Global Fund Says Malaria Can Be Defeated

 GENEVA – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said today that new advances in science and implementation have given the global community the opportunity to control malaria and remove it as a threat to global health. 

 

As people in many countries observe World Malaria Day on 25 April, the Global Fund said commitment is needed by all partners in the fight against malaria to expand and intensify efforts, so it can be transformed from a worldwide killer into a manageable and treatable disease.

“We can defeat malaria, if we work together,” said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “We have a chance to control it and sharply reduce the number of children who die from it each year. If we don’t act decisively, we will be counting the cost for generations." 

Huge progress has been made against malaria over the past decade, driven by simple scientific advances like mosquito nets treated with insecticide, quicker diagnostic tests and more effective antimalarial drugs. Better implementation, in programs supported by the Global Fund, has led to the distribution of more than 310 million nets, far broader access to rapid diagnostic tests and treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy.

But these gains could now be in jeopardy. A resurgence of malaria may occur unless increased funding is provided to expand efforts to control the disease. Experts warn that a decline in anti-malarial efforts could quickly allow a return to pre-2000 levels of mortality, when 1.2 million people died from malaria. Today, the total is roughly half that amount.  

Dr. Dybul singled out partners like the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) and the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Financing Health MDGs and for Malaria, Ray Chambers, for their success in raising awareness of the critical need to increase funding.

Earlier this month, the Global Fund announced a target of raising US$15 billion for the 2014-2016 period. When combined with other sources of funding, that will enable global partners to have a transformative effect on AIDS, TB and malaria. 

For malaria, resources would be targeted to achieve universal coverage of insecticide-treated nets and access to effective treatment in the 18 highest-burden countries, where most malaria deaths occur. An additional 200,000 lives could be saved every year than with the funding that is currently available. 

The new funding model recently launched by the Global Fund is expected to achieve greater impact by encouraging ambitious programs and by focusing interventions and financing for specific populations and catchment areas. By reaching highly vulnerable, marginalized and stigmatized groups, including women and girls, sex workers, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, people in prison and migrants, more programs will maximize impact while advancing human rights.

The new funding model also strives to align investments in disease programs with national health strategies while strengthening health systems and serving as a platform for promoting the health of a person rather than only combating specific diseases.

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The Global Fund is an international financing institution dedicated to attracting and disbursing resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria. The Global Fund promotes partnerships between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities, the most effective way to help reach those in need. This innovative approach relies on country ownership and performance-based funding, meaning that people in countries implement their own programs based on their priorities and the Global Fund provides financing where verifiable results are achieved.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has supported more than 1,000 programs in 151 countries, providing AIDS treatment for 4.2 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 9.7 million people and 310 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts in dealing with the three diseases.

For more information, please contact:

                                                                                    

ANDREW HURST

Head of Media and Translations

Mobile: +41795616807

E-mail: Andrew.hurst@theglobalfund.org

Information on the work of the Global Fund is available at www.theglobalfund.org

Follow the Global Fund on Twitter: http://twitter.com/globalfundnews

Join the Global Fund on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theglobalfund

AHF Applauds WHO Decision to Initiate HIV Treatment Earlier

World Health Organization (WHO) announced today at Treatment as Prevention conference in Vancouver, Canada that it will raise treatment initiation guidelines for HIV-positive individuals from a CD4 count of less than 350 to a count of less than 500.

AHF has strongly advocated for WHO to raise the treatment initiation, knowing it will increase the number of people receiving treatment worldwide, resulting in fewer deaths and a reduction in new infections.

Vancouver, Canada (April 23, 2013) — AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today applauded the news that theWorld Health Organization (WHO) is set to raise its treatment initiation guidelines for HIV-positive individuals from a CD4 count of less than 350 to less than 500, allowing people to start treatment earlier.

Ahead of the official announcement of new treatment initiation guidelines which will be released in June at the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, WHO's Treatment and Care coordinator Dr. Meg Doherty offered a preview of the guidelines this morning at Treatment as Prevention workshop in Vancouver, Canada.

“Today’s announcement is a victory for people living with HIV around the globe," said Dr. Penninah Iutung, AHF's Africa Bureau Chief.

According to Doherty, earlier treatment initiation will make 26 million people eligible to receive lifesaving antiretroviral medicine, an increase of 76% from the current 14.8 million.

“Today’s announcement is a victory for people living with HIV around the globe – including Africa,” said Penninah Iutung, M.D. AHF’s Africa Bureau Chief. “WHO’s decision to raise the treatment initiation guidelines removes a major roadblock to lifesaving treatment, as country AIDS programs often look to WHO recommendations when setting policy guidelines. This is a very significant step toward universal access to lifesaving antiretroviral treatment and, treatment-as-prevention.”

