AFRICA: IRIN PlusNews Weekly Issue 326, 16 March 2007

JOHANNESBURG, 16 March 2007 (PlusNews) - IRIN PlusNews Weekly Issue 326, 16 March 2007

NEWS

BURUNDI: Food shortages could harm people on ARVs
SOUTH AFRICA: Activists welcome ambitious new AIDS plan
MOZAMBIQUE: "I am in the darkness" - AIDS orphan
SOUTH AFRICA: PEPFAR scores well on AIDS treatment
SOUTH AFRICA: Study highlights alarming HIV incidence
NAMIBIA: Partners working hard to maintain treatment success
KENYA: Youth, sex and tourism on the coast
SUDAN: Fighting ignorance and stigma on a shoestring
AFRICA: Cricket World Cup batty about AIDS

EVENTS/RESOURCES

1. Publication: 'Expanding HIV Testing and Counseling'
2. Conference: A Call to Action: Ensuring Global Human Resources for Health, 22 – 23 March 2007, Geneva, Switzerland

VACANCIES

1. Field Medical Coordinator / HIV and AIDS Technical Advisor - Liberia


NEWS


BURUNDI: Food shortages could harm people on ARVs

HIV-positive Burundians on antiretroviral (ARV) medication are concerned about the future of their drug regimens after flooding caused extensive damage to harvests, bringing widespread food shortages.

In an assessment in January, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation found that heavy rains and floods had destroyed between 50 percent and 80 percent of the November 2006 harvest and much of the January yield of beans, sweet potatoes, maize, sorghum and rice across large parts of the country, forcing about a quarter of Burundi's eight million people to rely on food assistance.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6736


SOUTH AFRICA: Activists welcome ambitious new AIDS plan

South Africa's new five-year AIDS battle plan entered the final stage of a lengthy drafting and consultative process this week.

Government officials and representatives from various sectors met in Johannesburg to debate a draft version of the National Strategic HIV and AIDS Plan for 2007 to 2011, with the goal of hammering out a final version by the end of March.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6737


MOZAMBIQUE: "I am in the darkness" - AIDS orphan

Laurita Fernando's father left her just two mud huts and a badly tended maize field when he died. Once he was gone - after two months of suffering from AIDS-related symptoms - Laurita's stepmother walked out of the family home.

Laurita, 14, and her sister, Sofia, 11, live in a rural community, in the Chiuta district of Tete Province in northwestern Mozambique.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6738


SOUTH AFRICA: PEPFAR scores well on AIDS treatment

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a multibillion-dollar US effort to tackle HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, is making strides, but its future sustainability is an underlying concern for recipients.

The initiative, launched three years ago with the goal of providing prevention, treatment and care to 19 million people living with HIV, was "well on its way to reaching those goals", a new report by the US Government Accountability Office said on Tuesday.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6734


SOUTH AFRICA: Study highlights alarming HIV incidence

HIV infection is on the rise in South Africa, and women continue to be most affected, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) said on Wednesday.

In a new study, published in the March issue of the South African Medical Research Journal, which examined an unparalleled number of 15,851 blood specimens to assess national HIV incidence, the HSRC found that around 571,000 people had been newly infected with HIV in 2005 - about 1,500 new infections per day.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6735


NAMIBIA: Partners working hard to maintain treatment success

Namibia is hailed as one of the front-runners in AIDS treatment rollout, yet there is growing fear that this success might be short-lived if services do not reach rural communities.

The government has increased the number of sites offering antiretroviral (ARV) treatment from seven three years ago to 34 at present, but most of the clinics were set up in the densely populated northern regions, far from people living on farms and in rural villages.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6733


KENYA: Youth, sex and tourism on the coast

With her sleeping six-month-old baby daughter under one arm, 17-year-old Alice [not her real name] explains why she moved to Mombasa from ‘up country’, and how she joined the growing ranks of young girls involved in the commercial sex trade on the Kenyan coast.

“When I was sixteen I became pregnant and my parents were very upset. They threw me out of my home and I dropped out of school, so me and my boyfriend at the time decided we would move to Mombasa to start a new life here. After three months he left me, and I had to find a way to make money," she said.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6730


SUDAN: Fighting ignorance and stigma on a shoestring

Health workers in Malakal, capital of Upper Nile State in southern Sudan, face great odds in trying to counter the ignorance and stigma that prevents people benefiting from available HIV/AIDS services.

