April 29, 2007

900,000 pounds to benefit children with HIV/Aids

UNICEF and British Airways yesterday announced a donation of Sterling pounds 900,000 to support children affected by HIV/Aids in three countries including Tanzania.

The money was jointly raised through `Change for Good,` the fundraising partnership between British Airways and the United Nation`s Children`s Fund (UNICEF).

British Airways Commercial Manager in Tanzania, Saada Juma said in a statement yesterday that this is the first time that ``Change for Good`` money would go towards UNICEF`s `Unite for Children Unite against AIDS\' global campaign.
Saada said the first funding would be used to help families and communities support and care for children affected by HIV.

Out of the pounds 900,000, at least 300,000 pounds would go towards providing care for children affected by the disease in Tanzania and will support programmes for children affected by the disease.

According to the statement, other countries whose children would benefit from the campaign are Ukraine and Ghana.

The funding would reduce the number of children who live in these institutions by encouraging foster families to care for them, the statement further said.

It would also help to improve the environment for children with no foster families to grow.

For his part, Rob Webb, British Airways` General Counsel, said: ``British Airways realizes how crucial the issue of HIV is and I am delighted that the `Change for Good` donations will support children affected by this devastating disease.``

British Airways and UNICEF launched `Change for Good` in April 1994 to raise money for some of the world`s most needy children.

Over the past 13 years, `Change for Good` has raised over pounds 23 million for UNICEF work in over 50 countries.

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New Guidelines For Journalists To Avoid Inaccurate And Stigmatising Reporting Of HIV & AIDS

In response to growing concerns about inaccurate and stigmatising coverage of HIV in the UK media, the National AIDS Trust and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) are today launching 'Guidelines for reporting HIV'. This practical guide gives people working in the media up-to-date information on HIV and sources of further information to help ensure that their reporting is accurate and non-stigmatising.

A major concern for people living with HIV in the UK and the organisations that support them is the number of articles in the media that sensationalise and stigmatise HIV and unfairly represent individuals living with the virus. Inaccurate or stigmatising media coverage increases misconceptions about HIV and can fuel discrimination against HIV-positive people.
The National AIDS Trust and the National Union of Journalists have jointly produced these guidelines to help journalists tackling this complex and sensitive topic make sure that the articles that they write are not misleading and do not encourage negative perceptions about HIV.

The National AIDS Trust works closely with people living with HIV on challenging incorrect or stigmatising coverage and is aware that many more people living with HIV would also like to play their part in encouraging improved standards of reporting on HIV. The guidelines are a useful resource for anyone living with HIV who sees an inaccurate or stigmatising article and wishes to complain, as they can reference the guidelines in their complaint and advise journalists to download the guidelines to avoid future errors.

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Qatar-UNDP ink pact for Aids awareness campaign

Qatar is embarking on a major education and information campaign to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids in Qatar as part of a national Aids Strategy.

An agreement for this strategy was signed by H E Dr Ghalia bint Mohammed Al Thani, Chairperson of the National Health Authority and Dr Khaled Aloush of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The prevalence of HIV/Aids in Qatar is currently very low, and the purpose of the strategy is to ensure that it does not increase, said a release yesterday.

NHA initiated this strategy, which has been coordinated by the Qatar National Committee on AIDS Prevention. This Committee is chaired by Dr Ghalia bint Mohammed Al Thani.

Its members include representatives from the government departments and organisations concerned, who provide the strategy with its multi-sector approach.

The strategy aims to develop and institute policies and programmes to ensure there is appropriate care and support for people living with HIV/Aids.

The various activities will include an information and communications campaign to raise awareness about the disease amongst the population. Pilot behavioural, health and sociological studies relating to the prevalence of HIV/Aids in Qatar will also be conducted.

The strategy will ultimately aim to build the capacities of major stakeholders in the health sector and other appropriate agencies, including legislators, government leaders, civil society and private sector leaders, as well as individuals living with HIV/Aids. It will also work to build a human rights-enabling environment, and impact upon Qatar's progress towards human development.

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Children neglected in battle against AIDS - UN

Children affected by HIV/AIDS are being neglected and not receiving the care and support they need, UN health experts said on Thursday.

By 2010, about 18 million children in sub-Saharan Africa will be orphaned by the illness but less than 10 percent who have already lost a parent are being helped.

Although public health experts are pushing for universal access to life-saving drugs for all who need them, an estimated 4 million children with HIV/AIDS do not have access to treatment.
"Twenty five years into the epidemic, considerable progress has been made in mobilising the world against AIDS," said Dr Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

"But when it comes to accessing HIV prevention and treatment services, children and young people continue to be left behind," he added, ahead of the start a two-day forum on HIV/AIDS.

The Global Partners Forum is hosted by the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF and Britain’s Department of International Development.

It is working to improve access to treatment, education and support for the millions of children whose lives have been blighted by HIV/AIDS.

"This is a crucial time in our global efforts to tackle HIV and AIDS and a time to turn commitments into action," said International Development Minister Gareth Thomas.

"We must ensure that the needs of children are central to this and ensure that communities can fulfil their potential," he added in a statement.

Representatives from 50 countries and 90 international organisations are attending the meeting in London. The forum will also push for changes in laws and policies concerning the protection of vulnerable children and seek ways to improve education and reduce the stigma of children affected by AIDS.

More than 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, according to the latest figures from UNAIDS, which is leading the global battle against the illness. In 2005 more than 3 million people died and 5 million people were infected.

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April 27, 2007

New Guidelines For Journalists To Avoid Inaccurate And Stigmatising Reporting Of HIV & AIDS

In response to growing concerns about inaccurate and stigmatising coverage of HIV in the UK media, the National AIDS Trust and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) are today launching 'Guidelines for reporting HIV'. This practical guide gives people working in the media up-to-date information on HIV and sources of further information to help ensure that their reporting is accurate and non-stigmatising.
A major concern for people living with HIV in the UK and the organisations that support them is the number of articles in the media that sensationalise and stigmatise HIV and unfairly represent individuals living with the virus. Inaccurate or stigmatising media coverage increases misconceptions about HIV and can fuel discrimination against HIV-positive people.

The National AIDS Trust and the National Union of Journalists have jointly produced these guidelines to help journalists tackling this complex and sensitive topic make sure that the articles that they write are not misleading and do not encourage negative perceptions about HIV.

The National AIDS Trust works closely with people living with HIV on challenging incorrect or stigmatising coverage and is aware that many more people living with HIV would also like to play their part in encouraging improved standards of reporting on HIV. The guidelines are a useful resource for anyone living with HIV who sees an inaccurate or stigmatising article and wishes to complain, as they can reference the guidelines in their complaint and advise journalists to download the guidelines to avoid future errors.

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Caribbean Group Announces Plans To Host HIV/AIDS Conference

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States on Monday announced plans to host an HIV/AIDS workshop in June to address antiretroviral drug supply management, CMC/RedOrbit reports. The workshop, which will be organized by the OECS Secretariat's Pharmaceutical Procurement Service, will feature a panel of health experts, including HIV/AIDS specialists from the World Health Organization, the Management Sciences for Health, Cuba and Barbados. It will be sponsored by the Pan-Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS, Pan American Health Organization and OECS' HIV/AIDS program unit, CMC/RedOrbit reports. According to organizers, the workshop aims to inform pharmacists about the latest antiretroviral treatment protocols.
According to an OECS statement, the workshop also aims to encourage HIV-positive people to adhere to their treatment regiments and prevent the development of drug resistance. During the workshop, the panel will discuss a systematic approach to report adverse reactions to antiretrovirals, known as pharmacovigilance. According to the group, PPS -- which will serve as the region's pharmacovigilance center -- will establish a system of reporting adverse reaction to antiretrovirals at the workshop. According to PPS Director Frances Burnet, there also is a need to accurately predict antiretroviral supply needs. Christophe Rerat, sub-regional adviser for PAHO, said that a four-day session will be held at the workshop to address quantifying and predicting supply needs. PPS hopes the workshop will attract physicians, pharmacists, clinical care nurses and managers of central medical stores in OECS, CMC/RedOrbit reports. According to Burnet, the workshop must be supported by follow-up, country-level workshops (CMC/RedOrbit, 4/23).

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Businesses Should Become More Involved In Fight Against HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, New Global Fund Director Says

Businesses should become increasingly involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria because only 5% of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's income comes from the private sector, new Global Fund Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine said on Monday, Reuters reports. "Certainly, the private sector can increase its contributions," Kazatchkine said, adding, "The needs are enormous." In addition to monetary pledges, businesses could offer personnel or other in-kind donations to support HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria programs in developing countries, Kazatchkine said. He added that they also could help sponsor specific programs in countries where they operate.
Kazatchkine did not say if pharmaceutical companies should be called on to provide drug donations, adding that the Global Fund's governing board plans to discuss the issue later this year. "It is an area to explore, but obviously, there are potential conflicts of interest," he said, adding, "I would primarily expect companies to try to decrease their prices rather than maintain high prices and provide in-kind donations of drugs." According to Kazatchkine, one of his priorities as Global Fund executive director will to be secure increasingly reliable funding for the organization. He added that reliable funding is particularly important for HIV/AIDS programs because HIV-positive people need to adhere to their treatment regimens to avoid developing drug resistance. "We need the resources to be sustainable," Kazatchkine said, adding, "We will be looking particularly at whether donors can commit for longer periods of time." According to Kazatchkine, last year's donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as contributions from Product RED, are positive steps in expanding the Global Fund's resources (MacInnis, Reuters, 4/23).

