African civil society organisations have denounced a political declaration adopted today by world leaders attending a United Nations AIDS meeting in New York. At the High Level Review Meeting of the UN General Assembly, which closed on 2 June 2006, member-states negotiated a political declaration, which African activists have described as 'utterly retrogressive' and 'a sham.
Equity and HIV/AIDS
African civil society denounces political declaration on AIDS
Bradford McIntyre, 2 June 2006
African negotiators lobby in bad faith at UN meeting
African Civil Society Coalition on AIDS, 1 June 2006
Three weeks after the African Union - the highest decision-making regional authority in Africa - endorsed a Common Position on HIV and AIDS, African delegates in New York are reneging on the strong commitments they made to providing access to services for HIV prevention, care and treatment to all those who need them in Africa.
Botswana's President discusses breaking the cycle of HIV infection for sustainable AIDS responses
Tautona Times
The following is a statement by his excellency, Mr. Festus G. Mogae, President of the Republic of Botswana, at a panel discussion on "Breaking the cycle of HIV infection for sustainable AIDS responses". The statement was made at the United Nations General Assembly High Level Session on HIV/AIDS in New York.
Further details: /newsletter/id/31580
Civil society groups unhappy with AIDS Summit outcome
Deen T: Third World Network, 13 June 2006
At the recent UN meeting on AIDS, international organisations were disappointed that the declaration adopted by governments was weak on commitments to fight the disease, and that vulnerable groups have been left out in the document. The article outlines some of the concerns expressed by the participants.
Evaluation of WHO's contribution to '3 by 5'
WHO, 15 June 2006
This report examines the administrative, technical, managerial guidance and strategic leadership that WHO provided during the initiative and includes evaluations of three levels of WHO: headquarters, regional offices and country offices. The report identifies future collaboration opportunities between WHO and partners and gives recommendations for the "way forward".
HIV-Positive people in Kenya selling antiretroviral drugs to buy food
Inter Press Service, 7 June 2006
Some HIV-positive people in Kenya are selling their antiretroviral drugs to buy food. Some people register at more than one treatment site so they can obtain extra drugs, which they then sell, Patricia Asero, a member of the Kenya Treatment Access Movement, said. She added that some HIV-positive people who get their antiretroviral drugs from a single treatment site sometimes sell their medications to buy food. These trends have raised concerns about drug-resistant strains of the virus developing in Kenya.
Parliamentary oversight, HIV and AIDS
IDASA, February 2006
From 22–24 February 2006 MPs from Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe met in Johannesburg and deliberations at the meeting centred around three major themes related to parliamentary oversight of HIV and AIDS: the challenges and opportunities relating to the parliamentary structures and the environment within which MPs operate; the extra parliamentary partnerships that could strengthen parliamentary oversight of HIV and AIDS such as partnerships with civil society and the media; and the benefits of and practical suggestions for a network of African MPs at regional and Pan African level. These themes are discussed in this report.
UN taking stock of AIDS
Deef T: Third World Network, 13 June 2006
International organisations working on AIDS gave their assessment of the worldwide response to the disease, which is increasingly afflicting women and girls. This happened in advance of a UN special session on AIDS that took place on May 31-June 2. Despite the failures so far, there were important lessons that could be learnt.
2006 comprehensive review and high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS: New York, 31 May–2 June 2006
HIV/AIDS UNGASS review 3
The first draft of the political declaration was released on April 26, and is based on the outcomes of the regional consultations on Scaling Up for Universal Access. Amongst other important strengths, the draft declaration has quite a strong focus on women and girls, committing governments to increase women’s and girls’ capacity to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection, to take measures that will promote women’s empowerment and to protect and promote women’s human rights. The text also calls for stronger policy and program linkages between sexual and reproductive health and HIV and AIDS.
A plague of inequality
Mail and Guardian, 19 May 2006: Marais H
The mainstays of South Africa’s efforts to fend off the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy provision and home based care. While vitally important, each in current form also expresses the kinds of prevailing inequalities that warp society. Today, of the estimated one million South Africans in need of ARVs, only about 200 000 are receiving such therapy -- half of them through the private health sector, which is accessible to a small minority of South Africans. This crisis demands nothing less than a new strategy (and struggle)for realising social rights.