IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 314
Africa
15 December 2006


NEWS:

AFRICA: More proof that a snip in time could save men from HIV
ANGOLA: Enthusiastic caregivers and silent sufferers
ANGOLA: "Witchcraft" an excuse for child abuse
KENYA: Urgent action needed to avert resistant TB - activists
SWAZILAND: Nurses fleeing the HIV/AIDS frontline
ZAMBIA: Help for child-headed homes
ZIMBABWE: Another setback for anti-AIDS treatment
ZIMBABWE: Sick economy fuels growth of fake drug market
IRAQ: Shortage of antiretroviral drugs in Kurdistan
DRC: An untapped supply of HIV/AIDS treatment

EVENTS

1. HIV/AIDS and its Impact on Business in Africa - 22 to 25 January 2007
2. 3rd South African AIDS Conference 2007 Durban - (call for abstracts)

RESOURCES

1. Act, Learn and Teach: Theatre and HIV/AIDS (Youth toolkit)

VACANCIES

1. Temporary Research Support Officer - Brighton, UK
2. Program Officer - Nairobi, Kenya



NEWS

AFRICA: More proof that a snip in time could save men from HIV

American research bodies have called an early halt to trials of adult
male circumcision in Kenya and Uganda after results showed that men who
had undergone the procedure dramatically lowered their risk of
contracting the HI virus.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part
of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced an early end to
two clinical trials of adult male circumcision after an interim review
of the data revealed that medically performed circumcision significantly
reduced a man's risk of acquiring HIV from having heterosexual
intercourse.

The trial involving almost 3,000 HIV-negative men in Kisumu, in the
western highlands of Kenya, showed a 53 percent reduction in contracting
HIV among those who were circumcised, while a trial with about 5,000
HIV-negative men in the Rakai District of central Uganda showed that HIV
acquisition fell by 48 percent in circumcised men.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6613


ANGOLA: Enthusiastic caregivers and silent sufferers

Fear of stigmatisation in Angola is keeping people living with HIV/AIDS
in hiding. Caregivers are more than willing to help but are having a
hard time finding patients to take care of.

"People prefer to keep silent and to die in silence," Ambrosio Cabral,
coordinator of Angola's Red Cross HIV/AIDS programme, told
IRIN/PlusNews.

Cabinda, Angola's oil-rich northern enclave, has a population of 350,000
and a 3.2 percent HIV infection rate. Out of the 16 homecare workers
trained in the province this year, only five have work and care for a
total of 12 people between them.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/aidsreport.asp?reportid=6611


ANGOLA: "Witchcraft" an excuse for child abuse

Makiesse means "happiness" in Kikongo, a language spoken in northern
Angola. But the early childhood of 10-year-old Makiesse Jonas was far
from joyous.

When he was aged just six, his stepmother accused him of conjuring up
the sickness that killed his father. He was beaten everyday, and forced
to undergo a purification ritual which included fasting, being whipped
and secluded.

"I said that I wasn't a wizard, that maybe the wizard used my face at
night. But no one believed me," Jonas told IRIN/PlusNews.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/aidsreport.asp?reportid=6610


KENYA: Urgent action needed to avert resistant TB - activists

Kenya risks falling victim to new, drug-resistant strains of
tuberculosis (TB), found elsewhere on the continent, if the government
fails to take the TB epidemic more seriously, activists have warned.

"Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extremely drug-resistant (XDR) TB are a
direct consequence of non-adherence to treatment regimens," Dr Ignatius
Kibe, a contagious disease expert and member of the Kenya AIDS NGO
Coalition (KANCO), told PlusNews.

"More resources must be pumped into prevention of non-adherence."

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/aidsreport.asp?reportid=6608


SWAZILAND: Nurses fleeing the HIV/AIDS frontline

Swaziland is dying. Will the last nurse on duty please turn off the
lights?" reads a handwritten note at a clinic in Manzini, the country's
AIDS-hit commercial centre, 35km southeast of the capital, Mbabane.

The wry note disguises the pain of Swaziland's diminishing number of
nurses and hints at the reason why their colleagues have fled the
country to offer their services elsewhere.

"The working conditions, the lack of basic necessities to treat people
and all the dying: it is demoralising," said a nurse, 28, who asked that
her name not be used. "It's not just the money - it is hard to watch
people die and you are helpless to do anything about it because there
are no drugs or other things [to treat them]."

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/aidsreport.asp?reportid=6604


ZAMBIA: Help for child-headed homes

Zambia is grappling with the growing problem of thousands of
child-headed homes, created by one of the highest HIV infection rates in
the world.

Kapiri Mposhi, a commercial hub in central Zambia, about 200km north of
the capital, Lusaka, has one of the highest levels of HIV prevalence in
the country and a significant number of child-headed homes. UNAIDS
estimates the national HIV rate at 17 percent.

"Because it is a transport hub, frequented by truckers, the town has
become a commercial sex centre with a high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate,"
said James Zulu, a spokesman for the Zambia Red Cross Society, which
runs programmes supporting child-headed households.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6602


ZIMBABWE: Another setback for anti-AIDS treatment

Zimbabwe's health minister, HIV/AIDS activists and health experts have
all warned that a recent increase in the cost of CD4 tests, which
measure the strength of the immune system, will negatively affect the
already ailing national AIDS treatment programme.

The tests are essential to assess the degree to which an immune system
has been compromised by the virus, and one of the most important tools
for deciding when someone should begin antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.
CD4 cell testing is also used to determine the efficacy of ARV therapy.

