The number of young people infected with HIV in Africa is falling in 16 of the 25 countries hardest hit by the virus

LONDON, The number of young people infected with HIV in Africa is falling in 16 of the 25 countries hardest hit by the virus, according to a new report by a U.N. agency.The number of young people infected with HIV dropped by at least 25 percent in a dozen countries, the U.N. AIDS report said. In Kenya, the infection rate among people aged 15 to 24 fell from about 14 percent in 2000 to 5.4 percent in urban areas.The drop in HIV rates coincided with a change in sexual behavior, like having fewer sexual partners or increased condom used, UNAIDS said. But the agency could not say the drop was because of recent U.N. policies, which have mainly focused on buying AIDS drugs rather than preventing infections.Some experts said new focus on prevention was too little, too late.

“Thanks to the U.N.’s strategic blunder, many more people are now infected than would have otherwise been the case had they focused on prevention much earlier,” said Philip Stevens, a health policy expert at International Policy Network.The UNAIDS data were based on population surveys and mathematical modeling, and come with a significant margin of error.

“Young people have shown that they can be change agents in the (AIDS) prevention revolution,” UNAIDS wrote in its report.The research provides further evidence the AIDS outbreak peaked more than a decade ago and that the disease is on the decline. In a report last year, the agency said the number of people infected with HIV had remained unchanged – at about 33 million – for the last two years.

UNAIDS also called for more money to combat the epidemic. In 2008, the world spent more than $15 billion on AIDS, with about half of that coming from the United States. In its report, UNAIDS said that “what’s been good for the AIDS response has been good for global health in general.”But a study published last month found there was little correlation between U.S. money spent on AIDS and improvements in other health areas across Africa.UNAIDS called for countries to invest more in their own HIV programs. It noted South Africa and Nigeria, two of Africa’s wealthiest countries, receive the most money from international donors.

Stevens said that while some recent AIDS investments – like putting more people on drugs – have clearly saved lives, it has also distorted health spending. Despite only causing 4 percent of deaths, AIDS gets about 20 cents of every public health dollar.”The same amount of money that we spend on AIDS could save many, many more lives more cheaply by vaccinating children or distributing cheap treatments for diarrhea,” he said.”Aid agencies have a responsibility to ensure they save the most lives possible with the amount of money they have available,” he said. “Spending the lion’s share on HIV clearly does not do that.”(AP)

White House strategy for fighting AIDS domestically will focus on preventing the spread of the virus

A new White House strategy for fighting AIDS domestically will focus on preventing the spread of the virus, perhaps with the broader use of drugs and testing but also with a campaign to reduce stigma.Obama administration officials will release the strategy on Tuesday and said it would focus on prevention, care and reducing disparities.”The plan will serve as a roadmap for policymakers, partners in prevention, and the public on steps the United States must take to lower HIV incidence, get people living with HIV into care, and reduce HIV-related health disparities,” the White House said in a statement on Monday.AIDS advocates predicted the program would not have funding to buy drugs or tests. Obama’s initiative to fight childhood obesity, released in May, included 70 recommendations but no funding.More than 1.1 million people in the United States are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 56,000 new infections over the past decade.

While only about 5 percent of patients infect someone else, this is enough to keep levels of the virus stable in the United States, the CDC says. The fatal and incurable virus is spread during sex, in blood and breast milk and by contaminated needles.The U.S. government has a program to fight AIDS globally — PEPFAR or President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — but there has not been a similar coherent domestic strategy.

While the administration of former president George W. Bush was praised for coming up with PEPFAR, it was widely criticized for promoting abstinence-only education in place of more comprehensive programs stressing condom use. AIDS groups said they hoped the Obama plan would do more to promote such education.

“The National HIV/AIDS Strategy is a comprehensive plan focused on: 1) reducing the number of people who become infected with HIV, 2) increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV, and 3) reducing HIV-related health disparities,” the White House said.Experts have disagreed on how best to do this but recent studies have supported theories that treating HIV patients with drugs can not only keep them healthier, but help reduce the likelihood that they will infect someone else.

Some AIDS activist groups began criticizing the policy even before it was released, saying it did not come close to doing what they had hoped.”This strategy is a day late and a dollar short: 15 months in the making and the White House learned what people in the field have known for years,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “There is no funding, no ‘how to,’ no real leadership.”

