$10m Phone Deal to Fight Aids in Africa

The U.S. Government and leading global players in the mobile phone industry have joined forces to fight HIV/AIDS and other health challenges in 10 African countries.

'Phones for Health' is a US$10million public-private partnership which brings together mobile phone operators, handset manufacturers and technology companies.

They work in close collaboration with the ministries of Health, global health organizations, and other partners to use the widespread and increasing mobile phone coverage in the developing world to strengthen health systems.

It was officially launched at the 3rd GSM World Congress held in Barcelona on February 13 this year.

Phones for health partners that include the GSM Association's Development Fund, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Accenture Development Partnerships, Motorola, MTN and Voxiva met at the recently concluded global HIV implementers' meeting held in Kigali, Rwanda from June 16-19.

The MTN Rwanda Chief Operations Officer (COO), Mr. Andrew Rugege said MTN works with Rwanda's Treatment and AIDS Research Center (TRAC) in its TRACnet system to collect HIV/AIDS information using data and voice technologies.

"Phones for health help us as producers to give something back to our communities. It is value added to us because a healthy person makes a healthy market", Rugege said.

MTN provides toll-free phones that help Rwanda's TRACnet to receive and disseminate information from upcountry health centers through the TRACnet system.

He informed participants that MTN Rwanda will very soon sign a contract with the ministry of health to provide internet connectivity to health service providers in Rwanda.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Voxiva Mr. Paul Meyer and the manager of GSM Association Development Fund Ms. Dawn Hartley showed that there are 1.8 billion phones in the developing world and 1 million new phones are purchased each day.

The use of phones in the health sector is of vital importance once it is decentralised in all possible daily tasks in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Rwanda's TRACnet system that was installed by Voxiva two years ago was hailed at the meeting. The director general of TRAC Ms. Anita Asiimwe revealed that the performance of TRACnet in collection, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of critical information related to HIV/AIDS care and treatment in the whole country is of vital importance.

Phones for Health will allow health workers in the field to use a standard Motorola handset equipped with a downloadable application to enter health data. Once entered, the data is transferred via a packet based mobile connection known as General Packet Radio System (GPRS) into a central database. If GPRS isn't available, the software can use a SMS data channel to transmit the information. The data is then mapped and analyzed by the system, and is immediately available to health authorities at multiple levels via the web.

source:allafrica.com

Corruption - Why Aid for HIV/Aids is a Do Or Die

A story is told in Uganda's civil society organisations circles of how AIM, an International NGO, gave a women's group called PACHEGO in Pakwach town money to conduct HIV/AIDS activities.

With the little capacity and skills they had acquired, the women utilised all the money, achieved their targets and accounted for all the money estimated between Ush12 to 15 million.

Mr. Kyahuka, coordinator Uganda Net Work for Aids Service Organisations (UNASO) quickly brings to light this example to stimulate hope that all is not lost on accountability.

"That example demonstrates that people are more responsible about their lives than the health ministry, so they (the people) are the ones who should run their health programmes. Experts should come in as facilitators," says Kyahuka.

Uganda, having been extolled globally for its exemplary approach to the AIDS pandemic, also became one of the first beneficiaries of many global funding.

But in 2005 the first batch of funding amounting to US$45million from the Global Fund to fight malaria, tuberculosis was grossly mismanaged and consequently, the fund was temporarily suspended over gross mismanagement. The lives of HIV/AIDS patients hang in a delicate balance as it became apparent that crucial supplies including ARVs would run out of stock.

The Uganda government instituted a probe headed by a High Court judge, Justice James Ogoola (known as the Ogoola Commission) into the matter. The public hearings that ensued exposed ugly revelations, namely; the line minister and state ministers presided over several management and accounting procedure breaches, the permanent secretary, who is the accounting officer of the health ministry was in several instances falling far below accounting, monitoring procedures in administering the funds, project money was being used to run ministry expenditure, recipients including those meant to politically monitor the use of AIDS funding were withdrawing funds disbursed into their accounts instantly without showing cause for the withdrawals. Flawed recruitment, false accounting to capacity building activities and many more obscenities were also exposed.

During this period, anger and fear of the unknown abound, but good enough the Global Fund agreed to reinstate support having gotten satisfied about the probe handling.

"When a donor pulls out from the pool of donors, there is a back lash on the patients because a funding gap is created and the attendant service may lack. It is particularly delicate because people already on ART must in no way skip their schedule," says Dr Emmanuel M Bukajumbe, the acting Medical Services Coordinator AIDS Information Centre (AIC), a major civil society organisation in Uganda.

This scenario has caused a complex situation where, despite gross abuses and mismanagement, aid for AIDS must continue to be availed, prompting the statement that it is a do-or-die.

"It is difficult to remove accountability issues completely or drastically. But a lot can be done to scale down fraud. Civil society and donors may have to tighten on audit systems and quarterly audit reports produced. The same standard must be applied to government as well," says Bukajumbe.

According to Kyahuka, the problem in Uganda has been that the governance component, especially political leadership has been weak.

"If the leader at the helm of an HIV/AIDS project is weak or corrupt, the rest of the bond is weakened. The theft of AIDS money should not be looked at in isolation of other accountability problems. The Global Fund saga for example could be traced to the setting up of it s' structures. They were both wrong and poorly managed,"Kyahuka argues. "Civil society had for example noticed that the structures set up prior to the Global Fund were weak. At the onset senior officials showed reluctance to be transparent and when the project started, it ended up is shambles."

source:allafrica.com

Daily HIV/Aids Report

Delegates on Saturday at the close of the first International Women's Summit on Women's Leadership and HIV and AIDS in Nairobi, Kenya, released a 10-point action plan that aims to foster leadership roles of women and girls in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Nation/AllAfrica.com reports (Wafula, Nation/AllAfrica.com, 7/9).

The conference, organized by the World YWCA, was attended by more than 1,500 AIDS advocates, celebrities, community health workers, global leaders and policymakers. The summit aimed to address the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls and examined issues such as violence against women, poverty and children's rights, and access to resources. The summit is co-convened by the International Community of Women Living With HIV/AIDS and had support from UNAIDS' Global Coalition on Women and AIDS and the United Nations Population Fund (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/6).

The plan, called Nairobi 2007 Call to Action, identifies strategies for change that can be implemented by communities, religious groups, families and individuals, the Nation/AllAfrica.com reports. The plan of action includes securing significant involvement of women in decision making processes; promoting equality and the human rights of girls and women; ensuring their sexual, physical and psychological safety and security; promoting their reproductive and sexual rights and health; and increasing their access to education, economic security and other resources, such as the right to own and inherit property (Nation/AllAfrica.com, 7/9).

According to South Africa Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, men also must become involved to effectively combat the disease. "There aren't enough men who are taking enough responsibility to go for tests and live responsibly, and that kind of (behavior) compromises the fight" against HIV/AIDS, Mlambo-Ngcuka said, adding that the "response to HIV will not be won if men do not come on board since they are equally affected or infected." In addition, empowering women is an effective HIV prevention method, Mlambo-Ngcuka said. "Addressing the economic status of women" will provide women with resources and choices so "they can get out [of] abusive relationships" and "acquire the support that they need," she said, adding, "The most important thing is [to] remove women from the bottom of the pyramid" (AFP/China Daily, 7/7).

Musimbi Kanyoro, World YWCA general secretary, said the call to action is a "pledge each of us at this summit is making in our hearts and with our hands. Women are committing themselves to do something to win the war on AIDS." She added, "Where one woman acts, more will be inspired and be committed. More will take action until there is no power that can stop us." Conference delegates also pledged to work toward increasing access to services among women living with and affected by HIV, including safe testing, treatment and support services and promoting the rights of young women and children (Nation/AllAfrica.com, 7/9).

Related Opinion Piece

"To successfully defeat AIDS, we must do more to help women to protect themselves," United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Elizabeth Mataka and Zeda Rosenberg, CEO of the International Partnership for Microbicides, write in a Nation opinion piece. According to Mataka and Rosenberg, an HIV vaccine and microbicides are "promising" tools that "women could use to prevent infection." They add, "We must prioritize research on these promising preventive technologies," and at the "same time, we must do more with the tools that already exist," such as female condoms and services to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (Mataka/Rosenberg, Nation, 7/7).

Kaisernetwork.org webcasts of the conference soon will be available online.