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Speaker shares expertise on HIV/AIDS issues in Africa

Brian Wells Pence, a research scholar on HIV/AIDS at Duke University, traveled to Moshi, Tanzania, Africa, last year to work with local care providers.

"They're really doing amazing work and we're honored to be able to partner with them," he told members and guests at an Oakland branch, American Association of University Women, meeting Monday, April 23, at the Oakland YWCA in Clawson. "It was really empowering for them, it was really exciting for us."
Pence and his wife, Caroline, a social worker, traveled to the African country last summer as part of his work at Duke. Pence is the grandson of Mary Pence of Ferndale and an expert in epidemiology, including mental illness, substance abuse and psychiatric conditions that relate to HIV/AIDS treatment.

"It is very interesting," Mary Pence said of her grandson's work, noting he's a graduate of the University of North Carolina with a Ph.D. and of Yale University. "I think you'll be glad you came."

Brian Wells Pence showed a map of the part of southeastern Africa he and his wife visited with their young son. Pence showed a photo of a full University of Michigan football stadium, noting Michigan's population is less than 1 percent HIV-positive, a little lower than the national average in the U.S.

In Tanzania, it's 6.5 percent, about 20 times as prevalent. "These are all individuals who are likely to die in the relatively near future," Pence said.

He described how the virus replicates upon infection, with an initial test coming back negative. The virus attacks cells at the core part of the immune system.

"This equilibrium period can go for quite a while" during which a person could unknowingly pass on the virus. Eventually, an ill person dies "not from AIDS but from one of these infections their body can no longer fight off."

Pence discussed highly active antiretroviral therapy in widespread use in the U.S. Effectiveness of drugs is reduced if not taken exactly as prescribed, he said, and drug use has been made easier for patients in recent years, boosting adherence.

"Many people are doing very well on these medications." Getting the drugs to infected people in sub-Saharan Africa is much tougher, he noted, citing such factors as poor transportation networks and cost.

Some experts have questioned if poor people in Africa can take medicine on schedule. Pence showed a photo of a man from Uganda who was HIV-positive -- and missed only one pill in 89 days.

"I certainly could not accomplish this," Pence said. "As it turns out, he used his radio." The man, who had no wristwatch or formal education, judged by the sun when radio broadcasts would be aired.

A recent study found resource-poor countries tend to have better adherence, Pence said. The facts that patients are in cities and often selected for commitment and ability to get to a clinic are factors, he added, but the key issue in Africa is getting drugs delivered.

Pence and his colleagues from Duke worked on research training with people from a local nonprofit and hospital in Tanzania. "Health care is really a challenge there due to lack of resources," he said.

His April 23 presentation generated a number of questions, with Pence noting the Bush administration has funded HIV/AIDS work overseas more than previous administrations. He questioned the focus on abstinence programs as compared to those that encourage such preventative measures as condom use during sexual intercourse.

The AAUW members and guests found the presentation interesting. "There's so many layers" of the issue, said member Carol Missett of Farmington Hills.

Missett doesn't feel the government in the U.S. has addressed the issue honestly, with hospital care not readily available. "A lot of social structure problems, and the superstition," she said of Africa. She also questions our government's restrictions on prevention teaching.


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Panelists to discuss HIV/AIDS treatment during event today at LSU

Panel discussions on “Finding a Place at the Pharmacy: Questions of Experience,
Policy and Framing in HIV/AIDS Treatment” are set for 11 a.m. today in the Atchafalaya Room of the LSU Union.

Stephanie Grey, assistant professor of communication studies at LSU, is coordinating the event, which is an outreach activity related to a faculty research grant funded by the LSU Council on Research, according to an LSU news release.
anelists will explore the debates surrounding HIV/AIDS treatment use and access. Panelists will include HIV patients, health-care professionals and scholars who have analyzed the policies used to frame the production and distribution of pharmaceuticals.

"The goal of this panel is to understand the current state of HIV/AIDS health care from the inside out and project new ways of seeing and understanding to improve medical care for those with these conditions," the release states.

Panels include:

-- “HIV/AIDS From the Professional and Personal Perspective: A Practitioner's Journey.” Janie Adams, RN

-- “Negotiating the Maze: Struggles and Obstacles on the Road to Living with HIV.”
Darryl Molin, graphic artist

-- “Pills, Profits: Consumer-Directed Ads and the HIV/AIDS Medical Marketplace.”
Joy Fuqua, Tulane University

-- “The Global Challenge: Exploring the Personal and Political Faces of AIDS.”
Krisana Kraisintu, international AIDS researcher and Chancellor’s
Lecturer 2007

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Religious belief could be harnessed to fight HIV-AIDS, says study

Strategies to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people could be more effective if they tapped into the power of religious belief and practice.

That is the finding of researchers who studied the knowledge and attitudes of young people in relation to HIV/AIDS and sexual behavior.

The study, sponsored by UNICEF and conducted by the Varqa Foundation here, found that young people who knew and followed the teaching of their religion were much less likely to have engaged in sexual intercourse than those who did not, by a rate of 18 percent to 45 percent respectively.
"Prevention strategies for the spread of HIV/AIDS should harness religious belief and practice, especially in societies such as Guyana where religious affiliation remains strong," wrote the study's authors in an article published in the March 2007 issue of the International Journal of STD and AIDS.

Guyana has the third highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, which is the second-most afflicted region in the world.

"Many specialists working in international development are somewhat uncomfortable with faith-based efforts at personal and community transformation -- such as to prevent HIV-AIDS," said Brian O'Toole, the lead author in the study, in an interview.

"But this study suggests that in a country like Guyana, where many people have strong faith-based beliefs, it might be possible to draw on spiritual inspiration to address some of the problems facing society," said Dr. O'Toole, who is also director of the Varqa Foundation, which is a Baha'i-inspired social and economic development agency based in Guyana.

Other authors included Roy McConkey, a professor in the health promotion group at the Institute of Nursing Research at the University of Ulster; Karen Casson, also of the University of Ulster; Debbie Goetz-Goldberg, a researcher with Health for Humanity, another Baha'i-inspired agency; and Arash Yazdani, a youth volunteer.

More than 2,000 people aged 12-20 were surveyed for the study. They completed anonymous, self-reporting questionnaires about sexual behavior, their understanding of HIV/AIDs and the way it spreads, and attitudes towards issues like virginity and condom use.

Ninety-five percent of respondents were aware that HIV could be contracted from sexual contact with someone who was HIV positive. However, less than a third (29.5 percent) were able to state up to three other ways that HIV could spread and only 37 percent were able to name three ways of self-protection.

The survey also found that in Guyana, nearly 25 percent of young people aged 12-14 were sexually active, a percentage that rose to more than 33 percent for those 15 and older. Nearly half of the males over the age of 15 were sexually active, according to the survey.

Respondents were asked if they were aware of their religion's teaching on sexual matters and whether they followed it. Just over 35 percent of the young people said they did, with another 22 percent knowing the teaching but not following it.

The authors also concluded that peer education should be another element in any strategy of HIV/AIDS prevention.

"The content and delivery of educational inputs must be capable of being adapted to local contexts preferably by persons who are very familiar with those situations," wrote the authors. "In this respect, peer education would appear to offer some promise."

Dr. O'Toole noted that the study was carried out by a network of young people who themselves had been inspired by a faith-based, peer-education leadership training program known as Youth Can Move the World (YCMTW), also sponsored by the Varqa Foundation.

"Usually in this type of survey you get a couple of hundred responses," said Dr. O'Toole. "We were able to get several thousand because of the network of young people established by the Youth Can Move the World project."

Founded by Varqa in 1997, the YCMTW program has used peer education methods to train more than 7,000 Guyanese young people in strategies to prevent alcohol and drug abuse, suicide, HIV/AIDS, and domestic violence.

Among other things, the program uses inspirational passages from the holy writings of the major religions in Guyana to help young people draw on their spiritual heritage in an effort to prevent risky behavior. In Guyana, about 50 percent of the population is Christian, 35 percent is Hindu, 10 percent is Muslim. The remaining five percent of the people belong to other religions, including the Baha'i Faith.

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House Committee Praises Bush Administration For Efforts To Fight HIV/AIDS Pandemic, Cites Further Challenges

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs during a hearing on Tuesday applauded the progress of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in its fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide but raised questions about the program's long-term strategy for tackling challenges associated with the pandemic, CQ HealthBeat reports. According to CQ HealthBeat, the hearing "provided a preview" of the issues that might arise when Congress reviews PEPFAR for reauthorization next year. Ambassador Mark Dybul, who serves as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator and administers PEPFAR, said the program is on track to reach its goals. As of September 2006, about 822,000 people were receiving access to antiretroviral drugs with PEPFAR support, Dybul said.
He added that 61.5 million people had been reached by HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns. Some committee members asked how PEPFAR can help strengthen health systems and infrastructure in focus countries, as well as address shortages of health care workers, CQ HealthBeat reports. Other members asked how PEPFAR programs could partner with other programs to prevent HIV-positive people from contracting other diseases, including tuberculosis and malaria. According to Dybul, some PEPFAR-funded laboratories are used to diagnose TB. In addition, some committee members raised concerns about recommendations in a recent Institute of Medicine report that Congress eliminate all budget allocations in PEPFAR, including spending requirements for prevention efforts and abstinence and fidelity programs. Dybul said such funding allocations have been useful in addressing HIV/AIDS prevention issues, adding that PEPFAR allows each focus country to develop its own HIV/AIDS prevention strategy. Dybul said it would be years before the use of new technologies, such as an HIV/AIDS vaccine and microbicides, could be put into place. He also said that PEPFAR is examining circumcision programs following recent studies that found male circumcision can significantly reduce HIV transmission through heterosexual sex. Dybul said, "We're still in an emergency," adding, "The trick is how you respond to an emergency and at the same time build a sustainable response." Committee Chair Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) said, "The battle against HIV/AIDS is a marathon, it is not a sprint" (Blinkhorn, CQ HealthBeat, 4/24).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Panelists to discuss HIV/AIDS treatment during event today at LSU

Panel discussions on “Finding a Place at the Pharmacy: Questions of Experience,
Policy and Framing in HIV/AIDS Treatment” are set for 11 a.m. today in the Atchafalaya Room of the LSU Union.

