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IRIN PlusNews Weekly Issue 232, 6 May 2005

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

NEWS

AFRICA: Low marks on report card for global HIV/AIDS commitments
KENYA: Govt promises expansion of free ARVs
UGANDA: Adult HIV infections rise to seven percent
MOZAMBIQUE: Workers in the forefront of fight against HIV/AIDS
SOUTH AFRICA: Clinic tackles urgent need for AIDS/TB treatment
SOUTH AFRICA: Project empowers rural communities to shape own HIV/AIDS programmes
SWAZILAND: Drought, hunger and AIDS, but still coping

CONFERENCES/ EVENTS/ RESEARCH/ RESOURCES

1. Children Affected by AIDS
2. International Conference of People Living with HIV/AIDS
3. Proposal Writing Course for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria

VACANCIES

1. HIV/AIDS Advisors and Programme Managers
2. HIV/AIDS and Gender Advisor




NEWS

AFRICA: Low marks on report card for global HIV/AIDS commitments

Four years after world leaders at the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on AIDS pledged to scale up their fight against the disease, many countries are falling short of their targets, a new report has found.

Under the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS of July 2001, UN member governments set time-bound goals for reversing the spread of the pandemic by scaling up treatment, prevention and care in their countries.

Much still has to be done before the people directly affected realise the benefits of these commitments, noted the UN Secretary General's progress report on implementation of the targets, released earlier this week.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4761

KENYA: Govt promises expansion of free ARVs

Kenya's government has promised to make antiretroviral (ARV) drugs freely available to its HIV-positive citizens, many of whom cannot afford the current subsidised medication.

Of the 200,000 people in need of treatment in the country, only 35,000 are receiving the life-prolonging drugs. With more than 60 percent of the population living on a dollar a day, HIV-positive Kenyans can expect to pay about KShs500 (US $6.5) per month for ARVs.

According to health minister Charity Ngilu, the government hopes to put 95,000 people on free treatment by end of this year, and increase the number to 140,000 by 2006.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4762


UGANDA: Adult HIV infections rise to seven percent

An estimated seven percent of Uganda's adult population is living with HIV/AIDS, up from previous estimates of 6.2 percent, the ministry of health said on Tuesday.

In a report on the preliminary findings of a national survey, the ministry indicated that approximately 800,000 people in the East African country were HIV-positive.

Ministry of health officials attributed the difference between the two HIV prevalence figures to the methods used to collect data. While this latest survey is based on a nationwide sample of people who voluntarily gave their blood to be tested for the virus, previous HIV/AIDS data was based on records from major hospitals and antenatal clinics.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4763


MOZAMBIQUE: Workers in the forefront of fight against HIV/AIDS

The role workers can play in the fight against HIV/AIDS came into sharp focus during May Day celebrations in Mozambique.

The Organisation of Mozambican Workers (OTM), the country's main trade union, used the traditional Workers' Day march on 1 May as a platform to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in the workplace.

OTM secretary-general Joaquim Fanheiro told PlusNews that Mozambique's workforce had been hard hit by HIV/AIDS. Productive people were critical to the country's development, but were being decimated by the disease. About 1.5 million Mozambicans were HIV positive and an estimated 14.9 percent of Mozambicans in the productive age group of 15 to 49 were living with virus.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4751


SOUTH AFRICA: Clinic tackles urgent need for AIDS/TB treatment

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most frequent opportunistic infection, and the leading cause of death among HIV-positive people. The scale of the problem is staggering, with some 12 million people co-infected with HIV and TB, two-thirds of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa.

A recently opened HIV/AIDS and TB research clinic in Durban, South Africa, is one of the few clinics in KwaZulu-Natal province providing combined TB and antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to TB patients co-infected with the virus.

KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of tuberculosis cases in the country, and has been hard-hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4750


SOUTH AFRICA: Project empowers rural communities to shape own HIV/AIDS programmes

A new project by South African NGO, the Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking (HIVAN), will enable rural communities across the country to develop their own programmes to deal with the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Since July 2003, the HIVAN team has been investigating how people in rural areas respond to HIV/AIDS despite inadequate resources, including a lack of basic infrastructure and access to health facilities, while suffering from high rates of unemployment and illiteracy.

These obstacles have prevented many rural communities from mounting an effective response to the pandemic, but the survey found that the involvement of local stakeholders was crucial in implementing prevention campaigns.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4752


SWAZILAND: Drought, hunger and AIDS, but still coping

Naomi Gule blames AIDS for the 45 parentless children she looks after at the neighbourhood care centre, an hour's drive south of the Swazi capital, but she blames the weather for frustrating her efforts to feed her charges.

"All summer, it has been too little rain or too much rain, or a spell of good growth at the school garden - all destroyed in just some minutes by a hailstorm," she said.

She picks through the remnants of stunted cabbage that sprout from the hard stony soil of the Neighbourhood Care Point's tiny wire-enclosed garden. Nearby, a small boy struggles to sprinkle the few surviving cabbages with a disproportionately large watering can.

