IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 297
Africa
18 August 2006


NEWS:

AFRICA: Hunger and HIV go hand in hand, experts warn
AFRICA: Activists call for leadership to combat HIV/AIDS
SOMALIA: Prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission starts
DRC: Combating HIV/AIDS in conflict-ridden South Kivu
AFRICA: Circumcision urged as protection against HIV
UGANDA: Funding shortages threatening HIV programmes
GLOBAL: Donors failing Global Fund, says report
GLOBAL: Face reality of drug resistance, warns MSF
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Study urges new 'DRC' model to fight HIV
MYANMAR: UK provides US$37m to fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases
THAILAND: HIV rates rapidly rising among men having sex with men
KENYA: Caring for children affected by HIV
SUDAN: Preventing HIV/AIDS in the south - a cash-strapped mission


WEBSITE

1. AIDS 2006 Global Village

RESOURCE

1. The African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practice Handbook

VACANCIES

1. Country Director - Tanzania


NEWS


AFRICA: Hunger and HIV go hand in hand, experts warn

After five days of high-profile debate about the latest scientific 
developments in HIV prevention and treatment, talk at the International 
AIDS Conference in Toronto turned on Thursday to one of the major 
drivers of the epidemic in Africa - hunger.

Experts warned that food insecurity not only created greater biological 
susceptibility to HIV by weakening the immune system, but encouraged 
behaviour - such as commercial or "survival" sex, or migration to higher 
prevalence areas - that put women, in particular, at greater risk.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6279


AFRICA: Activists call for leadership to combat HIV/AIDS

Activists used the International AIDS Conference in Toronto as a 
platform on Thursday to implore the world to speak out against lack of 
political leadership in combating HIV/AIDS.

The question of political leadership was "one of the greatest missing 
pieces" at the conference they said, adding that governments have been 
guilty of denial and foot-dragging, while leaders from the G8 countries 
have failed to deliver on promises

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6278


SOMALIA: Prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission starts

Somalia's health care system is virtually nonexistent after fifteen 
years of violence and lawlessness, leaving HIV-positive pregnant women 
without the services and knowledge they need to prevent them from 
transmitting the virus to their unborn babies.

Only 30 percent of Somali women use skilled birth attendants, and the 
country's estimated 7,000 TBAs are largely ignorant of HIV transmission 
and safe birthing practices.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6273


DRC: Combating HIV/AIDS in conflict-ridden South Kivu

Donors have poured millions of US dollars into combating HIV/AIDS in the 
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but the government has yet to 
provide a comprehensive programme, leaving international NGOs and 
churches to provide care and treatment in the mineral-rich eastern 
provinces, where 10 years of conflict has all but wiped out health 
infrastructure.

Prevalence in South Kivu is estimated at 3.1 percent, but the true 
situation is unknown in rural areas, which remain inaccessible due to 
the violence. There are no HIV clinics run solely by the government in 
the region: NGOs or the church support them all, and the authorities 
have yet to implement an effective programme for distributing ARVs or 
care for patients on treatment.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6276


AFRICA: Circumcision urged as protection against HIV

Scientists at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto have been 
calling for urgent action on compelling evidence that circumcision may 
reduce a man's vulnerability to HIV infection by as much as 60 percent.

Prevention technologies such as vaccines and microbicides are still 
years away from reaching people at high risk of infection, while male 
circumcision is available now and could save lives without breaking the 
bank.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6268


UGANDA: Funding shortages threatening HIV programmes

Public health programmes in Uganda are seriously short of money, putting 
the lives of tens of thousands of HIV-positive people at risk, says a 
new report.

'Funding the Promise: Monitoring Uganda's Health Sector Financing from 
an HIV/AIDS Perspective', published in July by Health Promotion 
Services-Uganda (HEPS-Uganda), a health consumers' organisation, claimed 
that the government allocated only US$5 per capita annually to health 
and questioned its commitment to funding the sector.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6266


GLOBAL: Donors failing Global Fund, says report

Most G8 countries are reneging on financial commitments to support the 
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, according to a 
report card released at the International AIDS conference in Toronto, 
Canada.

