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

April 2010

Today, fewer mothers die because of birth-related complications – this is the essence of a study published in the renowned scientific journal The Lancet. What good news for all of us!

The treatment of HIV positive women with antiretroviral drugs prior, during and after birth plays an essential role in reducing the mortality rate of mothers. When pregnant mothers can be treated the chances are reduced that their babies will be infected, and a healthy mother is the best guarantee for the child to be able to survive. In regions with high HIV incidence rates, the health of mother and child has been improved wherever HIV prevention and AIDS treatment are supported.

However, the work has not been completed yet: The study also shows that worldwide almost one out of five mothers died of the consequences of AIDS in the year 2008. And in South Africa, more than 50 per cent of the deaths of mothers are HIV related.

Hence, HIV prevention and treatment can be also seen as a form of health care for mother and child. Therefore, it is wrong and counterproductive to play AIDS programmes off against general health programmes. What we need is more political commitment and more funds for both AIDS programmes and for general health programmes.

And this was an important consensus that the participants reached on the occasion of the aidsfocus.ch Conference on the future of the global AIDS response held April 14, 2010, in Berne. aidsfocus.ch will continue to work for universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention, AIDS treatment, care and support and commit itself with other actors of the Swiss civil society to get Switzerland’s ODA increased: indeed, the official development aid needs to be increased to 0,5 per cent of GDP in the short term and to 0,7 per cent in the medium term.

Helena Zweifel Coordinator aidsfocus.ch Executive director Medicus Mundi Switzerland

“Treasure memories” is the name of the exhibition booth of aidsfocus.ch in the Global village during the International AIDS Conference taking place in Vienna 18 – 24 July 2010. The exhibition booth at the global village offers a great opportunity to open the forum for networking, sharing and joint learning focused on memory work, but open for other issues related to HIV and AIDS. The re-newed toolkit “Treasure Memories” by aidsfocus.ch and terre des hommes schweiz is enriched with a solution focused approach to memory work and will be launched at AIDS 2010.

http://www.aids2010.org

The documentation of the aidsfocus.ch conference 14 April 2010 is now online. The Reader of the conference which includes the papers of the speakers as well as more information on the topic will be publisched as Bulletin Medicus Mundi Switzerland No 116 in July. Available from: info@medicusmundi.ch.

http://www.aidsfocus.ch

About 22 million people, or 67 percent of the worldwide total live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the pandemic is most severe. Meanwhile, more than 15 million children are orphans due to AIDS. In 2001, World Vision launched the Hope Initiative to respond to the HIV pandemic focusing on a community led response. In Africa, these communities have women, men, girls and boys who are making remarkable contributions in response to HIV and AIDS. This book honours those people.

http://www.aidsfocus.ch

1. April 2010 - A new report published in the medical journal The Lancet found that, for the first time in decades, the number of women dying each year from pregnancy and childbirth has significantly dropped. Researchers estimate that maternal deaths fell from 526 300 in 1980 to 343 900 in 2008. Evidence shows that timely administration of antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive pregnant women significantly reduces the risk of HIV transmission to their babies; it is a proven, inexpensive, and effective intervention. However, at the end of 2008, only 45% of HIV-positive pregnant women received the necessary treatment in low- and middle-income countries. (UNAIDS)

http://www.unaids.org

Geneva, 19 April 2010 - The International AIDS Society (IAS) today welcomed the new study that documents significant reductions in maternal deaths worldwide. "New data on decreases in maternal deaths show once again that access to HIV prevention, treatment and care is essential to a comprehensive approach to improving the health of poor and vulnerable people," said IAS Executive Director Robin Gorna. "HIV services do not compete with other health priorities. They support them by reducing all-cause mortality; improving maternal health; improving child health by preventing and treating HIV disease in children and reducing diarrheal and other diseases through safe breastfeeding.

http://www.iasociety.org

Johannesburg, 30 March 2010 - Men in rural Zimbabwe are taking a hands-on approach to pregnancy - and to preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. The UNICEF-sponsored “Male Champions” programme is working to get men involved in their partners’ pregnancies in the rural district of Mberengwa. The programme uses HIV-positive male caregivers to mobilize men and their partners to undergo HIV testing and access prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). In most communities men are the decision-makers - they decide on whether to disclose HIV status, and they can chase their wives away after disclosure. (PlusNews)

