An October report released by the U.N. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs said HIV/AIDS will continue to have devastating consequences for decades to come for virtually every sector of society and that in many countries the disease is undermining achievements of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.
Equity in Health
U.N. Report Outlines Devastating Cross-Sectoral Impact of AIDS
WHO Hopes To Provide 3-in-1 AIDS Pill To Poor Nations
The World Health Organisation was due to reveal the first details of its global strategy to bring low-cost HIV/AIDS drugs to 3 million people in poor countries towards the end of October, a plan that top officials said will eventually include endorsement of pills that combine three antiretroviral drugs in a single tablet, the Washington Post reported.
zimbabwe doctors want 8 000% pay increase
Doctors at Zimbabwe's government hospitals have gone on an indefinite strike demanding an 8 000 percent pay increase, their union leader Phibion Manyanga said late in October. Manyanga, who heads the Hospital Doctors Association, told AFP that the strike would go on until their demands were addressed.
13th ICASA winds to a close
The take home messages rang loud and clear at the closing of the 13th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) as speaker after speaker representing different constituencies challenged African leaders, Western governments and multilateral organisations to reappraise their commitment to reducing the spread of HIV.
Further details: /newsletter/id/30000
access for 3m by 2005
Will it be possible to meet the WHO goal of three million people having access to antiretrovirals by 2005? Speaking at a roundtable discussion on 'Issues and debates in HIV testing' at the 13th ICASA, Nairobi, Kenya, Dr Catherine Sozi of UNAIDS said that 30 million HIV positive people would have to be identified and 300 million people tested at a cost of US$1.8 billion.
Further details: /newsletter/id/30004
Activists protests poor access to treatment in Africa
Numbering just about a hundred, activists under the aegis of the Pan-African AIDS Treatment Access Movement (PATAM) spoke, kicked, railed and acted up against many 'enemies' of access to treatment for HIV/AIDS in Africa: Big Pharma, the unfeeling, profit-focused multinational corporations, and African leaders who have refused to provide treatment for their peoples. "You talk, we die," yelled the activists, as they mounted a blockage of the VIP and heads of governments lounge at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, venue of the 13th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), held in Nairobi, Kenya.
Further details: /newsletter/id/30003
Chairperson's views on ICASA
"We want to sensitise the scientists and African leaders in power to be more aware of the magnitude and impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Secondly, we want to bring in the community to be part and parcel of the fight. We want also to look at the HIV/AIDS network in Africa and to identify the key people, so we can talk with one voice; especially with regard to how we can collectively access HIV-related treatments." - Interview with Dr. D. M. Owili, Chairman of the 13th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA).
Further details: /newsletter/id/30008
Finally a yes on ARV's
After years resisting demands to supply antiretroviral drugs, the South African government will soon begin to provide ARVs through the public health system. By the end of September, an operational plan for ARV roll-out should be unveiled.
Further details: /newsletter/id/30007
HALF OF AFRICA HAS NO MEDICINES
Half of Africa's population, mostly the poor and disadvantaged, do not have access to existing essential medicines and many more are denied new medicines for treating common diseases like malaria and HIV, says a report released last Monday. "Only 50 000 of the 4.5-million people who need antiretroviral therapy have access to treatment despite significant reductions in cost," states the annual report for 2002 of the regional director of the World Health Organisation.
HEALTH GAINS AT WHO REGIONAL COMMITTEE MEETING
A five-day regional health meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, last month saw African health ministers pledging to give greater attention to women's health and scale up their HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) programmes. The World Health Organisation (WHO) regional committee session urged governments to develop "appropriate policies and legislation to create a supportive environment for scaling up interventions" for the three epidemics, a WHO statement said.
Further details: /newsletter/id/30013