a smaller
number of people needing the drugs," Mogae was quoted as saying in the
report.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=1191&SelectRegion=Southern
_Africa&SelectCountry=BOTSWANA

UGANDA: Government to promote condoms in villages

The Ugandan government is soon to start distributing free condoms in
villages countrywide as part of its struggle against the HIV/AIDS pandemic
and "unwanted pregnancies", according to a senior health official.

Dr Elizabeth Madraa, who heads Uganda's AIDS Control Programme, said on
Wednesday that the ministry was already mobilising volunteers at the
village level to help carry out the distribution of condoms.

"We already have a structure of condom distribution in Uganda, but that is
only in urban areas. If we want to promote condom use throughout Uganda,
we must make sure they are also available at the village level," she told
IRIN.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=1188&SelectRegion=East_Afr
ica&SelectCountry=UGANDA

AFRICA: Men crucial in prevention of MTCT

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programmes need to
involve men in care and support services, a study has found.

Researchers discovered that men could act as barriers, preventing their
partners from participating in PMTCT programmes. Some of the women who
refused PMTCT services said they feared the disapproval of their male
partners.

The governments of Kenya and Zambia are testing comprehensive packages of
MTCT prevention services in antenatal clinics. In Kenya, the US-based
Population Council's Horizons Research Project is implementing the study
with the ministry of health, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation
(WHO). In Zambia, a government-appointed MTCT working group is also
collaborating with Horizons.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=1190&SelectRegion=Africa&S
electCountry=AFRICA

Pilot programme offers accelerated HIV/AIDS treatment

A new pilot programme tasked with providing wider access to HIV/AIDS
treatment and care was launched in four African countries this week.

The CARE partnership pilot programme, run by Dutch NGO PharmAccess
International (PAI) and the drug company Roche, is being initiated in
major urban treatment centres in Cote D'Ivoire, Kenya, Senegal and Uganda.
The first step of the pilot programme will run for two years.

According to a statement released by the NGO, the initiative will deliver
Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) by focusing on training and
building up local medical infrastructures. Over the last six months, 100
healthcare professionals have already received specialised education to
support these treatment programmes.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=1187&SelectRegion=Africa&S
electCountry=AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA: Local generic drugs available soon

South Africa's first locally produced generic HIV/AIDS drugs could soon
bring relief to thousands of people infected with the HI virus.

Aspen Pharmacare CEO Stephen Saad, told PlusNews on Tuesday that a
cheaper, generic version of AZT could be produced by his company. The
daily dosage of the drug would cost US $0.87 a day while a triple therapy
combination could cost $1.30 a day.

The local company was last year granted voluntary licences by
GlaxoSmithKline and Bristol-Myers Squibb to produce generic versions of
their antiretroviral drugs in South Africa.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=1186&SelectRegion=Southern
_Africa&SelectCountry=SOUTH_AFRICA

RWANDA: UN reports on Country Cooperation Framework

Two UN agencies have released a report on a five-year blueprint that aims
to promote and consolidate good government in Rwanda as well as enhance
the management capability of its poverty eradication programme as the
country moves form a situation of emergency to one of development.

On the economic management front, the plan is to support poverty
eradication initiatives, the coordination and management of aid, as well
as HIV/AIDS prevention and control.

HIV/AIDS prevalence has risen from relatively low levels in the early
1990s, and - influenced by rape during the genocide and other social
consequences of that national trauma - now approaches 13.7 percent in the
15-40-year age bracket, according to the report. Average HIV/AIDS
prevalence for sub-Sahara Africa is 8.7 percent.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=1185&SelectRegion=Great_La
kes&SelectCountry=RWANDA


LINKS:

1. CARE International, a confederation of 10 agencies that delivers relief
assistance to people in need and long-term solutions to global poverty has
an AIDS Information Centre which provides an in-depth look at their
HIV/AIDS programmes and projects.
http://www.care.org/info_center/aidsinfo/index.asp

2. Secure the Future - a drug company initiative to find sustainable and
relevant solutions for the management of HIV/AIDS in women and children,
and provide resources to improve community education and patient support.
http://www.securethefuture.com/index.htm

3. AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service (ACTIS) - a resource for US
and privately funded HIV/AIDS clinical trials information
http://www.actis.org/

4. Alliance for microbicide development http://www.microbicide.org/


CONFERENCES/RESEARCH:

1. Ouick reference guides to antiretroviral dosing, drug-drug
interactions, and resistance mutations. This new guide by Malte Schütz MD
summarizes information on novel antiretroviral agents currently in
development, and new formulations of existing drugs.
http://hiv.medscape.com/updates/quickguide?srcmp=aids-011102

2. When it comes to medical problems, women with HIV/AIDS are particularly
vulnerable. Now, they have another disease to guard against - a rare type
of cancer that attacks the vulva.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/hsn/20020116/hl/hiv_women_at_risk_for_rare_vu
lva_cancer_1.html

3. Please be reminded of the following deadlines for submission of
completed forms to the conference organisers:

Abstract submission deadline (online submission): January 21 2002

Early registration fee deadline: February 1 2002

Satellite meeting application deadline: February 1, 2002

Scholarship application deadline: February 1 2002

Skills Building workshop submission deadline: February 1 2002

R A U X A Cultural Programme registration deadline: February 15, 2002

Skills Building workshop advance registration deadline: May 1 - June 15,
2002

Forms for abstract, registration and scholarship applications can be
accessed at the official conference website: www.aids2002.com

SOURCE: AF-AIDS (af-aids@healthdev.net)


JOB OPPORTUNITIES:

1. The African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF)- District HIV/AIDS
Programme Advisor for Serengeti District, Mara region, Tanzania

AMREF is looking for a self-motivated, energetic Tanzanian / East African
citizen to assist the multi-sectoral District AIDS Secretariat in the
coordination of a comprehensive district HIV/AIDS control programme. The
candidate is expected to live and work in a rural area and therefore needs
to be flexible enough to adapt to such an environment. Proficiency in
English and Kiswahili is essential.
http://www.comminit.com/vacancy659.html Contact: The Country Director -
VeraP@amreftz.org

2. International Organization for Migration - HIV/AIDS migration focal
point - Pretoria, South Africa

Develop, in close collaboration with partner organisations, a
comprehensive regional strategy and programme for HIV/AIDS prevention,
mitigation and access to care for migrants and mobile populations in the
Southern Africa Region. Candidate should have excellent English writing
and communications skills; fluency in French or Portuguese an advantage.
http://www.comminit.com/vacancy650.html Contact: Administrative Support
Officer - sropretoria@iom.int

3. The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and UNAIDS - STP Professional

The candidate will be responsible for the production of the Annual Report
on HIV/AIDS in Africa, in close collaboration with the HIV/AIDS Unit in
ESPD. Expertise in HIV/AIDS policies and recent experience in HIV/AIDS at
the policy level, in particular in national HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa.
Fluency in English as well as French.
http://www.comminit.com/vacancy639.html Contact: Ms Johanne Girard -
girardj@unaids.org


IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 880-4633
Fax: +27 11 447-5472
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

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