Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report—HIV/AIDS

Censorship Of Public Health Websites By Russian Drug Agency An 'Assault' On HIV Prevention

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:02:10 GMT

"Amidst pro-democracy protests, the Russian authorities have taken what is an ongoing assault on HIV prevention to the next level by moving to silence public health advocates whose only infraction has been to spread lifesaving information online and to criticize the government for its own failures," Eka Iakobishvili, a human rights analyst at Harm Reduction International, and Claudia Stoicescu, an analyst on Harm Reduction International's public health research team, write in this Huffington Post opinion piece. "While Prime Minister Putin spoke glowingly of digital democracy" in a recent column praising the potential for "internet-based democracy," "his anti-drugs agency is censoring websites for writing about WHO essential medicine," the authors note.

Donor Fatigue, Funding Cutbacks Could Mean Another 50 Years Of AIDS Epidemic, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Says

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:45:27 GMT

"With enough money spent in the right way, the world could soon reduce new HIV infections to zero, but global apathy and the financial crisis mean it might take another 50 years to stop the AIDS epidemic, a U.N. expert has said," AlertNet reports. "At a time when HIV/AIDS efforts face an unprecedented decline in funding, Paul De Lay, deputy executive director of UNAIDS ..., called on developing states to take more responsibility for tackling HIV in their own countries rather than relying on international assistance," the news service notes.

USAID-Supported Programs Fighting TB, HIV In Brazil

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:44:04 GMT

In this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," Ed Scholl, AIDSTAR-One project director, writes about HIV and tuberculosis (TB) care in Brazil, where "USAID has partnered with the Brazilian Ministry of Health to improve early TB detection, increase HIV counseling and testing, and provide medical treatment for both infections." He continues, "AIDSTAR-One, a USAID-funded project, is also conducting outreach in Brazilian prisons, which are often at high risk of TB and HIV epidemics." He concludes, "Through partnerships like USAID and AIDSTAR-One, we can effectively fight TB and HIV across Brazil and Latin America, to improve the health of countless people and ultimately save lives" (2/7).

Important To Include Men In HIV Prevention, Treatment Programs

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:40:00 GMT

While a focus on HIV prevention and treatment among women and children has reduced infection rates among these populations, "men have received considerably less attention in the epidemic and receive less targeted HIV prevention and treatment programs," Edward Mills of the University of Ottawa and colleagues write in a PLoS Medicine essay, adding "Targeting men in prevention and treatment ... may have a large impact on mortality, new infections, and the economic impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa." They note that in Africa, fewer men than women access antiretroviral therapy (ART), and men "typically have higher mortality," seek care later in the disease, and "are more likely to be lost to follow-up."

NewsOne Examines HIV In Caribbean

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:30:56 GMT

NewsOne examines HIV in the Caribbean, where one percent of the population is infected with the virus, "small in comparison to numbers found in the global scheme but significant enough to distinguish it as the second-highest region with HIV/AIDS outside of sub-Saharan Africa." According to the article, HIV is spread primarily among populations at high risk for the disease, including sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people who use injection drugs.

Action Needed To Reach Ambitious Targets Set Forth In President's World AIDS Day Speech

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:05:31 GMT

President Barack Obama's December 1 World AIDS Day speech "could be pivotal, but only if it is followed by changes in how we tackle global AIDS," Chris Collins, vice president and director of public policy at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, writes in this Huffington Post "Global Motherhood" opinion piece. "Obama signaled a renewed U.S. commitment to funding for global AIDS programs at a time when resources at home are constrained and other countries are backing away from the fight," he writes, adding, "Now it's time to plot a course for implementing the president's vision."

U.N. Says Asia Pacific Region Making Strides Against HIV/AIDS, Must Address Social And Legal Barriers To Treatment, Prevention

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:56:17 GMT

The U.N. Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (ESCAP) on Monday in Bangkok "opened a three-day meeting lauding impressive gains in recent years in the fight against HIV/AIDS," but the body cautioned "there are still legal and social barriers that significantly set back eradication efforts," VOA News reports. U.N. ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer "note[d] the gains are uneven and there are still gaps in the goal of universal access to HIV treatment," the news service writes.

Debate Continues Over Needle/Syringe Exchange Programs

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:55:00 GMT

Matt Fisher, a research assistant at the Center for Strategic & International Studies' Global Health Policy Center, summarizes the ongoing debate in Congress over needle and syringe exchange programs (NSEPs) in this post on the SmartGlobalHealth.org blog. He presents a history of NSEPs and notes, "President Obama recently signed the FY12 omnibus spending bill that, among other things, reinstated the ban on the use of federal funds for needle and syringe exchange programs (NSEPs); this step reversed the 111th Congress' 2009 decision to allow federal funds to be used for these programs." He concludes that despite scientific evidence that NSEPs are an effective public health intervention, "ideological and moral opposition remains," and therefore, "the issue of federal funding will continue to be actively debated" (2/6).

Supporting Scientific Evidence Under PEPFAR To End AIDS

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:13:00 GMT

On Wednesday, several HIV experts spoke at a Capitol Hill briefing "supporting the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program's reliance on scientific evidence to drive its work to end AIDS," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports. The speakers, including Diane Havlir of the University of California, San Francisco, RJ Simonds of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Renee Ridzon of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Chris Beyrer of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, talked about using antiretroviral treatment as a prevention method, the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, voluntary medical male circumcision, and preventing HIV among marginalized populations at high risk of infection (Mazzotta, 2/3).

