THE ELECTRONIC BULLETIN OF THE SWISS PLATFORM FOR HIV/AIDS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 3 September 2008

„HIV treatment for all – does that include children?“ this is what Stefan Germann from World Vision International wanted to know from me when I invited him to the aidsfocus-Forum „HIV-treatment for all – a realistic project “ to take place on September 30, 2008.

Yes, of course, was my spontaneous answer. I was thinking of the repeated demand by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to develop child-adapted anti-retroviral medicines (ARVs), and also of the fact that MSF has treated over 10’000 children worldwide.

Within the aidsfocus.ch platform, children enjoy quite a strong lobby. Many partner organisations of the platform put children’s welfare into the centre of their work. At the beginning, priority was given to the support of children who had lost their parents due to AIDS – the so-called AIDS-orphans. Yet, reality has forced our partners in the South to increasingly deal with HIV-positive children and their needs. So for example, Swiss AIDS Care in Zimbabwe tries to grasp the initiative and mixes drugs for treating children, or AIDS&Child; in South Africa supports the „My living positive hand-book “-project for children living with the virus.

According newest data, more than 2 million children worldwide live with HIV and AIDS today. Most of them had been infected at birth. Half of the positive children die prior to their second birthday if they do not receive treatment with life-extending antiretroviral drugs. During last year, 270 000 children died from AIDS. This could have been prevented.

„HIV-treatment for all – does that include children?“ is a perfectly justified question that may seem rhetorical only at first sight. In the international debates and strategies to fight HIV and AIDS, children are neglected to a large extent, experts said at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City at the beginning of August. It was said, that compared to adults it was more difficult for children to access AIDS treatment. And that there is not enough data, and at the same time, the knowledge at hand was often not considered. What is missing are less expensive methods of diagnosis and drugs that are designed for children – the children of Africa are no market for pharmaceutical companies.

With an additional input to „Access to treatment – are children included in the global agenda?“ we are giving the necessary attention to the problems of children at the aidsfocus.ch Forum. You are kindly invited to join in the exchange and discussion.

Helena Zweifel Coordinator aidsfocus.ch

Bern | aidsfocus.ch Forum on successes and challenges of HIV treatment in resource-limited settings.

Successful therapies have shown that if existing resources are invested in a good and wise manner a lot can be achieved in resource-poor countries of the South as well. The evaluation of the achievements of the integrated HIV and AIDS treatment and care programme of the Swiss Red Cross in Swaziland is the starting point for discussion. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has demonstrated successful HIV therapies in 32 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. A recent study by the Berne University even comes to the conclusion that ARV treatment in slums of South Africa is as effective as it is in Switzerland.

The forum organised by aidsfocus.ch in cooperation with the Swiss Red Cross takes up these burning issues and based on concrete evidence opens up the discussion on challenges, approaches and strategies regarding comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment and care.

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

Mexico City, 3 August 2008 - “Children have been short-changed in the response to AIDS. They are visible in the photo opportunities and headlines, but mostly invisible in the response to HIV," Professor Linda Richter, of the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, told the XVIIth International AIDS Conference here today in a plenary address entitled "No Small Issue: Children and Families". Richter's is the first plenary address to be devoted to the wellbeing of children affected by HIV and AIDS in the conference's 23-year history. While the global response to AIDS has accelerated, prevention, treatment and care, children continue to lag behind. (HSRC)

http://www.hsrc.ac.za

Mexico City, 2 August 2008 - MSF speakers shared their experience at the Teresa Group Symposium "Children & HIV/AIDS: Action Now, Action How", discussing challenges faced in the field in delivering pediatric ART, reflecting on how these challenges are being addressed—or not—and what needs to be done to optimize care for children with HIV/AIDS in resource-limited contexts. Documentation of the meeting online:

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Researchers of the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, in cooperation with the University of Cape Town, South Africa, compared the data of more than 2000 HIV-positive patients in South Africa with the data of over 1000 Swiss patients. Conclusions: “Compared to the highly individualised approach in Switzerland, programmatic HAART in South Africa resulted in similar virologic outcomes, with relatively few changes to initial regimens.”(PLoS Medicine, July 2008) The study will be presented and discussed at the aidsfocus.ch forum 30 September 2008 in Bern.

http://medicine.plosjournals.org

The Reader of the aidsfocus.ch conference of 10 April 2008 in Bern: "AIDS and Livelihoods. Securing property and inheritance rights” is now available. It highlights the complex interrelations between HIV and AIDS and (lack of) property rights of women and children – and strategies. The Bulletin of Medicus Mundi Switzerland publishes the papers of the conference as well as additional papers. It may be accessed online or ordered from MMS: info@medicusmundi.ch

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

Berne, 7 August 2008 - Switzerland’s international commitment to fight AIDS: These figures of UNAIDS show just how important an international multisectoral approach is in the fight against AIDS. “For this reason, HIV/AIDS remains a priority theme for the SDC…. All SDC departments (Multilateral Cooperation, Bilateral Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid) are committed to the fight against AIDS, a fight that should intensify even more in the years to come…. Swiss NGOs receive support for both their AIDS-related activities in the South and their networking and coordination activities in Switzerland.” (SDC)

http://www.deza.admin.ch

Mexico City, 3 August 2008 - Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hosted a satellite meeting at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City on the impact of the health care worker shortage on access to HIV/AIDS treatment and lessons learned from clinicians and advocates working on the ground to overcome this gap. Urgent measures must be taken by donor and national governments to retain a skilled workforce and attract new staff by increasing pay, improving working conditions, and keeping staff healthy. The lack of health care workers must be confronted as an emergency for the millions of people with HIV/AIDS still waiting for treatment.

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Mexico City, 7 August 2008 - Speakers at the XVII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2008) underscored the importance of simultaneously scaling up AIDS programmes and strengthening health systems in poor countries, emphasizing that the two goals should be viewed as allies, not adversaries. Experts warned that the global shortage of health care workers hampers both goals and demands a collective response. (AIDS 2008, official press release)

http://www.aids2008.org

Mexico City, 7 August 2008 - The recent controversial statement by Swiss researchers that HIV-positive people on treatment with an undetectable viral load could not infect their sexual partners was a hotly debated issue at the International AIDS Conference this week. Pietro Vernazza, president of the Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS (CFS) and the main author of the paper, said the findings gave hope, especially to discordant couples wanting to conceive. But Catherine Hankins, chief scientific adviser at UNAIDS, warned that the Swiss statement had "a large potential of doing more harm than good" - particularly in developing countries. (PlusNews)

http://www.plusnews.org

Mexico City, 5 August 2008 - The contribution of faith-based organisations to the treatment and care of people living with HIV and AIDS is well known, but it is less clear whether religion is an aid or a barrier when it comes to HIV prevention efforts. The church has played a key role in caring for orphans, and encouraging people to test for HIV. But, the response of the religious community to HIV and AIDS has not always been positive. Religious leaders and groups have contributed to the stigmatisation of people living with HIV and to negative attitudes towards sexual minorities.(PlusNews)

http://www.plusnews.org

1. August 2008 - The journal Science examined the "intense scrutiny" that HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment received during last week's XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. Mike Cohen of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill at the conference said the two efforts "keep going to the altar," but "[t]hey never get married. They have to get married today." Science reports that three million people in low- and middle-income countries now have access to antiretroviral drugs but that an estimated five people contract HIV for every two provided with treatment.(kaisernetwork)

http://www.kaisernetwork.org

1. September 2008 - The Third High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness takes place this week in Ghana. To mark this event, UNAIDS begins a new web series “Making the money work”. In coming months it will explore different aspects of aid effectiveness; how financial aid to countries can be made more effective, accountable and results-oriented. The Third High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF) takes place 2-4 September 2008 in Accra and will bring together ministers from over 100 countries along with donors, civil society, UNAIDS, its Cosponsors and other development agencies. (UNAIDS)