More details:
http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=4767



CONFERENCES/ EVENTS/ RESEARCH/ RESOURCES

1. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched the fourth edition of USAID Project Profiles: Children Affected by HIV/AIDS 2005.

This document presents profiles of 114 projects (90 country-specific, 12 regional, and 12 global) funded by USAID.

Documentation on these activities promotes an exchange of ideas and information, leverages technical and financial resources, and encourages partnerships, collaboration and coordination among programmes supported by USAID, other US agencies, new partners and other donors.

Each of the 114 projects in the report aims to improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable children. Approaches to achieving this goal vary in both strategy and scale. The vast majority of projects work with communities to identify opportunities that strengthen existing resources without undermining local ownership. In many places, communities are already mobilised and have systems in place to identify, protect and provide basic necessities to the most vulnerable children. USAID supports the strengthening and monitoring of these existing activities.

The document can be viewed online, and print and CD-ROM copies can be ordered at:
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/aids/Publications/index.html


2. The Living with HIV Partnership will this year be combining the international conference of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) with the international Home and Community Care Conference (HCC) and will take place as the LIVING2005 conference in Lima, Peru, from 9-13 October 2005.

LIVING2005 is a conference for policy and practice in working with and caring for HIV-positive people worldwide, led by civil society, and provides a unique platform for community-level leaders to share and develop.

The Living with HIV Partnership is a new consortium of organisations committed to the empowerment of people living with HIV/AIDS and their communities.

The Partnership consists of the Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), the International Council of AIDS Service Organisations (ICASO), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), UNAIDS, and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The combined conference will take place under the direction of the Peruvian National Coordination of PLWHA and its national partners, including the Peruvian Ministry of Health.

About the two conferences:

- International Conference of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) has been organised since 1986. It is the sole international event where the agenda is completely set by the PLWHA community worldwide, and has become a principal hothouse for policy thinking among HIV-positive leaders.

- The International HCC Conference focuses on long-neglected issues around community and home-based care. It has become a major venue for exchanging experience and expertise on HCC between people from the South and the North.

For more information on LIVING2005 and to register: www.living2005.org

3. The Graduate School, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, is offering a Proposal Writing Training Course in the field of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, from 10 -13 August 2005, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The course is designed to equip researchers with managerial skills to meet the competitive demands of proposal writing in response to local and international funding opportunities. Proposal writing skills are of particular interest to researchers who intend to establish research groups with the capacity for obtaining repeated grant funding.

A selection of one or more of the following topics will be covered in the final programme, depending on participants' needs and interests:

- Selecting a Research Topic - the essentials
- Principles of Proposal Development
- Perspectives of Successful Proposal Writing from Experienced Grant Writers
- Explaining the Difference Between a Proposal and a Project
- Sources of Grant Funding in the Field of HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria
- Panel Discussion with Funders and Reviewers of Proposals on 'What to Look for in "Good Proposals"'
- Reworking existing proposals to meet expectations of funding agencies
- Dealing with rejection in grant writing
- Formulation of Work Plans, Budgets and Logical Frameworks
- Monitoring and Evaluation Tools for Effective Project Implementation
- Leadership and Grantsmanship - Teamwork for Leading Research Groups in Collaborative and Large Inter-disciplinary research projects
- Networking with other participants from the SADC Region

Tuition fees to participate in the course are ZAR 2,500 (US $422). Participants are responsible for their travel costs to the venue in Johannesburg, as well as accommodation and board expenses and per diems. The organisers have secured a limited number of fellowships from the Belgium Technical Cooperation for eligible participants from the SADC region. Each application should include a clearly articulated motivation that indicates how the applicant would benefit from the training.

25 places are available and these will be allocated to eligible participants on a first-come-first-served basis.

Apply directly, preferably by fax or email, with a short description (1 page) of your current professional qualifications and motivation to participate, to:
Mrs Alison Mclean
Tel: +27-11-717-2075
Fax: +27-11-717-2119
mailto:[email protected]



VACANCIES:

1. HIV/AIDS Advisors and Programme Managers - Malawi and Mozambique - Save the Children

Save the Children, an international relief and development agency, seeks qualified candidates for two HIV/AIDS Specialist positions. Both require 5 to 10 years, or more, of experience in providing technical, operational and coordinative support to local programmes. Candidates must have Master's in Public Health or related degree. Portuguese language skills would be an advantage.

For more information and to apply, go to: www.savethechildren.org/careers/index.asp
and proceed to the appropriate position and complete the candidate profile.


2. HIV/AIDS and Gender Advisor - Niger - Concern Worldwide

Concern Worldwide is looking for an HIV/AIDS and Gender Advisor based in Niamey, Niger, to start as soon as possible. This is a two-year posting for a dynamic individual with a background in HIV and gender mainstreaming, and an interest in the education sector. Prospective candidates must speak fluent French, and have an interest in working as part of a team that includes partner organisations and government departments. This is an international post and expatriate terms and conditions apply.

For more information: http://www.concern.net/indexD.php

Interested applicants should send their CVs to: [email protected] for the attention of Ms Debbie Treacy.

[ENDS]