IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 216
Africa
14 January 2005


NEWS:

COTE D IVOIRE: Women with AIDS talk to women with AIDS
CHAD: "Keep your chin up, Miss!"
SOUTH AFRICA: Voulnteer caregivers being exploited, says study
SENEGAL: Condom use up 300 percent in last decade
NAMIBIA: Senior US official impressed with HIV/AIDS response
GHANA: Government makes ARV drugs more widely available
SENEGAL: Gays fight to be included in anti-AIDS campaigns
AFRICA: Nevirapine - lifesaver or harmful drug?
SENEGAL: Inefficient spending hampers HIV/AIDS programmes


LINKS

1. PositiveSingles.com
2. Hope for African Children Initiative

CONFERENCES/ EVENTS/ RESEARCH/ RESOURCES

1. SAfAIDS - African Regional Gender Mainstreaming Symposium

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

1. HIV/AIDS Advisor - Democratic Republic of Congo




NEWS


COTE D IVOIRE: Women with AIDS talk to women with AIDS

They all have a poignant story to tell, and they tell it willingly. The
Active Women of Cote d'Ivoire support group for women infected with HIV,
is a place where frank talk is encouraged as one of the best ways to deal
with the virus. It's a network in true West African style, characterised
by an unfailing solidarity.

Take Aminata Kabore, a bespectacled young woman in traditional dress. "I'm
not ashamed to tell what my husband has done to me," she said. "In fact,
by talking about it, I may save the lives of other women."

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4368


CHAD: "Keep your chin up, Miss!"

Gisele Ngamada, who is 36, found out she was HIV-positive five years ago.
She has lost custody of her children, she has given up sex and now has a
single aim in life - get to Europe as soon as possible for treatment.

In Chad, where 200,000 people are believed to live with HIV/AIDS but where
talk of the epidemic remains taboo, Gisele is one of the very few people
to have come out openly to talk about her condition in public.

"As soon as people here realise you've got AIDS, you become like a witch
with 1,000 heads," she told PlusNews. "Everyone says they'll help me, but
then ... they do nothing. I have to get to Europe."

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4367


SOUTH AFRICA: Voulnteer caregivers being exploited, says study

Many South African healthcare NGOs are exploiting volunteers providing
home-based care, according to a new study.

The study by the Health Economics and AIDS Research Division (HEARD), of
the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the east-coast city of Durban, also
found that South African home-based care programmes are often inadequately
developed and their effectiveness is questionable.

Such projects were often simply "a response of crisis management", argued
HEARD research consultant Olagoke Akintola.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4366


SENEGAL: Condom use up 300 percent in last decade

Condom use has increased threefold over the past decade in Senegal, a
country with one of the lowest HIV prevalence rates in Africa, health
workers and officials told PlusNews.

Almost 10 million subsidised condoms were handed out free of charge or
sold at rock bottom prices in the West African country last year, up from
3.5 million in 1995, the head of ADEMAS, a social marketing agency, told
PlusNews.

Seynabou Mbengue Sow said more than half the condoms were distributed free
of charge and most of the remainder were sold by ADEMAS at the subsidised
price of 150 CFA francs (30 US cents) for a pack of three.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4361


NAMIBIA: Senior US official impressed with HIV/AIDS response

Assistant US Global AIDS coordinator Mark Dybul, visiting Namibia this
week, lauded the national response to HIV and AIDS.

Namibia's current prevalence rate, estimated at 22 percent, makes it one
of the five southern African countries most affected by the pandemic.

In 2004 the government launched its Third Medium Term Plan (MTP III),
which aims to reduce this figure by more than half by 2009.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4357


GHANA: Government makes ARV drugs more widely available

The Ghanaian government has announced plans to spend US $6 million on
making antiretroviral (ARV) treatment more widely available to people
living with AIDS over the next two years.

The programme aims to increase the number of hospitals where
government-subsidised ARV drugs are available from four to 16 by the end
of 2006, and to increase the number of people receiving subsidised
antiretroviral therapy from the current 2,100.

The health ministry reckons that 72,000 people in Ghana would benefit from
ARV treatment, which prolongs the life of people living with AIDS and
improves their state of health. However, it has not set any target for
increasing the number of beneficiaries.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4356


SENEGAL: Gays fight to be included in anti-AIDS campaigns

Senegal's fledgling gay movement is battling for recognition in the
struggle against HIV/AIDS and hopes to win its first-ever government grant
to assist homosexuals living with the disease.

The problem is that homosexuality is illegal in devoutly Muslim Senegal,
and the MSM movement - the acronym stands for "Men who have sex with
men" - is asking for funds from the government-run National Council to
Fight AIDS (CNLS).

The five-year-old MSM movement claims to have 400 members out of a
population of 10 million.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4355


AFRICA: Nevirapine - lifesaver or harmful drug?