Stephanie Grey, assistant professor of communication studies at LSU, is coordinating the event, which is an outreach activity related to a faculty research grant funded by the LSU Council on Research, according to an LSU news release.
Panelists will explore the debates surrounding HIV/AIDS treatment use and access. Panelists will include HIV patients, health-care professionals and scholars who have analyzed the policies used to frame the production and distribution of pharmaceuticals.

"The goal of this panel is to understand the current state of HIV/AIDS health care from the inside out and project new ways of seeing and understanding to improve medical care for those with these conditions," the release states.

Panels include:

-- “HIV/AIDS From the Professional and Personal Perspective: A Practitioner's Journey.” Janie Adams, RN

-- “Negotiating the Maze: Struggles and Obstacles on the Road to Living with HIV.”
Darryl Molin, graphic artist

-- “Pills, Profits: Consumer-Directed Ads and the HIV/AIDS Medical Marketplace.”
Joy Fuqua, Tulane University

-- “The Global Challenge: Exploring the Personal and Political Faces of AIDS.”
Krisana Kraisintu, international AIDS researcher and Chancellor’s
Lecturer 2007

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Chicago Tribune Examines HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education Efforts In Senegal

Chicago Tribune reporter Jessica Reaves on Sunday examined efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in Senegal. According to Reaves, government sponsorship of HIV/AIDS prevention and education programs, the involvement of religious leaders, and the country's legalization and regulation of the commercial sex industry are major factors in Senegal's success in fighting the disease. The HIV/AIDS prevalence in Senegal is 0.9%, similar to the HIV/AIDS prevalence of 0.6% in the U.S. and "far lower" than prevalence in many other African countries, Reaves reports. Senegal's Ministry of Education in 1994 with funding from United Nations Population Fund launched a campaign to introduce information about sex, contraception, health and family planning to children in the country's schools. Since then, the program has expanded to provide peer counseling and sponsors family life education clubs in schools.
Reaves reports that Senegalese girls have delayed initial intercourse by an average of three years compared with their mothers' generation. In addition, condom use has increased threefold from 10 years ago to nearly 70% currently, according to a recent survey. Senegal's success in fighting HIV/AIDS also is a "powerful indicator" of the partnership between the medical community and religious leaders, Reaves reports. Although religious leaders often "limit their sermons to discussions of abstinence and fidelity," health workers are "often on hand to handle practical instruction and clinical questions," Reaves reports. In addition, Senegal's sex worker registration system, which was established in 1969, provides women with weekly health care and access to no-cost condoms. A recent academic report found that 100% of Senegalese sex workers surveyed -- all of whom had participated in government-sponsored HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection prevention classes -- said they use condoms with every customer, Reaves reports. Senegal's policy of legalized commercial sex work makes it ineligible for funding from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, so it relies on donations from the UNFPA and the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This funding also allows Senegal's teachers and community leaders to discuss condom use as part of a larger prevention message, Reaves reports (Reaves, Chicago Tribune, 4/22).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Art project helps kids affected by HIV, AIDS

The AIDS Coalition of Coastal Texas serves about 70 children who have or have been orphaned by HIV and AIDS.

Marcia Wilson Rappaport of St. Vincent’s House said she was shocked to learn the number was so high.

“I was expecting maybe a dozen children,” she said.

That’s why she decided that this year’s art project by preschool students at St. Vincent’s should benefit the AIDS coalition.

St. Vincent’s recently received its fourth annual grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts — money it uses for arts activities for underserved children attending its preschool.
A part of the funding goes to an annual art project.

This year, Rappaport decided to have the students color stenciled designs on T-shirts. The shirts are placed on teddy bears to be given to children served by the coalition.

Artist Abron Pouncy provided a design for the shirts.

“For this project, I wanted to create something that would be cheerful and give the children some type of hope,” Pouncy said.

Pouncy said he has lived in Galveston for 37 years. He creates mostly realistic portraits in pastels, which were once displayed at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston for Black History Month.

He said he thought about what his favorite songs were from church when he was a child and designed two pieces of artwork inspired by the gospel songs “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” and “This Little Light of Mine.”

Then, he reproduced the designs on stencils and helped the students at St. Vincent’s color them in with fabric markers.

Pouncy said he wanted the technique to be simple and remind the 3- to 5-year-old children of coloring books.

“Some kids stayed in the lines, and others were in a hurry,” Pouncy said with laughter in his voice.

“They wanted to get done so they could go play.”

The bears will be on display during Art Walk on Saturday in the Top Gallant Room at 23rd Street and The Strand.

A silent auction will take place for a piece of jewelry from John Ford Jewelers. Proceeds will go to St. Vincent’s House.

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U.S. HIV/Aids Program Blending Food Aid, Anti-Retroviral Therapy

Kathryn Mcconnellusinfo Staff Writer Washington, DC

The United States is combining nutritional assistance with anti-retroviral drug therapy to boost the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs in developing countries, says Michele Maloney-Kitts, program director of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

A "complex interface exists between the prevalence of HIV infection and chronic food insecurity," Maloney-Kitts said April 17 at the International Food Aid Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
Because AIDS is "a wasting disease," people with it have "increasing energy needs," she said.

Established in 2004, PEPFAR is a five-year, $15 billion commitment with a particular focus on the 15 countries that are among the world's most severely affected by HIV/AIDS. Also working in 100 other countries, PEPFAR is the largest public health initiative dedicated to a single disease undertaken by any nation.

PEPFAR partners with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administer U.S. food aid programs, to provide food to groups in the targeted countries that are vulnerable to malnutrition, including children born to women infected with HIV, pregnant women, lactating mothers and children orphaned by AIDS, she said.

Children who are HIV-positive at birth are more likely to need enhanced nutrition because they often begin life underweight. Without proper nutrition, these children are more likely to have stunted growth and be susceptible to other infections, according to PEPFAR officials.

The agency also partners with the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), which receives nearly half its resources from the United States, host country governments, foundations and nongovernmental organizations to help sick and vulnerable people receive life-saving nutrients.

One such partnership is with the Academic Model for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV (AMPATH), an initiative that emphasizes food and economic security in addition to anti-retroviral drugs for people affected by HIV in Kenya, said Maloney-Kitts.

With AMPATH, PEPFAR is working with the WFP and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide food therapy based in health care centers for six months and counseling and cooking classes to HIV patients and their families. Once patients regain their strength, they are provided access to job training. AMPATH currently is treating 20,000 patients, Maloney-Kitts said.

NUTRITION "FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE" AGAINST AIDS

In Ethiopia, PEPFAR is providing logistical support to help get food, vitamin supplements and nutritional counseling to people affected by HIV/AIDS, she said.

"Nutrition is the first line of defense" against HIV/AIDS, John Powell, WFP deputy executive director, said at the conference.

He said undernourished people are more prone to contracting communicable disease because chronic hunger leads to a sense of hopelessness, which can lead to risky behavior.

Powell also said that drug treatments are less effective when taken on an empty stomach.

In addition, he said, sick people who do not have enough to eat might be less likely to take their medication because the drugs, when taken on an empty stomach, can make the patient feel sicker.

Powell urged donors to devote more AIDS funding to agricultural development programs.

He said spending on improved seeds, fertilizers and irrigation and clean water systems in areas heavily affected by HIV can help patients grow their own nutritious food and eventually rebuild their strength.

As of PEPFAR's most recent report in September 2006, a total of 822,000 people were receiving anti-retroviral drug treatment it supported, up from an estimated 50,000 that received the treatment when PEPFAR was first funded. Approximately 1 million people are expected to receive PEPFAR-supported treatment by late 2007, Maloney-Kitts said.

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Angola: Conference on HIV/Aids Starts Today

A two-day conference on HIV/Aids and human rights will be opened this Thursday, in Luanda, organised by the Justice, Peace and Democracy Association (AJPD).

The event, which will take place in the facilities of the Angolan Catholic University (UCAN), is the third of the kind promoted by AJPD in the framework of the project of Advocacy of Rights of HIV Infected People.

The meeting aims at publicly discussing the role of leadership and promoting a greater involvement of the civil society in the promotion and defence of the rights of HIV infected people, encouraging and showing the path so that the infected resort more frequently to legal procedures for their protection.
With the motto "United in the Fight against Stigma and Discrimination", the meeting is also to share the experiences of other countries, such as that of Brazil, concerning the participation of HIV positive people in the struggle against discrimination and stigmatization.

