THE ELECTRONIC BULLETIN OF THE SWISS PLATFORM FOR HIV/AIDS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION December 2006

My intention was to write a nice e-bulletin for Christmas, filled with positive and inspiring news – to tune us in to the upcoming holiday season. And I thought to make it small but sweet.

To my great delight I did actually find several pieces of happy news. Among others, the honouring of the Ugandan AIDS-activist Beatrice Were with the Human Rights Watch Award. She is the founder of the National Community of Women Living with AIDS (NACWOLA). Another reason for joy is the awarding of the newly created Red Ribbon Award to the 24-year old Jonsen Habachimba from Kenya for his innovative commitment for AIDS-orphans; he was joined by other grass-root groups and individuals who also received this award.

I find it particularly motivating that it is mostly young people that commit themselves; they get involved, for example in „Y-PEER“, a fast growing and dynamic network of young people using electronic media such as TV and Internet to inform and communicate about HIV, AIDS and sexual health. Nepal, Romania and Zimbabwe report on campaigns and support groups organised by young people for young people. They are highly committed to join forces to work for a better future. These are true signs of hope.

This positive outlook on the future allows me to extend heartfelt wishes and Season’s Greetings,

Helena Zweifel Coordinator aidsfocus.ch

NEW RESSOURCES 1. FHI/UNAIDS: BEST PRACTICES IN HIV/AIDS PREVENTION COLLECTION 2. THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2007: WOMEN AND CHILDREN 3. ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN YOUTH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND HIV PROJECTS: A GUIDE TO PARTICIPATORY ASSESSMENTS

EVENTS 08.01.2007 | AIDSFOCUS.CH: PEER REVIEW GROUP MAINSTREAMING HIV 26.04.2007 | AIDSFOCUS.CH: POSITIVE MOTHERHOOD - OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF HIV PREVENTION, TREATMENT AND CARE 06.06.2007 | DEZA: MAINSTREAMING HIV/AIDS IN PRACTICE

aidsfocus.ch in English contains only news, resources and events in English. Many activities of the Swiss Community of Praxis are in German or French, and they are not published in the English version.

AIDS and human rights are inextricably linked as demonstrated by Beatrice Were, a leading advocate for the rights of people living with HIV in Uganda who recently received the Human Rights Watch Defender Award in recognition of her work. Mrs. Were is the co-founder of the National Community of Women Living with AIDS (NACWOLA), a grassroots organization that provides services to more than 40,000 women in 20 districts of Uganda. She has served as Executive Coordinator of the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, Uganda, and was formerly a member of the UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights. (November 2006)

http://www.unaids.org

"Red Ribbon Award: Celebrating Community Leadership and Action on AIDS" is a new joint initiative of the Community and Leadership Programmes of the International AIDS Conference and is being organized by UNDP in partnership with UNAIDS. The Red Ribbon Award aims to support creative and sustainable ways to provide care, treatment and support to people living with HIV/AIDS through the recognition of outstanding community leadership in addressing the epidemic. Jonsen Habachimba, a 24-year-old tailor from Choma in Kenya who started making school uniforms for AIDS orphans with a lone sewing machine, is a winner of the award. On World AIDS Day 2006, the organisation he founded received a cheque for USD $20,000.

http://data.unaids.org

Y-PEER stands for Youth Peer Education Network, a network of over 200 organizations and institutions, consisting of thousands of young people, working in the broad areas of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. The network, which is constantly expanding, consists of youth from Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and both North and East Africa. As of the end of 2005, Y-PEER linked more than 3,000 members from 39 countries. The network is based on person-to-person meetings and electronic communications via an interactive web site, as well as providing access to national and international listservs.

http://www.youthpeer.org

In Nepal, over 80,000 young people are injecting energy into the fight against AIDS. They are planning and running successful initiatives to prevent HIV within their families and communities. They are also influencing how the national AIDS budget is distributed by donors and used by national authorities. These young people have benefited from a Global Fund-supported programme run by the Nepal Red Cross Society that provides “Life Skills” to help them avoid contracting HIV. These leadership, problem solving, social and survival skills enable them to communicate assertively and avoid unwanted pregnancies, drug addiction, violence and other problems that could lead to HIV infection.

http://www.investinginourfuture.com

UNFPA partner, Youth for Youth Foundation, has reached over one million young people with sexuality education and information on preventing sexually transmitted infections and HIV through peer education. National awareness campaigns launched by Youth for Youth in partnership with other grassroots NGOs and the Ministry of Education have been credited with heading off an AIDS epidemic in the country.

http://www.unfpa.org

Russian Federation: World Vision’s first large HIV and AIDS prevention project aimed to reduce high risk sexual behaviour among teenage girls in Moscow has been extended for another year due to the positive impact on the young women. While trained school personnel will enhance school capacities to educate young people on HIV and AIDS, the outreach component of the project focused on reaching street girls, a group that is most vulnerable and closed for access. Peer-to-peer counselling and informal discussions right on the street were aimed to positively influence adolescent girls with high risk behaviour.