“AHF has been vigorously and publicly advocating for WHO to raise the treatment initiation guidelines for many years. We applaud WHO for making this critical—and lifesaving—decision,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “It’s now more important than ever that we stop the current retreat from the global AIDS fight and restore U.S funding levels for PEPFAR and the Global Fund – which have been harmed by cuts proposed by the Obama administration. Even flat-lined funding will prevent this important WHO change from having an impact.”

Studies have shown that earlier treatment initiation is associated with better clinical outcomes, lowering morbidity and mortality in patients. Additionally, a recent clinical trial HPTN 052 has shown that people on antiretroviral therapy are 96% less like to pass the infection to a partner. Given this evidence, earlier treatment initiation, if sufficiently implemented, has the potential to significantly reduce the number of new infections.

The Importance of HIV Treatment Education, Health Literacy, and Wellness Programming

by Moisés Agosto-Rosario

 

I returned to NMAC in 2011 to develop our treatment education, adherence and mobilization division (TEAM). As some of you might remember, 20 years ago, I joined NMAC with the same goal and we were able to develop policies and programs that served as the basis for strong community based HIV treatment education initiatives. All the work accomplished during those years helped thousands of people living with HIV make informed and adequate treatment decisions, enhancing their capacity to adhere to complicated protease based regimens.

Support NMAC's Treatment Education and Adherence Programs! http://nmac.convio.net/donate

Combination therapy was the driving force behind HIV treatment education back then, but today we add other areas that are equally important in not only helping us treat the disease but also prevent transmission. Treatment as prevention has been proven to decrease community viral load and transmission risk, while pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis are effective tools at preventing new infections. All together these biomedical interventions create a path to end AIDS in America. This time around we know that the concept of treatment education must be expanded to include HIV health literacy, but also educate around issues related to comorbidities, aging and overall wellness.

The implementation of the National HIV Strategy and the Affordable Care Act, highlight the growing need for strong programmatic infrastructure and policies to improve HIV health literacy and wellness in communities of color. We believe that for successful implementation, it will be vital to reexamine and reimagine treatment education. As such, on April 3 and 4, the NMAC convened a diverse group of stakeholders ranging from researchers and community based organizations, to government and private funders to participate in the National HIV Treatment Education, Health Literacy and Wellness Think Tank, with the ultimate goal of developing a treatment education plan for the 21st century.

The objectives of the Think Tank were to:

• Understand the current HIV treatment education landscape
• Expand the potential of HIV treatment education/wellness programming
• Identify the challenges social determinants of health pose to successful HIV treatment education programming
• Identify HIV treatment and health literacy guidelines
• Understand the role of patient navigation in ACA and its impact on NHAS goals
• Identify roles of HIV treatment education/wellness in the public, private and NGO sector

Our desired outcomes of the Think Tank were to:

• Establish a blueprint for HIV health literacy and wellness inclusive of social determinants of health
• Identify available funding sources for HIV treatment education/health literacy
• Identify themes for follow-up (i.e., special meetings on a topic, additional think tank, etc.
• Develop recommendations on the role of the public, private and NGO sectors

The think tank consisted of three pillars: assessing and identify the landscape for HIV treatment education, developing a road map on how to transform the field, and developing a framework or blueprint to create an infrastructure responsive to the health literacy needs of people living with HIV and those that serve them.

The result was a robust conversation about the future of treatment education and how it can best be implemented to help bring the HIV epidemic to an end. There were a number of compelling presentations on topics of significance, including an in-depth review of NMAC's paper, "How To Ends AIDS in The united States: community oriented HIV service delivery, treatment education", and mobilization As well as a presentation from Harold Phillips of HRSA, who sought to clarify what the ACA's navigators can and cannot do, what resources are available to implement the program, and recommendations for how the community should re-think Ryan White service categories used for outreach, enrollment, and benefits counseling in light of the ACA.

The enthusiastic exchange of ideas demonstrated that there is renewed energy around treatment education and the development of a plan that can effectively improve health literacy, outcomes, and overall quality of life.

As a result of the think tank we created four working groups to refine the details of the blueprint. Those four working groups are content, policy, social determinants of health, and HIV-positive leadership. As part of the action plan the four working groups will be charged with providing the content or criteria of the future blueprint which will be revealed in draft form at USCA in September and presented to the larger HIV community on World AIDS Day 2013. Stay tuned for updates! And be sure to register for this year’s USCA in New Orleans to learn the latest about our treatment education efforts and how they can help bring an end to this epidemic.

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About NMAC
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) builds leadership within communities of color to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced this mission through a variety of programs and services, including: a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous publications and a website: http://www.nmac.org/.

For more information, contact NMAC directly at (202) 483-NMAC (6622) or communications@nmac.org.

Visit the agency online at http://www.nmac.org/

President of Nigeria Joins Global Fund Efforts to Broaden Fight Against HIV, TB and Malaria

ABUJA –Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Jonathan, agreed to help lead the Global Fund’s efforts to raise funds this year, a critical role in the partnership to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria all over the world.
 

