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

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Dear Reader

How would it be to create an issue of aidsfocus.news filled with pleasant news only? With news that encourage? This is not an easy endeavour. The majority of the news that I receive via various electronic newsletters and e-forums draw a rather gloomy picture of the extend and the impact of the global epidemic.

However, we also can find little success stories. A small step ahead is the announcement of Bill Clinton who has has negotiated a deal that will cut the cost of HIV tests and Aids treatment in developing countries: The tests will be made available at half price and the cost of the drugs will be lowered by a third. It is also good news that Zimbabwe could significantly slow the spread of HIV, and infection rates among particularly vulnerable groups - pregnant women and youth - declined. We are very pleased to learn that Human Rights Watch gave its highest recognition to Beatrice Were, founder of the National Community of Women Living with AIDS (NACWOLA)in Uganda. Beatrice Were was one of the first Ugandans ever to declare her HIV-positive status publicly, and she continues to fight courageously and without tiring for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Difficult circumstances may have their bright side too. A collection of photo stories lets people living in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America speak out – people living with the virus and living a life full of compassion, courage and hope.

Last but not least, the Swiss platform HIV/Aids and international development aidsfocus.ch continues to grow. Two new partner organisations joined the platform: Interteam and the International Federation of the Blue Cross.

Most of the information from Swiss NGOs active in the field of HIV/AIDS and international cooperation are written in German or French. aidsfocus.news in English provides information written in English only, and is less comprehensive than aidsfocus.news or aidsfocus.nouvelles, especially concerning Swiss activities.

I whish you many small and big success stories in 2006

Helena Zweifel Coordinatrice aidsfocus.ch

INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS - WHO INFORMATION ON UNIVERSAL ACCESS BY 2010 - CLINTON ANNOUNCES AIDS DRUGS DEAL - THE LONG ROAD TO 3 BY 5 - PROGRESS IN ZIMBABWE'S HIV AND AIDS BATTLE - HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH HONORS UGANDAN AIDS ACTIVIST - AVIAN INFLUENZA AND HIV/AIDS TOP HEALTH ISSUES IN 2005

NEW RESSOURCES AND LINKS - VOICES OF HOPE: STORIES FROM COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY HIV AND AIDS - AIDS AND THE HEALTH WORKFORCE IN AFRICA - POOR HEALTH, FOOD INSECURITY AND POVERTY - AIDS.ORG: ONLINE AIDS EDUCATION AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS - SOURCE - SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS - ELDIS GUIDE

EVENTS 21.04.2006 | AIDSFOCUS.CH CONFERENCE 2006: PREVENTION AND LIFE PERSPECTIVES

aidsfocus.ch, the Swiss platform for HIV/AIDS and international cooperation, works in solidarity with, and is committed to improving the health and well-being of people affected by HIV/AIDS. As the Swiss platform for HIV/AIDS and international cooperation, aidsfocus.ch serves as a forum for exchanging information and experience between the North and South, the East and West, and among the various players. aidsfocus.ch facilitates the creation and utilization of synergies among the Swiss players in relation to the issues of HIV/AIDS. The Strategic Framework 2006-2008 serves as an orientation in its work for the next years.

http://www.aidsfocus.ch

1. 01.2006 - A new section is published on the WHO website, dedicated to information on the activities related with global movement towards universal access of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care by 2010.

http://www.who.int

New York 13.01.2006 - A foundation run by former United States of America President Bill Clinton has negotiated a deal that will cut the cost of HIV tests and Aids treatment in developing countries. Mr Clinton said hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved as a result of the agreement with several drugs firms, which he said was only a "first step". Under the deal, the tests will be made available at half price and the cost of the drugs will be lowered by a third. The agreement between the Clinton Foundation and a handful of small drugs firms should mean up to a million people receive cheaper treatment by the end of the year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk

Almost a month after the deadline, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) campaign to put three million people in the developing world on anti-AIDS drugs by the end of 2005 has failed to meet its target. But activists acknowledged that it did at least represent a goal to work towards, especially since, in Africa, fewer than 30,000 people were on antiretroviral (ARV) medication in 2001. Dr Eric Goemaere, head of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in South Africa noted, "It's good to have an ambitious target. People are under pressure to move - and things are moving, and moving fast."

