IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 284
Africa
19 May 2006


NEWS:

NEPAL: HIV hospice for gay and transgender men offers hope
CONGO: Decay, disease, violence stalk convicts
INDIA: Human trafficking in the northeast fuelling HIV/AIDS - report
SOUTH AFRICA: The HIV testing debate: voluntary or opt-out?
KENYA: Music industry gets with the HIV/AIDS programme
UZBEKISTAN: Integrated approach to tackling HIV/AIDS on the streets
TANZANIA: Sexual abuse, poverty puts disabled at high HIV risk

EVENTS/RESOURCES

1. HIV and TB pre-conference meeting
2. AIDS Vaccine Clearinghouse

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

1. Fellowships for HIV/AIDS and Public Health Policy Research in Africa




NEWS

NEPAL: HIV hospice for gay and transgender men offers hope

There's no signboard outside the simple white-washed building at the end 
of the road, and neighbours have little idea of who its occupants are. 
But in this traditional Hindu society, where open discussion about 
HIV/AIDS remains largely taboo, that's not surprising.

Behind the well-trimmed lawn and flower beds of the two-story building 
lies Nepal's only hospice dedicated to caring for men who have sex with 
men (MSM) infected with HIV/AIDS, a particularly marginalized group in 
this impoverished nation of 28 million.

Funded by the Elton John Foundation and French NGO Sidaction, the 
hospice, located in a working class residential district of the capital, 
Kathmandu, provides one of the few rays of hope for MSM members living 
with AIDS.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5965


CONGO: Decay, disease, violence stalk convicts

Inside the crumbling, mildewed walls of Brazzaville's prison in the 
capital of the Republic of Congo (ROC), up to 12 men share cells 
designed to hold four inmates. The cells have neither running water nor 
toilets, and the few belongings convicts have are hung on nails or 
strewn across the filthy floor.

"There are serious problems with this facility," said Clive Obambi, a 
repeat offender serving time for theft. "The daily food ration is 
meagre, and we live in conditions that are hard to bear."

In addition, because of the slowness in processing case files, a 
prisoner can spend up to eight months in custody before arraignment.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5968


INDIA: Human trafficking in the northeast fuelling HIV/AIDS - report

Images of guns, drugs and rebels have long defined India's troubled 
northeast. Now, a study across eight states in this resource-rich, 
infrastructure-poor, conflict-scarred region seeks to highlight a new 
worry: the rising tide of human trafficking - mostly women and girls - 
and its potential for hastening the spread of HIV/AIDS.

India's northeast is home to 200 of the 430 odd tribal groups in the 
country. The region is also socially and culturally distinct from 
mainstream India. Along with Kerala, this pocket is the bastion of 
Christianity in the country.

The seven-month study carried out by the Nedan Foundation, an Indian NGO 
working in the largely isolated region, was sponsored by the United 
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is expected to be released 
soon.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5964


SOUTH AFRICA: The HIV testing debate: voluntary or opt-out?

Supreme Court of Appeals Judge and HIV positive activist Edwin Cameron 
has added his voice to an international debate that has been mounting in 
recent months surrounding HIV testing.

At a memorial lecture earlier this month for his friend, Raymond Louw, a 
law professor, Cameron recounted how Louw had wilfully ignored all the 
telltale signs that he was harbouring the virus. Waiting until he was 
too sick to benefit from treatment, Louw was finally tested just seven 
weeks before his death.

Cameron asserted that the special protocols and procedures for HIV 
testing and diagnosis reinforced "the internal dimension of stigma" that 
had prevented Louw and others like him from taking a test.

Doctors, activists and experts in the field of HIV/AIDS interviewed by 
PlusNews mostly echoed Cameron's support for the introduction of routine 
testing in South Africa as a way of reducing both stigma and HIV 
transmission, and alerting patients at an early stage of the disease 
when interventions are more effective.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5961


KENYA: Music industry gets with the HIV/AIDS programme

Kenya's musicians are stepping up to the mike and using their talent and 
creative imagination to spread vital HIV/AIDS information among young 
people.

"It's good to sing about beautiful women and guys, but it is important 
to pass on a positive message - to let people know how to protect 
themselves from HIV," said Lovy Longomba, one half of the musical duo, 
The Longombas.