President Jonathan met with Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund, on Monday to discuss joint efforts to control these deadly infectious diseases in Africa’s most populous nation and globally.

Dr. Dybul praised President Jonathan’s effective leadership and personal commitment to expanding health services, embodied by Nigeria’s “Save One Million Lives” initiative that is aiming to dramatically increase access to basic quality health services, particularly for women and children. 

President Jonathan accepted an invitation be a Co-Chair in this year’s replenishment efforts by the Global Fund. Other Co-Chairs include UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and heads of state from developed countries, emerging economies and the private sector.

“Working together, we can make tremendous gains,” said Dr. Dybul. “With the existing science, our understanding of the epidemiology and our collective experience in combating the diseases, we now have an opportunity to control them. If we do not, the long-term costs will be incalculable.”

During his first visit to Nigeria as Executive Director of the Global Fund, Dr. Dybul also met with the Minister of Health, Prof. Chukwu Onyebuchi and Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammad Pate, and other key stakeholders, partners and implementers to discuss opportunities to further strengthen collaboration.  

Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Friends Africa, said: "The upcoming replenishment of the Global Fund is its most critical replenishment and ought to be given the highest levels of support for the fight against these diseases to be won."

Dr. Dybul announced that the Global Fund is providing up to US$ 288 million in additional funding to help accelerate programs to prevent and treat HIV and malaria in Nigeria. This new funding is being made available under a new funding model, and Nigeria is one of 47 countries accessing new funding through renewals, grant extensions and redesigned programs in 2013.

The Global Fund’s latest HIV grants are targeting pregnant women and “most-at-risk” populations such as women and girls, sex workers, people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, while the TB grants support expansion of diagnosis and treatment capacity including treatment of multidrug-resistant TB. 

Malaria grants are aiming to achieve nationwide coverage of mosquito nets through mass campaigns and routine distribution, while at the same time increasing availability of antimalarial medicines and diagnostic tests.   

Despite promising advances in recent years, such as declining AIDS and TB mortality and a sharp increase in the use of insecticide-treated nets, Nigeria faces serious health challenges. Over the last 12 months, Nigeria and the Global Fund signed agreements in worth a total of US$ 560 million to support programs that will help significantly expand prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the three diseases.

Dr. Dybul appealed to President Jonathan to expand domestic investment in health even further. Nigeria has the second-largest number of people living with HIV in the world after South Africa. But only 30 percent of those needing treatment are on antiretroviral therapy and only 16 percent of pregnant HIV-positive mothers are getting prophylactic treatment to prevent them from passing on the virus to their babies.  

The country also has the second-highest child and maternal mortality in the world, in absolute numbers, and accounts for nearly one-third of deaths from malaria globally. While TB mortality has fallen significantly since 2003, case detection rates are still among the lowest in the world.

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The Global Fund is an international financing institution dedicated to attracting and disbursing resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria. The Global Fund promotes partnerships between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities, the most effective way to help reach those in need. This innovative approach relies on country ownership and performance-based funding, meaning that people in countries implement their own programs based on their priorities and the Global Fund provides financing where verifiable results are achieved.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has supported more than 1,000 programs in 151 countries, providing AIDS treatment for 4.2 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 9.7 million people and 310 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts in dealing with the three diseases.

For more information, please contact:

                                                                                    

ANDREW HURST

Head of Media and Translations

Mobile: +41795616807

E-mail: Andrew.hurst@theglobalfund.org

Information on the work of the Global Fund is available at www.theglobalfund.org

Follow the Global Fund on Twitter: http://twitter.com/globalfundnews

Join the Global Fund on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theglobalfund

Pakistan passed the Reproductive Healthcare and Rights Act 2013

The National Assembly of Pakistan unanimously passed the Reproductive Healthcare and Rights Act 2013 on March 12, 2013. The Private Member Bill was introduced by Hon. Dr. Attiya Inayatullah, MP. The bill seeks to promote reproductive healthcare and rights in accordance with the Constitution and to fulfill International commitments made by the Government of Pakistan under the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  This Act will provide comprehensive reproductive healthcare services particularly to women in remote areas and marginalized groups. It aims to curb maternal mortality and morbidity by providing services to pregnant women such as quality antenatal and postnatal care and professionalized obstetric care. It will provide reproductive healthcare information and raise awareness on the mental and physical health and well-being of individuals and families. It also encourages parental responsibility recognizing parents as educators while taking into consideration the religious norms and cultural environment. It will also protect individuals from discrimination against their reproductive lives particularly women who are being discriminated in social, domestic or employment spheres by reasons of pregnancies and motherhood. The AFPPD commends our National Committee the Pakistan Parliamentary Group on Population, Reproductive Health and Development (PPGPRD) for this remarkable milestone of improving the quality of life of all Pakistanis particularly women and mothers. We recognize the invaluable efforts of Hon. Dr. Attiya Inayatullah, MP and Convenor of PPGPRD for ensuring that the bill overcomes the political hurdles in the last three and a half years. The support of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus in the two Standing Committees of Health and Human Rights in the passage of the Bill is duly recognized.

Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Email us Our mailing address is: Payathai Plaza, Suite 9-C, Payathai Road, Bangkok, 10400 Thailand   Tel: (662) 219-2903 Fax: (662) 219-2905 E-mail: afppd@afppd.org Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved.

Call for nominations for 10 vacancies on the GAVI Alliance Civil Society Constituency Steering Committee

Deadline for nominations: 1 May, 2013

GAVI supports a civil society constituency whose role is to advise the Alliance on its policies and practice, support implementation of GAVI’s activities and ensure that views of civil society are heard and engaged throughout its business.

The GAVI CSO Constituency is led by a 15-member Steering Committee (SC).  The SC also includes the CSO representative who sits on GAVI’s Board, the alternate board member and CSO representatives sitting on other GAVI committees, bringing the total number of SC members to 18. The structure and responsibilities of the Steering Committee are outlined in the Constituency’s Charter, which was updated in January 2013. 

Membership on the CSO SC is organisational; organisations are appointed to serve a single, three-year term. SC member organisations are selected based on commitment to follow issues, available time, technical expertise, and representation of the broad and diverse civil society spectrum. Specific attention is paid to country of origin and achieving a balance between advocacy and service-delivery organisations. The SC also strives to maintain a gender balance (GAVI’s gender policy is downloadable here). 

Application process

Full details on the role of SC members can be found on pages 2-4 of the CSO Constituency Charter.  Members are expected to attend two face-to-face meetings per year as well as monthly teleconferences.

All interested organisations should first read the GAVI CSO Constituency Charter in its entirety. Nominations must be supported by a relevant national CSO platform, where one exists (it’s recommended that you include a supporting statement from the platform’s Chair or Coordinator). Nominations without the support of a national CSO platform may not be considered. All SC members should also be able to represent networks and alliances of health-focused CSOs in their country, where applicable.

 

Nominations should be in English and should include:

1.    Organisational information (headquarters, branch offices, key areas of work, contact person submitting the organisational nomination)

2.    Brief organisational statement of reason for interest, skills offered to the Steering Committee, previous involvement in immunisation and organisational resources to be leveraged

3.    Brief CV or biography of the individual who would represent the organisation on the SC

4.    Statement from organisation that they are prepared to support the representative for GAVI CSO Constituency work at a minimum of 10% time

5.    Supporting statement from relevant national CSO platform

Kindly put all requested information in ONE DOCUMENT and include the organisation’s name in the file title. Please do not send multiple documents.

Please submit nominations to GAVICSO.SC.2013@gmail.com no later than close of business Wednesday, 1 May 2013. 

Thank you in advance for your interest, we kindly request that you share this message with all interested parties and apologize in advance for any cross postings.

Kind regards on behalf of the GAVI CSO Steering Committee

Hundreds Rally to “Keep the Promise on AIDS” with AHF, Rev. Al Sharpton, & more in NYC March across Brooklyn Bridge

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK (April 12, 2013) — Hundreds of people joined AIDS Healthcare Foundation in call for funding and support to fight HIV/AIDS in New York—Third “Keep The Promise on AIDS” March and Rally in Brooklyn, NY featured speeches from Reverend Al Sharpton and local dignitaries, as well as performances by several Grammy Award-winning musicians

Sway Calloway, a hip-hop cultural icon and pivotal reporter of over a decade for MTV News, hosted the event, joining in the direct call to President Obama to fund HIV/AIDS care worldwide and reminding the crowd of the importance of AIDS activism between the stirring musical performances.In addition to the free concert, the rally featured inspirational speeches from historic civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, AHF President Michael Weinstein, New York City Council Member (Brooklyn, 33rd District), and New York State Senator (D, District 25), who endorsed New York’s “No Condoms As Evidence” Bill. This legislation prohibits New York City police from using the fact that a person is carrying condoms as a cause for search or arrest for suspicion of such crimes as prostitution. In her speech, Montgomery said using condom carrying against people “undermines sound health policy.”An issue of particular importance raised at the rally was the ongoing funding cuts by the Obama Administration to crucial AIDS programs both global and domestic. About 20 advocates wore T-shirts that prominently displayed the President’s face and the word “SHAME,” signifying his decision to cut $220 million from PEPFAR in FY 2013.

Approximately 500 advocates, community leaders, artists, and citizens participated in the “Keep the Promise on HIV/AIDS” March and Rally on Saturday, April 6th in Brooklyn, New York’s Cadman Plaza Park. The event—the third in a series calling on officials to commit to stopping AIDS—was  hosted by radio and television personality Sway Calloway and among the speakers was the Reverend Al Sharpton, one of America's foremost civil rights leaders who marked his second “Keep The Promise” appearance on Saturday. Transgendered activist DJ Lina showed support by opening the rally on her turntables, and musical guests included hip-hop emcee Cassidy, Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Native Bridget Kelly, Grammy-Award-winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari and the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, a popular New York City-based marching band.