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El Salvador Needs To Take Increased HIV/AIDS Control Efforts, Advocates Say

[Jul 09, 2007]

Although health officials in El Salvador have launched an HIV testing campaign in the country, some advocates say that the country needs to take increased efforts to control the growing number of HIV cases in the country, Inter Press Service reports. In addition, many people living with the virus say that they experience stigma and discrimination and that there is a lack of drug access in the country. According to some advocates, El Salvador's HIV testing campaign, which was launched in June, has been used primarily as a publicity method aimed at improving the country's international image and drawing positive media attention. The campaign -- called "Take the test: positive or negative, we are all human beings in the face of AIDS" -- during last month's national HIV testing day encouraged at least 40,000 people to receive tests in the country's public hospitals and health centers, as well as in parks and shopping centers, El Salvador's Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance said.

source:allafrica.com

AIDS myths persist despite widespread information campaigns

Urban legends about HIV/AIDS continue to circulate among young male Canadian adults, including the untrue story about a man using a syringe filled with infected blood to randomly infect people with the disease, a newly released government report reveals.

It also cited the retelling of the fabricated tale about a depressed woman with AIDs who becomes obsessed with infecting others through sex and leaving a note with their sleeping sexual partner that says: "Welcome to the world of AIDS." Conducted by Ekos Research Associates for the Public Health Agency of Canada, the report was completed from 20 focus groups made up of adult males between the ages of 18 and 25, in eight cities across Canada. It found so-called "urban legends" were especially popular among males with no more than a high school education and often serve to reinforce fears that participants said they had about being around people with HIV/AIDS.

"'Urban legends' about transmission of HIV/AIDS and those who suffer from it were common ... and appear to be passed on primarily through social interaction with friends, although most participants said they recall hearing these stories in the media," it said.

The report also mentions the recounting of the untrue story of someone placing infected needles in pop machines which then infect innocent bystanders, or a man getting HIV/AIDS from fighting someone who had contracted it.

"Participants said that fear of dying from incidental contact and fear of being around dying or suffering people are the drivers of discrimination and stigma around HIV/AIDS. Those participants with the least accurate information about HIV/AIDS contraction were the most likely to exhibit stigmatizing beliefs," concluded the report.

Jean Riverin, a spokesman for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said the $112,822 Ekos report confirmed the need for educational campaigns targeting young males despite continual media coverage, health education in schools and information campaigns on the worldwide disease during the past 25 years. He said the agency is in the process of putting together a couple of campaigns, including one that will be community-based through non-governmental organizations.

Riverin said the focus groups were held to understand in greater detail the attitudes and emotions of 18- 25-year-old Canadian males with regards to the issue of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. The report said regardless of educational levels, participants in the focus groups had "similar discomfort and distancing behaviours" when it comes to people infected by HIV/AIDS.

"Stigma related to homophobia or negative attitudes about drug use or sexual behaviour were present, but not 'top of mind' concerns of most participants. Discomfort around homosexuals is more common among participants who had no more than a high school education," said the report.

It said while most participants believed that HIV/AIDS can only be contracted by the exchange of bodily fluids, a small number said they worried about the chance they might contract the disease from other ways such as shaking hands or kissing.

source:www.canada.com

Don't Be Misled On AIDS

It may be premature to start celebrating that number of people infected with the dreaded human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has come down by half to 2.47 million as per the latest estimate released by the government. There are more unknowns than knowns in the methodology adopted by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to arrive at this figure.

The government went in for a different approach in 2006. Earlier, it would restrict itself to 'sentinel' surveys, thrust on India by several UN agencies as being the best way to track the AIDS epidemic. This approach was believed to be flawed, as it did not seem to capture trends for the entire population.

This time, the government decided to supplement the results of sentinel surveys with community data. Under this, an HIV/AIDS component was included in the third National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in 2005.

Does a combined effort produce more accurate numbers? To figure this out, one would have to look at how the NFHS survey compiled HIV/AIDS data. The issue is complicated by the fact that the government has so far been cagey about discussing its methodology or sharing its disaggregated data. It has not released the results of sentinel surveillance for the current year.

As for the performance of the national AIDS control programme, that cannot be judged by comparing final figures derived through different methods.

Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss expressed satisfaction over the new data sets without telling us why. He only explained that sentinel surveillance (in pregnant women) was expanded to 1,122 sites in 2006 from the earlier 703 sentinel sites. What about the results of this expanded exercise?

According to NACO's latest estimate, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in India has to be scaled down from one in 100 or about 0.9 per cent to one in 300 or 0.36 per cent, or to 2-3.1 million from the government's 2006 estimate of 5.2 million. As Prabhat Jha of the Center for Global Health Research, Toronto, says, "It is hard to know how much of this drop is due to a new computer programme rather than the efforts of the AIDS control programme".

In fact, Ramadoss concedes that there has been a marginal reduction in prevalence. This implies that if only the results of latest sentinel survey were to be compared to the earlier one, as was the norm before this year, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is pretty much where it was — at 0.9 per cent.

What are sentinel surveys? For about eight weeks every year clinics frequented by pregnant women are intensively monitored and patients tested for presence of HIV, the hope being that by tracking young sexually active women trends may emerge on how the epidemic was progressing at specific locations.

In addition, people visiting clinics treating sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis and gonorrhoea were also monitored, which would indicate how the disease was progressing in the so-called 'high risk' groups. When collated and viewed over a period of time, the sentinel surveillance gives a good indicator on whether HIV/AIDS spread is on an upward curve or not.

However, Indian experts point out that it would be wrong to derive absolute numbers of infections, as opposed to trends, from this dataset. This led to a new approach this time round.

Under NFHS-3, the ministry of health and family welfare decided to gather data on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS by carrying out an AIDS test. NFHS is by design a random statistical survey done in the community, meant to provide signals of what is happening in the larger population. Because of this nature it under-represents certain populations. In this nationwide exercise about 100,000 people in the age group 15-54 voluntarily undertook an AIDS test.

This new data reveals that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS was 0.28 per cent, which means that merely about 280 HIV positive cases were actually detected by the surveyors.

This when broken down further for the 28 states and seven Union territories (no AIDS testing was done in Nagaland which resented the blood collection) results in an AIDS positivity which falls in single digits. Meaningful results can only be interpreted when the number of positive cases are several thousand in number. The NFHS sample size should have been at least four times higher.

It was 'underpowered' as it under-represented high risk groups and erred towards an underestimate. NACO did some nifty, intelligent mathematical calibrations to adjust for weightages across states, that resulted in the final HIV/AIDS prevalence figure of 0.36 per cent.

Assisting NACO in producing feel-good data was the Integrated Behavioral and Biologic Assessment (IBBA) system data. It was not the government but UNAIDS which made this fact public.

According to UNAIDS, IBBA is a targeted surveillance system focusing on groups at higher risk of HIV infection, located in the states with high prevalence. IBBA data is believed to compare well with the results of NACO's sentinel surveillance. IBBA was funded by Avahan, the India AIDS control programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle.

source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Black Hollywood Confront AIDS: Celebrities Get Public HIV Tests

In preparation for the 10th anniversary of National HIV Testing Day, Black celebrities and their allies are joining forces Monday, June 25th, at 10:00AM (PST) with Screen Actors Guild (SAG), The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Artists for a New South Africa and the Black AIDS Institute to raise awareness of the urgent need to stop the spread of HIV in Black communities by getting HIV screenings in front of the cameras at the Guild's headquarters, 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles.


The group will announce the "1 in a Million" campaign, a call-to-action for 1 million Black Americans to get screened for HIV by December 1, 2008 (World AIDS Day). AIDS is the leading cause of death for Black women aged 25-34 years, and it is estimated that up to 46% of Black gay men may already be HIV-positive, and according to the CDC, there are over 260,000 people in the U.S. infected with HIV who don't know they are infected.


Celebrities including Jimmy Jean-Louis ("Heroes"), Hill Harper ("CSI New York"), Hosea Chanchez ("The Game"), Anne-Marie Johnson ("CSI," "JAG"), Rockmond Dunbar ("Prison Break," "Heartland"), Vanessa Williams ("Soul Food"), Howard Hesseman ("Boston Legal," "WKRP in Cincinnati"), Henry Simmons ("Shark") and Regina King ("Ray," "24") have agreed to participate in the unprecedented event, being held at the SAG headquarters (5757 Wilshire Boulevard), to illustrate their personal commitments to ending the AIDS epidemic in Black America (Full list of participants below). Black Americans can find testing sites in their local communities by logging on to the web site and entering their zip code.


