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aidsfocus.news
September 2014

Oct 01, 2014

ELECTORNIC BULLETIN OF THE SWISS PLATFORM ON HIV/AIDS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Dear aidsfocus.news readers,

With the present aidsfocus.news I would like to say good-bye to you.  For me, a new stage in life is about to begin, the „Age of liberty“, having more leisure and freedom to do what is important and right for me. I leave with mixed feelings – eleven years is a long period of time during which I committed myself for a world without aids, together with you, the partner organisations and friends of aidsfocus.ch. With great pleasure I remember the joint activities, the numerous good talks as well as our minor and major successes.

On the occasion of my farewell get-together with the partners of aidsfocus.ch and with the members of the Medicus Mundi network Switzerland, my colleague Martin Leschhorn used the Editorials of the aidsfocus.news to give a review of my eleven years with aidsfocus.ch. I was very touched by his excellent selection of examples the messages of which are very relevant and dear to me.

It all started with a current success story:  Last December, Switzerland doubled its contribution to the Global Fund to Fight against Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), to which aidsfocus.ch has made a significant contribution and of which it can be proud of. I thought to myself, he is going to start with the successes and strengths. As the solution-oriented approach – which I got to know and circulated in connection with working with Memory Work and with terre des hommes schweiz – met with a positive response from my colleagues.

It is certainly true that committing oneself for health for all, for justice and a future without Aids requires endurance and patience. Thus, the following quotation of one of my last year’s editorials still holds true: „The commitment for a future without Aids is increasingly connected to other health and development programs; yet, we will still need this particular focus on Aids that has brought us good results of our past investments. With the words of Nelson Mandela: “Just as the water is about to boil, it is foolish to turn off the heat.”

Apart from the political aspect of the commitment and its strengthening and completing, another aspect was important to me: the psychosocial approach of Memory Work and personally meeting people who are affected by HIV. The 2007 Workshop with HIV-positive women on Memory Work is still fresh in my mind, I remember how much it challenged me emotionally but also gave me great pleasure when one of the women acknowledged that the workshop had given her new courage.

Another inspiring image that I will keep in my mind happened last year: I met HIV-positive women in a village in Zimbabwe. I noticed many babies sitting on the lap of their mothers. I hesitated to touch what seemed to me to be a delicate issue, but then I dared to ask whether their children were HIV-positive or negative. With a happy face they spontaneously lifted their children up and answered: „Our children are healthy“.  This personal encounter fills me with hope and courage and provides me with good arguments to continue to commit myself, even after my time with aidsfocus.ch.

A new phase has also started for aidsfocus.ch – you can already tell by looking at the new format of the  aidsfocus.news and of the Website, significantly shaped by Martina Staenke.  The new coordinator of aidsfocus.ch is Carine Weiss, who brings along a lot of experiences in the field of health cooperation, in particular sexual and reproductive health. Of course, many things are new, but I hope that the verve and energy for a future without Aids remains.

August 2014

Helena Zweifel

Coordinator aidsfocus.ch

Executive Director Medicus Mundi Switzerland

helenazweifel@hotmail.com

This is Helena Zweifel’s farewell letter; it gives me the opportunity to introduce myself to you as the new project leader for the MMS Network – my name is Carine Weiss. I am looking forward very much to the challenge of continuing aidsfocus.ch with power and energy. Helena Zweifel deserves our heartfelt thanks and recognition for her tireless dedication for aidsfocus.ch!

In this first Newsletter under new leadership we focus on the launch of the NEW WEBSITE WWW.AIDSFOCUS.CH. I cordially invite you to surf and explore our new website.

Here you will now find all information about aidsfocus.ch from Helena Zweifel’s work period. As specialised platform, aidsfocus.ch will continue to inform and sensitise you about HIV and Aids and to promote the exchange of information and experiences. The exchange of knowledge under the heading „NEWS“ is bases on constantly updated knowledge and experiences between various actors in the field of HIV and Aids and of international cooperation. On this groundwork, aidsfocus.ch continues to advertise with its Advocacy Work for unrestricted access to comprehensive HIV-prevention, treatment, care and support for all people affected. As an estimated 35 million people still live with HIV today, whereby up to 50 per cent have not been informed that they are HIV-positive (UNAIDS GAP Report).

The Website is still being built up. Your feedback, suggestions and proposals are highly welcome!

