Международная коалиция по готовности к лечению

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says a UN declaration on Aids fails to deliver the clearest message.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/5039948.stm

UN Aids wording frustrates Annan

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has accused some countries of putting their”heads in the sand” in failing to spell out the truth about Aids. He told the BBC he was disappointed a declaration at a UN Aids conference didnot specify homosexuals, prostitutes and drug addicts were at risk.

But Mr Annan still said the declaration was better than he had expected.

The declaration commits countries to work towards universal access to Aids care by 2010.

It also recognises the fight against the disease will cost $23bn (?12bn) by then, but does not specify how this will be raised.

‘Silence is death’

Mr Annan said he would have preferred a clearer message.

“You need to call a spade a spade,” he said.

“You cannot deal with a problem without confronting the issue of the most vulnerable who need assistance most. It’s counter-productive. It’s like putting your head in the sand and saying I don’t want to know.”

Mr Annan accused the African and Middle Eastern leaders who kept references to homosexual men, prostitutes and drug users out of the final declaration of being short-sighted.

The secretary general said politicians had to show more leadership because, on this issue, silence was death.

The UN declaration emphasises sexual abstinence, fidelity and condom use as the best ways to tackle Aids.

UN officials said the declaration referred to the importance of empowering women and girls, and used detailed language on prevention, including specific references to male and female condom use.

Certain countries frowned upon that terminology for fear of promoting promiscuity.

Some activists were furious that vulnerable groups were being rendered “invisible”.

Aditi Sharma, HIV/Aids co-ordinator for ActionAid International, said: “It is incomprehensible how negotiators could come up with such a weak declaration when we needed urgent action to stop 8,500 people dying and 13,500 people from becoming infected every day.”

UNAids says Aids has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognised in 1981.

It estimates that 38.6m people are living with HIV worldwide.

In 2001, world leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS to discuss the pandemic’s growing threat to global health and security and to declare promises on scaling up treatment and prevention in order to aggressively fight AIDS.

Five years later 15 million AIDS deaths later, 25 million new HIV infections later, THE WORLD IS STILL WAITING FOR OUR LEADERS TO TAKE UP THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS.

From May 31-June 2, world leaders are again meeting at the 2006 UNGASS to evaluate the progress made towards their original goals from 2001 and to renew their commitments to fighting the global pandemic. As individuals and organizations dedicated to ending AIDS, we must hold them accountable to their failures, and pressure them to initiate large-scale action to address the urgent public health crisis of HIV/AIDS.

We are a coalition of AIDS service organizations and activist groups who have been working over the past few months to mobilize thousands of PLWHAs, U.S. and international AIDS activists, drug-users, sex-workers, MSM, youth and other civil society delegates for a large rally and march at midday on May 31, 2006 near the UN. Together, we will capture the attention of government decision-makers, national and international media, and the general public to spotlight the successes and failures of the global HIV/AIDS fight. We hope you will sign on in a show of support for our efforts.

We are pleased to inform you that exactly one year after the Indian Patent (Amendment) Act (2005) passed, on 26 March 2005, we are able to share with you a searchable database of “mailbox drugs”. The existing database of the Indian Patent Controller was not searchable, nor did it provide critical information regarding disease or priority. Over the last year, we worked to improve the government’s database and are happy to share with you the second installment, available at:

http://www.lawyerscollective.org/lc_hivaids/amtc/mailbox

What can you do with this information? Firstly, you can search by disease for drugs that may be patented soon, and may not be available, affordable or accessible in the near future. Secondly, you can engage in the Indian procedure of pre-grant opposition whereby any interested person can oppose the granting of patents on these drugs. Thirdly, you can engage in advocacy against the drug companies seeking to obtain patents (or monopolies) on these drugs.

We are still hoping to improve on the database so do send us your comments at aidslaw2@lawyerscollective.org. Also, we will be regularly updating and releasing the mailbox drugs database and hope to soon bring you completely up to date.

in Argentine, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay

The results of M&E experiences of the Declaration of Commitment in the fight against HIV/AIDS in former processes did not meet the expectations of communities; and Member Status of the UN easily avoided compliance of their commitments. Presently, in the year of 2006, communities and civil society organizations are strengthened through global mobilization and participation, and are able to develop their own initiatives, which are not only reflected in a report as such which analyses policy and technical questions, but also takes into consideration active processes that include distribution, implementation and follow-up on the DoC.