"AIDS in America today is a Black disease. Nobody wants to talk about that, and nobody wants to own that. That silence is killing us," said Black AIDS Institute Executive Director and Founder Phill Wilson. "That's why we're calling for 1 million Black Americans to get tested for HIV in the next year -- knowing your HIV status can save your life, and every one of us has a responsibility to ourselves and our communities to know our status and to talk with our family members and loved ones about their status."


HIV and AIDS disproportionately affect Black America:


* HIV infection is the leading cause of death for Black women aged 25-34 years.
* In 2005, Blacks accounted for 48% of new HIV infections (in the 33 states where data was available) even though they made up only 13% of the U.S. population.
* The CDC says 65% of the infants who were perinatally infected with HIV in 2006 were Black.
* We account for 50% of AIDS cases diagnosed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2005.
* The rate of AIDS diagnoses for Black adults and adolescents is 10 times the rate for whites and nearly three times the rate for Latinos.
* The rate of AIDS diagnoses for Black women is nearly 24 times the rate for white women. The rate of AIDS diagnoses for Black men was 8 times the rate for white men.


"Actors are blessed with the gift of voice, and people listen to what they say," said SAG President Alan Rosenberg. "Our hope today is that African Americans and others will see what we are doing here, take our message to heart, and take the time to both get tested for HIV and to talk with their families about HIV and AIDS. I congratulate and thank all Screen Actors Guild members and other Black celebrities who took this bold step today by coming to take an HIV test in front of the cameras and the world."
source:www.pnnonline.org

Bay Area AIDS researcher helps out Kenyan orphans

he lives of 200 Kenyan children were changed when they met Natasha Martin, an American woman who had come to visit their village in Butula, a region of the Busina District in western Kenya in 2000. Martin, an AIDS researcher, was in the country to visit colleagues.

"I just found the children under a tree somewhere. I asked why they weren't in school, and I was told they were orphans and there was no one to pay for their education," recalls Martin, a Half Moon Bay resident. "I said, 'I'll make sure you go to school.' I had no idea what I was getting into."

Martin paid to send each of the 200 children to elementary school, an expense of $6,000. When it was time for the children to go to high school, she sought donations through her newly formed nonprofit, G.R.A.C.E USA (Grassroots Alliance for Community Education). Today, due to G.R.A.C.E USA's Naisula Project, many of the children are in university studying to be lawyers, doctors or engineers. They call Martin "Mama Natasha."

"Education is a right," Martin said. "I'd sell my house to educate these kids."

In late May, Martin was recognized for the far-reaching work of G.R.A.C.E USA in combating the effects of HIV/AIDS in communities across Kenya with the Jefferson Award for community service, presented weekly by the American Institute for Public Service.

The 200 children enrolled in the Naisula Project are a tiny percentage of the estimated 1.3 million Kenyan orphans who have
lost their parents and grandparents to AIDS since the epidemic began, according to UNAIDS. Martin, a former pediatric AIDS researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, founded G.R.A.C.E USA in 2001 after a visit to Kenya in 1998 to present a scientific paper.

In those days, an AIDS diagnosis was seen as death sentence. After talking with members of several local community health groups, Martin became convinced that treatment and education were the keys to fighting the epidemic, but that success lay in Kenyan communities themselves taking the initiative, with a little help from G.R.A.C.E USA and other groups.

"From the beginning, we've always said the community has to own whatever they do. The local people best know how to identify and solve local problems," said Martin, who was born in Barbados and received much of her secondary education in England.

True to its philosophy, G.R.A.C.E USA now partners with just over 100 organizations in Kenya already hard at work preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in their communities, and helping improve the health and quality of life for its victims. In training sessions provided by G.R.A.C.E USA, different groups have learned how to administer home-based, family HIV testing and counseling services, leading to a surge in families willing to be tested who did not want to face the stigma of going to a public clinic.

Another program provides goats to orphans who learn how to build a shed and how to grow drought-resistant grass for the animals. The goats give the orphans milk and a future in farming.

Another community effort, led by a group of Maasai women in Kenya, has taught midwives cleaner delivery techniques that lower the spread of HIV at childbirth.

The groups also learn to raise money on their own and apply for grants, which has resulted in vocational schools and medical clinics that are entirely community-owned and run, said Martin. She calls this a "bottom-up" approach that differs from the philosophy of international agencies operating in Africa.

"Their assumption is that the world is full of stupid people who don't know what to do for themselves," said Martin. "What they don't understand is that when the community owns what they do, we don't have to spend our money to coerce them into doing what they should do."

G.R.A.C.E USA manages to accomplish everything it does with $380,000 a year — a fraction of the budget of leading humanitarian organizations. Martin, who has never taken a salary, is now scrambling to raise half that amount, or $190,000, for her group by the end of the year.

Much of G.R.A.C.E USA's funding comes from U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and a host of other U.S. foundations.

But a chunk of its budget also comes from a source much closer to home — the generosity of residents of Half Moon Bay. Hundreds of Coastsiders have contributed to the Naisula Project, sending the orphans to school. Home-schooled Coastside students raise thousands of dollars each year by putting on a Half Moon Bay talent show.

Martin's work has also inspired fellow Coastsiders to volunteer for the project in Kenya. Montara resident Kate O'Shea, a physical therapist, visited Nairobi to learn more about the effects of the AIDS epidemic after getting to know Martin while treating her for a hip problem at Seton Coastside Hospital.

O'Shea found evidence of Half Moon Bay in Nairobi when she discovered a health project, funded by the Half Moon Bay Rotary Club, that inoculated 2,500 pregnant women to prevent their children from contracting HIV.
source:www.insidebayarea.com

Success of hospital’s waste trial

Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust has become the first in Wales to adopt new Government rules on waste disposal that encourage hospitals to send more for recycling.

The Cardiff Royal Infirmary West Wing hospital ran a trial of the new scheme, which reduces the amount of waste by 75%.

Instead of sending 24 wheelie bins to landfill every week, the hospital now only fills six, and most rubbish is now recycled.

Sarah Brown, the trust’s waste manager, said, “We worked in partnership with Environment Agency Wales to trial the new system on behalf of all NHS trusts in Wales.

“It was a big project that involved training all ward staff to use the new system.”


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The trial is being rolled out across the trust’s eight other hospitals and, if it is successful, it could reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill by thousands of tonnes every year.
source:icwales.icnetwork.co.uk

Jammeh’s aids cure, a victory for humanity

On Sunday, 17th June, 2007, 13 cured HIV/Aids patients were discharged after they have successfully undergone President Jammeh’s treatment.
In a landmark speech during the serene ceremony attended by Secretaries of State, Secretary-General and Head of the Civil Service, Permanent Secretaries, Service Chiefs, the medical team that worked with the President, the Alkalo of Kanilai, the CEO of RVTH. President Jammeh began his speech by thanking the Almighty Allah, Dr Malick Njie, and the original medical team who worked with him throughout the period of the treatment of the patients.

President Jammeh also thank the Government and people of Cuba, in particular, the Cuban medical team who worked with him in the initial period of the HIV/Aids treatment programme. President Jammeh reminded the large gathering that today The Gambia’s profile in the medical field is among the best in the world, thanks to the contribution of the government and people of Cuba.

He also explained why the Cuban doctors who were participating in the HIV/Aids treatment programme were released of their responsibilities.

The valiant people of Cuba has always been involved in a fight against the big powers.

It was therefore apparent that when the first CD4 counts results were announced proving the success of President Jammeh’s treatment, that indeed we have picked up a huge fight globally on behalf of The Gambia and humanity, and since President Jammeh did not want to add another burden to the Republic of Cuba he decided to release our Cuban brothers and sisters whilst we continue this global fight that has been unleashed on us. So it was not because the Cuban doctors are not efficent, or that they are not trusted but the simple reason as indicated by President Jammeh is the desire not to put our friends the Cubans in a fight that is directed against President Jammeh and The Gambia. As His Excellency aptly put it, the principles of humanity dictate that if you have a friend who is trying to help you but is already in a fight, it is more honourable not to involve him in a new fight.

This is the reason why our Cuban sisters and brothers were relieved of their duties and responsibilities in the treatment of HIV/Aids.

This was purely to put them away from the fight that is directed against President Yahya Jammeh. Indeed this was an honourable gesture to protect our Cuban friends from malicious attacks from their enemies and to ensure that Cuba is not dragged in to this new fight directed by the powers against President Jammeh and the Gambian people.