http://meero.worldvision.org

"I know that only I can change the future for me and my family. I am the hope of my family and they have very high expectations for me, so I must work hard. Perhaps the only way is for me to enter university. I have to study in the best university and let my family live a better life... “ (AIDS orphan in her memory book). The China Memory Book Network aims at giving long-term support to the children who have been orphaned or impacted by HIV/AIDS in the wake of a blood-selling disaster that devastated parts of rural central China barely two decades ago. The Network strives to nurture and guide the children by helping them establish mutual connections with their family members and their community.

http://www.chfaidsorphans.com

Breaking the silence surrounding HIV and promoting open discussion are key to addressing stigma and discrimination. Sport can play a significant role in identifying and changing harmful attitudes that promote HIV-related stigma. It can increase the confidence of children infected and affected by the disease, and in the process help to minimise the fear, silence and denial associated with HIV. Sport as a tool for development is increasingly gaining global recognition as an inexpensive, effective way to reach the most vulnerable populations. Right to Play is using the power of sport to reduce the incidence of HIV by increasing knowledge and changing attitudes of people affected by the disease.

http://www.healthdev.org

Mbane, 5 December - The Swazi government expressed cautious optimism after a survey found that 39.2 percent of women visiting antenatal clinics tested positive for HIV, indicating that the infection rate was dropping. The decline in HIV infections was recorded in urban and rural areas in all four regions of Swaziland and in all age groups, with the sharpest reduction occurring among those aged 25 to 29 years, from 56 percent in 2004 to 48 percent in 2006.

"We are cautiously optimistic that this decline demonstrates that our prevention strategies are beginning to take hold," NERCHA director Derek von Wissell said. "We need to step up our fight against this disease and push even harder to continue the prevalence rate decline." (PLUSNEWS)

http://www.plusnews.org

Recognizing the vital role of prevention, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Family Health International (FHI) published the FHI/UNAIDS Best Practices in HIV/AIDS Prevention Collection. Encompassing a broad body of knowledge and expertise, this book is centered on HIV/AIDS prevention in the non-industrialized world. This collection offers a substantial number of models that may be replicated around the world. From this group of interventions, 20 initiatives have been chosen that are considered to be of global importance for dissemination through a case study approach. (2006)

http://www.fhi.org

The involvement of young people and their families in the creation and implementation of targeted interventions is commonly held as a pivotal part of the success or failure of a programme. Recruiting such groups, however, remains a challenge. This toolkit provides an overview of various participatory assessment processes in the area of YRH and HIV/AIDS. Examples of good practice drawn from the work of Family Health International's youth programmes are presented. These give a clear idea of the standards, safeguards and benefits for involving young people.(YouthNet, Family Health International (FHI) 2006)

http://www.fhi.org

The UNICEF report underlines that empowering women is pivotal to the health and development of families, communities and nations. It emphasizes the fact that gender inequality and the low status of women in society are two of the principal drivers of HIV. Latest data show that women now make up 48% of all people living with HIV, and the proportion of women infected with HIV is increasing in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by AIDS, 60% of all adults and three out of four young people living with the virus are female. (December 2006)

http://www.unicef.org

Zürich | Sharing of experiences and learning from each other is an effective way in the process to mainstream HIV into one’s own organisation. How do others do it? Where in the process are they? Which are the open questions, the challenges, the successes, the lessons learned? Have there been any results yet? The Terre des Hommes Foundation is inviting partners of aidsfocus.ch to the next meeting. If you are interested, please send in your registration to Claudia Kessler, claudia.kessler@unibas.ch

http://www.aidsfocus.ch

Bern | aidsfocus.ch conference 2007: Worldwide, around 1 per cent of pregnant women are HIV-positive; 95 per cent live in developing countries. If an HIV-positive woman becomes pregnant, there is a 35 per cent chance that she will transmit the virus to her child if no preventative action is taken. More than 700,000 children become HIV-positive via vertical HIV transmission. However, this is preventable.

What are the challenges and opportunities of voluntary counselling and testing in antenatal care and of prevention of vertical HIV transfer? What are the criteria for breastfeeding by positive mothers and/or supplying infant formula? What is the impact of socio-cultural significance of motherhood? How to deal with the social stigma which positive women and their families are confronted with? These are some of the issues that will be explored at the conference, looking at the issues from a socio-cultural as well as a medical perspective, reflecting on theory and practice. (Programme available End of January 2007)

Ausserholligen | The course offered by SDC aims to provide information on and skills in mainstreaming HIV/AIDS. It aims to strengthen participants’ motivation and competence to mainstream HIV/AIDS as relevant for their work. At the end of the day, participants should understand the concept of “mainstreaming HIV/AIDS” and its multisectoral dimension, know the most important elements of the SDC toolkit “mainstreaming HIV/AIDS in practice” and understand how to work with the toolkit.

http://www.deza.ch

aidsfocus.ch is a project set up by Medicus Mundi Switzerland. aidsfocus.ch is sponsored and shaped by 30 partner organizations who support the aims and activities of the platform through their financial contributions, expertise and commitment.

Partners: AIDS & Child, Bethlehem Mission Immensee, Caritas Switzerland, cinfo, CO-OPERAID, Déclaration de Berne, Doctors without Borders, FEPA, Fédération Genevoise de Coopération, Gemeinschaft St. Anna-Schwestern, HEKS, IAMANEH Switzerland, International Federation of the Blue Cross, INTERTEAM, medico international Switzerland, mediCuba-Suisse, mission, 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.