PHOTOS: AHF's "Keep The Promise on AIDS" rally in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza Park prior to the march across the Brooklyn Bridge: (clockwise from top left) Rev. Al Sharpton gives a rousing speech about civil rights for people living with HIV/AIDS, Grammy Award-winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari wows the crowd with classical violin over hip-hop beats; NY State Senator Velmanette Montgomery addresses the crowd; the rallied crowd shows off protest signs; Philadelphia rapper Cassidy, Love Alive International Group Founder Elder Stacey Latimer, AHF President Michael Weinstein, Rev. Al Sharpton, Grammy Award-winner Bridget Kelly, and Grammy Award-winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari gather backstage

Stephen LevinVelmanette Montgomery

PHOTOS:  AHF's "Keep The Promise on AIDS" march across the Brooklyn Bridge saw over 300 protestors marching, carrying signs and globe balloon, and chanting for access to treatment; (top row, center) HIV/AIDS activist Marco Benjamin leads the crowd in chants while sporting a t-shirt decrying Obama's recent funding cuts to PEPFAR that risk the lives of HIV/AIDS patients worldwide

“AIDS rages in gay black men as strongly in America as AIDS rages in Africa,” AHF President Michael Weinstein said in his address to the crowd. “That’s the consequence of devaluing a life.”

“If we don’t fight for civil rights for everybody, then we don’t fight for civil rights for anybody,” said Reverend Sharpton. “There’s one standard, one world, one promise.”

With the crowd’s enthusiasm for this re-birth of AIDS activism piqued after the entertainment and speeches in the early afternoon, the rally transformed into a powerful march that saw the Brooklyn Bridge packed with marchers carrying signs and holding large globe balloons as they streamed into Lower Manhattan to City Hall Park across the iconic span chanting, “What do we want? – Funding for treatment! – When do we want it? – Now!” and “Medication for Every Nation!” 

Link to this article: AIDS Health

7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention

Deadline for Late Registration Fee Approaching

Deadline: 24h00 (CET) on 18 April 2013

Dear Colleague,

This email serves to remind you of the approaching registration deadline for the 7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013) which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 30 June to 3 July 2013.

IAS 2013, the world’s largest open scientific conference on HIV/AIDS, will attract leading scientists, clinicians, public health experts from all over the world, and represents an ideal platform for the examination of the latest developments in HIV-related research. IAS 2013 will take place at an exciting time for HIV science, and recent new findings on very early anti-retroviral treatment including the ‘Mississippi baby’ in the US and the VISCONTI cohort of adult post-treatment controllers in France will be closely analysed.

For the first time, the IAS Conference is hosted in an Asian country. Malaysia sits at the heart of Asia, the largest and fastest growing economic region in the world, and it is a compelling business and international events destination. In 2010, Malaysia welcomed over one million international event visitors, and has hosted several for global health and medical conventions.

Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur is a welcoming, modern, fast growing city with an international and multicultural vibe. IAS 2013 will take place in Kuala Lumpur at the award winning Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, next to the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.

To register for IAS 2013 please click here. For further information and registration fees please visit: http://www.ias2013.org/registration.aspx

Sincerely,

IAS 2013 Conference Secretariat

www.ias2013.org www.iasociety.org

7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 30 June - 3 July 2013

Afghanistan, The Drug Addiction Capital - By Tahir Qadiry - BBC News, Kabul

Afghanistan produces 90% of all opiate drugs in the world, but until recently was not a major consumer. Now, out of a population of 35 million, more than a million are addicted to drugs - proportionately the highest figure in the world. 

Right in the heart of Kabul, on the stony banks of the Kabul River, drug addicts gather to buy and use heroin. It's a place of misery and degradation.

In broad daylight about a dozen men and teenage boys sit huddled in pairs smoking and injecting. Among them are some educated people - a doctor, an engineer and an interpreter. 

Tariq Sulaiman, from Najat, a local addiction charity, comes here regularly to try to persuade addicts to get treatment.

"We are already losing our children to suicide attacks, rocket and bomb attacks," he says. "But now addiction is another sort of terrorism which is killing our countrymen."

At the age of 18, Jawid, originally from Badakhshan in the north of Afghanistan, has already been hooked on heroin for 10 years. His uncle introduced him to drugs when he was a small child, to make him work harder on the land.

"I hate my life. Everyone hates me. I should have been at school at this age, but I am a junkie," he says.

His father is dead. His disabled mother worries about her son constantly. All she wants from life is for him to get clean, but she begs on the streets to pay for his daily dose to prevent him stealing.

"I always tell Jawid if I die, he will end up sleeping under the bridge with other addicts," she says.