The successful treatment of these patients is indeed another improvement among many of the efficacy of President Jammeh’s therapy to cure people who are infected with HIV/Aids. Indeed, we should all remember that the treatment of HIV/Aids require passion and sympathy for the patients. From the very beginning, President Jammeh had based his approach to the treatment of HIV/Aids on these two ethical principles. That is why, during the patients’ treatment, President Jammeh himself apply the medication on the bodies of the patients, touching them, consoling them and re-assuring them that their problems are over as his treatment is certain to eliminate the disease from their system. As a matter of principle and indeed of ethical practice, President Jammeh’s treatment of the patients involves close physical contact with these infected patients whose body conditions were so poor that his well-wishers advised him against physical contact with the patients, because of their fear that he may be affected and that as President of this country we cannot afford to lose him. President Jammeh responses to these well-wishers is that as a matter of principle he cannot be expected to allow the nurses and doctors in his medical team to be touching and caring for the patients while he is exempted from touching the patients for the fear that he may be infected. His response to this fear is that if he can cure HIV/Aids, then he should not be afraid of it. So like members of his medical team President Jammeh’s treatment of the patients includes close physical contacts with all the infected patients. He has made it very clear that he can cure Aids and that he is not really afraid of the disease since he knows the disease and has found the medical therapy to get rid of the disease.

It should be borne in mind that President Jammeh’s discovery of the medicine to cure HIV/Aids attracted unjustifiable criticisms by many sceptics, in particular, so-called western medical practitioners who have a vested interest in ensuring that no one should claim to have a cure for HIV/Aids so long as these discoveries are not from the western laboratories. President Jammeh’s discovery of the medicine to cure HIV/Aids has proved them wrong as there is now ample evidence as proven by the latest discharge of patients that President Jammeh’s therapy is the latest and the most effective medicine available at the moment for the cure of HIV/Aids.

President Jammeh is right when he says that we live in a difficult world as the global powers that would want to thwart or derail the efforts of the President, thus, putting the lives of many Africans in Jeopardy. Indeed, the discovery of the cure for HIV/Aids by President Jammeh has led to a new global battle against their discovery and for that matter against President Jammeh and the people of The Gambia. Indeed, a “global fight has been unleashed on us but it is now certain that President Jammeh and the people of The Gambia will triumph as the evidence on the efficacy and successes of President Jammeh’s cure for HIV/Aids continue to mount.

President Jammeh’s success in the cure for HIV/Aids is monumental. But his humanity has made him to accept their gifts from Allah with utmost humility. President Jammeh is a God-fearing man and he is aware of the rare gifts that the Almighty Allah has bestowed on him. He is a God-fearing man and his love for humanity is immeasurable. Indeed, it is important that President Jammeh is curing people with HIV/Aids not because of money, wealth, power or fame but purely as a God-fearing person and his love for humanity. All he does in life, is to please the Almighty Allah and all Gambians can testify to his religious piety as a pure Muslim who is constantly praying to Allah and permanently with the Holy Quran as his companion for life. As he rightly put it, whatever he wants he prays to Mighty Allah to give it to him.

These strong religious beliefs and faith in Allah continue to guide President Jammeh as his contribution to humanity at large cannot be paid for by this world but only in the next world. President Jammeh is a man of God and knows that his recompense will come in the hereafter. Indeed, President Jammeh is right for his fight against HIV/Aids and his cure has without doubt exposed the hypocricy as a the lip service that is characteristics of the western world. Too often, the Western media bombard us with unverifiable statistics of million of people suffering from HIV/Aids in Africa and other Third World countries when we all know that the pandemic is also killing millions in the Western world and in the countries that call themselves world powers.

For a start, it has been adequately proven that the HIV/Aids virus was first discovered in the Western world laboratories and that the virus escaped or was released from these research institutions. There is also a view that the HIV/Aids pandemic is the result of an experiment on biological warfare from those powers who intend to use such a deadly virus to control humanity history. It is therefore, not surprising that when President Jammeh discovered the cure for this scourge, those who have interest in perpetrating the myth of the incurability of HIV/Aids will without doubt launch their unwanton propaganda machinery against the Gambian President. This became evident in the cowardly and unfactual attacks launched by the international media, such as Sky News, CNN and Al-Jazeera who are all probably under the pay roll of the international drug and pharmaceutical companies.

Indeed, xenophobia in the West has always been responsible for racism and cultural imperialism. The success of President Jammeh and the scientific and medical proofs supporting the results of President Jammeh’s cure for HIV/Aids, can no longer be doubted.

It should be recalled that since President Jammeh started the therapy to cure HIV/Aids in January 18, 2007, hundreds of patients have benefited from his treatment. Indeed, President Jammeh has been curing people with diseases of this nature and other diseases without making it known to the public. It was not until this day that President Jammeh decided to reveal this miraculous power and gift given to him by Allah for the sake of humanity to treat people with HIV/Aids and Asthma publicly. Nine patients started the treatment at State House in Banjul. The patients included Lamin Ceesay of Santa Yalla support society, Ousman Sowe of the Nyaniya Killing in Brikama, six female and two and a half- year-old boy who were all diagnosed as HIV/Aids positive.

All the patients were treated on the condition that they were diagnosed by a medical practitioners and treated publicly. It should be recalled that when these patients first reported for treatment, some of them could hardly stand on their feet even for two minutes. After undergoing the treatment, the medical results showed that, the CD4 counts were greatly reduced.

Out of the nine patients who were treated, seven had great improvement in their CD4 counts. This was indeed, a great breakthrough as confirmed by the lab results and by Dr Mbowe, SoS for Health and Social Welfare. These patients were the first batch to receive the HIV/Aids treatment from President Jammeh and the test which were carried out by the Bacteriology - virology laboratory of the university teaching hospital, Dakar Senegal established that, for the patients with HIV 2, such as Adama Manneh, Fatou Fadera, and Fatou Kaw had undetectable HIV virus, whilst Dado Jawo, had a low viral load. Similarly, the test also showed that Ousman Sowe who was diagnosed with HIV 1 also showed an undetectable viral load level.

This in itself, is an adequate proof that indeed President Jammeh has made a breakthrough in the cure for HIV/Aids. It is therefore right for President Jammeh to remind us that those who produce HIV/Aids to kill Africans are the very one’s crying loud about doing something about HIV/Aids in Africa, but as he rightly put it, the insincerity of these peddlers of HIV/Aids have shown their true colours by their brutal attacks on something that has been scientifically proven and that cannot be scientifically disputed. That’s the efficacy of President Jammeh’s treatment for HIV/Aids can no longer be disputed. Indeed, if these powers are sincere in their concerns to attack the HIV/Aids pandemic, what they should have done in the first instance was to come and join President Jammeh and collaborate with him to make his cure available to the whole of humanity. But, lack of collaboration from the western powers to help address the HIV/Aids pandemic will not deter President Jammeh from continuing to treat those who suffer from HIV/Aids and Asthma. On 15th of February, 2007, President Jammeh began to treat the second batch of patients. Out of the 37, who registered as HIV/Aids patients, 27 were shortlisted to benefit from the President’s treatment for the virus. Of these, 10 were male and 17 where female. The third batch of 38 HIV/Aids patients started their treatment at the Glass House at State House, Banjul on Tuesday April 17. In his address to the patients, President Jammeh informed the patients that there will be no discrimination as far as his treatment is concerned- President Jammeh reassured the patients that the HIV/Aids virus is easy to cure and that what he is doing is to read the system of the virus. What is more problematic is opportunistic infections of tuberculosis and diabetes that is why anybody who wish to be treated for HIV/Aids treatment would have to be tested for all these other diseases so as to facilitate the start of the HIV/Aids treatment.

These patients who all signed a special consent form were also thoroughly tested and their blood samples taken for blood counts and their viral load. The patients also had their chest X-rays and all necessary medical examinations were conducted before the start of the treatment. These procedures were carried out to establish transparency to the whole world that President Jammeh can treat and cure HIV/Aids infection. These 27 patients plus the 9 who had already been treated, brought the total number of those cured then to 36. The second batch of 27 patients included 3 infants, who underwent physical and laboratory examinations. Again, the results of the laboratory test for the second batch of patients showed that 6 had undetected virus in their system. These tests were carried by the National Institute for Hygiene at the Ministry of Health in Rabat, Royal Kingdom of Morocco. These tests which were carried out by this institute showed that significant and real positive results have been achieved beyond any doubt by President Jammeh’s cure for HIV/Aids patients. The test showed that the patients who had been diagnosed HIV 1 and Hiv 2 or Hiv 1, were cured of the disease as their viral counts were undetectable.