http://www.unaids.org

Significant gains in preventing new HIV infections are being seen in a number of countries most affected by the AIDS epidemic, according to the new UNAIDS report 2008. The report highlights specific examples of countries which are seeing changes in sexual behaviour followed by declines in the number of new HIV infections. Findings include increasing condom use among young people with multiple partners and encouraging signs that young people are waiting longer to have sexual intercourse in some of the most heavily affected countries. (July 2008)

http://www.unaids.org

Produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), Priority interventions: HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in the health sector is the definitive one-stop shop designed to help countries, donors and other stakeholders expand and improve their response to one of the greatest health-care challenges of our time. Priority interventions is designed to be a living web-based document that will be periodically updated with new recommendations based on the rapidly-evolving experience of health-sector scale up. (August 2008)

http://www.who.int
http://www.who.int

This report by UNICEF reviews advances made over the past year or so in four areas where HIV and AIDS affect children. It finds that most countries have made important gains in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and in paediatric treatment. Some countries have made progress towards HIV prevention goals, and more AIDS-affected children are benefiting from protection, care and support services. But much more remains to be done. The report also explains the need for improved norms, standards and guidelines to ensure effective implementation of programmes. (2008)

http://www.unicef.org

This set of eight generic training modules on HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for community- based volunteers was developed as a partnership between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Health Organization and the Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service. (2008)

http://www.ifrc.org

There is increasing evidence that introducing antiretroviral treatment (ART) in resource poor settings can be very effective. ART decreases AIDS morbidity and mortality, while also reducing the probability of transmission by lowering the patient’s viral load. In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where 90 percent of people with HIV/AIDS live, access to ART has been limited due to the high cost of drugs and lack of infrastructure capable of large-scale ART. ART is the focus of the monthly HIV and AIDS REPORTER August 2008.

http://www.eldis.org
http://www.aidsfocus.ch

Bern | The Afro-European Medical and Research Network (AEMRN) will be holding its first annual Symposium on the theme: “Knowledge Management, Resource Mobilisation and sustained HIV/AIDS Research in Low-income Countries - Case of Sub-Saharan Africa”. In the evening, there will be an Afro European Fundraising Buffet Dinner and Entertainment with African cultural displays, music and more information.

http://www.aemrnetwork.ch

Bern | aidsfocus.ch: The forum organised by aidsfocus.ch in cooperation with the Swiss Red Cross takes up burning issues around HIV treatment in resource-limited settings, and based on concrete evidence opens up the discussion on challenges, approaches and strategies regarding comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment and care.

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

Berne | The annual meeting of aidsfocus.ch, the Swiss platform on HIV/AIDS and international cooperation, is an important forum for the sharing of information and experiences. Besides the annual report and accounts, there will be a window open for sharing of information and experiences.

http://www.aidsfocus.ch

aidsfocus.ch is a project set up by Medicus Mundi Switzerland. aidsfocus.ch is sponsored and shaped by 33 partner organizations who support the aims and activities of the platform through their financial contributions, expertise and commitment.

Partners: Afro-European Medical and Research Network, AIDS & Child, Bethlehem Mission Immensee, Caritas Switzerland, cinfo, CO-OPERAID, Déclaration de Berne, Doctors without Borders, Esperanza Medicines Foundation, FEPA, Fédération Genevoise de Coopération, Gemeinschaft St. Anna-Schwestern, HEKS, IAMANEH Switzerland, International Federation of the Blue Cross, INTERTEAM, Kindernothilfe Schweiz, Kwa Wazee, medico international Switzerland, mediCuba-Suisse, missio, REPSSI, SolidarMed, Swiss Aids Care International, Swiss Aids Federation, missio, mission 21, Swiss Aids Care International, Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund, Swiss MIVA, Swiss Red Cross, Swiss Tropical Institute, Tear Fund, Terre des hommes Foundation, terre des hommes schweiz, and World Vision Switzerland.