http://www.plusnews.org

1. March 2010 - The role of a mother in African families is even more essential to the well-being of a child than the role played by the breadwinner father, according to a study published in the latest issue of the journal Demography. If a child loses their mother before they are 15 years old, that child is likely to be shorter in height, poorer and have less schooling as than those who live with their mothers until that age. Being an orphan is not a temporary problem but has long-term, permanent effects persisting into adulthood. It fits in with other recent studies highlighting that the impact of HIV-AIDS is likely to be felt in Africa for generations to come. (ScienceDaily)

http://www.sciencedaily.com

Berea District, 16 March 2010 – In 2007, the Government, with help from UNICEF and other partners, initiated a massive effort to improve the country's Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services. To succeed, they needed to ensure that every clinic in the country could provide HIV testing and treatment. Lesotho became one of the first countries in the region to allow nurses to administer anti-retroviral (ARV) treatments, which greatly expanded access to these critical interventions in the remote areas of the country where fewer doctors are available. (UNICEF)

http://www.unicef.org

Johannesburg, 25 April 2010 – President Zuma launched an ambitious campaign that could alter the face of the AIDS epidemic, in South Africa and globally. The campaign aims to test 15 million people for HIV by the year 2011, up from 2.5 million in 2009 – a six-fold increase in just two years. Through the campaign, 1.5 million people will receive antiretroviral treatment by June 2011, up from about 1 million in 2009. Prices for most antiretroviral drugs in South Africa are at least 25-30% higher than the average international prices for these medicines – a key challenge in the country’s efforts to expand treatment. (UNAIDS)

http://www.unaids.org

Preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV to reach the UNGASS and Millennium Development Goals. The purpose of this document is to define WHO’s commitment to global and country support to scale up access to prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV services and integrate these services with maternal, newborn and child health programmes. The objectives included in PMTCT strategic vision 2010–2015 illustrate WHO’s ongoing commitment to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) goals on PMTCT and strengthening support for PMTCT within the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).(2010)

http://www.who.int

The effects of the AIDS epidemics on lives and livelihoods are dramatic, yet the economic consequences are difficult to measure. This study focuses on Malawi, it addresses both the short and long term impact of HIV/AIDS by bringing together and analysing findings from qualitative and quantitative studies on the spread and impact of the epidemic. Key conclusions include that HIV/AIDS and poverty are mutually reinforcing - it acts as a forceful vehicle for impoverishment at the individual and household level and results in increased income and asset inequality. Poor households with small economic buffers are particularly exposed to the economic consequences of HIV/AIDS. For these, illness and death in the family due to AIDS often entails economic disaster. (SIDA Studies 2010)

http://www.eldis.org

This guide on positive prevention was developed to assist people living with HIV, service providers and policy makers to understand, promote and implement appropriate rights-based strategies for addressing the prevention needs of people living with HIV. The guide includes sections which focus on action points and provides useful information on key issues to consider when developing prevention programmes for people living with HIV. The information included intends to promote dialogue and discussion among people living with HIV, service providers, programme managers and policy makers on the key principles and issues to consider when developing programmes and strategies to address the prevention needs of HIV positive people. (2010)

http://www.ippf.org

Worldwide, extensive experience, evidence and information is available showing what works and what does not when implementing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). This tool attempts to document the most importance evidence, in a way that is useful to organisations with limited time and resources, working in the day to day practice of SHRH education for young people. It has been tested in workshops in South Africa and Pakistan partner organisations who implement SRHR/HIV interventions for young people. This tool is for project managers who either design new programmes or who evaluate existing programmes. (World Population Fund 2009)

http://www.eldis.org

Geneva | The agenda of this year's World Health Assembly includes, among other items, the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005); the global strategy and plan of action regarding public health, innovation and intellectual property; the monitoring of the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals; and the draft global code of practice on international recruitment of health personnel. Geneva, 17 - 21 May 2010.

http://apps.who.int

Biel | HIV and AIDS are a sad reality in a number of countries involved in International Cooperation (IC). It affects not only every aspect of the lives of the people concerned, but also considerably impacts the life and work of IC expatriate personnel. This seminar has the objective of working with participants so that they can better manage this challenge. The participants will explore various levels of impact which the epidemic of HIV / AIDS can have on the life and the work of expatriate personnel and consider various social and professional situations linked to HIV / AIDS that they may need to address.

http://www.cinfo.ch

Wien | The International AIDS Conference is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic. It is a chance to assess where we are, evaluate recent scientific developments and lessons learnt, and collectively chart a course forward. "Rights Here, Right Now", the theme of the conference, emphasizes the central importance of protecting and promoting human rights, including the rights of women and girls, as a prerequisite to a successful response to HIV. Vienna, 18 to 23 July 2010.

http://www.aids2010.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.ch