In the second batch, Kebba Saidykhan, Tida Gibba, Sulayman Sanyang, Ya Fai Touray, Adama Sanneh and Maimuna Sanneh all showed undetected virus in their system. Following the success of these treatments, another batch of 35 patients living with HIV/Aids were registered for treatment on 21st March at the Serrekunda Health Centre, Kanifing, for treatment by President Jammeh. The treatment of this batch also showed tremendous success for the President. 10 out of the lot had no HIV/Aids infection after only 10 days of treatment. As testified by the spokesman for the patients who were cured, Mr Ousman Sowe, a lecturer at the School of Public Health, said he was totally cured and his body weight had actually increased from 60 kg to 85 kg. Indeed, these successes led to the great match that brought thousands of Gambians to the July 22nd Square in Banjul to thank President Jammeh for providing a cure for HIV/Aids and to show solidarity to the President for his efforts. This great gathering, had Mr Sowe who looked extremely well and fit, confirming how President Jammeh treated all the patients with compassion, love and total understanding. Indeed without doubt, President Jammeh remains the single person in the world who has found the cure for HIV/Aids, through the gift of Allah. The proof of the effectiveness of President Jammeh’s treatment is that although it was claimed by some critics that the patients who were under AVR will die if they stop taking such medications, were proven wrong when President Jammeh asked those patients on ARV to stop taking them. In fact, these patients under President Jammeh were first kept for three months and they did not die; and were further kept for another three months and they did not die. This proved that, the claim of the critics are unfounded and the patients who have abandoned ARV and continued President Jammeh’s treatment survived and became cured. In fact, Ousman Sowe and Darboe were on ARV prior to President Jammeh’s treatment and were so weak that they could hardly stand, but today they are all fit and well. In fact, they had put on so much weight that they could no longer fit into their clothes , as compared to when they arrived for admission. Indeed, if President Jammeh’s medication is false, these patients would have die by now. Today they are alive and are living proofs that President Jammeh can get rid of and will get rid of HIV/Aids. Those who were discharged were those who think that the virus is finished in their bodies. It should be noted that President Jammeh did not allow any patient to be released until the virus is eliminated from the bodies of the patients. We are pleased to note that, two from the third batch actually stayed for the test more than 3 months and more can be discharged from the third batch. But tests are being carried out on the samples of these patients and the signs are that they will be out this week. After one week of treatment, these patients who needed to be assisted when they began the treatment, regained their strengths. The case of Fatou Jatta indeed needs mentioning as the patient was extremely weak with an extremely high viral load to the point that President Jammeh had to make a pledge to her that by the grace of Allah, she would improve. Today, Fatou Jatta has fully recovered to the point that President Jammeh could not recognise the recovery of the patient as she had improved so well that one could not believe it is the same Fatou Jatta who many had lost hope. At this point, one can only say, bravo to President Jammeh. These cases and evidences are quite adequate for us to acclaim President Jammeh as a rare humanitarian who has devoted his life to the services of humanity and to his country. That is why, we must learn to understand that President Jammeh will never subject Gambians, or Africans for that matter, to western ridicules as his sense of Africanism and patriotism is incomparable with that of any existing Heads of State, not only in Africa but the world at large. The discharge of those who have been cured of HIV/Aids by President Jammeh is a testimony that his cure for HIV/Aids is real and today those discharged are a vindication and a living proof that President Jammeh through his humanity, love and devotion for Gambians for that matter Africans as a whole, have found the cure for HIV/Aids. We should therefore not allow Western hypocricy to confuse us, or deny us these achievements which President Jammeh has secured for Gambians and for Africans. Today, The Gambia is well-known internationally because of President Jammeh’s breakthrough in the treatment of HIV/Aids.Today, there is another batch of 90 patients waiting to be treated and is therefore important that all Gambians recognise the growing demands on President Jammeh to cure their family members who are suffering from HIV/Aids that’s why President Jammeh has warned those who have been cured to avoid re-infection. That’s why, the President has warned that if you are re-infected, you will find it hard to be treated again. President Jammeh has warned us that his treatment is not a vaccination against re-infection. Therefore, fidelity with your partners is a guarantee against re-infection. This should enable one to stop the possibilities of opportunitic infections. Indeed, this historic day in Kanilai which showed the release of the cured patients on Sunday 17 June, 2007 was another crowning success. These patients who were subjected to ridicule and discrimination indeed are being acknowledged by the President. These people who decided to come out to the public and to appear on television are the living evidence to prove President Jammeh’s success. Today in The Gambia, HIV/Aids is no longer an incurable disease, thanks to President Jammeh. President Jammeh has reassured us that he will continue to treat HIV/Aids, Asthma and diabetes. And we pray that President Jammeh will continue to cure us from this deadly diseases. We now know that HIV/Aids did not originate from Africa. Those who created the virus have indeed launched a dangerous scourge on the globe, and as President Jammeh rightly pointed out, that those who think that the virus will only kill Africans are indeed living in a fool’s paradise as the current spread of the virus in Russia, India, China, USA, and Western Europe will equally devastate the populations of these countries not too far in the future.

President Jammeh remains very strict as far as the treatment of HIV/Aids is concerned. Those who violate the rules established to cure the patients, and are detrimental to the well-being of the other patients are expelled. So those who wish to be cured by President Jammeh and are prepared to continue the treatment must always obey the rules and regulations. Of course, President Jammeh accepts that if it is time for one to die, then there is nothing that can stop it. If your time is up, then there is nothing he can do to stop the will of Allah, but we are heartened by the fact that tremendous successes have been achieved by President Jammeh in providing a unique and original medication for the cure of HIV/Aids.

The 4th group of 90 patients will soon commence the treatment. President Jammeh continues to provide comfort and hope for people who are infected by the virus.

We take this opportunity to thank President Jammeh, the patients, families, and the whole medical team who are working with President Jammeh to eliminate this disease. Only Allah can pay back President Jammeh for this gigantic achievement, all for the sake of humanity, the people of The Gambia and for the whole world at large.

Finally, if science is the final arbiter, then the scientific proofs as shown by the various lab tests have indeed vindicated President Jammeh, thus, no amount of western hypocrisy can deter President Jammeh from this crusade against HIV/Aids.
source:www.observer.gm

Discrimination hurts AIDS fight

CHAIRPERSON of the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) Angela Lee Loy says the newly established HIV Training Centre will be a success once the high level of stigma and discrimination against infected persons is effectively dealt with.

Speaking at the launch of the TT National Training Centre which will provide training in HIV/AIDS for Health Providers, she said the HIV Human Rights Desk has documented numerous reports of discrimination against persons living with HIV.

The launch was held at the Children’s Hospital at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mount Hope and was observed by members of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training (CHART) Network in Jamaica, Bahamas and Barbados, the University of Washington and other guests via video conference.

Lee Loy said many complaints about discrimination emanate from experiences with health service institutions and with health care providers.

“It is clear the decentralisation process envisioned by the Ministry of Health has not been fully realised, due in part to insufficient training of health care providers,” she said.

Lee Loy added the effort to decentralise the duties of the Health Ministry received a tremendous boost with the opening of the training centre. “With the support and facilitation of CHART and our regional and national partners, we have taken a giant step towards building the capacity of health care providers and key stakeholders to better serve the needs of the infected and affected community,” she said.

Lee Loy added that leadership is a key ingredient in any national response to HIV and AIDS.

“This training centre will be a success if it helps build informed leaders within the health sector and other sectors that can reverse the stigma and discrimination affecting persons living with HIV, whilst improving access, treatment, care and prevention services across the country,” she said.

The Training Centre will be located at the San Fernando General Hospital and classes can be accessed through video conferencing, a move applauded by most during the launch.
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SOURCE:www.newsday.co.tt

Black medical community boosts AIDS research - special

In 1991, when Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad, and Dr. Barbara Justice, learned that an immunologist in Kenya was achieving near-miraculous results treating HIV/AIDs patients with a substance called "kemron," the two African-American physicians had to see for themselves.

After seeing the work of Dr. Davey Koech, director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute and a Harvard graduate, Muhammad (of the Abundant Life Clinic in Washington, D.C.) and Justice (of Harlem Hospital) returned to the United States eager to spread the news and begin using the substance on their patients.

Neither of them anticipated the arduous battle that was ahead. "The Kenyans had developed something quite good in the treatment of AIDS," says Muhammad. "But we realized that people were not convinced by stories of what had occurred in an African country. The [Kenyan's] excellent research had been largely ignored in the West."

