Pact Viet Nam is pleased to announce a Request for Applications (RFA) for a program entitled "Changing sexual norms among young men in Viet Nam: a media and peer outreach approach." Up to 3 million USD will be provided over a three-year period in order to enhance and expand a national media campaign and accompanying community outreach interventions, with the objective of changing male sexual norms and reducing use of sex workers among…
The hitherto marginalised groups of people identified as being especially vulnerable to HIV/AIDS discrimination, appear to be gradually pushing their agenda into the National Strategic Framework for HIV/AIDS (2003-2009) in Botswana. The framework was obviously not crafted to include specific needs of these groups that include sex workers, intravenous drugs users, homosexuals, mobile populations, women, youths, and prison inmates. Interestingly,…
A unique match-making event in the western Indian state of Gujarat for HIV positive men and women has ended with three couples deciding to marry. Held in the city of Surat, the event was attended by 45 men and 15 women. The organisers of the event said it was an attempt to end the isolation of those infected by the HIV virus.
A home-based care programme that uses weekly visits and medicines supporters in Uganda has shown some of the highest rates of viral load suppression and medication adherence reported anywhere in the world, according to a report published as an early online article in The Lancet.
US Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) has proposed a bill that would require all HIV programs funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to address the rapid spread of infection among women and young people. This legislation, titled the PATHWAY Act of 2006, also removes earmarks in the current law requiring 33 percent of funding to go toward "abstinence-until-marriage" programs. Previously this month, a Government…
A new political declaration on AIDS that strengthens the world's response to the epidemic was presented to member states for adoption. In his remarks at the General Assembly High Level Meeting, Secretary-General Kofi Annan called AIDS "the greatest challenge of our Generation."
Civil society advocates at the UN High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York say that overnight negotiation may have moved the political declaration towards text that is more supportive of universal access to prevention, treatment and care, and which acknowledges the existence of `vulnerable groups`.
Following a meeting with persons living with HIV who are attending a major United Nations meeting on AIDS in New York, Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported their appeal to diplomats not to negotiate away past gains in a declaration to be adopted by the end of the three-day session, which concludes Friday.
Visionary leadership and an unprecedented partnership among Governments, the private sector and civil society were called for to meet the goal of reversing the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the opening session of the General Assembly's High-Level Meeting on AIDS.
Participants at a major United Nations conference in New York today reviewed the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS in women compared to men. Panelists discussed the importance of women's rights being at the center of the AIDS response.
African women including HIV positive women, women's rights activists, feminists, scholars, professionals, community workers and policy makers from the African continent participating in the African Women's Regional Consultation on Women's and Rights and HIV/AIDS in Africa, in Johannesburg, South Africa, April 6-7, 2006 have prepared a declaration/position on women's rights and HIV/AIDS in Africa.
An international conference opened on Sunday in South Africa to discuss a revolutionary technology to curb the spread of HIV and Aids. More than 1,000 scientists will gather in Cape Town over the next four days to study a product known as microbicides. The product, which can take the form of a gel or cream, releases an active ingredient designed to kill HIV during sexual intercourse.
A safe and effective gel allowing women to protect themselves from the AIDS virus may be available by 2010 if current trials involving thousands of women are successful, researchers said Sunday. Gita Ramjee, director of the HIV prevention research unit at South Africa's Medical Research Council, said microbe-killing vaginal gels offered huge potential for stemming the epidemic, especially in societies where men are reluctant to use a condom.
Meeting the needs of children affected by AIDS Millions of children across the world have already lost their mothers to AIDS. Millions more are caring for their sick mothers, knowing they will die soon. With proper support within their communities, mothers can be cared for in their homes, and continue to care for their children. Until now, support for children affected by AIDS has focused on orphans. In Missing Mothers: Meeting the needs of…
HIV prevention interventions that include information on condoms do not inadvertently encourage an earlier sexual debut, more frequent sexual activity or more sexual partners, according to a meta-analysis of 174 studies published in the March edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
A new paper published by the UNAIDS-led Global Coalition on Women and AIDS (GCWA) shows that when women have an income and a safe place to live, they are much better able to negotiate abstinence, fidelity, and safer sex. Economic security, the paper stresses, is a major factor in enabling women to protect themselves from HIV. Highlighting the link between poverty and HIV risk for women and girls, the paper outlines examples of promising…
As with other chronic illnesses, the ideal AIDS care model is a holistic combination of public health, home and community care. The WHO believes that HIV/AIDS should be managed at home because home care is more comprehensive, more compassionate, less expensive and allows the patient to maintain a certain level of dignity and normality. However, caring for a family member with advanced HIV infection or AIDS is a physically challenging and…
This paper reports on the men's travelling conference (MTC) which took place as part of the 2003 Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign in Africa. The conference covered Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia, and involved a range of events and participatory activities with communities along the conference route. The report finds that the MTC was an effective learning opportunity both for participants and…
A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows that the number of people on HIV antiretroviral treatment (ART) in low- and middle-income countries more than tripled to 1.3 million in December 2005 from 400 000 in December 2003. Charting the final progress of the "3 by 5" strategy to expand access to HIV therapy in the developing world, the report also says that the lessons…
This publication highlights the urgent need to identify, test and implement effective strategies that address violence against women in conflict settings. Included in these strategies is the need to integrate programmes that address violence against women, HIV prevention and AIDS treatment and care in conflict settings. The challenges of doing this are enormous, as immediate needs for food, shelter and security often take precedence over…