AJPD, in the light of its project of advocacy of rights of HIV infected people, holds similar activity countrywide. Founded in August 2000, AJPD's main social scope is the defence and promotion of human rights, values of democracy, peace and social justice.

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April 25, 2007

Mali: Truth hurts for children living with HIV/AIDS

"I can't tell my friends. Only my grandmother knows," the tall, thin girl said after one of her regular check-ups at the Gabriel Toure Hospital in the Malian capital, Bamako.

Maimouna's grandmother, Oumou, held off letting doctors tell her for so long because she was afraid how her adopted daughter would be treated if more people knew.

In Mali, HIV/AIDS infections hover around 1.7 percent, low by African standards, but ignorance about the disease and stigmatisation of people infected with it run extremely high, according to health workers.
"When people have AIDS terrible things are said about them," Oumou said.

When to tell AIDS orphans about their infection is a subject of controversy among health officials with some advocating telling children the truth early, others waiting until their teens.

Pierre Robert, head of a UN children's agency (UNICEF) pilot HIV/AIDS programme in Mali, urges telling children early because "it's much less dramatic to tell them at age six than 16. For adolescents there are lots of questions and it can be very painful."

Cooperation with a hospital in Rwanda means the Bamako facility's staff have been trained by Rwandan doctors specialised in telling children about their status.

Assiatou Coulibaly, head of the HIV/AIDS program at the Gabriel Toure Hospital agrees because she says an informed child is more likely to adhere to the strict regime of medicines that can prolong their lives.

The disease is the bond that unites them, but they also learn from each other that they can live positively with the disease

"It is necessary to take complete charge of the treatment and psychosocial counseling," she said. The UNICEF programme at the clinic has integrated psychosocial support into the HIV/AIDS clinic and also deals with therapeutic and nutritional care.

The medical logic of telling children the truth is confirmed by Maimouna, who says she has been much more serious about taking her syrup anti-retroviral medicine since she found out what it is for.

In the three months since Maimouna was told the truth, she has also undergone counseling and met dozens of other children in the same situation. In group sessions, she and the other children learn about the immune system and the importance of their drugs. The children often become friendly outside of the session or exchange mobile phone numbers to send each other text messages.

"The disease is the bond that unites them, but they also learn from each other that they can live positively with the disease," UNICEF's Robert said.

At the end of the day, for Maimouna, it is back out into the world with her closely guarded secret. Gripping a book under her arm and preparing to leave the hospital, her face grows serious.

For her grandmother, Oumou, at least, the truth is better than guarding a secret. "I feel relief now I have told her," she said. "Before, she would always ask me questions about her parents and I had nothing to tell her."

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AJPD Association Holds Conference On HIV/AIDS

A conference on HIV/AIDS and human rights will be held on April 26-27, here, organised by the Justice, Peace and Democracy Association (AJPD).

This is the third event of the kind promoted by AJPD in the framework of the project of Advocacy of Rights of HIV Infected People, informs the association in a communiqué sent to ANGOP on Tuesday.

The meeting aims at publicly discussing the role of leadership and promoting a greater involvement of the civil society in the promotion and defence of the rights of HIV infected people, encouraging and showing the path so that the infected resort more frequently to legal procedures for their protection.

With the motto "United in the Fight against Stigma and Discrimination", meeting is also to share the experiences of other countries, such as that of Brazil, concerning the participation of HIV positive people in the struggle against discrimination and stigmatization.

AJPD, in the light of its project of advocacy of rights of HIV infected people, holds similar activities countrywide.

Founded in August 2000, AJPD has as social objective the defence and promotion of human rights, values of democracy, peace and social justice.

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UNESCO fights HIV/AIDS in southern Africa's education sector

The United Nations (UN) agency responsible for education is spearheading a program aimed at helping southern African countries fight HIV/AIDS in the education sector, a senior official said Tuesday.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) representative at the Harare office in Zimbabwe, Juma Shabani, said his organization has lined up a number of activities aimed at building capacity for countries in the region in fighting the pandemic in the education sector.

"The activities have been planned and are being implemented as steps in continuing strategic action on education and HIV/AIDS," the official said at a sub-regional HIV/AIDS skills building meeting.
He said the UNESCO was keen to support countries in the region to move towards universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention programs, treatment, care and support.

Though statistics on the impact of the pandemic on the education sector in the region vary, the high prevalence rates in the region have affected all sectors in the countries.

The region has prevalence rates as high as 35 percent in some countries while the rate for Zambia stands at 16 percent.

The four-day meeting is expected to come up with country- specific action programs for accelerating the fight against the pandemic and the development of comprehensive national education sector responses to HIV/AIDS.

UNESCO chief programs officer in the Zambia office Felicitas Chinanda said the region can not relent in searching for solutions to the HIV problem which is still daunting the sub-region.

"It is not enough to be satisfied with the usual ordinary approaches. HIV/AIDS is an extraordinary disease which needs extraordinary interventions," she said.

Zambian Education Minister Geoffrey Lungwangwa said it would be difficult for countries in the region to attain the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) if the HIV/AIDS problem is not tackled.

He pointed out that the major obstacle the sub-region faces in the fight against HIV/AIDS is the erratic and limited availability of resources.

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Angola: AJPD Humanitarian Association Holds Third Conference On HIV/Aids

A conference on HIV/AIDS and human rights will hold on April 26 to 27, here, under the guidance of the Justice, Peace and Democracy Association (AJPD).

AJPD will hold its third forum of the kind in the framework of the project of Advocacy of Rights of HIV Infected People, informs the association in a communiqué sent to ANGOP this Tuesday.

The meeting will aim at publicly discussing the role of leadership and promoting a greater involvement of the civil society in the promotion and defence of the rights of HIV infected people, encouraging and showing the routes so that the infected resort more frequently to legal procedures for their protection.
On the motto "United in the Fight against Stigma and Discrimination", the meeting also foresees to share the experiences of other countries, such as that of Brazil, concerning the participation of HIV positive people in the struggle against discrimination and stigmatization.

AJPD, in the light of its project of advocacy of rights of HIV infected people, holds similar activities nationwide.

Founded in August 2000, AJPD has a social objective for the defence and promotion of human rights, values of democracy, peace and social justice.

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Rwanda: Country Commended for Reducing HIV/Aids Prevalence

Rwanda and Uganda have been commended for their outstanding results in reducing HIV/Aids. The platitude was made by Hon. Syon' goh, Member of Parliament in Kenya and representative for the NEPAD Contact Group for African Parliamentarians (NCGAP).Syon' goh said this on April 19, in Nairobi, Kenya, when African delegates analysed the HIV/Aids policies of their parliaments by completing score cards on how their parliaments had performed in terms of HIV/Aids legislation, oversight, budget and representation. They also conducted a legislative review on laws relating to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).
African delegates similarly revised the National Parliamentary Plans of Action (NPPA) for OVC developed at previous regional seminars. A committee of experts was tasked with developing a draft African Parliamentary Plan of Action (APPA) for HIV/Aids based on the 2006 Abuja Call for Action that will be developed further in future regional meetings.

The conference were attended over 30 parliamentarians from the Great Lakes Region, Members of Parliament from Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, and experts from civil society and international organisations met at the seminar, entitled "Towards Universal Access to HIV/Aids Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support" and organised by AWEPA (European Parliamentarians for Africa).

In his opening remarks, Dr Scholten, AWEPA executive president noted that when speaking about healthcare, "it is important not to forget the promises made in Abuja in 2001 by the African governments."

According to the realese , participants covered three key topics identifying parliamentary actions for HIV/Aids within African Union Legal Instruments, the role of parliamentarians in strengthening HIV/Aids Prevention, and the role of parliamentarians in moving towards universal access to HIV/Aids treatment, care and support. Concrete recommendations and tools to assist MPs in their "daunting task in moving towards universal access to Aids treatment by 2010" , as stated by Mr Munene from the Kenya Human Rights Commission, were brought to the table.

According to the press realese, the seminar was a follow-up to regional seminars on Children and Aids, organised by AWEPA in Nairobi in November 2005, and Cape Town in May 2006.

AWEPA also organised this regional parliamentary seminar in the framework of the parliamentary support programme "Mobilising Parliaments for NEPAD" (MPN). The MPN programme is aimed at facilitating a greater involvement in the NEPAD process for African and European parliaments and has, as one of its priority action areas, "Health and Development".

The (revised) National Parliamentary Plans of Action for OVC will be addressed in national follow-up workshops later this year and in 2008. The draft African Parliamentary Plan of Action will be further discussed in other MPN activities.

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IDPs Living with HIV and AIDS Face Difficulties in Accessing Care and Support

A comprehensive IOM mapping of HIV and AIDS service availability for internally displaced people (IDPs) in seven districts in northern Uganda has revealed that people are facing significant difficulties in accessing assistance such as counseling, treatment and support.

Care and support for orphans and other vulnerable children as well as people living with HIV and AIDS was highlighted as a significant problem for authorities and organizations providing assistance on the ground due to the overwhelming numbers of people needing help and limited resources and capacity to respond to the needs.
The mapping was carried out in the districts of Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, Pader, Lira, Oyam and Apac, the main areas affected by years of conflict between the Ugandan authorities and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), where an estimated 1.4 million IDPs still live in camps.

IDP leaders also stressed the lack of information on which HIV and AIDS services were available and where to go, while other results from the mapping exercise included evidence of gaps in referral systems and an inequitable geographical distribution of services to the IDP communities.