According to health minister David Parirenyatwa, the scarcity of testing
centres in Zimbabwe has allowed the few available ones to charge
astronomical fees.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6614


ZIMBABWE: Sick economy fuels growth of fake drug market

Zimbabwe's deteriorating health services have made room for a thriving
parallel market for drugs, many of them counterfeit, warn concerned
health professionals.

The sale of genuine as well as fake medicines on the streets was "big,
booming business," said Dr Paul Chimedza, the president of the Zimbabwe
Medical Association (ZIMA).

"The health system has been adversely affected by the poorly performing
economy. There is a general shortage of drugs within the country and
unscrupulous dealers are capitalising on the situation by selling
medical drugs on the streets."

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/aidsreport.asp?reportid=6605


IRAQ: Shortage of antiretroviral drugs in Kurdistan

Health officials in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region have said they lack
antiretroviral drugs and HIV testing equipment, and that they have been
instructed by health authorities in Baghdad to deport foreigners who
have been found HIV-positive.

"We do not have drugs. If a person tests HIV-positive, what we do is ask
the WHO [World Health Organisation] to help us by sending drugs," said
Dr Sayfadin Mohadyin Ahmad, head of the epidemic diseases section and
HIV/AIDS unit in Kurdistan's Ministry of Health.

Nawzad Abdul-Aziz Salih, an official from Kurdistan's Ministry of
Health, said on Sunday that there were nine known cases of people living
with HIV/AIDS in the northern cities of Dohuk and Arbil. All tested
positive between 2005 and 2006 and were now aware of their condition, he
said.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/aidsreport.asp?reportid=6606

DRC: An untapped supply of HIV/AIDS treatment

Thousands of people living with AIDS in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) are going without treatment while the production line at a modern
antiretroviral (ARV) factory in the east of the country lies largely
idle.

Pharmakina has produced generic ARVs since April 2005 in the eastern
province of Bukavu, the first pharmaceutical firm to do so in central
Africa, but it is now forced to await approval from the World Health
Organization (WHO).

"We can produce to a capacity of 180,000 pills a month [but] apart from
[a few] private individuals there is no real demand at present," said Dr
Pierre Mulema, head of Pharmakina's HIV/AIDS department.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/aidsreport.asp?reportid=6603



EVENTS

1. HIV/AIDS and its Impact on Business in Africa - 22 to 25 January 2007

One of the major challenges facing the continent is to gather resources
and translate knowledge and experience into treatment and prevention
programmes.

This conference at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg, South
Africa, seeks to address the consequences if business continues to
ignore current warnings and statistics.

Register at http://www.aidsafricaconference.com


2. Third South African AIDS Conference 2007 - (call for abstracts)

Dr Olive Shisana, the conference chairperson, has called for the
submission of abstracts ahead of the event, which is set to take place
at the International Convention Centre in the port city of Durban from 5
to 8 June 2007.

The deadline for abstract submission is 31 January 2007.

For more information go to:
www.sa-aidsconference.com



RESOURCES

1. Act, Learn and Teach: Theatre and HIV/AIDS (Youth toolkit)

The UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has
released a toolkit for youth in Africa on how to use theatre in AIDS
education.

This toolkit was designed for youth groups and is largely based on a
workshop held in Uganda, that brought together approximately 30 youth
volunteers from several African countries, as well as Canada and India
to learn about the use of interactive theatre in response to the
pandemic in English-speaking African countries.

For more information on this project, including similar theatre manuals
developed for other regions in Arabic, French and Spanish, visit:
www.unesco.org/culture/aids or email: h.drobna@unesco.org



VACANCIES

1. Temporary Research Support Officer - Brighton, UK

The International HIV/AIDS Alliance, an international NGO supporting
community action against the pandemic in developing countries seeks a
suitably trained individual to fill the position of Temporary Research
Support Officer at its Secretariat in Brighton, UK.

Areas of responsibility will include: developing operational and other
research on community responses to the pandemic, the role of communities
in supporting the scale up of anti-AIDS responses, and the best models
of service delivery.

The ideal candidate should have experience in AIDS research, with a
knowledge of antiretroviral treatment in resource-limited settings; the
ability to work independently and as part of a team, with good
analytical and documentation skills; s/he should be able to communicate
effectively in English, both verbally and in writing; and be eligible to
live and work in the UK and be able to start within one month of the job
offer.

For further details about this position, including job description,
person specification, closing date and how to apply please see the
Alliance 'employment opportunities' section on the website:
www.aidsalliance.org


2. Programme Officer - Nairobi, Kenya

The Open Society Institute (OSI), a US-based grant making foundation,
seeks a suitably trained person to help advance the organisation's law-
and human rights-based responses to HIV and AIDS and public health in
East Africa.

In addition to reporting to the organisation's Law and Health Initiative
project director in New York, the successful applicant will also be an
integral part of the New York-based Open Society Institute Public Health
Programme (PHP) and will provide periodic assistance to PHP staff
undertaking initiatives in the region.

Applicants should possess an advanced degree in public health, law or
social sciences related to international development; five years of
experience in advocacy related to AIDS, three of which should be in
Kenya or other countries in East Africa; a demonstrated knowledge of and
commitment to human rights approaches to combating AIDS; and experience
working on AIDS-related programming, grants management, programme
design, monitoring and evaluation with grassroots organisations in the
region.

To apply, email a resume, cover letter, and salary history to:
lawandhealth@sorosny.org
or by post:
Open Society Institute
ATTN: Sai Jahann
400 West 59th St.
New York, NY
USA 10019
Fax: +1 (646) 557-2550


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


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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