The CDC estimates that 79 percent of Americans with HIV know it and experts say people who know they are infected can take steps to avoid infecting others. The CDC recommends testing everyone for HIV, with an option to refuse the test, instead of forcing people to ask to be tested.The new U.S. strategy likely will include recommendations to broaden testing.

The AIDS virus infects 33 million people globally and has killed 25 million since the pandemic began in the 1980s.In Africa, most new AIDS patients are women infected by men during sex. In the United States HIV disproportionately affects men who have sex with men, blacks and Hispanics. (Reuters)

Drug Combinations Reduce HIV Transmission Risk

Chicago  In a study that supports the widely used drugs to help control the AIDS pandemic, researchers said on Wednesday that HIV patients who take the drug combination has a much smaller chance to infect their partners. Using a combination of drugs to reduce the possibility of transmission of 92 percent, the researchers report in the journal Lancet. They said the findings meant a combination of drugs known as highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, may be useful as a means of prevention and treatment. “These results … until now strong evidence that HAART can reduce HIV transmission risk,” said Dr. Connie Celum, a professor of medicine and global health University of Washington, who worked on this study.

The team analyzed 3400 pairs from seven African countries. In each pair, one positive among immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, which causes AIDS. The team tested the couple because they are easier to trace. All couples were given counseling about HIV prevention methods, and some were given HIV drugs.

During the study, 349 HIV-infected people began taking the drug combination. Of the 103 partners of patients taking the drug, only one was infected with the virus. “Data observation strongly supports the hypothesis that antiretroviral therapy substantially reduces the risk of HIV infection and transmission,” Dr. Deborah Donnell from the Institute of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at the Fred Hutchinson of Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Donnell said, the drugs cut the concentration of HIV in the blood to extremely low levels, which can make people not easy to transmit. In people who take the drug, the virus was suppressed to very low levels in almost 70 percent of cases. A randomized trial is now underway to see whether the effect
immortal.

“While awaiting those results, our research indicates that antiretroviral therapy may have significant public health benefits as well as clinical benefits for individuals who were treated,” Donnell said in a statement. He said the findings offer strong arguments to begin early treatment for HIV. But although at a slower partner handled, drugs provide benefit.

AIDS virus infects 33 million people globally and has killed 25 million since the pandemic began in the 1980s. There is no cure and a vaccine but the drugs keep patients ‘healthy’. Without treatment, the viral damage to the immune system, leaving patients vulnerable to infections and cancer.

More than 20 drugs now on the market and can be combined in various ways to control the virus, although it usually mutates and ultimately the patient must switch to different ways to keep under control. Manufacturers of drugs that includes GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Gilead, Bristol-Myers and Abbott Laboratories, according to Reuters.

Wan Yanhai flees to US after harassment

BEIJING  Wan Yanhai is used to harassment by authorities, but the unwanted attention got steadily worse this year for the founder of a prominent Chinese AIDS advocacy group. Authorities ordered the group’s anniversary celebration canceled, sent commercial regulators and tax inspectors to visit its offices, and had police interrupt his talk at a university.Finally, after dozens of intimidating phone calls from police in a single day, Wan fled to America via Hong Kong last Thursday with his wife and child.

His departure illustrates the toll that relentless official harassment takes on activists in China, even those working on issues such as AIDS that are recognized by the government as legitimate concerns.”The attacks from the government had become very serious for my organization and for me personally,” Wan said Monday by phone from Philadelphia, where he and his family are staying with a friend. “I had concerns about my personal safety and was under a lot of stress.”

“When I am in China, the authorities look at me like I am a bird in a cage. They say, ‘If you don’t listen to me, then I will eat you,'” Wan said. “But after I leave the country, they will see me in a new light because I am no longer in their cage.”

In recent months, Beijing has been tightening its control over the operations of independent groups and activists that are seen by the Communist leadership as threats to the government’s authority. A renowned women’s rights organization was shuttered last month, while over the weekend, two lawyers who represented a member of an outlawed spiritual movement were banned from practicing law for life.

In March, the government decided to regulate overseas donations to aid groups, a move that has squeezed the funding of organizations like Wan’s Beijing-based Aizhixing Institute, which offers legal advice to people with HIV and campaigns against discrimination.

The rule says groups such as Aizhixing must show proof that overseas nonprofit donor groups are registered in their home countries and strictly follow detailed agreements with foreign donors on how donated funds are spent.”Funding became a major problem for us after that,” Wan said.He said police interrupted a March talk he was due to give to the Southern China Science and Industry University on sexual orientation and mental health. He said he later heard that a notice had been sent to universities nationwide telling them not to invite him to speak.Finally, on April 23, he received dozens of phone calls from police about an event to train lawyers on how to use new social media, Wan said.