Uganda has been seen as a success story in terms of fighting the disease with a significant decrease in prevalence rates during the 1990s which stabilized from 2000. However, it now seems the burden of the AIDS epidemic has grown, according to UNAIDS which also states there are an estimated one million people living with HIV and another one million children orphaned by AIDS in the country. The HIV prevalence rate in the north central region of Uganda is amongst the highest in the country, with particular concerns over potential increasing infections due to the heightened vulnerability of IDPs, particularly amongst women and girls.

"If a difference is to be made in assisting vulnerable populations affected by HIV and AIDS, there is undoubtedly a need for more resources to be made available and for programmes aimed at giving better access to services among the IDP population," said Angela St. Jules, IOM project officer in Kampala. "There needs to be better coordination and information flow among all those involved in providing these services to improve systematic referral and access to HIV and AIDS services amongst the IDP populations."

IOM is working closely with the government of Uganda district authorities to support the improvement of HIV and AIDS coordination at the district level. As part of the mapping exercise, IOM provided technical support in data management, as well as improved capacity to manage information which included the provision of computers and office furniture.

The mapping, carried out at the request of the UN Technical Working Group on HIV and AIDS and the National Committee on AIDS in Emergency Settings (NACAES) under the leadership of the Ugandan AIDS Commission (UAC), is part of a joint UN programme on health, nutrition and HIV/AIDS in northern Uganda funded by the British Department for International Development (DFID).

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AIDS activists call for boycott of Abbott products

HIV/AIDS activists in nearly 20 countries have called for a global boycott of Abbott products over what they say are the pharmaceutical firm's intimidating business tactics in Thailand.

Abbott Laboratories Inc. offered this week to sell a heat-stable form of AIDS drug Aluvia in Thailand, reversing a boycott to protest against the country's use of patent laws, or compulsory licencing, to import cheaper medicines.

But non-profit groups have dismissed the move as cosmetic.
"Abbott has agreed to register Aluvia (for sale) only under the condition that they (Thailand) stop the compulsory licence, which is tantamount to blackmail," said Brigitte Tenni of the Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Bangkok.

"If we tolerate it now, other developing countries will be very initimidated to issue compulsory licences in future."

Abbott was not immediately available for comment.

Aluvia is badly needed because it does not require refrigeration like its older version, Kaletra, eliminating the need for costly cold storage in poor countries.

Non-profit groups in Thailand, India, Indonesia, the U.S., South Korea, Brazil and Argentina are gearing up to protest outside Abbott offices or U.S. embassies on Thursday.

In countries where protests are frowned upon, such as Singapore, Vietnam and China, NGOs there will join the other countries in calling for a boycott of Abbott products, except for essential medicines that have no substitutes.

"We urge people to denounce Abbott for its actions, not to buy its products. It sells many milk products. We will distribute it (petition) to all groups in China from tomorrow," said Thomas Cai, a volunteer with China Treatment Advocacy Network.

Abbott recently cut its price for Kaletra and Aluvia to US$1,000 per patient per year in 40 low- and middle-income countries, but activists say it is still too expensive.

"People will be using this drug for a very long time, we can buy in bulk and they can still make a lot of money," Cai said.

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Pakistan's first 'outed' HIV patient turns social activist


Thrown in jail, deported and ridiculed -- Nazir Masih's struggle as the first person in Pakistan to be publicly "outed" as
HIV positive has led him on an often arduous journey from outcast to activist.

The 52-year-old Masih's struggles have been doubly difficult in this overwhelmingly Muslim nation of 160 million people because he is part of the tiny Christian religious minority.

He has overcome these problems to help Pakistan's "hidden" HIV/AIDS sufferers who get little help from the government -- officially only 4,000 people here have the virus but UNAIDS says up to 80,000 are infected.
"When I was first diagnosed as HIV positive 17 years ago, I used to wish I was dead. I thought it would be better for me and my family than to suffer a life of stigma and ostracism," the diminutive Masih told AFP.

Masih was working as a helper for an Arab family in Abu Dhabi when a mandatory HIV test for renewing visas came back positive.

"Having spent years away from my wife, I did have sex with another woman. It was a mistake but the scale of the punishment was too severe for the act," he says when asked how he contracted HIV.

"I was thrown in jail and later deported to Pakistan," he said.

Back in his homeland, the nightmare continued. A quack doctor told him that his condition was the same as syphilis and took most of his money for useless treatment, forcing him to sell his house.

Lesions began to appear on his skin. And then, he says, local newspapers found out about his condition and turned his life into a circus.

Health officials alerted to the "threat" posed by Masih descended upon his house and told his wife to avoid all contact with him.

This was the first time someone with HIV/AIDS had been publicly outed in Pakistan, says Nasir Afraz, deputy programme manager at the government's National Aids Control Programme, although the first confirmed case here was in 1987.

"They really upset my family. My wife was told not to give me any food or even touch my clothes," said Masih. "They made a complete mockery of me."

-- Struggle to bring AIDS sufferers in from the cold --

By 1998 he said he was contemplating suicide when he was contacted by a Christian charity. Christians make up less than three percent of the overwhelmingly Muslim population.

With their help he set up an office in his bicycle shop and with a small team of workers he began an initiative to reach out to HIV sufferers and educate poor communities about the virus.

He had only five patients at first -- and not all of them welcomed his help.

"I have taken a lot of abuse from HIV patients. One man who was HIV positive got really angry and threatened me with a gun," he said.

In 2001, with the help of outside funding, Masih set up the New Light Aids Control Society in the eastern city of Lahore. Today it provides 124 people with free anti-retroviral therapy, counselling and financial aid.

Masih's dedication has also motivated others.

In 2003 Nawaz Ahmed was working as a mobile technician in Kuwait when tests proved he was HIV positive.

"Because of the stigma associated with HIV and Aids, I didn't tell people I was HIV positive but once I saw the work that Mr Nazir was doing it motivated me to act too. I started working at New Light in 2004," he said.

Masih says the official response to the growing HIV problem in Pakistan is inadequate.

"Our government has ignored the HIV problem rather than attack it," he said.

"They have testing facilities and they have been providing anti-retroviral therapy since 2005 -- two years after New Light -- but the government makes no effort to engage the population."

Bettina Schunter, an HIV and AIDS official for the
United Nations Children's Fund said the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Pakistan was likely to be 70,000-80,000, about 20 times more than the number actually diagnosed.

"We know the people are there, we just haven't officially found them yet," Schunter said.

But Afraz of the National Aids Control Programme denied that Pakistani authorities were not doing enough.

"We have nine treatment centres across the country, about 650 patients are registered with us. Right now we are in the process of scaling up treatment and services for HIV patients to meet deadlines by 2010," he said.

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April 24, 2007

Few MSM In Jakarta, Indonesia, Aware Of HIV/AIDS; Stigma Hindering Prevention Efforts

Few men who have sex with men in Jakarta, Indonesia, are aware of HIV/AIDS and how to prevent the spread of the virus, and social stigma associated with being HIV-positive has hindered HIV/AIDS prevention efforts among the MSM community, the Jakarta Post reports. Yakub Gunawan, an HIV/AIDS advocate who is conducting research on HIV/AIDS awareness among MSM in Jakarta, said that many MSM refuse to be tested for HIV "because they fear society's judgment." He added that most MSM "know they are in a high-risk group prone to HIV infection. However, there is a kind of denial on their part. They don't want to get tested for HIV because if they're HIV-positive, they would have to face a double stigma of being gay and having HIV." Many MSM in Jakarta are married and are at an increased risk of transmitting the virus to their wives, according to Yakub. Among 25 participants in Yakub's research, 14 agreed to receive an HIV test, four of whom tested positive, the Post reports

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Nigeria: Attah Commends Ecobank On HIV/Aids

Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, has commended Ecobank for financing a youth friendly centre at the University of Uyo. According to a statement from the bank the governor who spoke during the commissioning of the centre over the weekend maintained that the youth friendly centre which is a resource centre providing students with the enabling facilities on HIV/AIDS related matters will compliment the three anti-retroviral therapy centers in Akwa - Ibom state.

Victor Attah, represented at the commissioning ceremony by the state commissioner for Health, Mr. Okon Emah, maintained that the fight against HIV/AIDS must be seen as a challenge for all as the scourge is fast destroying the youth population.
He applauded National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) and Ecobank for the initiative saying that the choice of developing Youth Friendly Centers in Nigerian Universities is commendable. He urged the student's to protect the facility with passion and pass it on to their successors, who must also benefit from the project.

In his comment Babatunde Osotimehin, Director General of NACA, represented at the event by Mr. Kayode Ogungbemi, a director in the agency, urged business and financial institutions to take a cue from Ecobank by financing centre that will help check the HIV/AIDS scourge, which according to him is fast depleting the able bodied population.

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FDA To Consider Approval Of First CCR5 Antagonist Against HIV/AIDS

An advisory panel of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is meeting tomorrow to decide whether to recommend approval of Pfizer's HIV/AIDS drug Maraviroc for patients already taking other drugs. If approved, it will be the first drug available in the class called CCR5 antagonists.

The FDA does not have to follow the panel's recommedations, but it usually does.

Many HIV drugs fight the virus from inside infected white blood cells. CCR5 antagonists stop the virus from getting into cells by blocking the main entry point common to most people who have the infection.
CCR5 stands for chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 5. HIV uses it as a co-receptor to get into target cells: the CD4 T-cells or helper cells, the main coordinators of the immune system.