With the purpose to inform widely on the findings of the M&E activity in the Southern Cone of South America, LACCASO, GESTOS and GAPA/SP invite you to join us at the LAUNCHING of the:
a) Comparative Report on UNGASS Southern Cone (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile) Edited by LACCASO
b) Monitoring of the UNGASS DoC on behalf of the Brazilian civil society; Edited by the Foro UNGASS Brasil, GAPA/SP, GESTOS, and the Health Institute São Paulo (Instituto de Salud de São Paulo).
The event is sponsored by UNAIDS, Misereor and AID for AIDS

The report and press release are available online at http://www.aidstreatmentaccess.org
The ITPC report finds that the world will fall far short of the internationally declared goal of “near universal access” to AIDS treatment unless specific barriers to treatment scale up are addressed urgently. Despite some important areas of progress since ITPC’s first report in November 2005, serious barriers – including halfhearted national and international leadership, sluggish implementation of reforms, poor logistics and technical support, and serious funding shortfalls – have not been adequately addressed and continue to plague delivery of AIDS treatment in less developed countries. Unless real change happens in the way national and international programs do business, the pledge to provide universal access by 2010 will be a cruel joke for people living with HIV and AIDS around the world.

WHO Needs To Restructure its HIV/AIDS Policies, Efforts, Opinion Piece Says

The “greatest tribute” to World Health Organization Director-General Lee Jong-wook – who died in Geneva on Monday after undergoing emergency surgery for a blood clot in his brain – “would be a new commitment to implementing policies that work,” Carol Adelman, director of the Center for Science in Public Policy at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., writes in an International Herald Tribune opinion piece. After WHO failed to achieve the 3 by 5 program goal, which aimed to have three million HIV-positive people in the developing world receiving antiretroviral drugs by 2005, the agency now must “reach out beyond its normal circles of consultants and government health ministries in order to work with local doctors, clinics, hospitals and businesses in fighting [HIV/]AIDS and other diseases,” Adelman writes. “Sound medical and public health policies, not publicity and exaggerated numbers, should be WHO’s priority,” she says. “The world’s global health authority must ... focus on testing and evaluation, responsible treatment and monitoring of [HIV/]AIDS patients” in order to “achieve the desired ... outcome” of “break[ing] down the real obstacles to [HIV/]AIDS treatments,” Adelman writes. “It is time for WHO to rethink its strategies and modus operandi,” Adelman says, concluding, “Good intentions are not good enough” (Adelman, International Herald Tribune, 5/23).

The week of 20-26 May, 2006 offers a key opportunity to express collective alarm at the lack of progress our governments have made in tackling the AIDS epidemic.

Because this week spans the World Health Assembly, the HIV/AIDS UNGASS+5 review and the forthcoming G8 summit, it sets the stage for civil society-icd demands/actions in each country, and mobilizing a wider coalition against HIV/AIDS.

The week is a great opportunity to influence policy-makers and generate national media attention and coverage of the unique perspectives and priorities of people living with IIIV and civil society before national delegations head to New York for the UNGASS review.

It presents the key strategic AIDS advocacy moment of the year.

Global Fund still funding drug legalization, needle exchange and prostitution despite restrictions against such funding WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to debate increasing the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund, they should be aware that the protections they put in the original Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are not being observed. Instead funding for drug legalization, needle exchange and prostitution are being promoted within the bureaucratic nightmare that is the Global Fund.
“Despite contributing the most to the fund, the United States has little power to stop U.S. taxpayer money from being funneled to groups that support activities most Americans oppose such as prostitution and needle exchange programs. In addition, a large number of grants are awarded to entities controlled by George Soros, an advocate for euthanasia, abortion and drug legalization,” said FRC Vice President of Government Affairs Tom McClusky.
“President Bush’s ultimate goal when he announced his Global AIDS initiative is one that is shared by American families: to show compassion to the numerous afflicted people throughout the world in the best way possible,” McClusky continued, “Spending U.S. taxpayers’ monies on furthering prostitution and drug abuse does not help one single human being suffering from AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria.”
“If such funds are to be spent, better they go through a U.S.-controlled program, like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Only then can we better guarantee taxpayer monies are not being spent to counter official U.S. policies, but instead are used effectively in stopping the spread of these horrible diseases and in better treating people already afflicted.”

Expanding Access to Female Condoms to Stem the Spread of HIV Panel Discussion and Launch of New Campaign
FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2006 * 9:30-11:00 am * Beekman Tower Hotel * 3 Mitchell Place, at 1st Avenue and East 49th Street New York, NY
The spread of HIV infections among women worldwide is accelerating, and both women and men in vulnerable and marginalized populations have limited access to existing prevention technologies. Since the female condom was first introduced, access has been limited in part due to myths and misconceptions which have limited investment by governments and international donors. This lack of investment has, in turn, kept the per-unit cost of female condoms unnecessarily high.
Join the Center for Health and Gender Equity, the International Women’s Health Coalition, the World YWCA and Action Aid Uganda to learn about the latest research on the potential for female condoms to help slow the spread of HIV among women and men worldwide, and learn about the Prevention Now! Campaign–an international grassroots advocacy effort with the goal of dramatically increasing access to female condoms and other existing prevention methods by demanding increased investment by governments and international donor agencies NOW! Discussion of the campaign will focus both on efforts to increase US global funding as well as brainstorming, ideas and strategies for campaigns worldwide.