Hence, I am looking forward to being a part of aidsfocus.ch and to being actively involved in a vivid exchange with you!

September 2014

Carine Weiss, MSc MIH

Coordinator aidsfocus.ch

Project leader Medicus Mundi Switzerland

cweiss@medicusmundi.ch

info@aidsfocus.ch

AIDS 2014

Melbourne DECLARATION - Nobody left behind!

Melbourne, 25 July 2014: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscious and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." - Articel 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

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AIDS 2014 ends with calls for uniting HIV, Global Health and Human Rights

Melbourne, 24 July 2014 –The International AIDS Conference ended in Melbourne, Australia with a chorus of international figures calling on governments and organisations to step up the pace in terms of delivering universal access to treatment, care and prevention, not only for HIV but for other health issues as well.

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Helen Clark: Beyond the MDGs: HIV and the Post-2015 Agenda

Melbourne, 26 July 2014 – Last year, there was huge outreach facilitated by the UN development system to hear from the world’s peoples about what they wanted to see in the new agenda. More than three million people are now estimated to have engaged – most through the on-line MyWorld survey, but many also through national consultations which reached out to a very wide cross section of people.

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Of guidelines, targets and resources: the documents that defined the 2014 International AIDS Conference

24 July 2014 - If there was a phrase that defined the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014), one that surfaced in every few presentations and kept turning up in documents, it was “key affected populations”.

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Cash transfers plus care halve HIV risk behaviours in South African adolescents

Melbourne, 22 July 2014 - Combining unconditional economic support in the form of government cash transfers, school feeding and food gardens, and psychosocial support (positive parenting and teacher social support) reduced incidence of HIV risk behaviour by around half for both female and male adolescents in South Africa, Dr Lucie Cluver of the University of Oxford told participants at the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) in Melbourne on Monday.

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Decriminalise sex work to help control Aids pandemic, scientists demand

22 July 2014 - Sex work must be decriminalised if the world is to stand a chance of controlling the Aids pandemic, say scientists contributing to a series of research papers in the Lancet medical journal. Sex workers, whether female, male or transgender, are subject to repression, violence and abuse even at the hands of those who are supposed to uphold the law, according to the series of seven research papers presented at the International Aids Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Fear of the police and other authorities, as well as the abuse itself, prevents sex workers protecting themselves from HIV infection.

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AIDS 2014 Conference: stepping up the pace and still on the wrong path

18 July 2014 - As the 20th International AIDS Conference opens in Melbourne this weekend, Alice Welbourn reflects on how global policies still fail to acknowledge the gender dimensions of this pandemic, or take into account the new broader medico-ethical debates which echo many of the concerns of women living with HIV.

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Information from the swiss community of practice

LOVE LIFE Campaign 2014 - No regrets

The new LOVE LIFE campaign, “No Regrets”, does just what it says on the tin: it’s all about joie de vivre and worry-free sex. The campaign shows that enjoying life and your body needn’t cause you worry – because if you keep yourself safe, you won’t have any regrets.

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WHO Empfehlung unrealistisch für die Schweiz

Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation WHO empfiehlt Risikogruppen, die präventive Einnahme von HIV-Medikamenten. Die Aids-Hilfe Schweiz hat den Bericht der WHO zur Kenntnis genommen. Wir weisen darauf hin, dass ein Kondom nach wie vor den besten Schutz vor HIV, und einen guten Schutz vor sexuell übertragbaren Infektionen (Geschlechtskrankheiten) bietet.

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HIV treatment in mobile clinics or health centers

Melbourne, July 2014 - The study shows that there is no differences in retention in care in patients starting antiretroviral treatment at HIV mobile clinics or health centers in rural Mozambique.

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Im südlichen Afrika bleibt die Situation werdender Mütter dramatisch

Wendekreis, Juli 2014 - Die Bilanz zu MDG 5 ist ernüchternd: Weltweit wurden sehr unterschiedliche Fortschritte bei der Verbesserung der Gesundheit von Frauen gemacht.