The antiretroviral drug, Nevirapine, commonly used in Africa to prevent
transmission of HIV from mother to child, is at the centre of a bitter
controversy.

The debate surrounding the medication erupted in December 2004, after a
series of articles by news agency Associated Press claimed that American
health authorities had covered up information about the drug's potentially
negative effects, and alleged flaws in the Ugandan study that assessed its
safety and efficacy.

Drug manufacturer Boehringer-Ingelheim and Ugandan scientists involved in
the clinical trial, conducted in Kampala's Mulago Hospital, said the flaws
were procedural and unconnected to the drug's safety.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4354


SENEGAL: Inefficient spending hampers HIV/AIDS programmes

Senegal, which now has one of Africa's lowest HIV prevalence rates, could
see a rise in infection figures if existing international resources are
not used more efficiently, a group of NGOs has found.

"Senegal isn't safe from an explosion of the epidemic ... We need to
quickly set up programmes targeted at orphans, prostitutes and vulnerable
groups," said Daouda Diouf, of the Dakar-based NGO, Enda Tiers-Monde.

Enda Tiers-Monde is part of a coalition of five NGOs that last week called
for a review of the government's current policies. The group slammed the
national AIDS campaign for failing to provide programmes for orphans and
sex workers, as well as the absence of testing centres outside the
capital.

More Details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4346



LINKS

1. PositiveSingles.com

Rated the best, easiest and largest dating site in the world for people
living with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs),
PositiveSingles.com allows meet new friends, partners or potential
spouses.

The site also offers news, STI resources and live online chat.

Access the site: http://www.positivesingles.com/HIV


2. Hope for African Children Initiative

The Hope for African Children Initiative is a pan-African effort created
to address the enormous challenges faced by millions of African children
who have either been orphaned by AIDS, or live with parents who are sick
or dying from AIDS-related illnesses.

It brings together six organisations that share an international focus -
Care, Plan, Save the Children, the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa,
the World Conference on Religion and Peace, and World Vision - working
together to increase the capacity of local communities to provide support
services to orphans and vulnerable children in Africa.

Access the site: http://www.hopeforafricanchildren.org/



CONFERENCES/ EVENTS/ RESEARCH/ RESOURCES

1. SAfAIDS - African Regional Gender Mainstreaming Symposium

The Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS)
is hosting a southern African Regional Gender Mainstreaming Symposium in
Swaziland from 5 - 7 April 2005.

Under the theme, 'Has mainstreaming become an outlived paradigm: is it
protecting women and girls in the era of HIV and AIDS?', participants will
examine the relevance, effectiveness and efficacy surrounding existing
regional mainstreaming strategies, to a gendered and human rights-based
approach to HIV and AIDS policy, law and programming initiatives.

SAfAIDS is calling for experts and resource persons, who would be willing
to facilitate sessions or present papers on various topics.

For more information contact:
Rouzeh Eghtessadi or Joshua Chigodora
Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service
Tel: + 263-4-336194/3; 307898
Fax  + 263-4-336195
Email: rouzeh@safaids.or.zw, joshua@safaids.org.zw



JOB OPPORTUNITIES

1. Clinical AIDS Advisor - Mozambique

The Health Alliance International (HAI), which works towards improving the
health and welfare of disenfranchised peoples worldwide, and a more
equitable delivery of health services, has two positions available for
experienced people to supervise and manage the rollout of HIV/AIDS care
and treatment in Mozambique's Manica and Sofala provinces.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Oversee HAI's activities regarding training, supervision, follow-up, and
assessment of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and
antiretroviral treatment to HIV+ mothers, their partners, and their
children
- Provide technical assistance to, and monitoring of, field office staff
in Chimoio and Catandica in Manica Province, or in Beira and Nhamatanda in
Sofala Province
- Work with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and other NGOs to support the
goals of this project
- Attend relevant programme meetings and represent HAI as needed.
- Ensure ongoing training of Mozambican medical doctors and nurses in each
day hospital to manage the day-to-day care of patients
- Submit frequent reports, including those required by funding agencies,
and prepare manuscripts for publication based on project work
- Manage the grant budget and authorise expenditures accordingly

REQUIREMENTS:

- MD with MPH, or equivalent experience and training
- Experience in care of persons with HIV/AIDS, including administration of
highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART)
- Minimum two years of professional experience in developing countries
- Portuguese language fluency. (However, candidates fluent in Spanish
and/or with proven ability to learn new languages quickly will be
considered.)
- The ability to speak, read, and write in English is also required

Applications should submit a current resume, three references, available
start date, and a cover letter summarising your experience and
qualifications to:
hai@u.washington.edu
or post: Health Alliance International
1107 NE 45th Street, Suite 427
Seattle, WA 98105
USA

Job reference code: RW_46760H

Closing date: 31 January 2005


IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 895-1900
Fax: +27 11 784-6759
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

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