Lovy, 22, and his twin brother, Christian, are at the forefront of the 
music industry's fight against HIV/AIDS. In 2005 they wrote the club 
anthem 'Vuta Pumz' ('Take a Breath' in Swahili), a Kora-award-winning 
song warning of the dangers of HIV, but also encouraging HIV-positive 
people to stay upbeat and carry on with their lives.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5969


UZBEKISTAN: Integrated approach to tackling HIV/AIDS on the streets

On a street corner in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, an inauspicious 
doorway marks a new approach to dealing with the growing threat of 
HIV/AIDS in the country.

In an effort to combat stigma and encourage testing, the government has 
introduced integrated facilities under one roof: a clinic for anonymous 
testing, a needle exchange for intravenous drug users and an advice 
centre for sex workers.

In addition, in some parts of the country, an NGO where people living 
with the virus are available for counselling and support can also be 
found close to the other facilities.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5974


TANZANIA: Sexual abuse, poverty puts disabled at high HIV risk

AIDS activists in Tanzania are becoming increasingly concerned about 
rising HIV/AIDS among mentally and physically disabled people, a group 
generally perceived to be at lower risk of contracting the virus.

"Infections among disabled women have shot up astonishingly in recent 
months and we attribute this to their physical inability to ward off 
sexual attackers," said Dr Semkuya, who heads the antenatal section of 
the state-run Mwananyamala Hospital in the commercial capital, Dar es 
Salaam.

"Some disabled women are lured into unprotected sex by partners who 
presume them to be in the low-risk group. Mentally sick women are raped, 
and we only discover this when they are pregnant and brought to 
antenatal clinics by the relations," he added.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5973



EVENTS/RESOURCES

1. The World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the International AIDS 
Society, Treatment Action Group and the Forum for Collaborative HIV 
Research are jointly organising a one and a half day international 
pre-conference consultative meeting on 'HIV and TB in the context of 
universal access: what is working and what is not?' for the Global 
TB/HIV Working Group of the Stop TB Partnership, in conjunction with XVI 
International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada.

The meeting will take place on 12-13 August 2006 at the Holiday Inn on 
King Hotel. The meeting is free of charge and open to international and 
national programme managers, clinicians, researchers, policymakers and 
NGO representatives working in HIV/AIDS. The magnitude and challenges of 
diagnosing TB among people living with HIV and AIDS will be reviewed, 
successful experiences and best practices from countries implementing 
TB/HIV activities will be shared, and new and innovative strategic 
approaches to reduce the impact of TB among PLWHA will be explored.

The World Health Organization will be able to cover only accommodation 
costs for the duration of the meeting for limited number of participants 
from high HIV and TB burden resource-constrained settings (not airfare 
to and from Toronto). National HIV and TB control programme managers and 
civil society organisation representatives from these countries are 
encouraged to apply.

If you would like to attend this meeting, or if you want to know more 
about it, please contact francisc@who.int before 30 May 2006.


2. The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) has launched an AIDS 
vaccine clearinghouse - www.aidsvaccineclearinghouse.org - a 
comprehensive and interactive source of AIDS vaccine information on the 
internet. The website provides a gateway to information and a link to 
people and organisations interested in AIDS vaccine advocacy, research 
and global delivery.

The Clearinghouse is divided into separate content sections, each 
providing an overview, frequently asked questions and 'top picks' of 
other sources for further information on a particular topic. The site 
covers a wide variety of issues, all of which greatly affect the work of 
advocates, community members, researchers and policymakers in developing 
an AIDS vaccine. The Clearinghouse includes both original content and 
annotated links to other helpful resources.

AVAC is simultaneously launching a new Advocates' Network - an 
electronic resource for organisations and individuals interested or 
already involved in advocacy for the development of vaccines for 
HIV/AIDS. The Advocates' Network, which is linked to the Clearinghouse, 
will provide regular electronic announcements, updates and notices of 
events or activities related to AIDS vaccine and other prevention 
research. Advocates can also submit events and activities to be included 
in the Advocates' Network Calendar - a calendar of AIDS vaccine related 
activities around the world. You can join the Network by sending an 
email to: advocates_network@avac.org



JOB OPPORTUNITIES

1. The Social Science Research Council has announced a call for the 
2006-07 Fellowship for HIV/AIDS and Public Health Policy Research in 
Africa. The programme is open to African researchers, policy analysts, 
programme planners and practitioners to support research on health and 
social policy in Eastern and Southern Africa relating to (1) political 
economy of caregiving and HIV/AIDS, with particular emphasis on gender 
analysis; or (2) sexual violence and HIV/AIDS. Two Senior Fellowships of 
up to US$25,000 and six Associate Fellowships of up to US$10,000 will be 
awarded. Generous support for this programme has been made available by 
the Open Society Institute's Network Public Health Program, based in New 
York.