Two days after the phone calls, he and his wife left Beijing for Guangzhou in the south.”To be honest, I was becoming very worried. I felt like if we had acted slower, it would not have been good,” he said. The family decided to leave during a business trip to neighboring Hong Kong.

“Before we left, we didn’t tell a lot of people,” he said. “We waited until Thursday evening after we got to Hong Kong, bought the flight tickets and passed through the security checks at the airport before we called a few friends.”At Aizhixing’s office in Beijing on Monday, a staffer who handles media inquiries said employees only learned about Wan’s departure from media reports.”I’m a little bit surprised and also a bit nervous,” said the woman, who refused to give her name due to the sensitivity of the issue. “We’re still working on several projects here and we haven’t got time to discuss it.”

In recent years, China’s government has made huge strides in openly addressing the spread of HIV, but it is deeply suspicious of independent activists, and Wan has one of the highest profiles among those working on AIDS in China.Wan, a former Health Ministry official, founded the Aizhixing Institute in 1994 to raise awareness and fight discrimination. Among its most significant and politically sensitive work was the publicizing of the spread of AIDS in the 1990s among villagers in central China’s Henan province, where people who sold blood were re-injected with pooled blood after buyers had removed important components.

Wan has been detained for up to weeks at a time by authorities, but never formally convicted under China’s loosely defined sedition laws.Aizhixing’s advocacy alone was enough to make authorities view Wan with suspicion, said Kin-man Chan, director of the Center for Civil Society Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Chan said Wan had given a talk at the research center last Wednesday about the challenges non-governmental organizations faced in China, but had not mentioned plans to leave the country.”I feel very sad that people like Wan Yanhai have to leave. I feel very, very disappointed,” Chan said.”If you don’t allow these NGOs to represent those disadvantaged groups and voice out their grievances, then people might at the end of the day take some isolated, more radical actions to express their disappointment,” Chan said.

Wan said he and his wife have yearlong business visas for the U.S. and have no long-term plan yet. In the coming days, he hopes to meet with international organizations to discuss ways to cooperate on projects and for funding.

Wan’s move was met with support by Chinese activists, many of whom posted messages on Twitter, although some also expressed regret at his departure and worries about the future of his organization.”I empathize with Wan’s feelings. Although I feel a little regret toward his decision, still, I fully understand and wish them a happy life,” said Zeng Jingyan, whose husband Hu Jia is serving a 3 1/2-year jail term for sedition.(AP)

Netherlands A global group funding the battle against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in impoverished nations worldwide

THE HAGUE, Netherlands  A global group funding the battle against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in impoverished nations worldwide is urging donors to keep paying for the fight even as the economic crisis forces budget cuts.

The Global Fund is outlining the lifesaving work it can finance in developing countries from 2011-13 if donors pledge $13 billion, $17 billion or $20 billion.

Pledges will be made at an Oct. 5 conference at U.N. headquarters.The fund’s executive director Michel Kazatchkine told The Associated Press on Wednesday he is “very concerned” that the global economic meltdown could make rich countries scale back their contributions.But he says the fund’s success over the past eight years against the killer diseases makes it clear the effort is saving millions of lives.(AP)

bono The U2 rocker who is worth an estimated £400 million

The U2 rocker who is worth an estimated £400 million – says he devotes so much of his time to charitable projects because he believes he has more money than he deserves to have.Speaking at the launch of Nike’s Lace Up. Save Lives campaign, which raises money for HIV charity (Red) with Chelsea soccer star Didier Drogba, he said: ‘Theseguys are very wealthy. I am very well paid, overpaid and even over-rewarded for what I do. But a lot of these soccer guys are giving something back and they don’t need to do that.Meanwhile, Bono admits he and his bandmates are ‘delighted and humbled’ to have been asked to headline next year’s Glastonbury Festival, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.He said: “Everyone in the band is very excited about it. I think it will just be about the music on that day, and that spirit that seems to take over everybody in that sacred ground.”We’ll certainly be well-rehearsed, we’ll be coming straight from the North American tour.”U2’s appearance at Glastonbury marks their first festival show in 25 years and it will be the first time the group have performed at the world famous music event.

