This post comes to us from Hilary Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau / Vice President for Advocacy:
HIV / AIDS has affected all of us. Being a child in the 60’s and 70’s, I often liken the struggle against HIV /AIDS to the Vietnam War: For almost everyone in my generation, we all knew and probably loved someone who served or tragically lost their lives serving our Nation in Southeast Asia. Likewise, today almost everyone, regardless of where they live or what race or ethnicity they might be, knows at least one person who is struggling with or who has lost their battle with AIDS.
To honor those who have fought or are fighting HIV / AIDS firsthand, we must each do all we can to stop the spread of AIDS, and work towards its eradication. On a personal level, we should be mindful of our behavior and we should get tested. On a larger scale, we should urge all of the governments on the globe, including governments in the Americas, Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, and others to fully use every armament in their arsenal to aggressively fight the battle against the spread of HIV / AIDS and support research to find a cure. Whether it is condom distribution, urging companies to provide free or low-price medicines to those already infected, provide basic education to their population, or the full funding of syringe exchange programs, governments must do more for their people.
Here in the United States, for more than two decades, our country has been fighting the AIDS epidemic with one hand tied behind our back. Finally, in an effort to dramatically improve our government’s response to the HIV / AIDS epidemic, Congress may lift the ban on federal funding for Syringe Exchange Programs, (SEPs). Sadly, it may also impose near-draconian limitations on SEPs that will defeat many of the gains made by the repeal.
The “1,000-foot rule” puts ideology ahead of science and limits local authorities’ ability to create “common sense” effective programs. The CDC, the American Medical Association, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization concur that needle-exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV without increasing illegal drug use.
The NAACP is calling on Members of Congress to lift the federal ban on the use of federal funds for syringe exchange programs and not to impose the unworkable and short-sighted “1000-foot rule”.
As an organization dedicated to social justice and equity, the NAACP is very concerned that HIV/AIDS continues to be a serious health challenge, particularly among African Americans. Although we comprise 12.7% of the U.S. population African Americans are 45% of the 56,300 people who are newly infected with HIV each year, 50% of those living with AIDS and 50% of those who die from AIDS each year. Injection drug use is one of the most common methods of HIV transmission among both Black men and women. Cumulatively, up to 40% of reported AIDS cases among Black males and 47% of reported AIDS cases among Black females are attributed directly to injection drug use or having sex with a partner who is an injection drug user.
If this country is serious about ending the AIDS epidemic, we must use all of the tools available to us. Syringe exchange works, but not with the newly proposed restrictions.
Congress must provide local officials the resources to address their HIV epidemics, strike the ban on federal funding and reject the 1,000-foot rule. We can and must do better.
Today, the Global Health Council hosted a panel discussion on gender, HIV, and why women matter in regard to the disease. In many areas of the world, women and girls are disproportionately affected by the pandemic as they face barriers to prevention, treatment, and care. Three distinguished activists in the fight against HIV/AIDS presented reasons for why such gender inequality exists, and how changes can be made to more effectively treat infected women, mothers, and children.
First to speak was Katherine Fritz of the International Center for Research on Women. Her statements were hopeful, alluding to the encouraging fact that the AIDS death rate has decreased by 17% since 2001. “The tide has turned and we are swimming with the current,” she said in reference to incorporating women’s issues into the greater conversation on AIDS treatment and prevention. While progress has been made, she reminded the audience that many factors, including biological susceptibility, social vulnerability, economic dependency, and a lack of female controlled prevention continue to put women at a disproportionate risk for contracting the virus.
Dr. Lulu Oguda, Senior Medical Officer at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and Heather Boonstra from the Guttmacher Institute contributed to the discussion on HIV and gender by stressing the importance of integration in the medical field, saying that it is imperative that HIV positive, expectant mothers get the treatment they need to prevent transmission of the disease to their children. Unfortunately, many clinics in rural Africa are specialized to deal with only certain aspects of HIV prevention and care. With some clinics providing ART treatments for women and others providing natal and post-natal medication to prevent mother to child infection, it is nearly impossible for an HIV positive, pregnant woman to move from clinic to clinic simply to get the range of treatments she needs, for herself and for her baby.
While providing care for HIV positive women and preventing mother to child transmission continues to present many challenges, it is clear that much that can be done in the future. Treating AIDS as a chronic illness much like diabetes, instead of an emergency issue, will allow patients to take responsibility for their own care. Including comprehensive treatments and integrated services into existing health structures will also make it easier for women to help prevent the transmission of HIV and help the world make strides in eradicating the disease.
Last week, I was lucky enough to chat with Fran Priddy, a senior director of medical affairs at International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). She filled me in on their organization, and all that the work that they’re up to these days—just in time for our World AIDS Day blog series.
Tell me a bit about IAVI?
Our name stands for International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. We were founded about 13 years ago to help accelerate the development of a preventive AIDS vaccine. I think our mission really describes us well: ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for use throughout the world. We work on every aspect of HIV vaccine development, from work in the lab developing new AIDS vaccine candidates for testing to work with the communities to then test the AIDS vaccine candidates.
What’s a typical day like there?
It really depends on what your role is and where you are based. If you’re a nurse in India, you could be giving a vaccine to a trial participant. If you’re a nurse in South Africa, you could be drawing the blood of a trial participant to see what kind of immune responses the vaccine elicited. In East Africa, a clinician could be administering an HIV test for someone who wants to participate in an epidemiology study. In New York, a scientist could be studying blood samples from HIV positive people to look for clues on how to control the virus.
How do you decide where to test for the vaccine?