http://www.plusnews.org

Despite serious economic and political challenges, Zimbabwe has become only the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to significantly slow the spread of HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. In a brief press statement on 10 October, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) announced that infection rates among a particularly vulnerable group - pregnant women - declined from 24.6 per cent in 2002 to 21.3 per cent in 2004.

http://allafrica.com

Human Rights Watch gave its highest recognition to Beatrice Were, a leading advocate for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Ms. Were was one of the first Ugandans ever to declare her HIV-positive status publicly. She is a founder of the National Community of Women Living with AIDS (NACWOLA) and she has defended the rights of people living with AIDS against controversial shifts in the country's AIDS policy, including the recent adoption of U.S.-funded "abstinence-until-marriage" programs. "Beatrice Were is the human face of AIDS in Uganda," said Jonathan Cohen of Human Rights Watch. "She has transformed her personal struggle with AIDS into a courageous and inspiring brand of activism."

http://hrw.org

The World Health Organisation WHO published the results of its online survey, "How healthy is your world?", in which visitors of its website told what they thought were the most important health issues of 2005. Amongst the top health concerns were avian influenza, HIV/AIDS and tobacco control. The survey also includes comments from prominent public figures.

http://www.who.int

Ordinary lives, extraordinary stories: WHO, in collaboration with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Christian Aid, presents photo stories of people living with HIV and AIDS in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. "These stories are full of compassion and courage and explain why and how, ordinary people can make a difference. “They show why more support needs to be channelled to community responses. They show people making a huge difference with very little support, and help us all understand what works in each community. They are the living proof that it can be done.”

http://www.who.int

The new AIDS and Human Resources report by Medicus Mundi International (MMI) attempts to point to possible new accents of the complex issue of HIV/AIDS and Human Resources. It presents many questions: What is AIDS doing to populations and society? What is AIDS doing to the health workforce? How can the health workforce cope with new financing mechanisms and the resulting increased funding? What is the health workforce’s role in tackling AIDS? The report stresses the point that, given the complexity of the underlying social root issues of both AIDS and the health workforce, different viewpoints and perspectives are necessary. (December 2005)

http://www.medicusmundi.org

The Report of the infoagrar Symposium "Poor health, food insecurity and poverty" held in Bern on 13 October 2005 contains the main statements regarding the relations between poor health and food insecurity in developing countries. When we look at agriculture from the perspective of human health, it becomes clear that those living in developing countries face a double burden of health hazards. Hunger is a well-known and very serious problem, and poor nutrition is becoming more and more widespread. Poor health, caused by malnourishment, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria is causing huge problems in food production.

http://www.infoagrar.ch

Nonprofit AIDS.ORG is a leader in providing online AIDS education and prevention programs, and essential HIV resources. AIDS.ORG looks for ways to help people communicate with each other, and to share HIV and AIDS information in the battle against AIDS. AIDS.ORG makes access to important AIDS information easier and faster and provides prevention, testing, and treatment information currently to well over 3 millon people a year. AIDS.ORG has been awarded the "Health on the Net Foundation" Code of Conduct (HONcode) seal for reliability and credibility of information in the field of healthcare.

http://www.aids.org

Source is an international information support centre designed to strengthen the management, use and impact of information on health and disability. HIV/AIDS is one of the 5 key topics. A key list of resources opens in new browser windows on a selection of resources on 1. HIV and AIDS mainstreaming, 2. HIV and AIDS and communication, 3. HIV and AIDS and early childhood development, and 4. Learning from practice. An excellent entry point to a valuable selection of key resources.

http://www.asksource.info

This Eldis Health Key Issues guide reviews current policy issues relating to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), examining questions of definition and exploring key debates. The guide also highlights current and future challenges for attaining greater levels of sexual and reproductive well-being, and considers the role of innovative technologies and approaches in achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights for all. New approaches are emerging which recognise sexual and reproductive health and rights as human rights as well as being central to health and well-being.

http://topics.developmentgateway.org

Bern | HIV/AIDS Prevention and Life-Perspectives - with a special focus on youth is the topic of the upcoming aidsfocus.ch conference 2005. Information on and awareness of HIV/AIDS is important, but not enough to change the behaviour of individuals and groups and/or to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Prevention - the decision to protect one-self and others and to adopt a responsible behaviour - is part of a life-concept and linked to life-perspectives at the individual and the socio-economic level.

http://www.aidsfocus.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 - Switzerland, World Vision Switzerland.