DRC Facing Decline In Donor Funding, HIV Treatment Shortage

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:37:00 GMT

"The lives of thousands of HIV-positive people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at risk as the country faces declining donor funding and a severe shortage of HIV treatment, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)," PlusNews reports. "'The problem is quite old in the DRC; the country has always been minimized by donors who have not seen it as a priority, mainly because HIV prevalence is relatively low at between three and four percent,' Thierry Dethier, advocacy manager for MSF Belgium in the DRC, told IRIN/PlusNews," and he added, "But look at the indicators: more than one million people are living with HIV, 350,000 of whom qualify for [antiretrovirals (ARVs)] but only 44,000 -- or 15 percent -- are on ARVs," the news service writes.

African Scientists' Search For Female-Controlled Microbicide Gel To Prevent HIV Continues

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:27:00 GMT

AllAfrica.com examines efforts by African researchers to develop a female-controlled HIV prevention method, writing, "[S]cientists searching for a gel or vaccine that can prevent HIV infection ride a rollercoaster of hope and disappointment." The article profiles efforts by researchers from the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (Caprisa) to find a microbicide gel to protect women from HIV infection.

Kenyan AIDS Official Says Country Has Sufficient Funding To Support Programs Through 2016

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:20:00 GMT

Kenya has sufficient funds to support HIV/AIDS treatment programs through 2016, the head of the National AIDS Control Council (NACC) said in a statement on Wednesday after activists protested on Monday in support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Star reports. The Global Fund had to cancel Round 11 grants because "the cash at hand was not in the bank by the time we wanted to disburse," according to the Fund's Deputy Executive Director Debrework Zewdie, a move that sparked fears there would not be sufficient funding to pay for existing treatment programs, the Star notes (Muchangi, 2/2). In his statement, NACC head Alloys Orago said, "Though the available fund cushions beneficiaries from immediate effects of donor withdrawal up to 2016, such a move calls for home grown and innovative ways of locally financing the disease," according to the Daily Nation (2/2).

Ensure Future For Global Fund Or 'Forfeit' Chance At 'AIDS-Free Generation'

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:57:07 GMT

In this New York Times opinion piece, Paul Farmer, chair of the department of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School and a co-founder of Partners in Health, examines the importance of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as it faces a "serious financial shortfall," writing, "Beyond AIDS, the Global Fund is currently the largest donor in the world for tuberculosis and malaria programs. ... The question is not whether the Global Fund works, but how to ensure it keeps working for years to come."

Capitol Hill Briefing Examines PEPFAR Work

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:51:50 GMT

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog describes a Capitol Hill briefing that was held Wednesday "to discuss the various evidence-based approaches to prevent HIV infection that the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program is implementing on the ground in the countries hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic." According to the blog, "The briefing was the first in a series that will be hosted by the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator in the months leading up to the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., in July. This briefing was co-hosted by the Center, the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), and PEPFAR (Mazzotta, 2/1).

Media Outlets Examine Global Fund's Future As It Enters Second Decade

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:48:00 GMT

The Guardian examines the future of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as it enters its second decade, writing, "Despite its staggering successes -- including helping put 3.3 million people on AIDS treatment, 8.6 million on anti-tuberculosis treatment and providing 230 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria -- the fund's recent troubles had threatened to overshadow its accomplishments as it prepared to mark a decade as the world's main financier of programs to fight these three global epidemics." The news service highlights a $750 million pledge to the Fund by Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, discusses recent managerial changes within the Fund, and quotes a number of experts about future challenges (Kelly, 2/2).

One Part Of HIV/AIDS Series Examines Germany's Government Policies Surrounding Epidemic

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:46:27 GMT

As part of a week-long series, titled "Generation Positive," looking at the HIV epidemic in the U.S. and Washington, D.C., WTOP's Thomas Warren examines the history of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. compared with Germany, where he traveled as a fellow with the RIAS Berlin Kommission. The article describes "the history of HIV in Germany, including the governmental policies aimed at handling the disease and how the virus is treated medically," according to the introduction (Warren, 2/1).

Rethinking Government Approach To GHI

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:25:47 GMT

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance" blog, Connie Veillette, director of CGD's rethinking U.S. foreign assistance initiative, highlights two recent posts by CGD's Amanda Glassman and Nandini Oomman on the future of the Global Health Initiative (GHI). She writes, "With the Appropriations Committee weighing in by requiring a status report by mid-February on transitioning GHI to USAID, it is no understatement that the GHI is at an important juncture. Declining budgets for foreign assistance will also require new thinking on where the U.S. provides assistance and for what purpose" (1/31).

Collapse Of Global Fund Would Stall Global Health Efforts

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:19:34 GMT

"The Global Fund's drive to ensure sustainability and efficiency means that it may not be able to meet its commitments to combat disease, says Laurie Garrett," a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, in Nature's "World View" column. Citing his resignation letter, Garrett discusses the "the political struggle" that led Michel Kazatchkine to step down as executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria last week and writes, "It is a classic battle of titans, pitting urgency against long-term sustainability. ... Kazatchkine essentially conceded victory to the forces for sustainability."

South African Government Officials Recall Defective Condoms

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:06:00 GMT

Government health officials in Free State, South Africa, have recalled a lot of 8,700 boxes of condoms that were distributed free of charge at guesthouses, hotels, restaurants, and bars to celebrate the centenary of the African National Congress, BBC News reports (1/30). "The Free State Health Department says it is recalling the estimated 1.35 million condoms as a 'precautionary measure' -- and urged the public not to panic," the BBC notes, adding, "They say they are still investigating claims that the condoms are porous."

Opinion Pieces Recognize Global Fund Anniversary

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:40:00 GMT

Last week, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria celebrated its 10-year anniversary. The following are summaries of two opinion pieces written in recognition of this milestone.