Kaisernetwork.org (Washington, DC)
19 August 2008
AIDS 2008
New York Times Reporter Analyzes Focus of XVII International AIDS Conference
[Aug 19, 2008]
The New York Times' Larry Altman on Tuesday analyzed the focus of the XVII International AIDS Conference, which was held earlier this month in Mexico City. According to Altman, the conference focused on the "longer haul" in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the "mood" at the conference was "much more sober" compared with previous meetings. There were no "major breakthroughs" announced, and "cutting-edge research findings were rare," Altman writes. According to the analysis, the great strides in vaccines, microbicides and herpes-suppressive drugs that researchers thought they were on the verge of making at the 2006 XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto have not materialized. Consequently, delegates in Mexico City renewed calls for advocacy and financing to sustain gains already made -- such as promoting antiretroviral therapy in low-income countries, male circumcision and behavior modification.
Recent setbacks in HIV/AIDS research have led many scientists to "reflect on the frustrating, complicated courses of their endeavors," while others still expect trials to be successful, even though that success is "far from guaranteed," according to Altman. He also looks at how some scientists view failure as a momentary setback from which they can learn, while the public may consider failure as bad science.
Altman writes that the best weapon against HIV would be a vaccine but that none is likely to be discovered soon. Tadataka Yamada of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said, "Development of a vaccine is still more of an art than a science," adding, "No one country, any one scientist, any one team of scientists will develop the vaccine." However, delegates at the conference continued to urge further efforts to develop a cure and vaccine, arguing that unless researchers attempt to do so, they will never know if they can be achieved.
In addition, Altman writes that there were calls at the conference for "innovation and recruiting more young investigators to the AIDS field." Alan Bernstein, executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, said that recruiting new researchers to the field should be less of an issue than in the past because of increased interest on university campuses about global health.
According to Altman, an "important handicap in tracking and controlling the epidemic has been an inability to get timely and accurate data about current transmission of the virus." A new test developed by CDC "promises a greater ability to pinpoint hot spots of new infections and to control them more quickly, at least in developed countries," Altman writes, adding that CDC has said the test needs to be refined for use in developing countries.
There also were concerns at the conference regarding access to antiretrovirals and resistance to existing therapies, according to Altman. Delegates also expressed concerns over statements by some critics that HIV/AIDS consumes too great a share of the resources available for fighting other diseases and that efforts focused only on one disease are damaging to primary health care systems in developing countries.
The "shift" seen at this year's AIDS conference was "unmistakable -- from a stronger emphasis on science to more of a convention atmosphere" -- Altman writes. The next conference will be held in Vienna in 2010, and "unexpected developments, good or bad, could well arise," he adds. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has "always come up with new surprises," UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said (Altman, New York Times, 8/19).
Kaisernetwork.org was the official webcaster of the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.
Link to this story.
Global Challenges
Caribbean To Launch Regional HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy
[Aug 19, 2008]
Caribbean nations will establish national HIV/AIDS workplace policies as soon as a regional policy modeled after International Labour Organization guidelines is ready, the Jamaica Observer reports. According to Carl Browne, director of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS who spoke at the XVII International AIDS Conference earlier this month, the organization will work with individual countries to implement national workplace policies tailored to specific needs with the goal of benefitting employees and their families. The policies will include support services and education programs, and a toolkit with relevant videos will be available for countries to provide to businesses.
In addition, countries will be required to report by June of each year so that a consolidated report can be prepared for an annual regional meeting in October, Browne said. He added, "At the end, we want each country to send a report of the number of enterprises they have reached in order for us to develop a database."
The article also examined efforts to address HIV/AIDS in the workplace in Jamaica. According to the Gleaner, one the tourism sector's HIV/AIDS policy has "reaped great success" in the country. Last year, 600 people in the sector received HIV tests, and 400 so far this year have been tested.
"In terms of programs, Jamaica has gone very far ahead as they not only have a workplace policy, but have also developed material from which we are borrowing to share with other countries," Browne said. He added that Jamaica's success is because of the involvement of a number of government ministries and the private sector (Brown, Jamaica Observer, 8/17).
Kaisernetwork.org was the official webcaster of the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. The session during which Browne spoke is available online.
Link to this story.
AP/Long Island Newsday Profiles Effort To Address HIV/AIDS Through Community Development in Kenya
[Aug 19, 2008]
The AP/Long Island Newsday on Sunday examined the efforts of a mother-daughter team to reduce HIV/AIDS through community development in Kenya. Rosemell Ong'udi and her daughter, Loyce Mbewa-Ong'udi -- who runs the Rabuor Village Project -- have developed "community-owned" programs in which residents rather than donors set the priorities. According to the AP/Newsday, the project's work "embodies what experts consider the most effective approach to development."
In 10 years, the village of Rabuor has founded a nursery school and feeding program, a pharmacy, a youth group and income-generating projects with little international aid. Youth involved in the project also teach school and adult groups about HIV prevention, testing and treatment. The work has affected more than 10,000 people in 10 villages and continues to grow, according to the AP/Newsday. District Commissioner Godfrey Kigochi, a senior government official for Kisumu West, said he wishes he had a project similar to Rabuor's in every village in the district. Organizations that provide funding or expertise to the Rabuor project also say it is "unique for its pragmatism and deep community roots," the AP/Newsday reports. The Rev. Charles Ong'injo, who has been involved in the project since its launch, is helping other congregations launch similar projects.
Because residents were not prepared to discuss HIV/AIDS directly at the beginning of the program, it initially focused on increasing crop production, followed by projects aimed at earning incomes, keeping children in school and training adults in agriculture, nutrition and vocational skills. Although Loyce Mbewa-Ong'udi does not own land in Rabuor or live there -- the project is based in Seattle -- she said she recognizes the project can only work if villagers are involved.
According to the AP/Newsday, the village "is not utopia," and residents often disagree over how the project should operate. However, "competing views are a sign of subsistence farmers becoming active citizens, of women speaking up," the AP/Newsday reports. In addition, such disagreements are part of the reason why some people believe the project will work in the village in the long-term, compared with other projects that collapse when donors leave, the AP/Newsday reports (Borst, AP/Long Island Newsday, 8/17).
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