When the co-receptor "sees" the HIV virus it signals to the main CD4 cell receptor to allow the HIV antigen into the target T-cell.

By blocking the CCR5 co-receptor, CCR5 antagonists stop strains of HIV known as "R5-tropic", an HIV variant that is common in earlier infection. However, as the disease progresses, the virus adapts to use an alternative entry point, the CXR4 receptor.

In February, Pfizer announced that marketing authorization applications for Maraviroc were receiving accelerated review in both the US and Europe.

Accelerated reviews are granted to drugs that may offer significant improvements over current therapies, if approved.

During development Maraviroc was known as UK-427857.

The marketing applications for Maraviroc are supported by efficacy and safety data from two phase 3 trials.

Named MOTIVATE-1 and 2 (Maraviroc plus Optimized Therapy In Viremic Antiretroviral Treatment-Experienced patients), the trials show 24 weeks of data comparing Optimized Background Therapy, with or without Maraviroc, in over 1,000 highly treatment-experienced patients with CCR5-tropic HIV-1.

The HIV virus was suppressed in 45 per cent of the patients, compared with 23 per cent who took a placebo. Maraviroc and the placebos were taken in combination with other drugs.

According to Pfizer, these trial results have been accepted for presentation at a forthcoming HIV conference.

CCR5 antagonists have raised safety concerns in the past. Earlier drugs under development were linked to lymphoma and liver damage.

These risks did not appear to be significant in the Pfizer studies, but according to media reports, the FDA reviewers are concerned about modest increases in liver damage.

When they submitted the marketing application, John LaMattina, president, Pfizer Global Research and Development, said:

"There is a profound global need for new medicines to help HIV/AIDS patients."

"We expect that CCR5 antagonists, like Maraviroc, will become critically important new treatment options for patients who are resistant or intolerant to their current HIV/AIDS therapies," he added.

Other drug companies are also working on CCR5 antagonists.

Nobody knows what the long term effect of using CCR5 antagonists will be. Some have speculated that it will accelerate the development of new strains of HIV that use other entry points.

Early trials have suggested not, but it highlights the importance of keeping an eye on the impact of the drug over the coming years should it pass the FDA and European approval.

According to researchers on the Pfizer trials, the priority now is to get the drug to the people who are running out of options. The longer term effects will not be known until the drug has been used for 5 to 10 years.

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Not Mandatory For Couples To Test For HIV/Aids Before Marriage

The Pahang state government has not imposed a mandatory requirement for couples to test for HIV/Aids before getting married but encourages them to do so, the state assembly was told Monday.

Chairman of the State Health, Social Welfare and Orang Asli Affairs Committee Datuk Ishak Muhamad said the Pahang Health Department offered the test for free to couples wanting to get married.

"We encourage couples about to get married to take the HIV/Aids test. The programme was started in 2004 and has received encouraging response. Last year, 11,076 couples took the test before marriage," he said.
He was replying to a question from Datuk Chan Choon Fah (BN-Teras) who had wanted to know whether the state government planned to make it mandatory for couples to take the HIV-Aids test before getting married.

Chairman of the State Youth, Sports and Unity Committee Datuk Dr Ahmad Shukri Ismail said that a study by the federal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) indicated that firearms used in criminal cases were smuggled from abroad.

He said the study also showed that there were criminals who used fake or toy firearms when committing crime.

"However, cases of crime with the use of firearms were low in Pahang. For the whole of last year, only eight cases of armed robbery were reported," he said when replying to a question from Datuk Redzwan Harun (BN-Kerdau).

Meanwhile, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said not all the stalls at the rest areas of the East Coast Expressway opened for business at the same time because of the low volume of traffic along the highway.

"Requiring all the stalls to be in operation would force the operators to incur losses owing to lack of customers," he said when replying to a question from Datuk Abdul Manan Ismail (BN-Panching).

"At the moment, at least two food stalls and one drinks stall are opened by rotation round the clock according to a schedule," he said, adding that the operating hours of stalls not scheduled to operate round the clock were from 8 am to 10 pm.

"Nevertheless, during festival periods and at weekends, more stalls will be opened to cater to the bigger number of users of the highway," he said.

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AIDS activists call for death penalty for HIV infection by rape

A rising incidence of rape in Swaziland, coupled with the world's highest level of HIV-infection, is fuelling a national debate on what punishment should be meted out to rapists, especially if the victims of sex crimes become infected with the disease.

"Giving a little girl HIV is like giving her a death sentence," Nonhlanhla Dlamini, director of the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA), told IRIN. The group offers medical and legal assistance as well as psychological counselling to victims of abuse, most of whom are women.
The debate about sex crimes and the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS has stalled passage of the Sexual Offences and Sexual Violence Bill, introduced last year. Originally the bill called for the death sentence for HIV-positive men who infected women they raped while knowing their medical condition, but parliament is now expected to debate the bill later this year.

However, Thembi Nkambule, National Coordinator of the Swaziland National Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (SWANNEPHA), felt that "being HIV positive is not a criminal offence; we should not criminalise being HIV positive".

Those advocating more severe sentences for offenders who knowingly infect their victims said it was not the medical condition they sought to criminalise, but a violent act that was made worse by an infection that would lead to an incurable disease.

The Constitution enacted last year by King Mswati, the continent's last absolute monarch, provided for capital punishment for HIV-positive rapists, but after objections by human rights groups the penalty was replaced by a life sentence.

A five-year prison term for HIV-positive men and women who infect their sexual partners during consensual sex, dubbed the "condom clause" by one of the bill's consultants, is also included, and is a reflection of the sparse use of safer sex measures in a country where nearly four out of ten sexually active adults are HIV-positive, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

The proposed legislation places the burden of proof of infection on the prosecution. "When a rape is attended by HIV and AIDS, the prosecution shall prove that the accused either knowingly or negligently or recklessly infected the victim with HIV and AIDS," the bill states.

SWAGAA, which worked closely with the government during the bill's formulation and is widely recognised as placing rape and violence against women on the national agenda, is adamant that infecting a person with HIV/AIDS through rape is the same as murder.

"We see more rapes in this country; we see more little girls infected with HIV through rape. They will need medical care for the rest of their lives, and they have received a premature death sentence, because at some point they will develop AIDS and die before their time," Dlamini said.

The argument for stiffer sentences was strengthened last week after an HIV-positive father in the southern Shiselweni region allegedly raped his 14-year-old daughter, and then beat her to try and prevent her from reporting the incident to the police. In reaction, Hlobsile Dlamini, SWAGAA's public relations officer, told the local press the case should be treated as murder.

SWANNEPHA, an umbrella body for support groups for HIV positive people, maintains that having an additional penalty for convicted rapists who are HIV-positive is a form of discrimination.

"We are already having a challenge getting people to know their HIV status," said a counsellor from the organisation. "This bill will have a chilling effect on our attempt to get people to know their status for their own good, so they can seek treatment. The law would be harsh on people who know their HIV status and then go on to infect other people, not just through rape but through negligence, or maybe if a condom bursts."

Fuelling the controversy this week was the sentencing of a 40-year-old man to a 20-year jail term after being convicted of raping an underage girl and possibly infecting her with HIV/AIDS.

Even without the new Sexual Offences Act on the statute books, the courts have been permitted discretionary power to give harsher sentences when HIV-infection takes place. In cases where this has not occurred, SWAGAA and women's rights groups have decried what they considered a light sentence for the convicted HIV-positive rapist.

"He can be released early for good behaviour, or as part of a nationwide mercy release that is done at some national anniversaries," said SWAGAA's Dlamini. "Meanwhile, the girl he raped may be dead from AIDS."

Justice Qinisile Mabuza, who presided over the rape case and lamented the belief that HIV/AIDS could be "cured" if an HIV-positive man had sex with a virgin, commented, "The crime of rape has become so prevalent that there is no week where there are not reports of it in the press."

However, the judge said the prosecution had failed to link the victim's HIV-positive status to the rapist and called for legislation to make HIV/AIDS testing mandatory for rape suspects.

While handing down judgment, Justice Mabuza took a moment to wonder what the future held for the HIV-positive girl allegedly infected by the rapist, a question that remains at the forefront of the heated national debate in Swaziland, where HIV/AIDS and violence against women and girls are proving an increasingly deadly

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Concern over future of UMC's HIV-AIDS program

Saving UMC some much needed cash will come at a high cost. But patients of the hospital's HIV-AIDS program hope it doesn't mean cutting them out.

An e-mail is being sent out valley-wide. It asks county commissioners to keep the Wellness Center open. The decades-old facility appeared on a list of suggested closures last week.

By cutting the program out, UMC would save almost $3 million. But one doctor says you'd leave thousands of patients with no place to go. "If this clinic loses money, no private docs are going to say come on down," Dr. Jerry Cade said. "Let me take care of you even if you're going to hurt my bottom line."

County commissioners are urging people to bring up their concerns. They say the public's reaction will be considered when they decide which programs stay and which go.

We're told a decision should be made by June.

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Surge In Senior HIV Survivors Prompts New Treatment Studies

Many patients diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s and 1990s have survived and now are entering their golden years. AIDs cases among the over-50 crowd reached 90,000 in 2003, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will account for half of all HIV/AIDS cases in the United States by 2015.
Consequently, health care providers and social service workers are pioneering new ground to treat the growing number of HIV-positive older adults. Timothy Heckman, an Ohio University health psychologist, has been on the forefront of research involving HIV-infected older adults.