Hundreds of people from NGOs and HIV/AIDS care groups in Yogyakarta (java,indonesia )

Hundreds of people from NGOs and HIV/AIDS care groups in Yogyakarta, Tuesday, demonstrated against discrimination toward HIV/AIDS positive people. They judge the society is still biased for this matter.According to the demonstrators HIV/AIDS is just like any other disease and those who suffer from it shouldn’t be isolated. This disease can infect anyone, including good house-wives and their children. Discrimination doesn’t solve the problem, instead it would oppress the HIV/AIDS positive people.

“Why is there discrimination? Because people are ingrained with a stereotype that the disease is caused by pervert behaviors done by ‘bad’ people,” said Istikomah from the Yogyakarta Institution for Female Rights, one of the NGOs involved in the act.

In Surabaya, the Deputy Governor of East Java, Saifulla Yusuf said that most people with AIDS in East Java were infected by shared needles used by drug abusers. Many of the victims are in the productive age group.During his visit to AIDS patients at the Dr. Soetomo Public Hospital in Surabaya, Saifulla Yusuf states that fighting drug abuse is the priority. “The provincial government provides Rp. 10 billion to prevent transmission by needles.”

The East Java provincial government has recorded that 42 percent of HIV/AIDS infected people are in the productive age group, which is from 20 to 29 years old. This impairs their productivity.Aside from that, some people still shun HIV/AIDS positive people. The result is that someone with AIDS is unlikely to work. “They are capable, but hindered by their stigma,” said the deputy governor.

The East Java provincial government also encourages hospitals in the city and regency to care for HIV/AIDS patients. This is to bring together the patients and medical centers. “Currently the life span of a victim can be prolonged with proper medications. AIDS isn’t the direct cause of death, instead it’s another disease that comes because the victim’s immunity has weakened.”

Open Social Access

Approximately 100 HIV/AIDS care activists in Malang, East Java, demand that HIV/AIDS positive people be redeemed of their negative stigma and be given equal social access.”Many people with HIV/AIDS have died because they didn’t have social access or were isolated and discriminated in everything. Though their physical conditions were maintained by medications, but if their mental conditions were oppressed by all the isolation and discrimination, then the medications are futile,” said the head of Malang Transvestite Association, Merlyn Shopjan, during the AIDS Day commemoration in front of the Malang City Hall.

The AIDS Day commemoration is also done in other cities such as Solo, Tegal, Banyumas, Bandung, and Jakarta.

South Africa, the country with the highest number of people infected with AIDS worldwide

The president of South Africa, the country with the highest number of people infected with AIDS worldwide, pledged today his country will treat all HIV-positive babies and will increase overall testing and treatment for the disease for everyone. President Jacob Zuma outlined the country’s new approach to fighting the epidemic in a speech he delivered to mark World AIDS Day.Zuma pledged to treat all HIV-positive children under the age of 1, and vowed early treatment for patients suffering from both HIV and tuberculosis. He also promised earlier treatment for pregnant women who are HIV-positive.
Zuma’s speech was seen as a turning point for South Africa. The previous administration under President Thabo Mbeki was widely ridiculed after Mbeki questioned a link between HIV and AIDS. His health minister promoted beet and garlic treatments and distrusted modern drugs created to keep AIDS patients alive.

One Harvard study estimated that more than 300,000 died as a result of these measures.Zuma compared today’s fight against AIDS to South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.”At another moment in our history, in another context, the liberation movement observed that the time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices: submit or fight… Let us declare now, as we declared then, that we shall not submit.”

Zuma set a goal of getting AIDS drugs for 80 percent of those who need them by 2011.The U.S. announced it will give South African $120 million in funding over the next two years. U.S. Ambassador Donald Gips said the aid “is in direct response to the government of South Africa’s request.”South Africa has a population of about 50 million and has an estimated 5.7 million infected with HIV. UNAIDS estimates that 14.1 million children in sub-Saharan Africa lost one or both parents to AIDS last year.

17-year-old Thozama and her teenage brother Thozamele were orphaned when their mother died of AIDS three years ago.They now take on the role of parents in caring for their two younger sisters who are still in elementary school. They live together without power or running water.When asked what she misses about her mother, Thozama said, “Everything. Smiling, talking, taking care of us. Everything.”

World AIDS Day, December 1.

