IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 241
Africa
8 July 2005


NEWS:

BOTSWANA: The ABC of Masturbation
BURKINA FASO: Government aims to put 30,000 on ARVs by 2010
CONGO: HIV-positive couple marry, making history
NIGER: HIV/AIDS drugs available but no takers
SOUTH AFRICA: New action plan to assist OVC underway
ZIMBABWE: Forced evictions could aggravate disease - health experts

CONFERENCES/ EVENTS/ RESEARCH/ RESOURCES

1. Conference Deadlines Extended
2. Gender and HIV/AIDS Training Course
3. Planning the Future: A Booklet for Families and Communities

VACANCIES

1. GNP+ Conference Coordinator



NEWS

BOTSWANA: The ABC of Masturbation

A youth NGO in Botswana has launched a campaign offering young Batswana 
another option in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS: masturbation.

The Youth Health Organisation (YOHO) in the capital, Gaborone, and the 
second city of Francistown, has been promoting the traditional 'ABC' 
prevention strategy, which focuses on abstinence, faithfulness and 
condoms, but have now said this approach was futile without an M for 
masturbation.

Botswana has the second highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the world 
with over 35 percent of its 1.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5002


BURKINA FASO: Government aims to put 30,000 on ARVs by 2010

The government of Burkina Faso has announced plans to double the number 
of people living with AIDS on subsidised antiretroviral (ARV) treatment 
to 10,000 by the end of this year and increase the number of people 
receiving the life-enhancing drugs to more than 30,000 by 2010.

Joseph Andre Tiendrebeogo, the permanent secretary of the National 
Council for the Fight against AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases 
(CNLS/IST), told PlusNews that 5,000 people were receiving ARV therapy 
in Burkina Faso at present at the subsidised price of 5,000 CFA francs 
(US $10) per month.

"We think we will be at 10,000 by the end of this year," Tiendrebeogo 
said.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5003


CONGO: HIV-positive couple marry, making history

For the first time in the history of Congo, two people who admit openly 
that they are living with HIV-AIDS have married. They tied the knot at a 
sumptuous ceremony last weekend, aimed at celebrating their union and 
fighting prejudice against the disease.

To a hearty round of applause, Valerie Mouellet and Thierry Maba 
exchanged rings and a kiss at the Brazzaville town hall last Saturday.

Now the couple want to have children to show people living with the 
virus that HIV-positive people can give birth to healthy babies.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5004


NIGER: HIV/AIDS drugs available but no takers

The word for HIV/AIDS in Hausa, the language most widely spoken in 
Niger, means "Welcome to the grave".

This landlocked West African nation is one of the poorest countries in 
the world, but international donors have made available ample funds to 
tackle AIDS.

However, activists say the stigma surrounding AIDS and the lack of a 
clear government policy on extending treatment to the interior mean 
there are few takers for the testing, counselling and treatment services 
recently made available.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4993


SOUTH AFRICA: New action plan to assist OVC underway

As a growing number of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS seek assistance 
from the state, South Africa's social development department has begun 
drawing up a plan to address their needs.

An estimated one million children have been orphaned and, according to 
the South African Medical Research Council (MRC), at least 5.7 million 
could lose one or both parents to AIDS by 2015.

Civil society organisations have been calling for new regulations and 
better enforcement to protect orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) for 
several years. South Africa does not currently have any regulations in 
place that specifically address the needs of OVC.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4998


ZIMBABWE: Forced evictions could aggravate disease - health experts

The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) is 
concerned that an ongoing government crackdown on informal settlements 
and markets is likely to aggravate disease.

Of particular concern to ZADHR was the negative impact of the campaign 
on children and families infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.

The association warned in a statement that the blitz would result in 
"the exacerbation of the HIV epidemic, as community structures are 
fractured and dispersed", and predicted an "inevitable emergence of 
widespread drug-resistant HIV as treatment programmes are disrupted".

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5008



CONFERENCES/ EVENTS/ RESEARCH/ RESOURCES

1. The Living with HIV Partnership will this year be combining the 
international conference of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) with the 
international Home and Community Care Conference (HCC) and will take 
place as the LIVING2005 conference in Lima, Peru, from 9-13 October 
2005.

LIVING2005 is a conference for policy and practice in working with and 
caring for HIV-positive people worldwide, led by civil society, and 
provides a unique platform for community-level leaders to share and 
develop.

The Living with HIV Partnership is a new consortium, which consists of 
the Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), the 
International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), the 
International Council of AIDS Service Organisations (ICASO), the 
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), 
UNAIDS, and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Organising committees of LIVING2005 have decided to extend deadlines for 
scholarship applications and submitting abstracts by three weeks.

Please note the following deadlines:

Scholarships

- Online Submissions: 29 July 2005
- Submissions by mail: CLOSED

Abstracts

- Online only: 29 July 2005

Registration

- Online registration: 26 September 2005
- Registration by mail/fax: 9 September 2005


2. The Centre for African Studies (CAFS) will be holding a training 
course entitled 'Promoting Gender and Rights in Reproductive Health and 
HIV/AIDS' from 24 October to 11 November 2005.

