IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 155
Africa
14 November 2003


NEWS:

NIGER: Niger opens first AIDS clinic
SWAZILAND: Govt blamed for blood supply crisis
LESOTHO: Meeting to draw up an "implementable plan" for orphans
TANZANIA: Focus on drawing on traditional remedies to fight HIV/AIDS

LINKS

1. The International HIV Treatment Access Coalition
2. Alive and Well AIDS Alternatives


CONFERENCES/EVENTS/RESEARCH/RESOURCES

1. Medical Research Council (MRC) Research Trainee Programme for young
black scientists
2. Namibian 25-day World AIDS Day Commemoration


VACANCIES

1. International HIV/AIDS Coordinator - Harare, Zimbabwe
2. HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator - Bangkok, Asia
3. International HIV/AIDS Policy Officer - Harare, Zimbabwe
4. HIV/AIDS Communication and Administration Support Assistant - Harare,
Zimbabwe


NEWS

NIGER: Niger opens first AIDS clinic

The government of Niger and the local Red Cross have opened a specialist
out-patient clinic and public awareness centre for HIV/AIDS in the
capital, Niamey.

The centre, which opened in October, will provide AIDS testing facilities
and provide specialist medical treatment and psychological support for
those who suffer from the incurable disease. It was set up with the help
of the French Red Cross.

"Our dream has started to come true. We are convinced that the clinic will
provide drugs and psycho-social help to patients," Ali Bandiare, President
of Niger Red Cross told IRIN.

Working with the National Programme for the Fight against HIV/AIDS (PNLS),
the centre hopes to track and treat opportunistic infections, deliver
anti-retroviral medicines and provide therapeutic assistance.

The doctor in charge said patients would benefit from post-HIV test
counselling. Depending on a patient's condition, some would be kept at the
facility for observation and treatment for the whole day, he said.
However, all patients would be sent home in the evening, since the clinic
did not have in-patient facilities.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=2731


SWAZILAND: Govt blamed for blood supply crisis

Swaziland's national blood bank is on the brink of collapse following the
government's failure to honour a partnership agreement with the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Switzerland-based
organisation has warned.

"This couldn't happen at a worse time, with the AIDS crisis, which
requires extremely vigilant monitoring of the blood supply for use in
surgery and in emergency trauma situations," Sive Mdluli, a blood donor
recruiter with the Swaziland chapter of the ICRC, known as the Baphalali
Red Cross, told PlusNews.

Sources with the ICRC told PlusNews that the organisation might have to
pull out of the country because the government had not honoured a funding
agreement.

The Baphalali Red Cross collects 80 percent of Swaziland's blood supply.
The Ministry of Health's blood collection service accounts for the
remaining 20 percent.

The Red Cross and the Swazi government signed an agreement in 1999 to
combine their collection services into a single organisation, to be funded
by the Swaziland government, with donor aid.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=2730


LESOTHO: Meeting to draw up an "implementable plan" for orphans

Although governments have increasingly become aware of the problem of
orphans and vulnerable children in Southern Africa, countries still lacked
the capacity to effectively deal with the problem, a regional workshop
heard on Monday.

Government representatives and NGOs from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho,
Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
held a five-day meeting in Maseru, Lesotho, to draw up technical
strategies to deal with children affected by HIV/AIDS.

"The objective is to come away with a manual to assist these countries.
They all have a problem with orphans and either don't know how to handle
it, or are not sure they are handling it properly," Amina Said, UNICEF
Lesotho spokeswoman, told PlusNews.

According to Said, countries like Lesotho were in particular need of
guidance. "Lesotho has done very little. There's a little bit here and
there, with no streamlining and cohesion."

But, she pointed out, there had been "some movement" within government
department to strengthen their response to orphans.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=2716


TANZANIA: Focus on drawing on traditional remedies to fight HIV/AIDS

The sight conjures up stereotypical Western images of traditional African
healthcare: an enormous pot sits on red-hot coals, bubbling away and
giving off a pungent smell of mixed herbs. A glance inside reveals various
scraps of vegetation, some roots, and a few shreds of bark being stewed up
in a brownish liquid.

An elderly man dips a tin can, which serves as a ladle, into the
concoction, pours some though a sieve and leaves it in a plastic bucket to
cool.

But there is something not quite right. The elderly man, a traditional
healer called Mohammed Kasomo, may have the nickname to go with the job -
Bongo Mzizi, Swahili for the Root Genius - but he's working in a modern
hospital and wearing second hand designer clothes.

This fusion of the traditional and modern is taking place in Tanga, a
region on the northeastern Tanzanian coast, where the Tango AIDS Working
Group is combining modern voluntary counselling and testing methods with
the knowledge of local healers to treat opportunistic infections
associated with HIV/AIDS.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=2715


LINKS

1. The International HIV Treatment Access Coalition

The site includes people living with HIV/AIDS, advocacy groups, NGOs,
governments, foundations, the private sector, and academic and research
institutions, working to expand access to HIV treatment to the growing
number of people living with HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries,
by disseminating and exchanging information.

For more information: http://www.itacoalition.org/


2. Alive and Well AIDS Alternatives

The site was set up by HIV-positive men and women who have learned to live
in health without HIV/AIDS drugs or fear of illness. It presents
information that raises questions about the accuracy of HIV tests, the
safety and effectiveness of AIDS drug treatments, and the validity of most
common assumptions about HIV and AIDS.