We usually look for partners that have a solid background in research—universities, medical labs—and in places where we know the epidemic is severe. There has to be community acceptance and desire to do the research, too. So far, we’ve worked in places from Zambia and South Africa to East Africa to India.
Have you been on the ground to see IAVI’s work in action?
I see our impact the most when I visit our partners who are conducting studies. Each research center has a Community Advisory Board (CAB). It’s made up of people from all parts of the community—people who have HIV and want to protect their families, people who participated in trials before, the clergy, mothers and fathers. They make sure the community has a voice and that their concerns are heard. It’s a great experience because you really get to see how HIV has affected each one of them. It’s a big commitment—but they want this to work and they want the research to advance.
Did anyone’s story really stick with you?
I met one CAB member who was a young woman—probably in her early twenties—and just a regular member of the community. She was HIV-infected and had a family. (more…)
Yesterday we posted a great column by Susan Smith Ellis, CEO of our sister organization (RED), commemorating World AIDS Day. But there were plenty of other notable people spreading the word about (RED) in the press. Here’s a recap:
I work in the communications department at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and World AIDS Day is one of the busiest days of the year for us. But this World AIDS Day – my fifth since joining the Foundation – was the first that I’ve spent in Africa, visiting Foundation-supported health clinics and patients in Swaziland.
This morning, after a misty drive up a steep, muddy dirt road, two colleagues and I visited the rural Mkhulamini Clinic. The waiting room was packed with patients; we had only a few minutes to visit with the nurses and give them some supplies donated by Foundation supporters in the U.S.
We also visited the more urban Luyengo Clinic, where we talked with the staff about the challenges they face in their prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV program. They told us how hard it is for pregnant women to disclose their HIV status to their husbands, and how some HIV-positive women stop coming for treatment after childbirth, because once their babies have been treated they no longer think it’s important to treat themselves.
Despite all the obstacles, the hardworking staff at both the Luyengo and Mkhulamini clinics help to prevent countless pediatric HIV infections each year.
But the most moving part of my day was our visit to the home of Mfanzile and Zanele Dlamini and their 13-month-old daughter, Phiwayinkhosi (“Phiwa” for short). The Dlaminis are patients at Mkhulamini Clinic – both Mfanzile and Zanele are living with HIV. Zanele received PMTCT services while pregnant with Phiwa, and so far the baby has tested HIV-negative – she’ll take her final test at 18 months.
Mfanzile and Zanele have almost nothing. They live in a tiny, one-room house with no running water and just one small bed. They survive through subsistence farming and Mfanzile’s small salary as a night watchman. They struggle to get enough food. But thanks to the antiretroviral medication and PMTCT services they receive, the Dlaminis are alive and they have hope for a healthy future.
When I looked into baby Phiwa’s eyes, I saw that hope. I envisioned her 20 years from now, as a healthy young woman. We can make it happen if we all work together – it’s time to create a generation free of HIV.
To mark World AIDS Day 2009 today, the World Bank hosted a robust panel of speakers under the theme of “Keeping the Promise, Investing in the Future: Linking HIV/AIDS, Food Security and Maternal and Child Health.”
Debrework Zewdie, Director of Global HIV/AIDS Program at the World Bank moderated the discussion, which featured remarks from Bob Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director at the Bank, and Beldina Atieno, a teacher and mother living with HIV in Kenya, who put a personal face on the numbers and statistics.
Jack Lew, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Jean Pape, Director of GHESKIO in Haiti both addressed the audience as well, and were followed by a panel discussion featuring Eric Goosby, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Joy Phumpahi, Former Minister of Health in Botswana and Julian Schweitzer, Acting Vice President of the Human Development Network. Frank Sesno, Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, moderated the panel.
Much of the discussion centered on the progress the global community has made in the fight against AIDS, while recognizing the profound challenges that still exist. The speakers also urged donors, countries and international partners to maintain and scale-up their efforts to fight the disease. These efforts must be collaborative and comprehensive, they noted, and they must attack the root of HIV with prevention efforts and measures to combat stigma around the world.
Many speakers, including Beldina Atieno, discussed the growing importance of nutrition in combating AIDS. Without proper nutrition, she explained, the effectiveness of anti-retroviral drugs is threatened, especially in children. Increasing food prices and declining food security are exacerbating the AIDS epidemic, the panelists concluded.
One message that resonated with the audience at this year’s World AIDS day was that it is indeed possible to halt the spread of AIDS. Tackling food insecurity, honoring commitments, working with international partners and reducing the stigma associated with AIDS can make tremendous strides in the fight to end the disease.
In honor of World AIDS day, our friends at Africare have uploaded another inspiring video in their Pass it On! series. This short film shot in Dodoma, Tanzania shows how young artists represent AIDS and express how the virus has impacted their lives in drawings and paintings. Watch the video here and discover how some are healing through art.
Each day, more children are orphaned and left to assume the roles of adulthood as parents are killed by AIDS; currently over two million children in Sub-Sahara Africa are alone in the world. With a growing number of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC), the disease has become more than just a heath crisis. However, there is hope as work is being done, through Africare and other organizations, to increase community-based outreach to empower youth impacted by AIDS. Learn more about COPE, The Community-based Orphan Care Protection and Empowerment Project, and more about what is being done to help those who have been affected by HIV/AIDS on Africare’s website.
How will you help today? Just pass the knowledge on.
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This post comes to us from Hilary Shelton, Director of the 
I work in the communications department at the 
Despite all the obstacles, the hardworking staff at both the Luyengo and Mkhulamini clinics help to prevent countless pediatric HIV infections each year.