Heckman recently received a $1.5 million, four-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Nursing Research to nationally test the effectiveness of a telephone support group for older adults with HIV.

Seniors often feel embarrassment or out-of-place among what is usually a gathering of young people at traditional AIDS support groups. The seniors have different needs, which may not be met, or they may be uncomfortable talking about issues, such as sex, among younger people.

“The telephone, as a tool for delivering support, is financially and psychologically easier for many older adults,” said Heckman, who has spent the past eight years conducting AIDs research among the elderly and in rural populations.

A project four years ago found that a telephone support program reduced depression for rural seniors. The results of that study were published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine last year. Now Heckman plans to expand the geographical scope of the study and increase the number of participants.

“A separate study we conducted of older adults found that support groups which are designed to teach them skills to handle stress, obtain social support and cope more adaptively are more effective than brief therapy sessions initiated by the person or support groups where participants only discuss problems but do not receive what is called coping intervention treatment,” Heckman said.

He will further test that concept through the telephone support group study. Nearly 400 participants of the project will be divided among three therapy models, ranging from a 12-week telephone-delivered support group with sessions designed to improve the participants’ coping skills to less active therapy sessions in which participants receive individual guidance only upon request.

Other Ohio University research, led by Heckman, has found that seniors living with HIV also report problems such as suicidal thoughts, depression, stress and ignoring other age-related health issues. He and two graduate students presented these and other related findings at the annual conference of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, held in Washington, D.C., last month.

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HIV infection appears to increases the risk of heart attack

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found that infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is also associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction or heart attack. While rates of several cardiovascular risk factors were also increased in study participants infected with HIV, the increased incidence of heart attack was beyond what could be explained by risk factor differences. The report will be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and has been released online.

"Our study shows a higher incidence of myocardial infarction and major cardiovascular risk factors in HIV-infected patients, compared with noninfected patients," says Steven Grinspoon, MD, of the MGH Program in Nutritional Metabolism and Neuroendocrine Unit, the report's senior author. "Those findings indicate that those infected with HIV should be assessed for cardiovascular risk factors and that we urgently need to develop strategies to modify those risks."
It has been recognized that many HIV-infected individuals have metabolic abnormalities – including altered levels of blood lipids such as cholesterol, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and changes in fat distribution in the body. Researchers have reported that patients taking antiretroviral medications may have increased risk of heart attacks, but few studies have directly examined whether HIV-infected patients in general have more heart attacks than non-infected individuals do.

The researchers took advantage of the Research Patient Data Registry, a database of demographic and diagnostic information on more than 1.7 million patients treated at MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital since 1993. They compared information on almost 4,000 HIV-infected patients with data from more than one million patients without HIV. Study participants were aged 18 to 84 and were seen at least twice during the study period of almost eight years. Any patient whose initial visit was for a heart attack was excluded from the study group.

Across all age groups included, the risk of myocardial infarction occurring after the initial hospital visit was markedly higher for those infected with HIV. Although traditional cardiovascular risk factors – such as elevated lipid levels, diabetes and hypertension – also were more common among the HIV-infected patients and did account for some increased risk, the increased risk for heart attack associated with HIV remained significant even when adjusted for those risk factors. Overall, the risk of heart attack was almost doubled in all those with HIV and was almost tripled among women.

"Followup studies are needed to better determine why myocardial infarction rates are higher in HIV patients, which risk factors drive this risk most, and how smoking – which we weren't able to completely evaluate in this study – affects this risk," Grinspoon says. "We also need to analyze the relationship of antiretroviral medications to cardiovascular risk. HIV medications save lives, and patients should continue taking them as prescribed; but we want physicians to be aware of these increased heart attack rates, watch risk factors carefully and appropriately target their treatment." Grinspoon is an associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

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April 23, 2007

How HIV/Aids inhibits rural development

It is now just over twenty years since the first incidence of the HIV/Aids virus was reported in the country.

It was first reported as a disease between 1978 -79 in the West Lake Region (Kagera) and named by the local people as Juliana in reference to shirts imported from Burundi which entered the country just at the same time.

Later the people called it �slim� in reference to infected victims who quickly lost weight.
The threat to life posed by the killer disease is real and there are families who have lost whole working members, leaving behind orphans and old people, yet some people seem not to have taken up the danger seriously.

Organizations that are engaged in the war against AIDS have warned people to take all the necessary precautions to avoid more new infections.

However, AIDS exists and continues to spread while its effects are still haunting us.

When the disease was first reported, it looked more of an urban. But due to migration of people from rural to urban areas, interactions are more frequent as more infections occur.

As we are getting close to the end of the 21st century, our major challenge in Tanzania and indeed other African countries is to tackle and find permanent solutions to the pervasive problem of HIV / AIDS which is now affecting the development efforts particularly in the rural areas where the majority of the population (80%) live.

The virus has increased the problem of poverty and human destitution.

Science and technology, as well as industrialization have a leading role in alleviating the existing poor economic and social situation in the country.

But AIDS has taken and continues to take away the intelligence that would lead the country to achieving the above.

Clear understanding of the causes of and manifestations of AIDS in rural areas as well the needs of the rural poor is essential if the war against AIDS is to be successful.

AIDS Control Committee in Tanzania says that AIDS is preventable.

In Africa the disease is reported to be on the increase, over 400 Africans are contacting the disease every hour and over 6, ooo people die every day.

Some African cultures which demand sharing of problems, this means more than one percent of affected victims are not engaged in production.

It is reported that over 5 million died of AIDS in the year 2002 and the number was estimated to have risen to over 8 million.

Most of these are in their productive and reproductive prime with several negative consequences for economic development.

But why has AIDS been singled out as a major problem to the world`s economic achievements especially in the developing world?

AIDS World report shows that there about 6,000 people who die from the disease every day. This means over 2 million die every year and the number of people contracting the disease is reported to be on the increase.

But why has it become difficult to control the disease? I recall on one of the warnings given by the second phase president Ali Hassan Mwinyi. He warned people to be careful with the disease, because it was located in a sensitive area.

All campaigns are directed to a call for people to practise safe sex through increased use of condoms, but from the African behaviour this has proved difficult and so the disease continues to be on the increase.

The third phase president Benjamin Mkapa declared HIV / AIDS a national disaster, and called on each person from family to national level, to engage in the battle against this killer disease.

Through changing our sexual behaviours and taking all precautionary measures the war against AIDS will be won

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Man 'deliberately gave partner HIV'

Jamie Michael Richards, 34, of Highgate Hill in inner-city Brisbane, today pleaded not guilty in Brisbane District Court to intending to transmit a serious disease and unlawfully transmitting a serious disease due to sex with a 20-year-old man.

He faces an alternative charge of grievous bodily harm against the man, whom Mr Richards allegedly had a casual sexual relationship with.
Prosecutor Sal Vasta told the court there was a "certain attraction" when Mr Richards and the complainant, who was an apprentice hairdresser, first met at a Brisbane train station in mid to late 2003.

"They were always friends first and foremost ... who did sexual acts together," Mr Vasta said.

"They were never in a relationship."

He said the victim lost his virginity to Mr Richards and during their regular sexual encounters "there were times where they did not use a condom".

"There were a number of conversations about the use of condoms ... Jamie would say it was okay not to wear one because he'd never had a sexually transmitted disease," Mr Vasta told the court.

"He never mentioned anything about HIV or AIDS."

Mr Vasta said the victim also noticed Mr Richards was taking a lot of medication and herbal treatments.

He said Mr Richards' brother, who had moved into his unit to care for his "AIDS-stricken" sibling, broke the news to the victim in December 2004.

The court was told the younger man then cut off the relationship before starting to feel sick in January 2005.

Blood tests confirmed he was HIV-positive.

He then made a complaint to police.

Mr Vasta told the court Mr Richards had known he was HIV-positive since 1995 and had been advised by help services not to expose others to the infection.

The court also heard Mr Richards told police in 2003 that he had "full-blown AIDS and hepatitis C" while questioned over another matter.

Mr Vasta said Mr Richards still denied he had AIDS in a telephone conversation with the victim taped by police.

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2007 HIV/AIDS conference set

To heighten awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kentucky, public health officials from across the Commonwealth will gather in downtown Lexington May 9-11 for the 2007 Kentucky HIV/AIDS Conference.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health and Heartland CARES of Paducah are co-hosting the event at the Radisson Plaza Hotel.
The conference is for health care and social service professionals involved in planning, providing prevention education or direct delivery of services to people with HIV/AIDS.

Anyone interested in improving the quality of life for those with HIV/AIDS and those who are concerned about the impact of the disease on Kentucky communities are also encouraged to attend.

The cost of registration is $100 until April 30. On site registration if $125.

Approval for continuing education credit is currently pending. There is no additional charge for these credits.

For more conference information, contact Merinda Brown in the Kentucky Department for Public Health,

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Concern over future of UMC's HIV-AIDS program

Saving UMC some much needed cash will come at a high cost. But patients of the hospital's HIV-AIDS program hope it doesn't mean cutting them out.

An e-mail is being sent out valley-wide. It asks county commissioners to keep the Wellness Center open. The decades-old facility appeared on a list of suggested closures last week.

By cutting the program out, UMC would save almost $3 million. But one doctor says you'd leave thousands of patients with no place to go. "If this clinic loses money, no private docs are going to say come on down," Dr. Jerry Cade said. "Let me take care of you even if you're going to hurt my bottom line."