For more information: http://aliveandwell.org/



CONFERENCES/EVENTS/RESEARCH

1. Medical Research Council (MARC) Research Trainee Programme for young
black scientists.
The MARC research trainee programme places black postgraduates in its
units and groups. Black candidates with a four-year degree or equivalent,
or a Master's degree, can apply for a research training internship
position with an MARC research unit or group. Research trainees who
register for a masters or doctoral degree can renew their appointment for
a second and third year, subject to their satisfactory performance.

For more information:
http://www.mrc.co.za/funding/fundopportunities.htm#research


2. Namibian 25-day World AIDS Day Commemoration

Namibia has launched an ambitious 25-day World AIDS Day commemoration
focusing on stigma and discrimination, the world theme for 2002-03. Some
of the events will be taken to all 13 of the country's regions.

For more information:
Riana Seller
Director: Print Media and Regional Offices
(Coordinator Multimedia Campaign on Violence against Women and Children
and Namibian HIV and AIDS Media Campaign)
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Windhoek, Namibia
Email:  rianne@mweb.com.na


VACANCIES

1. International HIV/AIDS Coordinator - Harare, Zimbabwe

The international development agency, ActionAid, invites applications from
competent, qualified, dynamic and committed individuals for the position
of International HIV/AIDS Coordinator in Zimbabwe, to report to the Africa
Regional Director, with strategic leadership and technical support from
the head of the international HIV/AIDS programme.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Delivery of ActionAid’s international HIV/AIDS strategy
- Mobilising resources, managing research and documentation, building
networks, alliances and coalitions in this field
- The management and coordination of HIV/AIDS programme development,
policy advocacy and campaign work
- Coordinating HIV/AIDS team activities and linkages across Africa, Latin
America and the Caribbean, Asia, USA and European Union
- Mainstreaming gender in HIV/AIDS programmes, policy and campaign work
- Developing monitoring and evaluation and ALPS (Accountability Learning
and Planning systems) across all programmes, campaigns and policy work

All applicants with relevant documents must clearly state the position
applied for and address the application to:
Head of HIV/AIDS Function
ActionAid Africa Regional Office
P.O. Box CY 2451
Causeway
Harare
Zimbabwe

Or e-mail on the address:
vacancies@aafrica.org.zw

For further information about the position, contact Mpho on e-mail:
mphom@aafrica.org.zw

Closing date for all applications is 30 November 2003.


2. HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator - Bangkok, Asia

The international development agency, ActionAid, invites applications from
competent, qualified, dynamic and committed individuals for the position
of HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator in Asia.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Contribute to the development of ActionAid Asia HIV/AIDS programmes
- Provide leadership, technical support and coordination of multi-country
and regional policy and campaign work
- Facilitate listening and learning across the region and with Africa and
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Deepen community work on HIV/AIDS, based on regional vulnerability and
trends of HIV/AIDS in Asia
- Collaborate with national, regional and international HIV/AIDS
coordinators within the organisation, and develop networks with other
organisations and governments in the Asia region to develop relevant
programmes, campaigns and policy

For further information about the position, contact Mpho on e-mail:
mphom@aafrica.org.zw

Closing date for all applications is 30 November 2003.


3. International HIV/AIDS Policy Officer - Harare, Zimbabwe

The international development agency, ActionAid, invites applications from
competent, qualified, dynamic and committed individuals for the position
of International HIV/AIDS Policy Officer in Zimbabwe.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Contribute to ActionAid’s international HIV/AIDS policy and campaign
work by providing strategic leadership for development, design, planning,
implementation and management of HIV/AIDS policy work, based on analysis
on the causes of poverty at national, regional and international levels:
rights, vulnerability and gender
- Provide rigorous and creative policy analysis and research, undertaking
advocacy that will generate changes in policy and practice that supports
vulnerable people and communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America
- Demonstrate strong writing skills and the ability to build links with
HIV/AIDS research networks, think-tanks and academic institutions.
- Increase ActionAid’s leverage to influence policies in favour of the
poor in Africa by forming strategic alliances and partnerships, raising
ActionAid’s profile and convening power for influencing decisions among
government institutions, official donors, development actors, community
groups and international, regional and sub-regional groupings and
institutions

For further information about the position, contact Mpho on e-mail:
mphom@aafrica.org.zw

Closing date for all applications is 30 November 2003.


4. HIV/AIDS Communication and Administration Support Assistant - Harare,
Zimbabwe

The international development agency, ActionAid, invites applications from
competent, qualified, dynamic and committed individuals for the position
of HIV/AIDS Communication and Administration Support Assistant in
Zimbabwe.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Provide a comprehensive administrative support function to the
International HIV/AIDS Coordinator
- Assist the coordinator in the fulfilment of his/her duties, exercising
substantial initiative and responsibility
- Ensure effective communication links and liaison between the coordinator
and his/her contacts both internally and externally
- Organise regional and international meetings
- Play a major role in supporting the smooth operation of the office and
supervise other administrative staff as necessary

For further information about the position, contact Mpho on e-mail:
mphom@aafrica.org.zw

Closing date for all applications is 30 November 2003.


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

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