The findings, prepared by an alliance of health advocacy groups, graded 
22 of the wealthiest countries on pledges made to the Global Fund for 
2006 and 2007.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6258


GLOBAL: Face reality of drug resistance, warns MSF

Medical humanitarian organisation, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), 
continues to be the lone voice sounding the alarm about the cost and 
availability of newer AIDS medicines in developing countries.

Several speakers at the start of the International AIDS Conference in 
Toronto this week suggested that the cost of AIDS drugs was no longer a 
major barrier to access.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6255


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Study urges new 'DRC' model to fight HIV

In the fight against HIV/AIDS, think 'DRC' and not 'ABC', a new Southern 
African Development Community (SADC) report says.

The report, released on Monday, said the old model of controlling the 
lethal virus through a programme of ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful and 
Condom use) should be replaced by 'DRC' - Delaying sex, Reducing 
partners and continued Condom use.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6252


MYANMAR: UK provides US$37m to fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases

The British government is providing US$37 million to fight HIV/AIDS, 
tuberculosis (TB) and malaria in Myanmar.

It is the first donation to an expected $100 million, five-year health 
fund for the prevention and treatment of the lethal diseases in the 
military-ruled country.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6254


THAILAND: HIV rates rapidly rising among men having sex with men

The number of men who have sex with men (MSM) infected with HIV in Asia 
is rising rapidly, a new study has found.

TREAT Asia's report on MSM, an initiative of the Foundation for AIDS 
Research (amFAR), found rising HIV prevalence rates across the region 
and a dangerous neglect of the gay community by public health 
professionals and policymakers. HIV prevalence rates had jumped to 28 
percent in the Thai capital, Bangkok, 14 percent in the Cambodian 
capital, Phnom Penh, and 16 percent in the southern Indian state of 
Andhra Pradesh.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6260


KENYA: Caring for children affected by HIV

New Life Home in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, has 51 abandoned 
HIV-positive babies under the age of two at its main centre, while 
several other satellite homes around the country care for older 
children. These are the lucky few.

"We take in infants between zero and six months old. This is the group 
most at risk of dying from illness or malnutrition," Mary Beckenham, 
director and founder of the home, told Plusnews. "We give them formula 
milk when they are very small, and introduce fruits and vegetables later 
on. They all take vitamins every day."

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=6265


SUDAN: Preventing HIV/AIDS in the south - a cash-strapped mission

In southern Sudan, slowly recovering from a 21-year civil conflict, the 
fight against HIV/AIDS has to compete with other priorities, such as 
securing food and safe drinking water, combating other deadly diseases 
and the lingering threat of landmines and small arms.

When signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, the late leader 
of the former southern Sudanese rebels, John Garang, remarked that after 
the war AIDS would be southern Sudan's biggest enemy.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/aidsreport.asp?reportid=6259



WEBSITE

1. AIDS 2006 Global Village

This site is open to both delegates of the 16th International AIDS 
Conference and non-delegates, and enables greater civil society 
involvement and exchange.

It contains details about Global Village events and participants, 
including a complete listing of Global Village sessions, with 
interactive activities that seek to involve those who could not travel 
to Toronto for the conference.

These activities are all accessible via at the Virtual Village site: 
http://globalvillage.aids2006.org/English/home.aspx



RESOURCE

1. The African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practice Handbook

The handbook was launched during the 16th International AIDS Conference 
in Toronto, Canada, and is a compendium of 95 youth-led and 
youth-focused HIV/AIDS projects from 25 countries in Africa.

It showcases the outstanding work of African youth to stop the spread of 
HIV/AIDS, and to provide best-practice examples that can be replicated 
locally in Africa and, hopefully, globally.

Kindly contact Adebayo Samuel Adebayo or Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima 
Dabesaki at www.developmentpartnership.org or call +234 84 751 002 for 
information on how to access the handbook.



VACANCIES

1. The Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation, a US-based NGO, 
seeks the services of an experienced Country Director to provide overall 
management and support for implementation of the Foundation's programmes 
for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, as well as 
various fundraising activities.

If interested, please visit http://www.pedaids.org to submit your 
application

Reference Code: RW_6RVRN2-99
Closing Date: 25 August 2006


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