DAS ELEKTRONISCHE BULLETIN DER SCHWEIZERISCHEN FACHPLATTFORM HIV/AIDS UND INTERNATIONALE ZUSAMMENARBEIT

Februar 2010

Ich möchte Euch herzlich einladen zur diesjährigen Fachtagung von aidsfocus.ch vom 14. April 2010 in Bern zum Thema „The future of the Global AIDS response: Implications for NGOs“. Es ist wiederum ein sehr aktuelles Thema, das aidsfocus.ch damit aufgreift und es ist uns gelungen, sehr kompetente und interessante RednerInnen zu gewinnen, die zur Reflektion und Diskussion anregen. Ich freue mich, Sie am 10 April in Bern begrüssen zu dürfen

Mit freundlichen Grüssen

Helena Zweifel Koordinatorin aidsfocus.ch Geschäftsführerin Medicus Mundi Schweiz

The global economic crisis has induced cutbacks in the spending of Government and international donors. This also threatens efforts for an effective response to HIV and AIDS. In addition, a ‘backlash’ against disease-specific initiatives can be observed in the international arena. HIV and AIDS, with presently 33.4 million people living with HIV remains a serious global problem, reaching beyond the health sector. A united and coordinated effort is needed more than ever.

What are the implications of these debates on macro level and reduction in funds for Swiss NGOs working in the field of HIV/AIDS and international cooperation? What are the implications for prevention, for treatment programmes and/or on programmes for psychosocial support? How can the demand for universal access to comprehensive prevention, treatment, care and support by 2015 still be met?

Guest speakers:

Dr Christoph Benn, Director Partnership, Communications, Resource and Mobilization, Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

Robin Gorna, Executive Director International AIDS Society (IAS): Implications on Civil Society

Dr. Lydia Mungherera, AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), Mama’s Club and NGO Delegation to the UNAIDS, Uganda

Dr. Stefan Germann, Director, Learning and Partnerships, World Vision International

and a representative of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Information and coordination: Helena Zweifel, info@aidsfocus.ch

http://www.aidsfocus.ch
http://www.aidsfocus.ch

Die Zukunft des globalen Engagements gegen HIV und Aids und die Herausforderungen für NGOs sind im Blitzlicht – und auch im Zentrum der Fachtagung von aidsfocus.ch am 14. April 2010 in Bern. Eine Serie von Blitzlichtern gewährt einen Einblick in die Thematik. (Februar 2010)

http://www.interportal.ch

The Global Fund was founded in 2002 and is today one of the key players in global health policy. Focused on the three illnesses HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria it attracts consistently critics from the civil society. But is there a dichotomy between a specific disease focus and a broader Primary Health Care approach? (2008)

http://www.medicusmundi.ch

For Gorna the current debate on strengthening of health systems versus strengthening the HIV/AIDS response is a false one. She is troubled by the competition between Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4, 5, and 6, and how HIV/AIDS is a lightning rod for other issues. Gorna insists there is a need for dedicated work on HIV because the issues are not only about health: “They are about social concerns, education, the work place and economic issues, and discrimination. I think we risk getting ourselves boxed into unhelpful debates here. We need to think about what health systems are for and be nuanced about it.” (2009)

http://download.thelancet.com

The Netherlands’ AIDS Ambassador Dr Marijke Wijnroks in an interview with UNAIDS: “Since the main mode of HIV transmission is still sexual we cannot talk about preventing HIV without talking about sexuality, reproductive health services, or sexual and reproductive health and rights… There have been some very unproductive discussions on AIDS versus health systems as if these were two competing elements. But I think that the AIDS response has given a lot of energy to the health movement.” (2010)

http://www.unaids.org

Funding for HIV/AIDS treatment is not keeping up with need, and appears to be shrinking. The report by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) states that funding shortfalls punish the early success of the last decade of ART scale-up, and threaten to have a devastating impact on people living with HIV/AIDS as well as efforts to prevent new infections. As global health actors retreat from providing direct support for AIDS treatment, more demand is placed on the Global Fund, which is itself critically underfunded. (2009)

http://www.msf.org

There has been a renewed debate over whether AIDS deserves an exceptional response. We argue that as AIDS is having differentiated impacts depending on the scale of the epidemic, and population groups impacted, and so responses must be tailored accordingly. AIDS is exceptional, but not everywhere. The attack on AIDS exceptionalism has arisen because of the amount of funding targeted to the disease and the belief that AIDS activists prioritize it above other health issues. The strongest detractors of exceptionalism claim that the AIDS response has undermined health systems in developing countries. (2009)

http://www.globalizationandhealth.com

"We need a dramatic change in thinking — and action from donors, policymakers, and program managers in the public, private, and nongovernmental (NGO) sectors — to focus on strengthening health systems in the countries most affected by HIV & AIDS. To meet the Millennium Development Goal of reversing the epidemic by 2015, we must change how we design and deliver services. We learned in the 1990s and 2000s that a host of separate activities cannot be scaled up in a sustainable way and that strengthening the health system is essential for long-term sustainability….” (MSH 2009)

http://www.msh.org

ActionAid research has identified inadequate primary healthcare as a significant barrier to meeting the universal access target, especially in poor, rural areas. Policy makers, health workers and community members that participated in this research have identified significant shortcomings in the provision of HIV services across the research countries. In order for all of the people affected by HIV and AIDS to have access to essential HIV, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender-based violence response services, functioning health systems are required in developing countries, particularly primary healthcare facilities and services. (2009)

http://www.actionaid.org

This short report by UNAIDS on AIDS and Global Health examines the role that the health sector should play in helping to attain the goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. AIDS and global health notes that HIV is both a health issue and a social issue. By involving the education, agriculture, business, media, labour and other social service sectors, the AIDS response has been able to leverage better health outcomes, just as efforts to eradicate polio and reduce tobacco use have done in recent years. (UNAIDS 2009)

http://data.unaids.org

Partner von aidsfocus.ch sind: Afro-European Medical and Research Network, Aids-Hilfe Schweiz, Aids & Kind, Bethlehem Mission Immensee, Caritas Schweiz, cinfo, CO-OPERAID, Déclaration de Berne, Fastenopfer, Fédération Genevoise de Coopération, FEPA, Gemeinschaft der St. Anna-Schwestern, HEKS, IAMANEH Schweiz, Interteam, Kindernothilfe Schweiz, Kwa Wazee, medico international schweiz, mediCuba, missio, mission21, SolidarMed, Schweizer MIVA, Schweizerisches Rotes Kreuz, Schweizerisches Tropeninstitut, Stiftung Terre des hommes, Swiss Aids Care International, TearFund, terre des hommes schweiz und World Vision Schweiz.

http://www.aidsfocus.ch