21:40 09.11.2008 | All news from "AIDS/HIV"
Africa: Daily HIV/Aids Report
Malawi Receives $20M Grant To Bolster HIV Treatment, Testing Efforts
[Nov 06, 2008]
A senior government official on Wednesday announced that Malawi has received a $20 million grant from the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to expand its HIV/AIDS treatment and testing program, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. The funding will provide additional antiretroviral drugs and HIV testing kits, according to Washington Kaimvi of Malawi's National AIDS Commission. Kaimvi said that 184,405 people had access to antiretrovirals as of June, adding that officials "hope to reach over 200,000 soon." He said, "We are doing well on the free AIDS drugs. It's been a scale-up, from 4,000 patients in 2003."
The grant also will help expand HIV testing, which is "vital" in Malawi, where 15% of its 12 million people have been tested, Kaimvi said, adding that the government's goal of 1.5 million people tested annually has not been met. AFP/Yahoo! News reports that the country has an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of about 12% and that approximately 85,000 people die each year from AIDS-related illnesses (AFP/Yahoo! News, 11/5).
In related news, the Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation in Malawi recently addressed concerns over stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS by implementing a rights-based HIV/AIDS project with funding from the National AIDS Commission, the Nyasa Times reports. According to the group's executive director, Undule Mwakasungula, CHRR felt "obliged" to address the issue of human rights when it learned that "people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS continue to be subjected to stigma and discrimination in offices, homes, communities and other institutions" and that many other HIV/AIDS interventions failed to address this issue. The project will target eight districts in the northern, central and southern regions of the country. Mwakasungula said that "negative sentiments" expressed by some community members and leaders "are only evidence of how communities view those affected by HIV and AIDS." Stigma and discrimination "have a negative impact on HIV testing as many shy away for fear of being discriminated and stigmatized once they are tested HIV positive," according to Mwakasungula. He added that a "high level of stigma" creates a "culture of secrecy" that affects access to services, namely counseling, testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and antiretroviral access.
CHRR in a statement said, "In view of all these set backs in the fight against HIV and AIDS, we at CHRR would like to remind the nation that discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS is a violation of their rights," adding that the group is advocating for legislation that would prohibit discrimination of people on the basis of HIV/AIDS status. The group also called on the government, faith-based institutions, leaders and other stakeholders to increase their educational efforts to achieve better understanding of the disease (Nyasa Times, 11/6).
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Indonesia To Hold National Condom Week To Curb Spread of HIV, Reach Youth
[Nov 06, 2008]
Indonesia's National AIDS Commission recently announced competitions for journalists and university students to promote the country's upcoming National Condom Week, which takes place the first week in December, the Jakarta Post reports. According to Commission Secretary Nafsiah Mboi, the competitions are being launched in an effort to engage younger generations in the country's second condom week, adding that more than half of the country's youth under age 30 are living with a sexually transmitted infection. The competition for journalists is to promote condom use, and the one for university students is to design proposals for condom use campaigns. Funding will be awarded to the top three designers to implement their campaigns at their respective university campuses.
During the condom week, other events and campaigns, such as concerts and conferences, will be held at malls, office buildings, campuses and other locations frequented by young people throughout the country. In addition to encouraging condom use, the events will promote abstinence as one of the best methods of preventing STIs and unplanned pregnancies (Winarti, Jakarta Post, 11/5).
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UAE Approves Use of PEP Throughout Country
[Nov 06, 2008]
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health recently approved the use of eight different antiretroviral drugs for post-exposure prophylaxis throughout the country, the Gulf News reports. According to the News, PEP will be available only with a prescription and a recommendation from health authorities and/or the health ministry.
Farida Al Hosani -- senior regional officer for public health and policies at the Health Authority Abu Dhabi and a member of the National HIV Committee at the health ministry -- said, "PEP is not 100% effective; it cannot guarantee that exposure to HIV will not become a case of HIV infection." Al Hosani added that her current focus is to council, assure, create trust and explore the feelings of people who feel they are at risk of contracting HIV. Al Hosani said, "We receive reports about the condition from people who had unsafe sex. If this person's partner admits he/she has HIV, they should instantly contact us and we may give them an [antiretroviral] to help reduce the chances of exposure. The problem is that HIV-positive people rarely admit it."
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