Successful nutritional care and support of PLWHA requires an inferred partnership between those affected and different levels of care providers. A coordinated effort is required from people in many disciplines. The wide dissemination and use of these Guidelines, as well as supportive policies and services to implement the recommendations herein, will help all stakeholders to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV and AIDS.
Equity and HIV/AIDS
Kenyan National Guidelines on Nutrition and HIV and AIDS
Republic of Kenya, Ministry of Health, April 2006
Report and policy brief from the 4th Africa Conference on Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research
Setswe G, Peltzer K, Banyini M, Skinner D, Seager J, Maile S, Sedumedi S, Gomis D and van der Linde I: SAHARA Journal 4 (2): 640-651, 2007
This report and policy brief summarises the key findings and suggested policy options that emerged from rapporteur reports of conference proceedings including the following themes: (1) Orphans and vulnerable children, (2) Treatment, (3) Prevention, (4) Gender and male involvement, (5) Male circumcision, (6) People living with HIV and AIDS, (7) Food and nutrition, (8) Socioeconomics, and (9) Politics/policy. Policy frameworks which are likely to succeed in combating HIV and AIDS need to be updated to cover issues of access, testing, disclosure and stigma.
Report of the Global Task Team independent assessment
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS , 2007
This report from UNAIDS assesses the implementation of the Global Task Team (GTT) recommendations in two key areas: technical support provision to the national AIDS response as brokered by the UN system; and harmonisation and alignment of international partners. In the area of technical support, the report concludes that the UN has made significant progress in establishing joint teams on AIDS and recognises that they are beginning to enable the UN to speak and act as “one” on HIV/AIDS issues. However differences in commitment to joint working and in skills and capacity between agencies combined with high work loads are putting pressures on these teams. The harmonisation and alignment agenda needs strong leadership from headquarters about the importance of joint working.
Reviewing ‘Emergencies’ for Swaziland: Shifting the Paradigm in a New Era
Whiteside A and Whalley A: National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS (NERCHA)/ Health Economics & HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD)
The situation in Swaziland has deteriorated since the beginning of the
1990’s.While HIV/AIDS is not solely to blame for the reduction in living standards and life expectancy, it has compounded the effects of other events such as drought and falling foreign direct investment (FDI). Swazi society is in distress - overwhelming sickness, an increasing dependency ratio and thousands of OVC are placing households and communities under extreme duress. In Swaziland, HIV amd AIDS is creating a chronic emergency that is permanently altering development. This demonstrates a ‘new’ disaster that exceeds emergency thresholds and requires a new style of holistic response. While the traditional threshold approach to identifying emergencies remains useful for classifying ‘traditional’ disasters, a new framework of analysis is needed for HIV/AIDS. This could take the form of an index system or a series of thresholds. Within this it is crucial that the indicators measured are considered over time, with a sustained fall being the prime indication of an emergency. The element of ‘time’ has been missing from the debate surrounding humanitarian response.
Tanzania National HIV/AIDS Policy
Government of Tanzania, 2001
The overall goal of the National Policy on HIV/AIDS is to provide for a framework for leadership and coordination of the National multisectoral response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This includes formulation, by all sectors, of appropriate interventions which will be effective in preventing transmission of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, protecting and supporting vulnerable groups, mitigating the social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS. It also provides for the framework for strengthening the capacity of institutions, communities and individuals in all sectors to arrest the spread of the epidemic.
Tanzania National Multi-sectoral Strategic framework on HIV and AIDS 2003-2007
Tanzania Commission for HIV and AIDS, January 2003
The Strategic Framework is intended to operationalise the National Policy on HIV/AIDS. It provides strategic guidance for developing and implementing HIV/AIDS interventions by various partners. It identifies priority logical set of goals, principles, objectives and strategies to guide multisectoral responses to ensure a strengthened, effective and coordinated national response to the epidemic. It puts strong emphasis on community-based response, that communities are fully empowered and involved in formulating and implementing own responses. It is closely linked with other national development initiatives including Vision 2025, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
$42 billion needed to achieve universal access by 2010, says UNAIDS
Alcorn K: Aidsmap, 26 September 2007
Up to $42 billion will need to be found by 2010 if universal access to HIV treatment, prevention and care is to be achieved in line with the 2005 commitment by G8 governments, UNAIDS said today. UNAIDS’ estimate has been developed ahead of an international meeting to win increased donor commitments to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria which started on 26 September 2007 in Berlin. The Fund currently accounts for one-quarter of all international donor expenditure on AIDS.
Gender And HIV/AIDS In A Ugandan Context :A Participatory Action Inquiry
Munyonyo R: Health Policy and Development 5(1): 65-70, 2007
The article argues that people and communities perceive and deal with HIV and AIDS as only one of the many problems and tensions they experience as affecting their well being. It is also noted that the discussion of the issues related to HIV and AIDS and sexuality is blocked by deeply held views that men have about women and sex. This is the reason why the issue of gender is central when discussing with people to determine the health they want and how to manage AIDS. The study team brought together rural youth of 13-25 years and men and women of 26-45 years and used participatory action research methodologies to reflect and exchange information, knowledge and skills on the issues related to gender and HIV/AIDS. This empowering knowledge was useful for launching advocacy for attitude and behaviour change toward risky sexual behaviours and for supporting communities in developing visions of healthy communities the people truly cherish.
Half of all new HIV infections could be averted if proven prevention efforts expanded
Carter M: Aidsmap, 29 June 2007
A new report suggests that 50% of projected HIV infections by 2015 could be prevented if governments and donors increase their HIV expenditure to UNAIDS target levels and implement prevention programmes that have been proven to work. The Global HIV Prevention Working Group’s report, Bringing HIV Prevention to Scale: An Urgent Global Priority, shows that prevention efforts are not keeping pace with expanding access to antiretroviral therapy. For every person who started effective anti-HIV treatment in 2006, six become newly infected with the virus. It is estimated that there will be 60 million new HIV infections by 2015, but the report suggests that 30 million of these could be avoided if scientifically proven methods of HIV prevention were implemented.
HIV and development challenges for Africa
Hankins C: UNAIDS, 17 September 2007
This presentation was made at the 10th Anniversary of the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation Centre at Warwick University; specifically in the session called Challenges of globalisation, regional integration and development of Africa. The presentation systematically dissected the following four key issues surrounding HIV and development challenges for Africa: the absence of one African epidemic (emphasis for each country/region to know epidemic and act on it); upstream effects (adressing structural drivers in Africa, poverty versus income equality, which might be more powerful?); downstream impact (specifically long wave impacts on poverty, GDP, human capital, social capital); and, finally, responding to the interaction between HIV and poverty.