This is the fate of the most hardcore addicts, whose fires can be seen at night. Police regularly beat and disperse them, and sometimes throw them in the river.

The reasons why so many Afghans are turning to drugs are complex. It's clear that decades of violence have played a part.

Many of those who fled during the violence of the last 30 years took refuge in Iran and Pakistan, where addiction rates have long been high. They're now returning and bringing their drug problems with them, officials say.

Unemployment - which currently stands at nearly 40% - is also taking its toll.

"If I had a job, I wouldn't be here," says Farooq, one of the addicts by the river, who has a degree in medicine and once worked as a hospital manager.

He says he takes drugs "to be calm and to relax" - but that he would prefer to be dead than a junkie, as he now is.

Another factor is the increasing availability of heroin, which over the last decade has begun to be refined from raw opium in Afghanistan itself.

To buy heroin in Kabul is "as easy as buying yourself something to eat", addicts say. One gram costs about $6 (£3.91), and it's available in every corner of the city.

"Traditionally, what we tend to argue is that the demand causes the supply," says Jean-Luc Lemahieu, regional representative of the UN drugs agency UNODC - one of the few organisations working on drug eradication in Afghanistan.

"What we have forgotten, though, is that… the sheer appearance of that product on the market causes a local demand."

When foreign troops arrived in Afghanistan in 2001, one of their goals was to stem drug production. Instead, they have concentrated on fighting insurgents, and have often been accused of turning a blind eye to the poppy fields.

Opium has been around in Afghanistan for centuries, used as a kind of medical cure-all.

In a hospital in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, I met an Afghan woman, Fatima, who had taken opium while suffering from bleeding after childbirth, because it was cheaper than going to a doctor.

Then she gave it to her baby to stop her coughing during breastfeeding - and now both are addicted.

Women and children account for 40% of the country's drug addicts. While Fatima and her baby are getting treatment at a public hospital, few Afghan addicts get any help at all. All told, the health ministry runs 95 addiction treatment centres around the country, with enough bed space for 2,305 people. Its entire budget for treating the country's one million drug addicts is just $2.2m (£1.4m) per annum - a little over $2 per addict, per year.

Jawid alone consumes heroin worth about three times that every day.

While I was in Kabul, he got a place at the centre run by Tariq Sulaiman's Najat charity. The treatment consists of going "cold turkey" for 72 hours. The participants began by getting their heads shaved. After one day, Jawid was in pain, but he could deal with it. Then, on the second night, he started shouting and crying and banging his head against a wall.

When I met him on the street, he denied that he was back on heroin, but his glazed eyes and rambling speech told a different story. As he disappeared into the snowy twilight, his chances of kicking his habit seemed bleak.

And as Afghanistan faces so many problems on so many fronts, its chances of winning the wider war on drugs seem equally uncertain.

Find out more

• Addiction - Afghanistan's Secret Shame is on BBC World on Saturday 13 April at 0410 GMT, 1710 GMT, 2210 GMT

• Addiction - Afghanistan's Secret Shame

You can follow the Magazine on Twitter and on Facebook

Link to this article: BBC News 

Press Release: India – European Union Free Trade Agreement – Kills People Living with HIV

 

Finalisation of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and European Union is due at the end of April. Under negotiation since 2009, the agreement will include a number of regulations relating to Intellectual Property Rights. There remains a significant risk that these regulations, if approved, will jeopardise the production of essential &affordable generic medicines for a range of health issues including HIV, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases. They pose a threat to India's capacity to produce and export generic drugs, drugs which are significantlylower in price than those manufactured by Multi-National Pharmaceutical Companies (patented drugs).

Due to pressure and monitoring from many civil society organizations all over the world, a number of harmful IP protectionclauses have been removed from the agreement. The EU, however, still insists on the inclusion of a number of clauses that will seriously undermine and limit access to generic medicines. One such clause will require the implementation of Intellectual Property Enforcement Measures that will limit the market of generic medicines. It will do so by allowing the seizure of generic medicines from customs and their destruction based on claims of patent infringement. Under the proposed clause, this action can be taking without having to wait for a court decision examining whether the patent infringement claim is justified.

The proposed regulation on Investment Rules, will further jeopardize access to essential and affordable medicines. As pushed for by the EU, this regulation will leave India exposed to legal action by multi-national pharmaceutical companies if the Indian Government if India where to implement domestic investment related policies that these Pharmaceuticalcompany believe infringe on their patent rights.

Due to this situation, we as community of people living with HIV and civil society organization focusing on HIV based in Jakarta, stand up in solidarity for people living with HIV in India, and strongly oppose the threats to access to anti-retroviral drugs that will becaused by India – EU FTA. We demand for European Union to:

1. Cancel all clauses in EU-India FTA negotiation related to Intellectual Property Rights that will jeopardise the access to generic ARV for PLHIV community all over the world.
2. Cease all action and efforts that aim to only benefit multi-national pharmaceutical companies through economic pressure on resource poor countries in bilateral, regional or multilateral agreements.
3. Prove the EU’s commitment to human rights by putting pressure on multi-national pharmaceutical companies based in European Union to reduce the prices of essential medicines in the market.