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International news

“Fast Track: Ending AIDS by 2030” (General Assembly of the United Nations )

Bern, 25.09.2014 - New York, 25.09.2014 - Address by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Didier Burkhalter, delivered at the high-level week of the 69th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations - Check against delivery

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Countries ready to “Fast Track” response to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 25 September 2014 - A new fast-track strategy proposes rapid and massive acceleration of HIV prevention and treatment programmes with a people-centred approach for ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. This call and new commitments were made at a high-level side event entitled Fast track: Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

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Landmark HIV diagnostic access program will save $150m and help achieve new global goals on HIV

NEW YORK, 25 September 2014 - Roche today announced a major Global Access Program to sharply lower the price of HIV viral load tests in low- and middle-income countries. This new initiative creates a ceiling price of US$ 9.40 per test, and will reduce Roche’s average price by more than 40% in low- and middle-income countries. When fully implemented, the Global Access Program is projected to save more than US$ 150 million in costs over the next five years.

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Ebola, polio, HIV: it’s dangerous to mix healthcare and foreign policy

The Guardian - Using health workers and campaigns to cover political meddling undermines the trust that is essential in an emergency.

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Strictly Beza: Dancing in Ethiopia

September 2014 - Today's young people are the first generation that has never known a world without HIV and AIDS. In Ethiopia, half of the population is under the age of 24. Among the older generation, cultural attitudes towards sexual health issues are making it difficult for young people to arm themselves with the knowledge they need to keep themselves safe.

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Ambitious new targets for HIV treatment scale-up

18 September 2014 - Leading academic, policy, industry and HIV community members gathered at a major AIDS summit held in London, United Kingdom, on 18 September have concurred that ending the AIDS epidemic as a global health threat is possible. Reaching this goal, participants agreed, will demand effective use of available tools, including ambitious new targets for HIV treatment scale-up.

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Decriminalise sex work to help control Aids pandemic, scientists demand

22 July 2014 - Sex work must be decriminalised if the world is to stand a chance of controlling the Aids pandemic, say scientists contributing to a series of research papers in the Lancet medical journal. Sex workers, whether female, male or transgender, are subject to repression, violence and abuse even at the hands of those who are supposed to uphold the law, according to the series of seven research papers presented at the International Aids Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Fear of the police and other authorities, as well as the abuse itself, prevents sex workers protecting themselves from HIV infection.

read more...

Leveraging HIV Treatment to End AIDS, Stop New HIV Infections, and Avoid the Cost of Inaction

1 July 2014 - We have the tools at our disposal to significantly bend AIDS-related morbidity and mortality curves and reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence. It is thus essential to redouble our efforts to reach the goal of placing 15 million people on life-saving and -enhancing antiretroviral therapy (ART) by 2015. In reaching this milestone, we can write a new chapter in the history of global health, demonstrating that a robust, multidimensional response can succeed against a complex pandemic that presents as many social and political challenges as it does medical ones.

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Reports, studies and a trainer manual

UNAIDS report shows that 19 million of the 35 million people living with HIV today do not know that they have the virus

Geneva, 16 July 2014 — In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 90% of people who know their HIV-positive status are on treatment—ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 will require smart scale-up to close the gap.

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Stigma, ambivalence and other priorities – explaining poor adherence to PrEP and vaginal microbicides

19 September 2014 - HIV stigma, the danger of being mistakenly labelled as having HIV, ambivalence about the research process, confusion about the use of antiretrovirals to prevent infection, as well as the need to balance trial participation with other priorities and social relationships all shaped South African women’s experience of using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or a microbicide gel within a clinical trial, according to a qualitative study.

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For young activists and youth organizations - Making the money work for young people: a participation tool for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

This tool has been developed in collaboration between the PACT—a global alliance of 25 youth organizations working on HIV—UNAIDS and the Global Fund Secretariat. It aims to increase young people’s effective and meaningful participation in the Global Fund, with a specific emphasis on opportunities to participate at the national level.

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World drug report 2014: more needs to be done to tackle injecting drug use and HIV

26 June 2014 There must be a stronger focus on the health needs and human rights of all people who use drugs, especially people who inject drugs and are living with HIV, according to World drug report 2014, launched on 26 June—International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking—by UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov.

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Unite women against violence

The AIDS response is producing exciting results and we can already foresee a time when the AIDS epidemic could end. Yet, the promises of science, politics and economic development will not be realized if we do not unite with women against violence as an integral part of the HIV response.

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Events

„Not without us! “ Youth and sexual and reproductive health in international cooperation

MMS Symposium 5 November 2014 - It has now been twenty years since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICDP) in Cairo set new principles and criteria on sexual and reproductive health and rights. The ICDP exposed the fact that issues of population increase and social as well as economic growth can only be brought forward with a rights based approach.

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