Muhammad and Justice began treating their own patients, believing that if the test results were published in the United States, they couldn't be ignored. By 1992, the doctors had treated fifty patients, 82 percent of whom had showed improvement. That summer, they made a presentation at the American Medical Association meeting. Gradually, things began to change.

This past spring, after a five-year struggle, clinical trials with low-dose alpha interferon (LDOAI) therapy finally began in this country. And three historically Black medical institutions (HBMIs) --Howard University Medical Center, Meharry Medical College, and King/Drew Medical Center --are among the sixteen participating sites.

"This is the first time that a major medical breakthrough in Africa was brought to these shores," states Muhammad. The trials are being funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health. The multi-center study will evaluate the effectiveness of LDOAI therapy in reducing the symptoms of AIDS. Dr. Jones Jumi, of the Mercy Specialty Center in Detroit, Michigan, is the study chair. Dr. Wayne Greaves, of Howard, is the project's co-chair. The study will include 560 subjects who already have the HIV virus.

A Natural Substance

Unlike AZT and other synthetic drugs that have been used to treat the symptoms of HIV/ AIDS, alpha interferon is a natural substance produced by the human immune system to combat infections. The nationwide study compares three preparations of LDOAI--Alferon LDO, Veldona, and Ferrimune. The form being used in Muhammad's clinic is administered orally or nasally.p "The receptors for [alpha interferon] are in the back of the throat," Muhammad explains. "We have a liquid alpha interferon that gets filled into the nose, then it drips down into the throat.... You try to get as much of it in the back of the throat as possible."

Because alpha interferon is a natural substance which originated in Africa, it has gained acceptance among the African-American participants in the study, according to Dr. Mary Ann South, of Meharry Medical College. "For our population of African Americans, it will be important to know whether this drug works," says South. Though not all of the study participants are Black, the three historically Black medical institutions were selected to participate in the study, in part, to ensure that the sample of the study population included people of color.

"Minorities and women haven't participated in many [HIV/AIDS] clinical trials in the past," adds South. "Now we've broken through that barrier and Congress has mandated that we get them involved in these studies.

"We've learned a lot about how to recruit Black people in these trials," South says, before going on to explain the importance of hiring a recruiter who is culturally matched to the patient population. "Their first contact person is the important one to be matched. It also must be a caring, friendly, and concerned person. Then if the doctors aren't matched, it doesn't matter."

The involvement of HBMIs in these studies also helps lend credibility to LDOAI therapy within Black communities, South says.

Having HBMIs conduct the HIV/AIDS clinical trials also provides an excellent opportunity for Black physicians and clinical researchers to be on the leading edge of new treatment and research. For example, one of Meharry's microbiology graduate students is conducting experiments on blood samples taken from project subjects in an effort to understand what effect the alpha interferon has on blood. Since HIV/AIDS affects a disproportionately high percentage of African Americans and HBMIs treat a predominantly Black patient population, the knowledge gained in these trials is invaluable.

If the data collected in the clinical trials shows that LDOAI is an effective treatment, then the therapy will have to be considered as mainstream, Muhammad says. The three main advantages of LDOAI therapy are: cost, ease of administering treatment, and minimal side effects.

Cost and Side Effects

"It is not unheard of for an average AZT bill for a year to be $10,000. We are able to treat patients [with LDOAI] for about $800." explains Muhammad. "Our prices now are artificially high because we have to have a special lab that formulates the preparation we're using. Once in full-scale production' it could be as cheap as aspirin."

The low cost is particularly important when considering the treatment of poor populations in the U.S. and in Africa, for whom drugs like AZT are beyond affordability.

So far, the only side effect associated with LDOAI is an increase in appetite. "On average, we expect them to gain five to ten pounds in a six-month period," Muhammad says of his patients. However, alpha interferon can be toxic at high doses. LDOAI therapy is not designed to be administered in the absence of other forms of treatment. Use of antibiotics, antiretroviral medications and other therapies often complement LDOAI treatment.

For some people, it is the difference between life and death. "For those who are sick, it means they have a better than 80-to-90 percent chance to make a clinical recovery," Muhammad says. "It doesn't change their HIV status, but it changes them from symptomatic to asymptomatic."

South is hopeful that the trials will be successful for two reasons. First, because it will quell, once and for all, the cynicism expressed by the Western medical establishment toward a therapy that was developed in Africa. Also, she believes LDOAI has the potential to help African Americans come to terms with HIV/AIDS and its effect on the Black community.

"We need a better acceptance of this disease. It is here and we've got to face it. I believe that if we have a natural product, given in a natural way, that is acceptable to the culture we serve, it will help people who are not HIV positive to accept those who are."

AIDS Action Council Calls Senate Appropriations Committee Recommendations Inadequate To Meet Growing Epidemic

The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday recommended a very modest overall increase for domestic HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs and flat funding for treatment education and training and domestic HIV prevention programs. The Senate committee's proposed funding is much less than recommendations from the House of Representatives subcommittee and significantly less then the actual needs for HIV/AIDS care, treatment, education and prevention programs. The Senate committee's recommended funding is inadequate overall to meet the growing needs of those living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.

There are estimated to be more than half a million people in the U.S. who are infected with HIV but are not in medical care. At least half of that number, 250,000 or more people, is unaware of their HIV status. People under 25 years of age account for approximately half of new HIV infections. African Americans and Latinos together account for over 60% of people living with HIV/AIDS.

"We at AIDS Action Council are very disturbed that the committee's funding levels are not enough to keep pace with the growing infection rate, especially in communities of color, or to address the treatment and care needs of people living with HIV/AIDS in our country," said Rebecca Haag, Executive Director, AIDS Action Council. "Current funding amounts are not sufficient to ensure that life-saving drugs and medical treatment are available to all who are infected, not enough to reduce the estimated 40,000 new HIV infections every year and not enough to provide outreach and testing to people who are unaware of their HIV status. The reality is we need significantly more funding."

We are very dismayed that the Senate bill contains $30 million for the new Early Diagnosis Grant Program, for which no state is currently eligible, while providing no increased funding for HIV preventions programs or funding for increased HIV testing and counseling. AIDS Action Council does, however, commend the Senate committee for cutting by $28 million funding for community- based abstinence-only programs. These programs have been shown to be ineffective and should be replaced with educational programs that are comprehensive and scientifically sound.

AIDS Action Council is also concerned that the AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETCs) and the Dental Reimbursement Program were the only Ryan White programs that did not see funding increases in either the Senate or House committee's bill. AETCs are responsible for building and maintaining a well- educated health professional workforce, which is vital in light of growing caseloads. The dental program increases access to oral health care services for HIV-positive individuals who cannot afford routine dental care while providing education and clinical training for dental providers, especially those located in community based-settings. Both programs are critical to maintaining the health of those living with HIV.

AIDS Action Council urges legislators in both the House and Senate to amend the legislation to increase funding to keep pace with this growing, deadly epidemic.

"The President has rightfully called for a significant increase in our commitment to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. We cannot leave people living with HIV/AIDS or those at risk here in our own country behind. The Senate committee's measure falls short of meeting the challenges of a still growing domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. Congress needs to do more" Haag added.

AIDS Action Council is a Washington non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS and that helped to create and ensure passage of the original Ryan White CARE Act in 1990 and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 last December.
source:www.medicalnewstoday.com

HIV-AIDS bill In India by this year

AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, sometimes written Aids) is a human disease characterized by progressive destruction of the body's immune system. It is widely accepted that AIDS results from infection with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).

HIV :: HIV-AIDS bill In India by this year

As the government continues deliberations with NGOs over the HIV/AIDS bill, the legislation aimed at preventing discrimination of those infected with the dreaded disease at workplace, education and healthcare sectors, has been delayed.
"The HIV/AIDS bill has been delayed because we are still carrying out discussions with more NGOs on the issue," Indian Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told PTI.

The minister had earlier announced that the bill will be introduced in the Budget session of the Parliament.

"We plan to bring it by this year," he said.

The bill has been drafted by the Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS unit in consultation with the government, people living with HIV, healthcare providers and NGOs.

It addresses the issue of discrimination in employment, healthcare, education and other places, besides informed consent for testing, treatment and research.

The bill also envisages to provide a safe working environment for healthcare workers.

