This British Medical Journal article examines the challenges faced in the World Health Organization's (WHO) '3 by 5' initiative, which aims to deliver anti-retrovirals (ARVs) to 3 million people by 2005. It highlights that the focus on delivering ARVs distracts resources and attention from a broader model of health care. They argue that the initiative must develop a chronic disease model of care through a strengthened public health infrastructure. The authors also point out the exclusionary power of stigma and outline the need for training programmes for health care workers on medical ethics and human rights.
Equity and HIV/AIDS
Barriers to care of HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries
European Parliament resolution on World AIDS Day
"The European Parliament ...Calls on the EU to continue to prioritise sexual and reproductive health issues through funding programmes on family planning, and in particular to influence sexual behaviour through risk-reduction strategies, to educate young people, and especially girls and young women, about STIs and HIV, and to encourage condom usage in combination with other contraceptive methods and combat any misinformation spread on the effectiveness of condoms..."
Further details: /newsletter/id/30736
Malawi NGO breaks silence around HIV/AIDS
In a small village in Kaswela in Karonga district in the northern region of Malawi, 35-year-old Lucy Banda has been critically ill for a year, and her neighbours suspect she is HIV-positive. Despite numerous visits to the hospital, Banda shows no signs of improvement and spends most of her time lying on her mat, unable to talk or eat properly. A community based NGO in the district, Chipulikano Orphan Care (COC), is trying to address the problem of caring for orphans and vulnerable children, as well as raising awareness about AIDS within families - traditionally a taboo subject.
SA NGO launches countrywide monitoring of ARV rollout
A new project by the South African NGO, Health Systems Trust (HST), will enable communities across the country to provide feedback on progress in the rollout of free anti-AIDS medication. HST, based in the east-coast city of Durban, is developing a monitoring and evaluation tool to screen communities' access to free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, and will also provide technical assistance in lobbying provincial and national government. The national treatment programme has come under fire from activists over the slow pace of delivery and problems with the procurement of ARVs.
Scaling up ARV treatment in Malawi
This International Food Policy Research Institute (IPFRI) discussion paper examines the scaling-up of the STEPS initiative (Scaling Up HIV/AIDS Interventions Through Expanded Partnerships) in Malawi, and the factors which interfere with this process. Topics explored in this paper include: Malawi's national response to HIV/AIDS; the pilot project and the development of the community mobilisation model (formerly known as COPE); the scaling up and progress of STEPS; and factors that effect the scaling up process, including the catalysts, institutional arrangements, and organisational capacities. The paper also looks at community-level factors and financing, as well as threats to scaling up, including HIV/AIDS and the ongoing food crisis in the context of widespread and deep poverty, and underdevelopment.
Aids epidemic update 2004
The annual AIDS epidemic update reports on the latest developments in the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. With maps and regional summaries, the 2004 edition provides the most recent estimates of the epidemic’s scope and human toll, explores new trends in the epidemic’s evolution, and features a special section on women and AIDS.
Barriers to better care for people with AIDS in developing countries
Access to good quality antiretroviral treatment has transformed the prognosis for people with AIDS in the developed world. Although it is feasible and desirable to deliver antiretroviral drugs in resource poor settings, few of the 95% of people with HIV and AIDS who live in developing countries receive them. The World Health Organization has launched a programme to deliver antiretroviral drugs to three million people with AIDS in the developing world by 2005, the "3 by 5" initiative. This article identifies some of the challenges faced by the initiative, focusing on delivery of care.
Book to mobilise politicians to fight HIV/AIDS in Lesotho
In an effort to mobilise leaders to fight HIV/AIDS, the parliament of Lesotho and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) have launched a publication called "What Parliamentarians can do about HIV/AIDS Action for Children and Young People". The publication provides parliamentarians with guidelines for responding to the challenge of protecting children and young people through laws, policies, advocacy, education and providing these vulnerable groups with tools to empower them.
Child AIDS research 'critical' for regional development in Southern Africa
The South African social services and population development minister, Zola Skweyiya, has said research into the effect of HIV/AIDS on children is critical for the region's future development. Skweyiya told his southern African counterparts at a recent meeting in Cape Town that the virus was devastating communities and families, and aggravating poverty by killing society's most productive members. According to the South African Press association, he urged that the pandemic be tackled "more vigorously, in an integrated manner".
Equity and access to HIV/AIDS treatment: getting the balance right in southern Africa
All people with HIV/AIDS should have equal opportunity to access effective and appropriate treatment. However, in the context of existing social and health inequities, widespread poverty, high rates of new HIV infections, famine and budgetary constraints, increasing access to HIV care and treatment must be organised in a manner that balances HIV prevention and treatment efforts; HIV interventions and the broader strengthening of the health system as a whole; and HIV care and treatment with other public health and social needs.