GLOBAL: IRIN/PlusNews Weekly Issue 449, 7 August 2009
JOHANNESBURG, 10 August 2009 (PlusNews) - CONTENTS:
SOUTH AFRICA: ABCs and HIV tests
SWAZILAND: Prisoners get tested
SOUTH AFRICA: No simple formula for universal access
NAMIBIA: Saving HIV-positive babies
MOZAMBIQUE: Closing HIV day care centres brings protesters out
SOUTH AFRICA: Waiting to hear if treatment will start earlier
KENYA: Doting dads can lower their children's HIV risk
PHILIPPINES: Jerico Paterno, "My dream of working abroad and helping my family could no longer come true"
ETHIOPIA: Government empowers nurses to boost ARV treatment
SOUTH AFRICA: Jessica Standish-White, "In their minds, those boys do not have HIV"
EVENTS/RESOURCES
1. Responding to HIV and AIDS in Institutions of Higher Learning, 17-21 August - Kampala, Uganda
2. A new blog for the development community: Conversations for a Better World - UNAIDS
VACANCIES
1. HIV/AIDS Specialist, L-3, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) - Hargeisa, Somalia
2. Country Director, Family Health International (FHI) - Sudan
SOUTH AFRICA: ABCs and HIV tests
A Johannesburg high school recently did something that for years has only been whispered behind closed doors in education circles - voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV was offered to students.
full report
SWAZILAND: Prisoners get tested
Swaziland's correctional services are using the confinement of prisoners as an opportunity to reach this high-risk group with HIV testing and treatment.
full report
SOUTH AFRICA: No simple formula for universal access
Nowhere is the goal of universal access to prevention, treatment and care more daunting than in South Africa, where an estimated 5.5 million people are living with HIV - the largest burden in the world.
full report
NAMIBIA: Saving HIV-positive babies
While a number of countries in southern Africa have made great strides in improving access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for HIV-infected adults, progress in rolling out treatment for HIV-positive infants and children has lagged behind. Namibia is a notable exception.
full report
MOZAMBIQUE: Closing HIV day care centres brings protesters out
Thousands of people took to the streets of Maputo, capital of Mozambique, and the country's second city, Beira this week, to protest the government's closure of day care hospitals for HIV-positive patients.
full report
SOUTH AFRICA: Waiting to hear if treatment will start earlier
More South Africans could access HIV treatment earlier if government approves recommendations by the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), a move that could finally align national policy with international best practice.
full report
KENYA: Doting dads can lower their children's HIV risk
Jennifer Omasa had lost three children when using traditional birth attendants, so when she fell pregnant a fourth time, she opted to visit her local antenatal clinic in the town of Maseno, western Kenya, and now has an eight-month-old baby girl named Zawadi, Swahili for gift.
full report
PHILIPPINES: Jerico Paterno, "My dream of working abroad and helping my family could no longer come true"
When Jerico Paterno, 34, found out he was HIV positive, he thought it was the end of the world. Now the Area Coordinator of the Pinoy Plus Association, the only organization for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in the Philippines, Paterno told IRIN/PlusNews the story of his long road to acceptance.
full report
ETHIOPIA: Government empowers nurses to boost ARV treatment
Simay Muluneh, 32, who lives in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, will always wonder what might have been. Her husband died of AIDS-related complications 10 years ago, but a year after his death discovered that she, too, was HIV-positive after applying for a visa to work in Lebanon.
full report
SOUTH AFRICA: Jessica Standish-White, "In their minds, those boys do not have HIV"
Jessica Standish-White is a senior student at St Mary's, a prestigious girls' school in one of Johannesburg's more affluent suburbs, where she organized an HIV testing drive. Standish-White, who is going to the University of Cape Town next year, told IRIN/PlusNews that some of her peers still think HIV can't happen to them.
full report
EVENTS/RESOURCES
1. Responding to HIV and AIDS in Institutions of Higher Learning, 17-21 August - Kampala, Uganda
The response to HIV and AIDS in Institutions of Higher Learning is perhaps the slowest in most countries affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This is in spite of the fact that these institutions have lost huge numbers of academic and non-academic staff to the pandemic. This 5-day Workshop - convened by the Regional Capacity Building Partners - will primarily focus on assisting participants to design and roll out effective and multi-layered HIV and AIDS responses in tertiary institutions, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
For more information, visit: www.recabip.com
2. A new blog for the development community: Conversations for a Better World
"Conversations for a Better World" is a shared blog where people can express and exchange ideas and opinions on development issues. Each month the blog will have an editorial focus on one major topic. On 6 August, a new topic - "Poverty and AIDS: What really drives the epidemic?" - was launched as the new conversation; it includes various opinion pieces and blog-posts related to the complicated relationship between lack of access to resources and HIV.
To join the conversation, go to: www.conversationsforabetterworld.com
VACANCIES
1. HIV/AIDS Specialist, L-3, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) - Hargeisa, Somalia
Responsibilities:
- Providing technical support to the planning, implementation and monitoring of the UNICEF-supported work in HIV treatment and care as specified in the annual workplan.
- Development and scaling up of implementation of treatment and care models for HIV
Requirements: - Qualified physician with a relevant advanced degree such as public health, epidemiology or other suitable degree.
- At least five years post-qualification experience in infectious diseases, of which at least two years should be in sub-Saharan Africa in HIV care and support programmes implementation
- Must have both clinical and public health expertise
- Must have demonstrated practical experience in managing an AIDS related clinical programme in a developing country context
- Proven ability to conceptualize, innovate and execute ideas, as well as to transfer knowledge and skills.
Application deadline: 31 August
To apply, send a detailed curriculum vitae in English, and a United Nations Personal History form, quoting VN-09-466 to: [email protected]
2. Country Director, Family Health International (FHI) - Sudan
Responsibilities:
- Provides leadership and management oversight for all FHI's portfolio and activities of the country office
- Oversee operations and ensure strong collaboration between FHI and local Government, donors and sponsors Represent FHI to external donors/sponsors and lead FHI business and resource development efforts in country
- Serve as project director or chief of party on designated FHI projects.
Requirements:
- MS/MA in public health or related area
- Minimum of 10 years experience in the field of primary health care with an emphasis on managing a team of highly successful performers
- Minimum of 5 years experience in managing donor funded projects and in the design and implementation of overseas health projects; preferably East Africa or the Horn of Africa
- Ability to perform at a senior policy level, demonstrated by previous experience in leading the development and implementation of international primary health care programmes
- Must be familiar with USAID or other USG administrative, management and reporting procedures and systems
Application deadline: 4 September
To apply, register online through FHI's Global Staffing Database at https://recruiting.fhi.org/
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