Goals of the Fellowship Programme:

- Increase knowledge and understanding about the implications of 
HIV/AIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa as it relates to caregiving and 
sexual violence

- Improve public health policy responses to the pandemic and increase 
understanding of the interaction between local and global health systems

- Foster collaboration among African institutions, researchers, policy 
analysts, programme planners and practitioners both in and outside the 
continent


Fellowships will be awarded for proposals addressing one of the two 
following areas:

1. HIV and Caregiving

Research proposals should address health policy challenges as they 
relate to any or several aspects of: (a) various public health and 
development interventions, and whether and how such interventions are 
affecting costs and burdens of caregiving for HIV/AIDS; (b) social 
mobilisation efforts around caregiving at various levels - local, 
national and/or global.


2. Research on Sexual Violence

Research proposals should address health policy challenges as they 
relate to any or several aspects of: (a) new ways of measuring and 
conceptualising the connection between sexual violence and HIV/AIDS 
across a range of settings, including in the context of fragile states, 
armed conflict and post-conflict settings, and other forms of public or 
domestic violence; b) policy implications at a national level of 
decreasing the vulnerability of individuals to sexual violence; (c) 
implications of HIV/AIDS and sexual violence for policy and programme 
interventions in public health, reproductive health, security and 
HIV/AIDS.


Eligibility

Fellowships will be awarded to African researchers (master's degree and 
above) and mid-career policymakers, programme planners and practitioners 
with at least eight years of field experience. Preference will be given 
to applicants based in Eastern and Southern Africa. Applications will be 
reviewed on the basis of their academic quality and rigor, policy 
relevance, feasibility, potential contribution to the field and the 
applicant's professional and research background and achievements.

Proposals will only be accepted in English.


REQUIREMENTS:

Fellowships will provide support for research carried out within a 
nine-month period, commencing September 2006. Funds may be used to 
support research and related travel costs. In addition, full expenses 
will be provided for fellows to participate in a fellows' workshop to 
facilitate network building and provide guidance in developing 
methodologies and dissemination strategies.

Senior Fellows

The two senior fellowships, of up to $25,000, will be awarded to 
faculty, senior researchers, senior policy analysts, programme planners 
and practitioners, and recent PhD recipients based in Eastern and 
Southern Africa. Senior fellows will be permitted to allocate up to ten 
percent of their research budget to a host institution. If no such 
institutional support is necessary, this allocation can be used to 
support activities that foster collaboration, such as meetings, 
workshops and participation in national and regional research network 
activities.


Associate Fellows

The six associate fellowships, of up to $10,000, will be awarded to 
mid-junior level professionals, policy analysts, programme planners and 
practitioners, activists, scholars and graduate students. Associate 
fellows are requested to identify a host institution and/or mentor who 
will provide ongoing supervision throughout the research process. 
Academic researchers should identify a policy organisation or an NGO as 
a host, and policy analysts and practitioners should identify a research 
or academic institution as a host, in order to encourage 
policy-to-research linkages. The host institution will receive an amount 
equal to twenty percent of the fellowship award, which is intended to 
contribute to indirect and direct costs associated with mentoring and 
hosting (e.g. space, communications, supervision, etc.).

Applications should be submitted electronically to hivaids@ssrc.org and 
should include: a completed application form, curriculum vitae, and a 
research proposal (maximum 5 pages/1250 words, including bibliography 
and appendices; for fellowships up to $20,000: maximum 10 pages/2500 
words), including a problem statement, methodology, timeframe, project 
summary, relevant partners, and expected contributions to health, gender 
and HIV policy development; dissemination plan identifying potential 
journals, conferences, and publications and research and policy 
opportunities to contribute findings; one-page budget summary itemising 
salary (if relevant), travel, administrative and communications 
expenses, networking, collaboration and dissemination; budgets must also 
indicate additional sources of support already secured or being 
identified for these and any other related activities (the fellowship 
may be used to supplement other funding, for which a full budget is 
required); three academic and/or professional references.

The deadline for applications is 15 July 2006, at 12:00 noon (GMT). 
Awards will be announced by mid-August. Supported activities can begin 
on 15 September 2006, and continue until 15 June 2007.

For more information, please contact the SSRC HIV/AIDS Initiative at 
hivaids@ssrc.org. http://www.ssrc.org/programs/HIV/fellowships/


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


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