THE ELECTRONIC BULLETIN OF THE SWISS PLATFORM FOR HIV/AIDS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION WORLD AIDS DAY 2007

Every day is World Aids Day. At least, this is true for approximately 33 million women, men and children who live with the virus worldwide, and who struggle for a life in dignity and for their own rightful place in society.

Switzerland is no exception: Despite the fact that many taboos around the illness and the death have disappeared, people are still stigmatized that are HIV-positive. Thanks to antiretroviral therapies and good health insurance, HIV and AIDS have increasingly turned invisible. About 70 per cent of the 25’000 HIV-positive people in Switzerland are integrated into the job market. Nevertheless, many of them are discriminated and stigmatized as soon as their status gets known. This is why the Swiss Aids Federation devoted the World Aids Day 2007 to the issue of „HIV+ and the world of work“.

In Haiti, the situation is much more drastic. At the beginning of November 2007, I got to know women and men from that country during a workshop on Memory Work. They told about the experiences of violence and poverty, of being abandoned and excluded from society. After being given the diagnosis „HIV-positive“, some have lost their job, almost all are discriminated when looking for a job and keep themselves above water with some odd occasional jobs and some small businesses. They shared their memories, their sadness and their pain, but also their courage to face life, friendship and hopes for a better future. These encounters were very important.

Today and throughout the year, all over the world we think in solidarity of them and of the 33 million affected women, men and children.

Helena Zweifel Coordinator aidsfocus.ch

Geneva, 20 November 2007 – New data by UNAIDS show global HIV prevalence — the percentage of people living with HIV — has levelled off and that the number of new infections has fallen, in part as a result of the impact of HIV programmes. However, in 2007 33.2 million [30.6 – 36.1 million] people were estimated to be living with HIV, 2.5 million [1.8 – 4.1 million] people became newly infected and 2.1 million [1.9 – 2.4 million] people died of AIDS. These findings were released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the report “2007 AIDS Epidemic Update”.

http://www.unaids.org

worldwide | The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008 is “leadership”. This theme will continue to be promoted with the campaigning slogan, “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” Since the beginning of the epidemic, experience has clearly demonstrated that significant advances in the response to HIV have been achieved when there is strong and committed leadership. General information about WAD activities and campaigns, updates on materials and a description of the 2007 theme:

http://www.worldaidscampaign.info

This FOCUS ON HIV/AID, the newsletter of the Swiss Agency on Development and Cooperation (SDC) on HIV/AIDS, was produced with the support of the Swiss Tropical Institute (STI). It focuses on SDC news, but also brings news from Switzerland as well as global and regional news. Activities of aidsfocus.ch are also highlighted, e.g. the forum by aidsfocus.ch and Kwa Wazee on elderly people in Berne and Memory Work in Haiti.

http://www.aidsfocus.ch

The current newsletter of the Swiss Tropical Institute tries to provide insight into ongoing STI activities. “While we welcome all initiatives that ensure effective treatment, we deplore that not enough efforts are made to ensure sustainable treatment and monitoring (treatment effects, side effects, adherence, resistance dynamics) at the peripheral level where also the technical as well as human resources are facing substantial constraints." (Marcel Tanner, November 2007)

http://www.sti.ch

Kathmandu, 28 November 2007 - Nepalese are supposed to be too shy to talk about sex, but judging by the popularity of a groundbreaking radio show, Sanga Manka Kura (Chatting With My Friend), they don't mind hearing about the subject. Nearly six million mainly young Nepalese tune in each week to catch an hour of drama, songs and light-hearted banter addressing issues like HIV and AIDS and sexual health. "There are so many issues related to HIV/AIDS, of which the younger generation still hesitates to talk about openly, and this is where we help to fill the vacuum," explained producer Sangita Budhathoki. (PlusNews)

http://www.plusnews.org

Abuja, 9 November 2007 – China should focus its efforts on stopping HIV transmission, not on limiting the freedom of movement, expression and speech of people living with HIV, said Human Rights Watch today at a global meeting of AIDS activists gathered in Abuja, Nigeria. In arranging the board meeting in China, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria board received assurances from the Chinese government that delegates to the meeting representing people living with HIV/AIDS would not be required to disclose their HIV status on immigration landing cards or be subject to a current law excluding HIV-positive individuals from entering China. On September 1, however, without advance notice, the Chinese government made disclosure of HIV status a requirement on all visa applications.

http://hrw.org

Port-auf-Prince, 1 November 2007 - Apart from HIV, sexual violence against women in Haiti is another virus that has so far proved resistant to a cure. Activists say they are unsure whether the rise in cases over the last few years is due to violence becoming more widespread, or the result of campaigns calling on women to speak out. Either way, human rights groups say it is an indictment of the way the society treats its women. According to a study published by UK-based medical journal The Lancet, 35,000 women were subject to sexual violence around the capital, Port-au-Prince, between 2003 and 2005; more than half were younger than 18 years.(PlusNews)

http://www.plusnews.org

A study published by GTZ analyses the economic potential of pharmaceutical production of Anti Retroviral Drugs (ARVs) in Tanzania. This includes an analysis of the pharmaceutical sector in the country and the potential to export ARVs to the region. The study shows that production of pharmaceutical products in Tanzania is on the rise and can become viable in the long term.

http://www2.gtz.de

HIV-stigma has long been recognised as a barrier to prevention, care and treatment, yet there are few tools available to support trainers and community leaders to begin to tackle this problem. The toolkit contains over 100 participatory exercises which can be adapted to fit different target groups and contexts. There are different sets of pictures codes which help to identify stigma, discuss the rights of positive people and help to stimulate discussions around gender and sexuality and morality issues linked to stigma. (2007)

http://www.aidsalliance.org

This article examines the vulnerability of young people to HIV and unintended pregnancy, and the choices adolescents make that have critical implications for their sexual and reproductive health. It draws on key findings of a forthcoming Guttmacher Institute report, “Protecting the Next Generation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Learning from Adolescents to Prevent HIV and Unintended Pregnancy”. The report focuses on adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors in four countries — Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda. (2007)

http://www.guttmacher.org

The November update of Siyanda, an on-line database of gender and development materials from around the world focuses on gender and ageing. Among the issues raised are the economic role of older women, the role of grandmothers as cares especially in HIV affected households, and the role of older women as indigenous knowledge systems managers in the area of health. Some papers outline the rationale and expected outcomes of development interventions that incorporate grandmothers and senior women.

http://www.siyanda.org

Bern | Children’s rights to inheritance are often violated even while the mother is still alive and becomes more severe when both parents have died, and so are women’s rights when her husband has passed away. The relatives are the first to gain access to the property. Some issues and challenges to be discussed at the conference: Women’s access to land, traditional and modern law, livelihoods and women’s rights violations, protection of children’s rights to their inheritance, and experiences and strategies of Swiss development organisations.

http://www.aidsfocus.ch

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 know what is understood by the comprehensive approach and be able to apply the concept of risk/vulnerability reduction and impact mitigation. They should 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.admin.ch

Mexico-City | AIDS 2008 will provide many opportunities for the presentation of important new scientific research and for productive, structured dialogue on the major challenges facing the global response to AIDS. Conference organizers are developing a wide variety of session types that meet the needs of various participants and support collective efforts to expand delivery of HIV prevention and treatment to communities worldwide. Central to many of these sessions will be the transfer of knowledge and sharing of best practices.

http://www.aids2008.org

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: 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.