Despite the presence of a voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) site in the city, little is known about HIV. Regina John, 18, who works in her mother's food shop, did not know the government-run VCT centre existed, even though it was just 100 metres away from her doorway.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6731


AFRICA: Cricket World Cup batty about AIDS

A new partnership between international sportsmen and relief agencies is literally picking up the bat against the global impact of HIV/AIDS on young people.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has teamed up with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UNAIDS and the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership to spread the message of prevention, care and treatment to some 2 billion viewers of the Cricket World Cup 2007 when it starts on Sunday in Jamaica.

More details: http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6732


EVENTS/RESOURCES

1. Publication: 'Expanding HIV Testing and Counseling'

With estimates of 40 million people worldwide living with HIV, of which less than 10 percent know their status, HIV testing and counselling is widely regarded as key to effective prevention and treatment efforts. The latest issue of the Horizons Report, "Expanding HIV Testing and Counseling", examines HIV testing from different angles, drawing from relevant studies in several countries.

Topics include:

- Expanding HIV Testing and Counselling: Operations research examines strategies to increase access and uptake
- Initiating HIV Diagnostic Testing and Counselling: Study in Kenya underscores need for adequate training of health providers
- Promoting VCT at the Workplace: Studies in Kenya and Zambia show increased acceptability and uptake of VCT by health workers and teachers
- Family Matters: Zambia study highlights role of families in youths' testing decisions

To download this report, go to: http://www.popcouncil.org/horizons/newsletter/horizons(13).html


2. Conference: A Call to Action: Ensuring Global Human Resources for Health, 22 – 23 March 2007, Geneva, Switzerland

This conference will convene leading experts and a broad spectrum of health care disciplines and organisations that are both experiencing and affecting the global shortage of health care workers.

With a multidisciplinary focus and convening of global stakeholders, this meeting aims to stimulate discussion and help identify the steps that can be taken to build, retain, and sustain a workforce. Focus will be on research, policy and promising practices to address this growing problem and how implementation can happen at the local community, national and international levels.

For more information and to register, go to: http://www.hret.org/hret/publications/ihwm.html


VACANCIES

1. Field Medical Coordinator / HIV and AIDS Technical Advisor - Liberia

International health NGO, Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin) is seeking a suitably qualified individual to fulfil the dual roles of Field Medical Coordinator for Montserrado County and HIV and AIDS Advisor for Montserrado and for Merlin’s other programmes in Liberia.

Responsibilities:

- Coordinate and supervise medical activities for the Montserrado programme in close collaboration with other members of the Merlin Montserrado team, clinic staff and the County Health Team to ensure programme objectives are achieved and resources are well utilised;
- Together with the Country Health Director and Montserrado Medical Team, assist the Montserrado MoH clinical staff in clinical diagnosis, treatment and management of common causes of morbidity and mortality;
- Ensure medical stocks are properly managed;
- Provide leadership, coordination and support to HIV and AIDS activities in Montserrado County and in other Merlin programmes in Liberia;
- Start-up a second youth centre in Monrovia to provide youth-friendly education and counselling services on reproductive health and life skills;
- Assist the Country Health Director in refining the Merlin Liberia HIV and AIDS Strategy, as required and in setting standards and guidelines for a suitable HIV and AIDS response and interventions;
- Actively participate in evaluations of Merlin HIV projects, the Montserrado PHC programme, and the HIV and AIDS components of integrated programmes;
- Support Merlin in increasing its advocacy programme for HIV and AIDS, particularly relating to adolescents and youth. Assist in making advocacy a key component in Merlin’s response to HIV and AIDS in Liberia;
- Build and maintain relationships with other players who are responding to HIV and AIDS in Liberia including NGOs, UN agencies and donors.

Requirements:

- Doctor, nurse or midwife with post graduate experience in country of origin;
- Previous experience in primary health care service provision;
- Experience in drug quantification, estimation and procurement;
- Proven experience of working collaboratively with government health agencies and representatives;
- Strong experience of capacity building and training;
- Sound clinical knowledge of HIV and AIDS;
- Previous experience of implementing community-based HIV and AIDS programmes, preferably in Africa;
- Demonstrated experience in team leadership and staff management;
- Strong report and proposal-writing skills;
- Excellent spoken and written English.

Application deadline: 13 April, 2007

To apply, download an application form from: http://www.merlin.org.uk and email completed form to [email protected] clearly stating the job title, country and reference number: RW_6Z9HAT-89