In Solidarity,

For more information contact:

Nazarudin Latief (FK2N - Coordinator) Telp. +6282111120055 

Aditya Wardhana (Koalisi AIDS Indonesia ) Telp. +6285814714769

#ODHABerhakSehat

Aditya Wardhana

Indonesia AIDS Coalition

Phone: +62 21 70 8888 27

Mobile: +62 858 147 147 69

Skype: awardhana

Website: www.iac.or.id / www.odhaberhaksehat.org

"Promoting transparency, accountability and civil participation on AIDS response"

Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Policy and Development's Policy Round Up Issue No. 77

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND FAMILY PLANNING

Indonesia mulls to revive family planning program
Indonesian president planned to revive implementation of the country's family planning program in a bid to improve families' life quality and control the population, a minister said here on Monday, March 11. "The head of the state has a great attention on population control issue," Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said, conveying the president's plan on reviving the program that encourages families to raise a maximum of two children.
www.shanghaidaily.com

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China: Li Bin Appointed Minister of National Health and Family Planning Commission
Li Bin, former governor of south China's Anhui Province, was appointed minister of China's newly established National Health and Family Planning Commission at the first session of the 12th National People's Congress held in Beijing in March this year. The National Health and Family Planning Commission is a combination of the National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC) and Ministry of Health (MOH).  As the former vice governor of northeast China's Jilin Province and later director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, Li has long been familiar with health and family planning work. Li is China's fourth woman minister in charge of healthcare. Her predecessors are Li Dequan, Liu Xiangping and Wu Yi.
www.womenofchina.cn

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Philippines: Court halts RH law for 4 months
The Supreme Court (SC) temporarily stopped on Tuesday, March 19 the implementation of the Reproductive Health (RH) law, which is set to take effect on Easter Sunday, March 31. The RH or Responsible Parenthood Law (Republic Act 10354), which provides state funding for contraceptives, was passed by lawmakers late last year despite the Church's opposition, but petitioners questioned its legality on several grounds, saying it offends religious beliefs and fosters abortion, which remains illegal in the country.
www.sunstar.com.ph

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HEALTH

Laos, Vietnam strengthen health sector cooperation
The Ministries of Health of Laos and Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Vientiane on March 14 on strengthening their cooperation in the health sector. The MOU was signed by Lao Health Minister Prof. Dr Eksavang Vongvichit and Vietnam’s Minister of Health Associate Prof. Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Tien. The MOU aims to further strengthen the existing traditional friendship and cooperation between Laos and Vietnam in the field of health, for the mutual benefit of both countries.
http://laospdrnews.wordpress.com/

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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Historic UN code adopted to combat violence against women
Muslim and Western nations overcame deep divisions to agree on a landmark United Nations code to combat violence against women and girls. Iran, Libya, Sudan and other Muslim nations ended threats to block the declaration and agreed to language stating that violence against women could not be justified by "any custom, tradition or religious consideration." Western nations, particularly from Scandinavia, toned down demands for references to gay rights and sexual health rights to secure the accord after two weeks of tense negotiations between the 193 UN member states.
www.thejakartaglobe.com

To read the agreed conclusions click here: http://bit.ly/WByZSE

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Pacific tells UN of violence against women in region
Pacific leaders have told the United Nations that violence affects all aspects of the lives of women and girls in the region. Leaders are meeting in New York at the 57th Commission on the Status of Women. Tuvalu’s Prime Minister, Willie Telavi, addressed the commission on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum. He says studies across the region have shown that two out of three women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
www.rnzi.com

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India Rape Law: Parliament Passes Strict Sexual Violence Legislation
India's Parliament passed a sweeping new law Thursday, March 21 to protect women against sexual violence in response to a fatal December gang rape and beating of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi. The new law, which still requires the president's signature before it becomes official, makes stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment a crime. It also provides for the death penalty for repeat offenders or for rape attacks that lead to the victim's death. The law also makes it a crime for police officers to refuse to open cases when they receive complaints of sexual attacks.
www.huffingtonpost.com

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STUDIES AND ANALYSIS

Study: Global Use of Contraceptives Up, But Not for Long
Since 1990, contraceptive prevalence has increased worldwide and the unmet need for family planning has decreased, but the absolute number of women with a demand for contraception is likely to increase by 2015, according to a study published online March 12 in The Lancet. Leontine Alkema, PhD, from the National University of Singapore, and colleagues used data from nationally representative surveys for women aged 15–49 years to estimate and project indicators of contraceptive prevalence and unmet need for family planning from 1990–2015.
www.jaapa.com

