IRIN HIV/AIDS Weekly - 395
Africa
11 July 2008


NEWS:

GLOBAL: AIDS spending breaks records, but needs more focus
KENYA: Post-violence sex work boom
ISRAEL: More awareness needed as HIV infection rises
ISRAEL-OPT: Low infection rates but condoms still needed
ZAMBIA: Wanted - more people for HIV testing
UGANDA: Overcrowded prisons heighten TB risk
UGANDA: "Dating is hectic, so I put a personal ad in the paper"
UGANDA: Aleng Almarina: "If the drugs run out, my condition will worsen"
HAITI: High risk and underground
SOUTH AFRICA: TB treatment programmes failing

Events/Resources

1. World Disasters Report 2008 - Focus on HIV and AIDS
2. Impumelelo Innovations Award Trust - HIV/AIDS Workshop

Vacancies

1. Programme Director - AIDS Concern, Hong Kong


News:

GLOBAL: AIDS spending breaks records, but needs more focus

HIV/AIDS funding to low- and middle-income countries reached a record 
level in 2007, according to a new report by UNAIDS.

AIDS spending by the G8 group of wealthy nations, the European 
Commission and other donors hit US$ 6.6 billion last year, up from US$ 
5.6 billion in 2006. However, despite the largesse, UNAIDS said a US$8.1 
billion gap in funding for essential HIV/AIDS programmes remained

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79150


KENYA: Post-violence sex work boom

Like thousands of other Kenyans, Susan Wairimu, 17, was displaced from 
her home in the Rift Valley Province's Molo district during the violence 
that followed a disputed presidential election in December 2007 and 
sought shelter in the nearby town of Nakuru.

A cousin living in the coastal town of Mombasa offered to accommodate 
her until the violence ended, offering an escape from the single tent 
she shared with her parents at the displaced persons camp in Nakuru.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79166


ISRAEL: More awareness needed as HIV infection rises

HIV may be a relatively small problem in Israel, but the soaring rate of 
new infections among vulnerable populations has forced health officials 
to take action.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79129


ISRAEL-OPT: Low infection rates but condoms still needed

In spite of the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials 
said they were still allowing condoms into the enclave as part of 
efforts by UN agencies and Palestinian organisations to keep family 
planning and disease prevention programmes going.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79187


ZAMBIA: Wanted - more people for HIV testing

The drugs to manage HIV are available, and so is knowledge about how to 
prevent it, but far too few people in Zambia are coming forward to be 
tested.

"I would rather die than go for VCT [voluntary counselling and 
testing]," Joseph Mwewa, 28, a resident of the capital, Lusaka, told 
IRIN/PlusNews.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79165


UGANDA: Overcrowded prisons heighten TB risk

Dr Michael Kyomya is responsible for the health of almost 5,000 inmates 
in Uganda's Luzira Prison, but his caseload is not the biggest challenge 
- the architecture is. The high walls just outside his office in the 
prison's medical facility not only keep the prisoners in, but also 
infectious diseases like tuberculosis (TB).

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79104


UGANDA: Joanna: "Dating is hectic, so I put a personal ad in the paper"

Joanna*, 25, an HIV-positive schoolteacher who lives in the Ugandan 
capital, Kampala, decided to take a chance on love by putting a personal 
advertisement in the newspaper. She spoke to IRIN/PlusNews before her 
first date with a man who responded.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/HOVReport.aspx?ReportId=79125


UGANDA: Aleng Almarina: "If the drugs run out, my condition will worsen"

Aleng Almarina, 53, is one of several thousand internally displaced 
persons (IDPs) who have returned to their villages after years in camps 
across northern Uganda, where a 20-year conflict between the government 
and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army forced up to two million people to 
flee their homes. She told IRIN/PlusNews of her struggle to access 
life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medication.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79186


HAITI: High risk and underground

If you inject heroin, you probably know about the risk of becoming 
infected with Hepatitis C or HIV, but if you're one of the thousands 
across the world who visit informal healers for a jab of vitamin B you 
may be getting more than a shot of vitamins and not know it.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79128


SOUTH AFRICA: TB treatment programmes failing

TB cure rates in South Africa have remained stubbornly low - about 60 
percent nationally, but less than 50 percent in many districts. A number 
of studies presented at the national TB conference in Durban last week 
looked at some of the reasons why South Africa's programme is failing.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79107



Events/Resources:

1. World Disasters Report 2008 - Focus on HIV and AIDS

The AIDS epidemic is a disaster on many levels. In the most affected 
countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where prevalence rates reach 20 
percent, development gains are reversed and life expectancy may be 
halved. For specific groups of marginalized people injecting drug users, 
sex workers and men who have sex with men across the world, HIV rates 
are on the increase. Yet they often face stigma, criminalization and 
little, if any, access to HIV prevention and treatment services. As this 
report explains, HIV is a challenge to the humanitarian world whose task 
is to improve the lives of vulnerable people and to support them in 
strengthening their capacities and resilience. Disasters, man-made and 
'natural', exacerbate other drivers of the epidemic and can also 
increase people's vulnerability to infection.

To access the report: http://www.ifrc.org/publicat/wdr2008/index.asp


2. Impumelelo Innovations Award Trust - HIV/AIDS Workshop, 11-12 
September 2008, Cape Town

The aim of the workshop is to highlight and share best practice lessons 
that will improve policy, practice and implementation. The workshop 
therefore targets senior staff in organisations that operate in the 
HIV/AIDS sector.

Workshop fees: (R500) US$65 for the workshop package (accommodation, 
teas, snacks and workshop materials). Delegates will have to make their 
own logistical arrangements, although Impumelelo will provide transport 
to and from the airport. Once finalised, the programme will be forwarded 
to all.

You need to contact Chris Mingo or Yasmina Shabodien (021- 461 3783) or 
email chris@impumelelo.org.za or info@impumelelo.org.za as soon as 
possible if you have interest in attending the workshop as bookings 
close on the 24 August 2008.



Vacancies:

1. Programme Director - AIDS Concern, Hong Kong

Established in 1990, AIDS Concern is a registered charity, that provides 
targeted prevention and care programmes for vulnerable communities in 
Hong Kong.

Duties: Oversee the planning, development, implementation, monitoring 
and evaluation of HIV prevention and care programmes (Hong Kong and 
Pearl River Delta). Assist in organisation's human resources and 
financial management, and agency administration.

Requirements:

- Degree in Public Health, Health Science, Social Work, Social Sciences, 
and/or related fields.

- At least 8 years experience in NGO settings with supervisory and 
management function

- Knowledge in AIDS and sexually transmitted infections; direct 
experience with vulnerable communities (female sex workers and their 
clients, Men who have sex with Men) is preferable.

- Proposal and report writing skills is a must. Knowledge in programme 
monitoring and evaluation is preferable. Experience in dealing with 
funders.

- Mature, strong sense of responsibility, creative, self-motivated, 
independent, passionate

- Good knowledge & excellent computer skills

- Excellent communication skills and command in Chinese and English. 
Speaks Cantonese and Mandarin.

- Base in Hong Kong, occasional travel to China


Please submit an 800-word article on "Strategy of HIV/AIDS prevention 
and care in Hong Kong."

All applicants please send in their resume, date available, present and 
expected salary to: Chief Executive, AIDS Concern, 17B, Block F, 3 Lok 
Man Road, Chai Wan, Hong Kong or email to enquire@aidsconcern.org.hk .

Application Deadline: Jul 25, 2008.


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