CAFS is a regional collaborating centre of the World Health Organisation 
(WHO) in its worldwide effort to improve the quality and scope of 
reproductive health. Launched in 1996, 'Operationalising Cairo and 
Beijing: A Training Initiative in Gender and Reproductive Health' is a 
collaboration of the WHO Secretariat, the South African Women's Health 
Project of the University of Witwatersrand and the Harvard School of 
Public Health.

The training initiative offers a three-week core curriculum in gender 
and rights in reproductive health and HIV/AIDS for senior programme 
managers, planners and policymakers. The course uses a unique format of 
core modules and regional case-material. The content has been adapted to 
highlight regional priorities and current controversies in diverse 
countries in relation to the Millenium Development Goals and Beijing 
Plans of Action in the context of HIV/AIDS.

Course focus:

- The gender concept and reproductive health
- Gender analysis
- Gender policy approaches
- Social determinants of health
- Gender mainstreaming in RH and HIV/AIDS programmes
- Health systems analysis
- Sexual and reproductive rights
- Gender and HIV/AIDS

This course is ideal for senior- and middle-level programme managers, 
planners, and policymakers from public and private sectors, as well as 
NGOs. Researchers and trainers with interest in gender and reproductive 
health can also benefit from the course.

For more information:
Isabella Chege
Centre for African Family Studies
Pamstech House, Woodvale Grove, Westlands
PO Box 60054 00200, Nairobi, Kenya
Fax: +254 20 4448621
Email:courses@cafs.org


3. JSI (John Snow International) Europe and SAfAIDS (Southern African 
HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service) have released a new 
publication entitled, 'Planning the Future: A Booklet for Families and 
Communities'.

The booklet aims to reach HIV positive spouses and parents, their 
children, extended family members, and standby guardians while the 
family is still in a position to plan for the future. The booklet 
addresses the continuum of care for children that starts at the time of 
parental diagnosis or illness and continues through parental death and 
orphanhood. The booklet contains information on disclosing HIV status to 
children, appointing standby guardians, creating 'memories', inheritance 
laws, writing wills and transferring property, accessing social 
services, and obtaining key legal documents.

While much of the information is specific to the Zimbabwe context, the 
general guidelines can be useful wherever there are children affected by 
AIDS.

The booklet can be downloaded from www.zhap.org - Publications section. 
If you experience any difficulty downloading this resource, contact 
SAfAIDS for a hard copy, informing them that you are unable to download 
the booklet.

SAfAIDS:
PO Box A509, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 4 336193/4; 307898
Fax: +263 4 336195
Email: info@safaids.org.zw




VACANCIES

1. Conference Coordinator - Global Network of People Living With 
HIV/AIDS (GNP+)

GNP+ is a global network operated by and for people living with 
HIV/AIDS. The aim of GNP+ is to improve the quality of life of people 
living with HIV/AIDS. It achieves this through its activities in the 
areas of advocacy, capacity building and communication. The Network has 
a board of twelve members, two of which represent partner networks in 
six different regions. The central secretariat is based in Amsterdam, 
The Netherlands. For more information, please visit our website at 
www.gnpplus.net

GNP+ has a fulltime position available for a Conference Coordinator for 
the 12th International Conference of People living with HIV/AIDS in 
Lima, 9-13 October 2005.

Principle job duties will focus on providing management expertise and 
administrative support to the local and international conference 
planning committees.


RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Support the management and production of the conference programme

- Manage administrative activities concerning hosting participants 
including registration, scholarships, travel, accommodations and 
translation services

- Coordinate special meetings and events in preparation for and at the 
conference

- Support fundraising and grant-reporting activities in both Lima and 
Amsterdam

- Monitor the conference budget.


The Conference Coordinator will report to the International Coordinator 
and work closely with the staff at the central secretariat, the 
international Conference Organising Committee, the Local Organising 
Committee and other Coordinators.



REQUIREMENTS:

- Excellent organisational and pacing skills

- Experience in administration and in organising large events, 
especially international HIV/AIDS events

- Fluency in English and (preferably) Spanish

- Higher level education, including professional administrative 
development and/or training


GNP+ is an equal opportunities employer. Due to the nature and aim of 
GNP+, HIV+ people are highly encouraged to apply for this position. GNP+ 
offers a fulltime contract for the duration of five months, starting as 
soon as possible and ending 15 December 2005.

For a full job description, please go to the Conferences link at 
www.gnpplus.net To apply, please send your CV, with a cover letter 
motivating how your experience has prepared you for this position.

Closing date: 11 July 2005.

Contact details:
GNP+ att. of Mr. Rick Jones
P.O. Box 11726 1001GS Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 423 4114
Fax: +31 20 423 4224
Email: infognp@gnpplus.net


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

[This Item is Delivered to the "PlusNews" HIV/AIDS Service of the UN's 
IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the 
views of the United Nations. For further information, free 
subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: 
Plusnews@irinnews.org or Web: http://www.irinnews.org/aidsfp.asp . If 
you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this 
credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial sites requires written 
IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
2005


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
     Disaster Information             listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                    guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HIV-AIDS Weekly Issue                 www.cidi.org/humanitarian/hivaids