GLOBAL: IRIN/PlusNews Weekly Issue 408, 10 October 2008
JOHANNESBURG, 10 October 2008 (PlusNews) - CONTENTS:
ZIMBABWE: Activists shout from the sidelines
KENYA: Rising demand for male circumcision
MALAWI: AIDS organisations face funding interruptions
KENYA: Emily Ajwan’g: "When you have children, you will do anything to feed them"
UGANDA: Going home is a mixed blessing
SOUTH AFRICA: Rapid HIV tests not infallible
UGANDA: Christine Atto: "The journey is difficult, but I walk for my life"
MADAGASCAR: No welcome for sex tourism
UGANDA: Disabled in the north missing out on HIV services
UGANDA: Christine Auma: "Life is meaningless when you are sick"
EVENTS/RESOURCES
1. Failing women, withholding protection: Fifteen lost years in making the female condom accessible, Oxfam
2. Call for abstracts, Southern African AIDS Conference, Foundation for Professional Development, 31 March - 3 April - Durban, South Africa
VACANCIES
1. Rwanda Interagency PEPFAR Coordinator, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) - Rwanda
2. HIV/AIDS Clinical Mentor, International Training and Education Center on HIV (I-TECH) - Namibia
ZIMBABWE: Activists shout from the sidelines
The new board of Zimbabwe's National AIDS Council (NAC) has a glaring omission: not one member is living openly with the HI-virus. AIDS activists have slammed the move, describing it as "discriminatory" and a step backwards in the fight against the epidemic.
full report
KENYA: Rising demand for male circumcision
Health facilities in Nyanza Province in western Kenya are struggling to meet the demand for medical male circumcisions since politicians threw their weight behind efforts to promote the procedure as a way of reducing HIV infections.
full report
MALAWI: AIDS organisations face funding interruptions
Grassroots AIDS organisations in Malawi are facing uncertainty as the National AIDS Commission (NAC) ends its dependence on international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for dispersing grants.
full report
KENYA: Emily Ajwan'g: "When you have children, you will do anything to feed them"
Thirty-three year-old Emily Ajwan'g, a resident of Nyatike village in western Kenya's Migori district, lost her husband to an HIV-related illness two years ago. She now works in the district's gold mines to support her five children. Diagnosed with HIV after the death of her husband, she told IRIN/PlusNews about her daily struggle to make ends meet.
full report
UGANDA: Going home is a mixed blessing
As calm returns to northern Uganda, tens of thousands of people previously living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) camps are now in satellite camps mid-way between the IDP camps and their villages. The new camps are less crowded and people can cultivate their land, but the lack of healthcare is problematic.
full report
SOUTH AFRICA: Rapid HIV tests not infallible
The reliability of HIV diagnoses obtained from finger prick tests has come into question with the recall of a brand of rapid HIV test kits used at public testing sites in two South African provinces.
full report
UGANDA: Christine Atto: "The journey is difficult, but I walk for my life"
With the return of relative peace to northern Uganda, thousands of people displaced by the conflict have started the long journey home. Many are now living in transit camps between the mother camps and their villages. Christine Atto, who has lived in an IDP camp for over 20 years, told IRIN/PlusNews that since moving to a resettlement camp, she has to walk 36 kilometres every month to fetch her antiretroviral medication.
full report
MADAGASCAR: No welcome for sex tourism
The warning posters start at the airport in the capital, Antananarivo, informing visitors that Madagascar says "NO to sex tourism" and "Malagasy women are not tourist souvenirs".
full report
UGANDA: Disabled in the north missing out on HIV services
Disabled people in northern Uganda - many of whom were injured in the long conflict between the government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) - are calling on the government to provide a more targeted HIV response.
full report
UGANDA: Christine Auma: "Life is meaningless when you are sick"
Christine Auma has lived in a camp for internally displaced persons in northern Uganda's Amuru district for more than 20 years. Relative peace has returned to the region over the past two years, and she has watched neighbours and friends move out of the camp into resettlement camps closer to their villages. But her case was different, she told IRIN/PlusNews.
full report
EVENTS/RESOURCES
1. Failing women, withholding protection: Fifteen lost years in making the female condom accessible, Oxfam
According to the report, women who use female condoms say they provide them with an increased sense of power regarding the negotiation of safer sex, but despite this – and the lack of other female-initiated forms of protection, female condoms remain inaccessible. The authors consider what is behind the failure to create access to female condoms and cite lack of leadership, funding biases and failure to scale-up programmes.
To download the document, go to www.eldis.org
2. Call for abstracts, Southern African AIDS Conference, Foundation for Professional Development, 31 March - 3 April - Durban, South Africa
Abstracts are now being accepted for the conference, which is set to focus on scaling up HIV/AIDS services throughout the region. Abstracts are limited to 300 words or less and must be submitted electronically via the conference website.
Deadlines for abstract submission is 31 Oct. For more information and to submit an abstract, go to www.saaids.com
VACANCIES
1. Rwanda Interagency PEPFAR Coordinator, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) - Rwanda
Responsibilities:
- Liaise with development partners active in HIV/AIDS, such as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria to avoid duplication of work
- With agency input, prepare speeches for delivery by organisation management as well as provide requested background materials for public and diplomatic events
- Facilitate the development and implementation of a unified PEPFAR programme, including planning and production of the annual report
- Ensure proper coordination and communication between the PEPFAR team and appropriate counterparts within the various coordinating bodies in Rwanda including the PEPFAR Steering Committee, the National AIDS Commission (CNLS), and other donors
- Facilitate meetings, as well as disseminate and retain records of meetings with the technical working groups
- Assist in the orientation of new staff to the overall PEPFAR programme, including the development of orientation materials
Requirements:
- United States citizenship
- Masters degree or higher in a relevant professional discipline such as public policy or public, or an undergraduate degree and at least five years of progressively more senior experience managing HIV/AIDS, health or other development programmes in a developing country context
- At least five years of proven experience working with large, complex international or domestic health, development and/or HIV/AIDS programmes
- Cross-cultural sensitivity and awareness
Application deadline: 5 November
For more information and instructions on how to apply, go to www.reliefweb.int
2. HIV/AIDS Clinical Mentor, International Training and Education Center on HIV (I-TECH) - Namibia
Responsibilities:
- Provide on-site clinical training to medical officers on the treatment of HIV cases according to Namibian national guidelines, including adult and paediatric treatment as well as the treatment of tuberculosis and other opportunistic infections
- Encourage mentees to do HIV-related operational research
- Assist as requested with updating and revision of HIV-related training materials and national guidelines
- Develop standard operating procedures for the provision of HIV clinical care at communicable disease clinics (CDCs) in collaboration with other departments in hospitals
- Submit monthly reports on training and technical assistance activities, as well as findings and recommendations for strengthening services in compliance with the national treatment guidelines
Requirements:
- Family medicine or internal medicine physician with an HIV or infectious disease specialty
- Must be eligible to obtain temporary professional registration within Namibia
- At least five years experience with clinical HIV and AIDS care, including the provision of antiretroviral treatment with at least two years in programme planning and assessment
- Ability to interpret data and produce reports
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with people of different backgrounds
- Willingness to travel to clinics and hospitals throughout Namibia
Application deadline: 27 October
To apply, visit https://uwhires.admin.washington.edu/ citing the reference number 48860 in any inquiries.
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