It also proposes protection of inheritance and property rights and recognises community-based alternatives to institutionalisation for vulnerable and affected children.
source:www.spiritindia.com

Bulgarian MEPs support idea to raise funds for Benghazi AIDS treatment center

Bulgaria’s 18 MEPs have supported the idea put forward by the Bulgarian media to raise funds for a modern AIDS treatment center in Benghazi, BNR informed.
At a press conference in the European Parliament in Strasbourg the MEPs expressed joint expectation of the medics’ close release, and stressed that after the drama comes to an end they will not forget the innocent victims of the humanitarian tragedy in Benghazi.
The Bulgarian MEPs described the idea as “a national cause that unites them without any political affinity”. They all hope Wednesday’s court sitting in Libya will send the long-awaited positive message.
Evgeni Kirilov from the Bulgarian Socialist Party has stressed that while the Bulgarian media unite to help the epidemic’s victims and present all points of view in the trial, the Libyan media have not given the other opinion even once over the eighth years of the trial.
Since the media in Libya are not independent, how can I believe the court is independent, the MEP asked, stressing the case is a political one and the Libyan authorities bear the entire responsibility for its end.
Only Dimitar Stoyanov from the Attack party expressed reserves towards the idea to raise funds. According to him the totalitarian regime in Libya can build it on its own thanks to the revenues from commerce with France, Italy and the USA, which apply double standard and go on developing economic relations with Libya.
SOURCE:MEPs have supported the idea put forward by the Bulgarian media to raise funds for a modern AIDS treatment center in Benghazi, BNR informed

Libya court to rule July 11 on AIDS case

Libya's Supreme Court said Wednesday it would rule July 11 on the appeal of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death on charges of infecting about 400 Libyan children with the AIDS virus.

The court announced the date after final arguments from lawyers of the nurses and the families of the infected children and from the state prosecutor, who called for the verdict to be upheld.

The nurses and the doctor were not present at the session, which was attended by ambassadors from several European countries.

If the Supreme Court upholds the conviction and sentence, it is not necessarily the final word. When the December verdict was announced, Libya's foreign minister said a decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the sentence would go to a judicial board that could itself uphold or annul the decision.

Libya is under intense international pressure to free the six medical personnel, who deny infecting the children. The case has become a sticking point in Libya's attempts to rebuild ties with the United States and Europe. President Bush called on Libya last week to free the medics.

The prosecution insists that the six infected the children intentionally in experiments to find a cure for AIDS. Defense experts testified that the children were infected by unhygienic hospital conditions. In their testimony, the workers said the confessions used by the prosecution had been extracted under torture. Several of the nurses have said they were also raped to force confessions.

The six began working at the hospital in the city of Benghazi in March 1998 and were arrested the next year after more than 400 children there contracted HIV. Fifty of the children have died.

The medical workers were convicted and sentenced to death in 2004, but the Supreme Court ordered a retrial after an international outcry over the verdicts.

But in a ruling that shocked many in Europe, the second trial issued the same verdict in December — despite a scientific report weeks earlier saying HIV was rampant in the hospital before the six began working there.

Two Libyans — a police officer and a doctor — were put on trial on charges of torturing them and were later acquitted — which led to the six medics being put on a new trial for defamation.

They were acquitted of defamation in late May, a ruling that raised hopes in Bulgaria that the main conviction and death sentences against them could be overturned by the Supreme Court.

Also Wednesday, the judge refused a prosecution motion that an announcement from the Bulgarian government that the Palestinian doctor had been granted Bulgarian citizenship be used as evidence against him.

Bulgaria announced Tuesday that the doctor, Ashraf al-Hazouz, had applied for citizenship several years ago and that the procedures for his acceptance were completed last week.
SOURCE:www.chron.com

Elton John Performs AIDS Awareness Show in Ukraine

This weekend, British singer-songwriter Sir Elton John played a free show in the Ukraine promoting AIDS Awareness.

The concert was broadcast live on Ukrainian television, where 200,000 fans gathered in the capital of Kiev to witness the biggest show ever to be shown on the nation's airwaves.

Viktor Yushchenko, the president of Ukraine, was among one of the attendees of the history-making performance, where information booklets about the disease and where to get counseling were handed out.

According to the Anti-AIDS foundation, the Ukraine has one of the highest HIV infection rates on the continent of Europe.
source:This weekend, British singer-songwriter Sir Elton John played a free show in the Ukraine promoting AIDS Awareness.news

Actor Gere honored for HIV/AIDS work

Richard Gere will receive the 2007 Marian Anderson Award for his advocacy efforts on behalf of independence for Tibet and better care for HIV/AIDS patients.

"His accomplishments as an actor are only surpassed by his accomplishments as a humanitarian and as an advocate for human rights issues around the world," Mayor John F. Street said Tuesday in announcing the award.

Gere, 57, has served as the chairman of the board of the International Campaign for Tibet and has sponsored the Dalai Lama on two trips to the United States. He also started a foundation bearing his name and a public charity, Healing the Divide, that work to improve medical care for HIV/AIDS patients.

The Marian Anderson Award is given by the city each year to recognize the humanitarian efforts of an artist or performer.

The award is named in honor of the first black singer to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera. She served as a special envoy to the Far East and was named a delegate to the United Nations by President Eisenhower.
source:www.theeagle.com

Darfur victims aid appeal launched

New First Minister Alex Salmond has launched a cross-party appeal to relieve suffering in a conflict-ravaged part of Africa.
He urged the Scottish public to donate cash, saying it could save lives in the Darfur region of Sudan and neighbouring Chad.

Mr Salmond was joined by other party leaders at a photocall for the Disasters Emergency Committee in Scotland, to highlight the plight of those suffering there.

He said said: "Donations made in Scotland can save lives in Sudan and Chad, it's as simple as that."

The First Minister said there were 4.5 million people in Darfur and Chad - a total almost equivalent to the Scottish population - who were in need of daily assistance.

He added: "Our aid agencies are doing fantastic work in very difficult circumstances to help them, but they need our support. That is why I am calling on the Scottish public to make a donation today."

Mr Salmond made the appeal shortly after First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament.

He was joined by Labour leader Jack McConnell, who said: "I fully support the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal and the important work
they do. The funds they receive will help people with vital services including shelter, clean water and sanitation, emergency food, water buckets, blankets and soap. I would urge others to support the appeal in whatever way they can."

And Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen said: "This crisis has already gone on far too long and needs a political solution, but meantime people are facing a daily struggle just to survive. Just a small donation today can make a huge difference and save lives."

Tory leader Annabel Goldie also urged Scots to make a donation, saying: "You only have to see television coverage of Darfur to be profoundly affected by what is happening there. It may be thousands of miles away from Scotland but the people of Darfur and Chad need our support and they need it now. Please give generously.
source:http:www.midlothiantoday.co.uk

Businesses brought into control spread of AIDS

Businesses are being asked to take an active interest in containing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka. The country’s strong cultural conservatism in discussing sexual matters, say the experts, are adding to statistical uncertainties. Up-to-the-end of 2005 only 743 people in Sri Lanka were diagnosed HIV positive.

Experts say the number is too good to be true - even when taking into account the good behaviour brought on by strong cultural inhibitions on sex. But while sex is a taboo subject and is not discussed openly, more and more young people are experimenting with it blindly. So doing nothing because the official number of AIDS victims are low, say the experts, is asking for trouble.
Given the potential impact on the economy and business productivity if the numbers of AIDS victims were to increase suddenly, experts are calling on Sri Lanka’s private sector to help change attitudes.

Why Business?
“The ILO (International Labour Organisation) considers HIV/AIDS a workplace issue,” said Dr Indira Hettiarachchi, the national project coordinator of the ILO’s HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Programme, speaking at press conference on HIV/AIDS and the impact on economic development. The press conference was a prelude to the 8th ICAAP ‘HIV/AIDS’ Congress to be held in Colombo from August 19 – 23 this year. The meeting is expected to draw some 3,000 delegates from 60 countries.

The ILO is encouraging business interest in AIDS because most AIDS victims around the world tend to be working age people.Experts also feel that work places are more suitable to educate people about sexual behaviour and safe sex. “Companies should address this issue because it affects the most productive age group and because the workplace is an ideal venue to initiate effective programmes on HIV/AIDS prevention,” said Hettiarachchi.
Encouragingly, last month several groups including the private sector came together to endorse a National Tripartite Declaration on the prevention of HIV/AIDS in workplaces in Sri Lanka in a process facilitated by the ILO.

