IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 141: 08-Aug-03
IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 141
Africa
8 August 2003
NEWS:
SOUTH AFRICA: Global Fund money becomes available
NIGERIA: Obasanjo launches new HIV/AIDS policy
BOTSWANA: More than money needed for successful AIDS programme
ETHIOPIA: Feature - Anti-AIDS drugs offer little hope
ETHIOPIA: AIDS centre faces closure over funding problem
ZAMBIA: Lewis vows to help in accessing funds
ANGOLA: Youth centres to fight AIDS
LINKS
1. Staying Alive
2. AMANITARE newsletter
3. Association of Physicians in AIDS Care
4. Regional AIDS Training Network
CONFERENCES/EVENTS/RESEARCH RESOURCES
1. HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment abstracts
2. International Workshop on HIV Persistence
3. World AIDS Day Campaign 2004
VACANCIES
1. Senior Advisor
NEWS
SOUTH AFRICA: Global Fund money becomes available
South Africa's National HIV/AIDS Programme received a boost on Thursday
with the signing of an agreement between the government and the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, committing US $41
million to the country over two years.
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=2360
Generic AIDS drug production under way
South Africans living with HIV/AIDS will now be able to benefit from a
cheaper, generic AIDS drug produced in the country, a local manufacturer
announced this week.
Pharmaceutical company Aspen Pharmacare on Wednesday launched the drug,
Aspen-Stavudine, its version of Zerit, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb,
saying it would be immediately available to any South Africans who need
it.
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=2358
National AIDS conference opens
South Africa's first national AIDS conference kicked off last Sunday with
a somewhat subdued opening ceremony – even the activists' shouts for
access to treatment were muted.
But for many, this conference could not have come at a better time.
Treatment access was the buzzword at the Durban meeting.
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=2341
Signs of progress on ARVs
It was clear to delegates attending South Africa's national AIDS
conference that the provision of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs through the
public health sector was no longer a distant possibility.
According to Department of Health Director-General Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba, the
findings of a controversial joint finance and health departments' report –
commissioned to investigate the state's provision of ARVs – had signalled
a shift from "if, to when and how ... and at what pace."
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=2349
"Treatment now" demand from AIDS activists
AIDS activists resumed a civil disobedience campaign to press the
government to provide antiretroviral (ARV) drugs through the public health
system to all HIV-positive people who need them.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and other AIDS activists took to the
streets in the port city of Durban on Monday, marching from city hall to
the international convention centre where South Africa's first national
AIDS conference was being held.
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=2347
NIGERIA: Obasanjo launches new HIV/AIDS policy
President Olusegun Obasanjo has launched a new HIV/AIDS policy to combat
the stigma attached to the disease and promote a sense of collective
responsibility for fighting it.
Babatunde Osotimehin, chairman of the National Action Committee on AIDS
(NACA), said on Tuesday the new policy views HIV/AIDS as a development
problem rather than just a health issue, as was the case with the previous
policy, articulated in 1997.
"It also seeks to provide a platform for us to do a lot of prevention and
provide succour, care and support for those infected and affected," he
told reporters.
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=2350
BOTSWANA: More than money needed for successful AIDS programme
Among the lessons learnt from Botswana's antiretroviral (ARV) AIDS therapy
programme is that money alone will not deliver an effective public AIDS
treatment service.
"While funding remains a major obstacle for effective disease control in
the majority of developing countries, it would be naïve to believe that
the current problem at hand can be overcome with money alone," Dr Ernest
Darkoh, Botswana's ARV programme manager pointed out in a recent paper.
"Most of the systemic inadequacies we are currently experiencing with
HIV/AIDS existed long before the disease came knocking on our door.
HIV/AIDS did not create these systemic deficits – it has simply
exacerbated them and is creating new ones as new infections accumulate,"
he said.
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=2342
ETHIOPIA: Feature - Anti-AIDS drugs offer little hope
For Sister Tibebe Maco there is little reason to note, let alone
celebrate, the first distribution of drugs to treat victims of the AIDS
pandemic in Ethiopia.
Neither do the hundreds of patients living with the virus that she
currently looks after pay much attention. "They are not for us," is their
oft-repeated mantra.
Antiretroviral drugs – which the federal government started distributing
last week - are too late for many infected with the virus and too
expensive for most of them.
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=2340
ETHIOPIA: AIDS centre faces closure over funding problem
A pioneering AIDS research centre in Ethiopia is facing closure after the
Dutch government withdrew its funding, scientists said on Thursday.
Dr Tshehaynesh Messele, who heads the Ethiopian-Netherlands AIDS Research
Project (ENARP), said unless they received new support they could be
forced to shut down.
"I am really sad because we have everything in place," Dr Tshehaynesh, who
has worked at the centre for the last nine years, told PlusNews. "If it is
closed then it is going to have enormous negative effects on AIDS research
in Ethiopia."
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=2356
ZAMBIA: Lewis vows to help in accessing funds
Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa, on Thursday
gave a personal undertaking to ensure that Zambia rapidly accesses a US
$19.2 million grant from the Global Fund to tackle the pandemic.
"I have made a personal undertaking to the government of Zambia through
the president, Mr Mwanawasa, that I shall ensure the release of the $19.2
million meant for Zambia under the Global Fund," Lewis said at a press
conference in the capital, Lusaka.
So far, Zambia had only received about $3.6 million of the original
pledge, Mwanawasa said this week.
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=2357
ANGOLA: Youth centres to fight AIDS
The first of four youth centres supported by the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) in Angola will be officially opened in the capital, Luanda, on
Friday.
A UNICEF statement said the Viana Youth Centre had been designed as a
place where young people could enjoy themselves and also receive
information on responsible sexual practices and HIV prevention.