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Xinhua Insight: Combining population and economic policy to push development
China's fresh cabinet restructuring plan has the top economic planning agency assuming the task of creating population policies in the world's most populous nation, a move analysts say will enhance coordination in policy-making and benefit overall development. According to the plan expected to be adopted at the ongoing annual parliamentary session, the existing National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will take on the functions of studying and drawing up population development strategies and policies, which are currently the work of the National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC).
http://news.xinhuanet.com

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Sexual and reproductive health education key to tackle child marriage in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. It also has one of the lowest rates of birth registration in the world which constrains legal protection against child marriages. Two in three women marry before the legal age of marriage, which is 18 for girls, and one in three women start childbearing before the age of 20. Many parents actively push their daughters into early marriage to avoid stains on the family honour by pre-marital sexual activity. Marrying at a young age and early sexual contact put girls at higher risk of sexual health problems, including HIV.
www.girlsnotbrides.org

Attack on Affordable Medicines Continues in EU-India Trade Negotiations

Health groups rally in Delhi as protests spread across the developing world

10 April, 2013, New Delhi­- Thousands of people living with HIV, cancer patient groups & public health activists rallied on the streets of Delhi today calling on the Indian government to reject the EU's demands in the European Union–India Free Trade Agreement (EU–India FTA) negotiations. The protests coincide with the visit of the the Hon’ble Prime Minister to Germany to meet German Chancellor, Dr. Angela Merkel with the FTA at the top of the agenda. On 14-15 April, the Hon’ble Commerce Minister will be in Brussels for ministerial level negotiations to finalise the FTA.

As both sides push for the early conclusion of the FTA , the latest leaks of the negotiating text show that the EU's demands for harmful intellectual property & investment provisions have not stopped. The provisions require India to go beyond its WTO commitments and will have an adverse impact on access to medicines across the developing world.

Mr. Y.K. Sapru of Cancer Patients Aid Association, said “The Supreme Court has kept Section 3(d) alive & intact in a case that has captured global attention & sparked off global debates on the need for developing countries to protect only genuine innovations in medicines & not evergreening. Having failed to get their way at the Supreme Court in the Novartis case, we can expect the EU to push its industry's demands for changes in the Indian law to curb the Indian judiciary.”

Indeed, intellectual property enforcement measures that go beyond the WTO's TRIPS Agreement feature prominently in the leaked text & have been adopted from the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) that was roundly rejected by the European Parliament. The EU is demanding that its companies have the power to demand the freezing of bank accounts & seizure of properties of generic companies on the mere allegation of patent infringement & to drag third parties like treatment providers into litigation. These wide ranging provisions aim to curtail the independence & discretionary powers of Indian Courts that have so far balance patent rights with public interest in court cases.  

Anand Grover, Senior Counsel & Director of Lawyers Collective, said, “the inclusion of these enforcement provisions will undermine the Indian judicial system & deprive people of access to justice. Such provisions which impede fundamental rights such as the right to health & access to medicines threaten to subvert the fundamental tenets of the Constitution of India.”

The EU has also been demanding the inclusion of an investor-state dispute mechanism to allow MNC pharmaceutical companies to sue the Indian government in secret, international arbitration over health policies like drug price control, compulsory licenses & even patent challenges. In 2012, US based MNC, Eli Lilly used this mechanism to file a case against Canada for millions of dollars because the Canadian Supreme Court overturned one of its patents.

Loon Gangte of Delhi Network of Positive People said, “The legal & financial muscle of big pharma is already on display in India as they hire the country's top lawyers & sue the Indian government & patients groups in patent cases around the country. With the Indian Courts holding the Constitution paramount this is a despicable attempt by the Europeans to bypass the Indian Constitution & Indian Courts & move the litigation into secret tribunals overseas on the pretext of investment protection.”

Indian groups are also expressing their apprehensions over the EU's data exclusivity demands. The Indian government has maintained that it will not accept any provisions beyond the TRIPS Agreement. “We are openly challenging the European Commission to make its position on the TRIPS Agreement public. Do they believe TRIPS requires data exclusivity or not,” asked Anand Grover. By insisting that the FTA include the language of the TRIPS Agreement as revealed in the latest leak, Grover apprehends that the European Commission is simply biding its time to raise a dispute on data exclusivity once the FTA has been signed.

Shiba Phurailatpam of Asia-Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+) said, “The impact of the EU's demands will be felt far beyond India's borders. The majority of people living with HIV in the Asia Pacific are on Indian generics & have been rejoicing that the Indian Supreme Court has upheld Section 3(d) & as a result their access to medicines. We are strongly supporting the Indian government in saying no to the EU's deadly demands. One would think a Nobel peace prize laureate like the EU would know that peoples lives & health are simply not a matter for trade negotiations.”

“The EU is now in FTA negotiations across the region – in Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand & we are urging those governments to stand strong like the Indian government. People across the world are protesting against the EU's trade policies this week. ” he added.

Contacts: Prathibha Siva:+91996805037, Anand Grover: +919899439593, Loon Gangte: +91-9871029514