As HIV/AIDS cases continue to increase in Indonesia, the government on Monday renewed efforts to fight the infectious disease as part of the activities carried out to observe World AIDS Day, December 1.  The  Health Ministry, the National AIDS Commission (KPA), the Family Planning Coordinating Agency (BKKBN) and a number of condom producing companies signed an agreement to fight HIV/AIDS.Official records mentioned that there are now 298,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers in Indonesia, but the real figures may be much higher than  official figures, which is often described as the tip of the iceberg. Even though the number of new cases in the country continues to increase, the government is optimistic it could be offset with a serious effort and close cooperation with various agencies and the people as a whole.

Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono said he was optimistic the government would be able to minimize HIV/AIDS infection by 1.2 million people in 2015.  “Before 2015, with the government efforts we hope we can minimize the HIV/AIDS infection by up to 1.2 million people, he said when launching a National Condom Week (PKN) here on Monday.He said that among the efforts carried out by the government to prevent the spread of the contagious disease was to engage in sustainable partnership cooperation through a national movement for creating  healthy people, away from the  HIV/AIDS threat.The efforts also included promotional and preventive measures through the PKN activities where people were informed about how to use condoms as a means of minimizing the spread of HIV. The government also launched curative approaches through conducting medicinal treatment and research on advanced HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia.

Agung Laksono called for regional governments’ commitment to supporting the steps taken by the central government to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. Secretary of the National AIDS Commission (KPA) Secretary Nafsiah Mboi said KPA in cooperation with its branches in provinces and districts supported the government’s efforts to prevent the spread of the disease which has shown signs of increasing.”We support the government efforts to fight AIDS in an effort to achieve the sixth aim of the Millennium Development Goals, namely increasing the people’s health standard through reduction of HIV/AIDS infection cases,” she said.  The government admitted that cases of new contraction continued  to increase.  “About 298,000 people in Indonesia are now suffering from HIV/AIDS,” Agung Laksono said,     Agung, who is also chairman of the National AIDS Commission (KPA), made the remarks when he opened the National Condom Week at the University of Indonesia.

Based on data at the Ministry of Health, up to September 2009, a total of 18,422 AIDS carriers were recorded in Indonesia. At present almost all provinces in Indonesia have  AIDS cases. AIDS cases are to be found in more than half of the number of districts in the country. About 49.57 percent of AIDS cases involved people in the 20-29 years age group, 29.84 percent in the 30-39 years age group and 8.71 percent occurred in the 40-49 years age group. The average HIV/AIDS incidence in Indonesia is  8.15 carriers in every 100,000 people.

The highest number of cases occurred in five provinces, namely Papua 17.9 percent of the national figure, Bali 5.3 percent, Jakarta 3.8 percent, Riau Islands 3.4 percent and West Kalimantan 2.2 percent of the overall number in the country.This fact means there is a serious threat to the existence of the present younger generation in the country. Therefore, the government and the non-governmental organizations, higher educational institutions and the people as a whole should cooperate actively in launching a national movement for making people healthy and knowledgeable for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

According to 2008 estimates by UNAIDS, the HIV epidemic in Indonesia is among the fastest growing in Asia. The epidemic is concentrated primarily among injection drug users (IDUs) and their sexual partners, people engaged in commercial sex and their clients, and men who have sex with men.The signing of the agreement is among the efforts being made to fight the spread of the disease. After all,  it was done during the launching of a National Condom Week (PKN) organized in connection with World AIDS Day on December 1. On the occasion, Agung Laksono said that the Ministry of Health put an estimate that figure of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia up to this year had reached 289,000 carriers.

“This estimate will continue to increase because it is predicted that about 5 people are infected with the virus every one minute,” he said. He said that in order to overcome the problem the government had launched preventive and curative approaches. “Socialization and campaign are carried out through the PKN with the high-risk groups such as those who often make sexual contact as the main targets,” he said.In the meantime,  the Indonesian HIV Carriers Network (JHOTI) said HIV/AIDS carriers in Indonesia are still facing discrimination.  “The problems they face is individual discrimination as well as discriminatory policies,” Chairman of JHOTI for East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Maxi Mitan said. He said that the voices of the infected people had not yet been maximally heard in formulating efforts to control the disease so that HIV/AIDS cases continued to expand in the country.  Even, carriers still faced problems with obtaining access to health services, a fact that their rights were still ignored.

The voices of the infected persons could only be heard if they were united. Only with a united voice could sufferers strengthen their bargaining position against policy makers, Mitan said.This idea has given birth to the JHOTI body. “The establishment of this body was declared in the first congress of HIV/AIDS carriers in Jakarta on July 8, 2008,” Mitan said.

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