The World Bank states that as of the end of 2004, 39 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS, of which more than 95 per cent were in low- and middle-income countries. Nearly two-thirds are in sub-Saharan Africa, and nearly one in five in South or Southeast Asia. The World Bank has been carrying out efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS and mitigate its impact since the late 1980s. Most efforts have been over the last decade: only 9 free-standing AIDS projects and 22 with AIDS components of at least $1 million have been completed. Nearly two thirds of its global projects and commitments have been launched since 2000, the majority of which are accounted for in the Africa Multi-Country AIDs Programme (MAP).
Equity and HIV/AIDS
Listening and learning are crucial in the response to HIV and AIDS
Is high level HIV and AIDS policy cut off from the reality on the ground? Ingrid Young, editor of the Eldis HIV and AIDS Resource Guide, argues that policymakers need to listen to and learn from each other as well as from communities who are experiencing and responding to the crisis. "The development community needs to focus on what communities and organisations are already doing, not only in their response to HIV and AIDS, but also in terms of how they share their information and experiences and how they collectively identify challenges and solutions," she writes.
The pharmaceutical industry and access to ARVs in Africa
Health Action International Briefing Paper
"The private pharmaceutical industry remains the most important source for the global supply of ARVs today. While the research-based pharmaceutical companies have been responsible for development of many of the medicines used to treat HIV/AIDS, the generic industry for its part has contributed enormously to making widespread treatment possible in the developing world, because of their innovative fixed dose combination tablets (FDCs) and their more affordable prices relative to their brand-name equivalents. FDCs mean that all the required medicines can be combined into one pill which often patients take just once or twice a day."
Elusive trail of AIDS funds to NGOs in Africa
Reuters news report
Where have the billions of dollars poured into Africa to fight AIDS gone? A lot of this money is channelled through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) mainly to pay for life-prolonging drugs and education campaigns on a continent where many national healthcare systems are broke and in tatters. Donors increasingly prefer to fund NGOs rather than African governments, many of which are seen as corrupt. But because the NGOs number in the thousands, it is unclear how much money they have received or how it was used.
Food and nutrition implications of antiretroviral therapy in resource limited settings
Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (FANTA)
This technical note from the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) Project provides information and guidance about the food and nutrition implications of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource limited settings. It discusses the effects of food on medication efficacy, the effects of medication on nutrient utilisation, the effects of medication side effects on food consumption, and unhealthy side effects caused by medication and certain foods. It also outlines ways to manage the effects of these drug-food interactions, with a particular focus on food security constraints in resource limited settings.
Hunger crisis: learning from southern Africa
Id21 Research Highlight
How is the HIV/AIDS pandemic affecting food security in Lesotho, Malawi and Mozambique? How can humanitarian agencies speed up their response to hunger crisis in Africa? These are just two of many questions emerging from an independent evaluation of the 2002-2003 Disasters Emergency Committee Southern Africa Crisis Appeal. In 2001, abnormal rains led to flooding and water logging, substantially reducing maize production. Unable to store maize, farmers were forced to sell at low prices early in the season, and buy back at inflated prices later. The food crisis situation in Malawi - combined with chronic poverty, HIV/AIDS, poor governance, political instability, and misguided market reforms of neighboring countries – led to catastrophe throughout the region.
HIV/AIDS and rural livelihoods – communicating NGO good practice
The HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa is deeply affecting rural livelihoods. The loss of adults of a working age means lower agricultural production, more households being headed by elderly people or children, and a breakdown in transmission of agricultural skills. The innovative experiences of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in responding to these needs have rarely been documented or disseminated.
Is poverty or wealth at the root of HIV?
The Lancet 2005
"Poverty and lack of economic opportunity are commonly cited as important contributors to the AIDS epidemic. Thus recent findings from the Tanzania 2003–04 HIV/AIDS indicator survey may come as a surprise. The evidence is just the opposite. This nationally representative survey measured wealth in terms of physical characteristics of the household and household possessions. Household wealth is strongly positively related to HIV prevalence." (Requires registration)
Rationing Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV/AIDS
In the past three years, expanding access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS has become a global objective and a national priority for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Large-scale treatment programs have been launched in countries spanning the continent from Lesotho to Ghana, paid for by domestic funds mobilized by African governments and by international donor contributions. While these funds, which reach into the billions of dollars, will pay for ART for many thousands of HIV-positive Africans, there is almost no chance that African countries will have the human, infrastructural, or financial resources to treat everyone who is in need.
Using research to promote gender and equity in the provision of anti-retroviral therapy in Malawi
This paper explores the importance of using research to promote gender and equity in the provision of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in Malawi. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the importance of operational research in advocating for programmes that are gender sensitive and can contribute to overall national economic growth and poverty reduction. The paper uses a synthesis of the findings of research in Malawi on how gender roles and relations affect access and adherence to anti-retroviral therapy and to illustrate how these can be used to advocate for more equitable policy and practice.