aidsfocus.news in English THE ELECTRONIC BULLETIN OF THE SWISS PLATFORM FOR HIV/AIDS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

February 2010

I would like to invite you the aidsfocus.ch conference 2010 in Bern on the topic „The future of the Global AIDS response. Implications for NGOs”. Again, aidsfocus.ch takes up a pertinent issue, and we succeeded to invite very competent and interesting guest speakers who will initiate reflection and lively discussions. I would be very happy to welcome you on 14 April 2010 in Berne.

Best regards,

Helena Zweifel Coordinator aidsfocus.ch Executive Director Medicus Mundi Switzerland

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, Switzerland

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

Information and registration :

http://www.aidsfocus.ch
http://www.aidsfocus.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 Robin 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. It is argued 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

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, 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.

http://www.aidsfocus.c