The declaration endorses the guidelines of the ILO code of practice on HIV/AIDS in the world of work. By signing this declaration, relevant government ministries and institutions, employers’ organizations and trade unions have committed to establish AIDS prevention programmes in workplaces and ensure zero tolerance of stigma and discrimination associated with the disease both in the public and private sectors.

World over, out of the 40.3 million estimated AIDS victims 26 million are working people. When the informal sector is included the estimated number of working age AIDS victims is at least 36 million. The ILO, based on experiences in African and other Asian countries, points out that the spread of AIDS could result in businesses losing skilled workers and years of investment in training and experience. Other costs in terms of absenteeism, frequent sick leave and medical and health insurance, would also increase. At the moment Sri Lanka is not feeling any large scale economic impact from AIDS because of a low number of AIDS victims in the country. The national health budget bears the brunt of the direct costs because of the free heath system. But the experts note the high indirect costs born by AIDS victims and their families.

“In this country most people that divulge that they are HIV positive, lost their employment. They are also subjected to stigma. Even their families are stigmatised,” said Hettiarachchi. “The direct costs are high but the indirect costs are much higher, mainly falling on the family. So a social welfare network has to be provided,” said Dr Amala de Silva, Economist, University of Colombo describing the findings of a UNDP study on AIDS in Sri Lanka conducted in 1997.

Today, 10 years after the 1997 UNDP study, the economic cost of AIDS has gone up drastically and is rising. The direct and indirect cost of AIDS for an urban male is estimated at Rs 2 million today compared to Rs 912,960 in 1997. The direct cost mainly comprises the cost of medical facilities and indirect costs are based on lost earnings from loss of employment.

Societal attitudes in Sri Lanka are adding to the costs. Due to the stigma associated with AIDS most people do not even like to test for HIV. This increases the chances of spreading AIDS and reduces the chances of the victim’s survival. The stigma associated with AIDS also prevents victims from keeping their jobs depriving them of healthcare. “If there was no stigma people will test themselves for HIV earlier. Early diagnosis will increase duration of survival,” said de Silva.

Prevention business
In 2005 the ILO started a pilot project to promote the prevention of HIV/AIDS through the private sector by targeting local companies in the hotel, estate and manufacturing fields. By now 11 out of the 14 targeted companies have developed corporate policies on HIV/AIDS and the ILO is encouraging more companies to start taking an interest in AIDS prevention.

“Companies can develop prevention programmes. This is not just giving lectures to workers. You have to aim at behaviour change. Sexual behaviour can’t be changed easily. So they have to be long term, sustainable programmes and the work environment must be conducive to behavioural change. We can provide the companies with the required technical assistance,” said Hettiarachchi.

A more understanding corporate attitude where AIDS victims are not discriminated by management or told to leave their jobs, is expected to encourage people to get themselves tested for HIV. This would help prevent the spread of AIDS and ensure that AIDS victims have employment and income to live on.

The conference was told that the majority of people who contract the killer HIV/AIDS are in their most productive years, often sole breadwinners of their households. Aside from the untold misery and suffering it causes them, it has been found to have a disastrous impact on the productivity of a country, going far beyond the household and community level by weakening the economy and stifling national development.
The week long ICAAP Colombo summit in August, hosted by the Sri Lankan government, will see critical issues relating to the region being discussed. It brings together politicians, government officials, medical experts, academics, people living with HIV/AIDS, community workers and the media.

Asia's migrant workers need more state help to curb AIDS
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The spread of AIDS is threatening millions of migrant workers in Asia who lack sufficient access to health services, regional activists said. "For a comprehensive approach to contain HIV/AIDS, the health of not only local populations but also migrant communities needs to be addressed," CARAM Asia, a Malaysian-based coalition of migrant and health groups from 15 countries, said in an open letter to Asian governments on Monday.

There are now about 53 million migrant workers in Asia who are vulnerable to HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, because of their relative lack of access to HIV-prevention programs, health counseling and medical tests, CARAM Asia said. In many cases, migrants found to be HIV-positive are deported without any help or immediate treatment, it added. It did not give estimates of how many migrant workers in Asia are HIV-positive.

Many migrant workers come from poor areas in countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. They often find employment in more affluent Asian nations as housemaids and laborers in plantations, factories and construction sites. According to recent U.N. statistics, about 8.6 million people in Asia are infected with HIV. About 500,000 people in the region die per year from AIDS and financial losses are estimated at US$10 billion (euro7.5 billion) annually.

However, investment in HIV control in Asia remains extremely low at 10 percent of the required US$5 billion (euro3.7 billion) per year, officials have said. The number of people in Asia infected with HIV could be more than double to 20 million in the next five years without a better government response and more funding, they said.
source;/www.sundaytimes.lk

South Korean TV show sheds light on stigma attached to AIDS

SEOUL, South Korea ---- A new TV soap opera is gaining popularity in South Korea with the tear-jerking tale of an 8-year-old girl infected by the virus that causes AIDS ---- a disease that still invites more ostracism than sympathy here.

The MBC network show "Thank You" has been winning top ratings in its time slot with the story of a young HIV carrier ---- a rare topic for South Korean dramas that typically focus on forbidden love or secret love affairs.

Since its premiere in March, the show's viewership across the country steadily rose to reach 18.5 percent of viewers on May 10, according to AGB Nielsen Media Research.

In the show, the child, Lee Bom, becomes infected with HIV through a blood transfusion. When villagers find out she has the virus, they pressure Bom and her family ---- her single mom and great-grandfather suffering from Alzheimer's ---- to leave the small island village. They fear, out of ignorance, that they will also get infected for just being near her.

The portrayal of the strong stigma attached to AIDS reflects low awareness of the disease in South Korea, where AIDS is becoming increasingly a social issue even though the rate of the disease's spread here is relatively low.

"People's knowledge of the disease has increased, but discrimination and prejudice against HIV carriers and AIDS patients are still very strong and widespread," said Kim Hoon-soo, executive director at the Korea Confederation for HIV-AIDS Prevention. "This is not something that can be changed overnight."

South Korea has a relatively low number of people living with HIV ---- 3,891 as of March, according to government statistics. But experts say the actual number could be at least three or four times higher ---- some 13,000 by a U.N. estimate ---- with many reluctant to take HIV tests due to the social stigma of the disease.

The number of new infections is on the rise, reaching a record 751 last year ---- more than double the figure recorded in 2001 when 327 new cases were found.

The stigma of AIDS in this deeply Confucian society also arises from people associating the disease with cheating on partners or engaging in inappropriate intercourse, Kim said. Sexual contact was the cause for the spread of HIV infections in nearly 99 percent of the cases so far reported, according to government data.

A 2005 survey showed 52 percent of 2,022 South Koreans said they would not send their children to a school where there was an HIV carrier, according to South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 40 percent of those surveyed also said HIV sufferers should be quarantined in special facilities, according to the survey.

Producers of the new TV drama said they wanted to tell "the story of violence that rises from prejudice, discrimination and stereotype."

The story is aimed as a protest against "foolish people who carelessly stamp on other people's lives, believing what little knowledge they have randomly picked up is the grand truth," the producers wrote on the show's Web site, which also provides factual information about AIDS.

"This kind of drama will help greatly to improve the public's perception of the disease," said Nam Jeong-gu, a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last year, the center for the first time produced a TV drama on an HIV sufferer as part of a campaign to address misperceived public fears about AIDS. But the two-episode show only made it to cable television and an educational TV channel, because South Korea's three major broadcasters ---- KBS (Korean Broadcasting System), MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corp.) and SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) ---- "expressed difficulties in airing the show that touched on the sensitive issue of AIDS," Nam said.

In a recent episode of "Thank You," which runs through May, Bom learned why her mom told her never to ask for help when she bleeds.

"Wipe off the blood by yourself," the girl is told. "And make sure you put the handkerchief you used in a plastic bag and seal it before throwing it away."

Bom is bewildered and hurt when her friends do not show up for class after learning she has HIV. Villagers run away in fear when seeing her, and a neighbor locks up Bom's great-grandfather, thinking the old man has also caught the virus from living with her.

The girl breaks into tears when a woman yells at her to get away as she tries to touch the woman's baby, murmuring between sobs: "Everyone is strange. Everyone is very, very strange."

The night Bom finds out on the Internet that she carries a virus that is contagious, she wraps herself with a blanket and stays as far away as possible from her mom as they sleep next to each other. The next morning, she is gone, leaving a note that reads: "Mom, please have a happy life. Don't look for Bom."
source;www.nctimes.com