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IRIN PlusNews Weekly Issue 203, 15 October 2004


	Wednesday 3 November 2004

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IRIN PlusNews Weekly Issue 203, 15 October 2004

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

NEWS:

ZIMBABWE: Hair salons come to rescue of female condom
ZIMBABWE: Global Fund rejects appeal, denies political bias
MALAWI: "Capacity shortfall" could derail ARV rollout
GAMBIA: 150 people to benefit from pilot ARV programme
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS orphan village planned
MOZAMBIQUE: Religious leaders tackle AIDS
AFRICA: Coverage of UN Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA) meeting
NAMIBIA: New hope for Caprivi with launch of AIDS treatment

HAYDEN'S DIARY

Love, lies and disclosure

LINKS:

1. New website to help gay men inform partners about STDs

CONFERENCES/ EVENTS/ RESEARCH/ RESOURCES:

JOB OPPORTUNITIES:

ZIMBABWE: Hair salons come to rescue of female condom

Besides styling hair, Zimbabwean hairdressers are now making waves by promoting the female condom as a protective device against HIV/AIDS.

After struggling for six years to sell the contraceptive sheath, partly because it required interacting with women to allow them to ask questions about its use, condom manufacturer PSI-Zimbabwe has settled on engaging hairdressers to popularise the product by using their natural interpersonal skills.

More details

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ZIMBABWE: Global Fund rejects appeal, denies political bias

Zimbabwe's request for funding from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria has again been rejected.

Last week Zimbabwe appealed the Fund's earlier rejection of its HIV/AIDS and TB grant proposals. Fund spokesman Tim Clark told PlusNews on Tuesday that, "sadly, neither of the Zimbabwe appeals was successful".

In July the Fund turned down proposals from Zimbabwe for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, "for technical reasons". David Parirenyatwa, Zimbabwe's Minister of Health and Child Welfare, accused the Fund of political bias, something the Global Fund has strongly denied.

More details

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MALAWI: "Capacity shortfall" could derail ARV rollout

As the recipient of a significant amount of donor funding for HIV/AIDS, money is no longer seen as a constraint to Malawi's treatment programme, officials told PlusNews.

But the country is now faced with a "serious capacity shortfall" that could derail its rollout plan.

More details

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GAMBIA: 150 people to benefit from pilot ARV programme

About 150 HIV-positive people in the Gambia will benefit from free antiretroviral therapy in a pilot programme launched by the government this week, Doctor Sam McConkey, a director of the government's Medical Research Council, said on Wednesday.

During the first phase of the programme a group of 15 to 20 people would receive the drugs, which can dramatically improve the health of people living with AIDS and prolong their survival, McConkey said.

A first group of seven patients began receiving ARV therapy in the capital, Banjul, on Monday.

More details

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SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS orphan village planned

An organisation in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province plans to build an AIDS orphan village to take the burden off grandmothers, who are frequently the main caretakers of an ever-growing number of these children.

In the poorest parts of KZN, where 33 percent of the population is living with the virus, one elderly woman takes care of 10 children on average. Often the only household income is a basic state pension of about R700 (US $106).

Phagamisa Projects, a non-profit organisation run by community pastors Sharmaine and George Dobson, intends to take the pressure off the 'gogo' (Zulu for grandmother) by building a village where parents dying from AIDS can find refuge with their children, and orphans will be cared for by foster mothers.

More details

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MOZAMBIQUE: Religious leaders tackle AIDS

In an unprecedented show of solidarity, 16 faith-based organisations in Mozambique have united to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic, coming up with a national action plan.

"Faith-based Organisations (FBOs) can make a big difference if they are involved and given the tools," said Mohamad Yassine, coordinator of the World Conference of Religion for Peace (WCRP) in Mozambique.

He told PlusNews that religious leaders could play a major role in tackling HIV/AIDS, as about 10 million of the country's 18 million people were members of an organised religion - from Christians and Muslims to those of the Bahai faith.

More details

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AFRICA: Full impact of AIDS yet to be felt - UN Commission

Africa must brace itself for "the AIDS time bomb" that has killed 20 million people, but whose full impact could still be a decade away. According to a special commission set up by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the continent faces millions more deaths and orphans.

"If we think we are seeing an impact today we have to brace ourselves, because it is set to get very much worse in the future," warned Professor Alan Whiteside, a member of the 20-strong Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa.

More details

Experts explore rural impact of AIDS

Africa's cemeteries are "filled beyond capacity" because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis told experts meeting in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Tuesday to discuss combating the spread of the virus.

Opening a session of the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA), a UN-inspired body set up last year to track the long-term impact of the pandemic in Africa, Wolde-Giorgis said HIV/AIDS was fuelling "social decay" and "community breakdown" that threatened the very fabric of African society.

More details

Millions lack access to ARVs - UN study

According to the new CHGA report sponsored by the UN and released this week, only 50,000 Africans get ARV treatment - a coverage of around one percent - but a further 4 million people are in need.

More details

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NAMIBIA: New hope for Caprivi with launch of AIDS treatment

Stigma keeps people in denial over HIV and AIDS. They are silent about their fears, too afraid to change, and wait far too long before seeking medical help.

Where there is no treatment option, especially in conservative societies where the stigma surrounding AIDS seems so hard to challenge, there can appear to be little to gain from coming forward to be tested, and an awful lot to lose if the result is positive: ostracism, ridicule and discrimination are powerful disincentives.

The HIV prevalence rate in Namibia's northeastern Caprivi region is testimony to the impact of denial. In 2002 an estimated 43 percent of the region's 92,000 people were HIV-positive - 10 points higher than the last survey in 2000. Analysts fear that new figures, due out in the next few months, will show a further rise.

More details

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HAYDEN'S DIARY

Love, lies and disclosure

Dear Diary

Its been years since the first time I disclosed my HIV status, but even now my heart races when I think about having to tell someone who has no idea, despite my life story already being so public.

Maybe its because I am constantly worried about whether complete strangers could be as understanding as my family and close friends when I told them six years ago.

Or could this persistent fear be a natural reaction to the lingering sting from a past rejection?

Full Report

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LINKS:

1. New website to help gay men inform partners about STDs

San Francisco health officials have launched a new "hip, funny, and to-the-point" way for gay men to inform their partners that they might have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The Department of Public Health's STD Services website allows men diagnosed with an STD to notify their partners via an electronic postcard that they need to get tested.

www.inspot.org

[Top of the Page]

[ENDS]

Recent AFRICA Reports

IRIN PlusNews Weekly Issue 205, 29 October 2004, 29/Oct/04

Reducing HIV risk in breastfeeding, 27/Oct/04

Increased need for counselling services, 26/Oct/04

IRIN PlusNews Weekly Issue 204, 22 October 2004, 22/Oct/04

WFP asks for US $404 million to aid 1.5 million people, 21/Oct/04

Links

Sida Info Services

Le Fonds mondial de lutte contre le SIDA, la tuberculose et le paludisme

Le Réseau Afrique 2000

PlusNews does not take responsibility for info in links supplied.

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