County commissioners are urging people to bring up their concerns. They say the public's reaction will be considered when they decide which programs stay and which go.

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Not Mandatory For Couples To Test For HIV/Aids Before Marriage

The Pahang state government has not imposed a mandatory requirement for couples to test for HIV/Aids before getting married but encourages them to do so, the state assembly was told Monday.

Chairman of the State Health, Social Welfare and Orang Asli Affairs Committee Datuk Ishak Muhamad said the Pahang Health Department offered the test for free to couples wanting to get married.

"We encourage couples about to get married to take the HIV/Aids test. The programme was started in 2004 and has received encouraging response. Last year, 11,076 couples took the test before marriage," he said.

He was replying to a question from Datuk Chan Choon Fah (BN-Teras) who had wanted to know whether the state government planned to make it mandatory for couples to take the HIV-Aids test before getting married.
Chairman of the State Youth, Sports and Unity Committee Datuk Dr Ahmad Shukri Ismail said that a study by the federal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) indicated that firearms used in criminal cases were smuggled from abroad.

He said the study also showed that there were criminals who used fake or toy firearms when committing crime.

"However, cases of crime with the use of firearms were low in Pahang. For the whole of last year, only eight cases of armed robbery were reported," he said when replying to a question from Datuk Redzwan Harun (BN-Kerdau).

Meanwhile, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said not all the stalls at the rest areas of the East Coast Expressway opened for business at the same time because of the low volume of traffic along the highway.

"Requiring all the stalls to be in operation would force the operators to incur losses owing to lack of customers," he said when replying to a question from Datuk Abdul Manan Ismail (BN-Panching).

"At the moment, at least two food stalls and one drinks stall are opened by rotation round the clock according to a schedule," he said, adding that the operating hours of stalls not scheduled to operate round the clock were from 8 am to 10 pm.

"Nevertheless, during festival periods and at weekends, more stalls will be opened to cater to the bigger number of users of the highway," he said.

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FDA To Consider Approval Of First CCR5 Antagonist Against HIV/AIDS

An advisory panel of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is meeting tomorrow to decide whether to recommend approval of Pfizer's HIV/AIDS drug Maraviroc for patients already taking other drugs. If approved, it will be the first drug available in the class called CCR5 antagonists.

The FDA does not have to follow the panel's recommedations, but it usually does.

Many HIV drugs fight the virus from inside infected white blood cells. CCR5 antagonists stop the virus from getting into cells by blocking the main entry point common to most people who have the infection.
CCR5 stands for chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 5. HIV uses it as a co-receptor to get into target cells: the CD4 T-cells or helper cells, the main coordinators of the immune system.

When the co-receptor "sees" the HIV virus it signals to the main CD4 cell receptor to allow the HIV antigen into the target T-cell.

By blocking the CCR5 co-receptor, CCR5 antagonists stop strains of HIV known as "R5-tropic", an HIV variant that is common in earlier infection. However, as the disease progresses, the virus adapts to use an alternative entry point, the CXR4 receptor.

In February, Pfizer announced that marketing authorization applications for Maraviroc were receiving accelerated review in both the US and Europe.

Accelerated reviews are granted to drugs that may offer significant improvements over current therapies, if approved.

During development Maraviroc was known as UK-427857.

The marketing applications for Maraviroc are supported by efficacy and safety data from two phase 3 trials.

Named MOTIVATE-1 and 2 (Maraviroc plus Optimized Therapy In Viremic Antiretroviral Treatment-Experienced patients), the trials show 24 weeks of data comparing Optimized Background Therapy, with or without Maraviroc, in over 1,000 highly treatment-experienced patients with CCR5-tropic HIV-1.

The HIV virus was suppressed in 45 per cent of the patients, compared with 23 per cent who took a placebo. Maraviroc and the placebos were taken in combination with other drugs.

According to Pfizer, these trial results have been accepted for presentation at a forthcoming HIV conference.

CCR5 antagonists have raised safety concerns in the past. Earlier drugs under development were linked to lymphoma and liver damage.

These risks did not appear to be significant in the Pfizer studies, but according to media reports, the FDA reviewers are concerned about modest increases in liver damage.

When they submitted the marketing application, John LaMattina, president, Pfizer Global Research and Development, said:

"There is a profound global need for new medicines to help HIV/AIDS patients."

"We expect that CCR5 antagonists, like Maraviroc, will become critically important new treatment options for patients who are resistant or intolerant to their current HIV/AIDS therapies," he added.

Other drug companies are also working on CCR5 antagonists.

Nobody knows what the long term effect of using CCR5 antagonists will be. Some have speculated that it will accelerate the development of new strains of HIV that use other entry points.

Early trials have suggested not, but it highlights the importance of keeping an eye on the impact of the drug over the coming years should it pass the FDA and European approval.

According to researchers on the Pfizer trials, the priority now is to get the drug to the people who are running out of options. The longer term effects will not be known until the drug has been used for 5 to 10 years.

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April 20, 2007

Why swapping dirt tracks for new roads can be lethal

Road crashes are on course to overtake HIV-Aids by 2015 as the main cause of death and disability for children aged 5-14 in developing countries. Roads built with foreign aid are often so poorly designed that death rates soar, according to a world road safety report.

Britain is among the leading donor nations that have failed to ensure that minimum safety standards are applied to road projects it has helped to fund, says the Commission for Global Road Safety. It forecast that the 1.2 million road deaths worldwide in 2002 will double by 2020 unless action is taken.

More than 90 per cent of the deaths occur in developing countries even though they have much lower car ownerships levels than richer nations.
Africa has the most dangerous road network, with 28.3 road deaths for every 100,000 people each year, compared with 5.6 deaths in Britain. In several African countries a motor vehicle is 100 times more likely to be involved in a fatal road crash than one in Britain.

The World Bank recommended in 1982 that 5-10 per cent of the funding for a road project supported by foreign aid should be spent on safety measures, including proper pavements and crash barriers. But a $1.2 billion (£600 million) fund for roads in Africa, approved by the G8 group of leading countries, has allocated only $20 million for safety, or 1.7 per cent of the total. In Britain, the Department for International Development committed £330,000 for road safety overseas in the year to March 2004 in a total spending of £20 million on road projects.

David Ward, director-general of the FIA Foundation, which promotes road safety and funded the report, said: “New roads can make a bad situation much worse by raising the speed and volume of traffic while doing nothing to protect pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.”

Village markets displaced from dirt tracks often returned to the same place once the tracks became paved roads, he said. Deaths rose sharply because vehicles sped through the markets on the new roads.

The report calls for a UN summit on road safety next year and a commitment from the G8 to devote at least 10 per cent of the development aid for roads to safety measures.

It says that donor countries underestimate the impact of road deaths, which can result in the victim’s family starving to death. In India and Bangladesh half the families that lost somebody in a crash fell below the poverty line.

The World Health Organisation calculates that the health and economic costs of road crashes in developing countries often exceed the total amount they receive in foreign aid.

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National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS

The National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSACP) of the Ministry of Health is preparing the National Strategic Plan for 2007-2011, in its continuous efforts to minimise the spread of HIV/ AIDS in Sri Lanka.

As a prerequisite for this process, it has organised a consultative workshop with NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) based island-wide and working on HIV/AIDS with their communities, to obtain inputs from grassroots for the proposed Strategic Plan.

This workshop is to be held later this month at the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Project Conference Hall in Colombo. It will be organised by Alliance Lanka in partnership with NSACP, supported by the Commonwealth Foundation UK.
Commonwealth Foundation supported Alliance Lanka to conduct a capacity building workshop on HIV/AIDS for NGOs/CSOs in partnership with the Ministry of Health late last month.

This was the first of a series of capacity building workshops for civil society organisations working on HIV/AIDS prevention. The workshop was aimed at improving NGO skills in key areas identified by civil society during a consultation held in December 2006.

Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva while inaugurating the workshop said the Government is committed to fight the AIDS pandemic.

Observing that Governments and politicians had difficulty in broaching the topic with the public he urged civil society organisations to use their position within local communities to help authorities in their battle against HIV/AIDS.

The areas covered during the 3-day workshop, held at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research & Institute in Colombo, included interpersonal communication, advocacy skills, clinical aspects of HIV/AIDS, development of educational and training material, training peer leaders, conducting focus group discussions and monitoring & evaluation.

Dr Sujatha Samarakoon, Consultant Venereologist at the National STD/AIDS Control Programme pointed out that in the past different bodies had worked at cross purposes. She said that the Health and Education Ministries are now working on an effective mechanism to address this issue.

There were 838 reported HIV infections by the end of 2006 in Sri Lanka, and authorities estimate 5,000 people to be carrying the virus. This figure can be much higher since a person infected can generally live with the virus undetected for 10-15 years before any symptoms appear. This period is the danger zone since the person can unknowingly spread the virus.

Mapping out a way forward, participants identified a number of areas for action. These include: Educating parents, Counselling and social/ livelihood support for people with HIV/AIDS, Addressing the shortage of trained counsellors and creating awareness among media personnel.

The Executive Director of Alliance Lanka, Swarna Kodagoda said a co-operative effort is needed by all parties working on HIV/ AIDS prevention in Sri Lanka to ensure a strong and cohesive strategy to combat the pandemic and strengthen the national response.

This initiative is part of the Foundation's commitment to Sri Lanka ahead of the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific which will be held in Colombo in August this year.

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