"As we open the doors to this youth centre, we turn to youth in the fight
against HIV/AIDS," the statement quoted UNICEF Representative Mario
Ferrari as saying.
More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=2359
LINKS
1. Staying Alive is a website created for young people. It is a
partnership between MTV, Youth Net (spearheaded by Family Health
International) and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Additional partners
include USAID, UNAIDS and the World Bank. Their mission is to "inform
young people about the virus, promote safe lifestyle choices, provide
information about local organisations and mobilise youth to overcome the
stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS, and to fight for an end to
the spread of HIV/AIDS.
www.staying-alive.org
2. The latest edition of AMANITARE Voices, dedicated to the African
Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Conference "Prosperity
through Empowerment", is now available.
To download, go to
www.amanitare.org/newsletter.html
AMANITARE Voices, the bi-annual newsletter of AMANITARE, the African
Partnership for the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women and
Girls, offers articles and analyses on key issues around sexual and
reproductive health and rights, as well as news regarding AMANITARE
activities.
AMANITARE is an initiative of RAINBO, an African-led international NGO
working to protect and promote African women's and girls' rights to sexual
and reproductive health. The partnership currently comprises 43 partners
in 16 African countries.
3. International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care Online provides
cutting-edge HIV clinical management updates and timely public health
policy information.
http://www.iapac.org/
4. The Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN) is a network of training
institutions in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region.
http://www.ratn.org/
CONFERENCES/EVENTS/RESEARCH RESOURCES
1. IAS still has not posted the abstracts to the second IAS Conference on
HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment. They are available in a PDF file on the
International Medical Press web site at:
http://www.intmedpress.com/AVT_Sample_form.cfm?AVTAT=0&AVTIN=0&AVTVN=8&AVTSID=10&AVTSN=1&AVTDT=2003&vtype=Free
Fill in the form and click on submit, and you can download the file free
of charge. Alternatively, you can download it from the AEGiS site, at:
http://ww2.aegis.org/conferences/2ndIASHIVPT/ias.pdf
This file is rather large and it will take about 15 minutes to 20 minutes
to download.
2. The first International Workshop on HIV Persistence during Therapy will
be attended by fundamental researchers and clinicians conducting clinical
research into HIV infection, in Saint Martin, French West Indies, from 10
to 12 December 2003. Abstracts for late-breakers will be accepted until 7
October 2003. Details on the registration procedure are available on the
AVPS website.
http://www.avps.org/2003/hivp.htm
For more information:
Email: hiv2003@club-internet.fr
3. The theme for the World AIDS Day Campaign 2004 will explore women and
HIV/AIDS. The last time there was a World AIDS Day focus on women was in
1990. Girls born in 1990 are now reaching sexual maturity and many are
becoming mothers themselves. This 'next generation' provides a useful
campaign hook to explore what has changed since 1990. Focus sections on
women and HIV/AIDS are also planned for the International AIDS Conference
in Bangkok in July 2004.
The World AIDS Campaign for 2003 continues with its focus on stigma and
discrimination, and a series of challenging brochures and TV spots are in
distribution under the Live and Let Live slogan. Copies are now available
from UNAIDS offices.
For more information:
http://www.unaids.org/wac/2002/index_en.html
VACANCIES
1. Population Services International (PSI) creates demand for essential
health products and services by using private-sector marketing techniques
and innovative communications campaigns to motivate positive changes in
health behaviour. On the supply side, PSI works with the commercial sector
to increase the availability of these products and services.
PSI is looking for a Senior HIV/AIDS Advisor for PSI's programme in
Zimbabwe. PSI's service networks in Zimbabwe include the expanding network
of New Start Voluntary Counselling and HIV Testing (VCT) centres. PSI also
manages a network of HIV Information and Counselling Service (HICS)
centres. The Advisor will be based in Harare and report to PSI's Country
Director for Zimbabwe.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Senior HIV Advisor will be responsible for managing the growth and
development of PSI/Zimbabwe's network of HIV services.
- Strategic planning and technical oversight of the networks
- Provision of technical direction for the effective implementation and
integration of VCT, HICS and other service networks
- Implementation planning and work plan development
- Supervision of personnel in the HIV Services Department
- Financial management
- Contracts and sub-awards management, including preparation of reports
and oversight of deliverables
- Legal administration
- Representation of PSI Zimbabwe donors and government ministries
- Human resource allocation, including skills assessment and
rationalisation of personnel
- Information management to assure documentation of ongoing activities and
initiatives, and updating existing documents
- Supply chain management
- Cooperate with the technical services department on marketing,
communication and M&E activities.
To accomplish the above, the Senior HIV/AIDS Advisor will work closely
with USAID and the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare as part of an
oversight committee that meets weekly to discuss issues related to the
development of the service networks. The Advisor will therefore rely on
strong interpersonal and teamwork skills and will need to be a
self-starter.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Minimum five years' experience in a developing country, with proven
management/supervisory skills and programmatic experience with VCT and/or
PMTCT
- Creative, innovative and strategic thinking ability
- Excellent oral and written communication, analytical, organisational,
interpersonal and cross-cultural skills
- Fluency in English
- Proven ability to produce results
- Familiarity with international donors, especially USAID and DFID
- Master's degree in relevant field.
Preference will be given to candidates with experience in service network
management, knowledge of USAID regulations and reporting requirements,
knowledge of PSI policies/practices and demonstrated ability to manage a
diverse work force. An advanced technical degree in a health-related
field, MD, Nursing, MPH is strongly desired.
PSI offers an excellent benefits package, including health and disability
insurance, generous leave, pension retirement and savings plan.
Please apply online at www.psi.org.
IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 880-4633
Fax: +27 11 447-5472
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za
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