Kaisernetwork.org (Washington, DC)
22 August 2008
Politics and Policy
CDC Ends Funding for Georgia To Participate in 'Cutting-Edge' HIV/AIDS Surveillance Program, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Reports
[Aug 22, 2008]
CDC officials on Thursday confirmed that the agency has stopped funding for Georgia to participate in a "cutting-edge" surveillance program aimed at determining trends in HIV/AIDS nationwide, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The first results from the program about annual new HIV infections in the U.S. were announced by CDC earlier this month. Georgia had received more than $1 million in CDC funding to participate in the program, but CDC removed the state from its latest round of funding, which began in January and runs for five years.
According to state officials, Georgia will still track and report HIV/AIDS cases, but it will not benefit from new technologies and methods available from the CDC program. For example, one of the new technologies available in the program is an HIV test that can determine if an HIV-positive person contracted the virus within the past five months, according to the Journal-Constitution. State officials have said that the CDC program estimated that 2,100 people in Georgia were newly infected with HIV in 2006, adding that they could not put this figure into perspective because they have no previous numbers for comparison. CDC officials said that the test can help determine "real time" trends about where HIV/AIDS is spreading and what groups it is affecting. "It's a setback," Carlos del Rio, co-director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research, said of Georgia being cut from the program. He added, "In order to have effective prevention, we need to know who is getting infected today, not 10 years ago."
CDC officials would not discuss why Georgia was not included in the latest funding round but said that the state was not among the 25 areas that were selected following an application process. Irene Hall, chief of CDC's HIV/AIDS incidence and case surveillance branch, said that Georgia had provided "adequate" data during the program's first round. She added that CDC has reduced the number of areas funded under the program from 34 to 25 cities and states. CDC has increased funding for Georgia's basic HIV/AIDS surveillance by 70% this year to $726,257. According to Jennifer Taussig, state HIV/AIDS surveillance coordinator, the additional funding will be used to bolster reporting efforts.
Some advocates said that Georgia never has been at the forefront of HIV surveillance, testing or prevention and that the loss of CDC funding worsens the situation. According to Jeff Cheek, local director of Georgia's Ryan White Program funding that is allocated to 20 counties in the Atlanta area, the state should increase its efforts to promote HIV testing and prevention (Schneider, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8/22).
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Global Challenges
Filipino Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Promote Microbicide Development
[Aug 22, 2008]
A bill seeking to promote the development of microbicides to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections has been introduced in the Philippines, the Philippines News Agency reports. The legislation was filed by Rep. Narciso Santiago and states that the Department of Health and its components should increase research into the initial mechanism of infection by STIs. The bill also mandates that the health department evaluate the safety and efficacy of microbicides in animal models; research the design of contraceptive and non-contraceptive microbicides; examine the development of a mucosal delivery system; and create clinical trials and behavioral research on the use, acceptability and compliance of microbicides.
According to Santiago, the social, health and economic effects of STIs are particularly severe in developing countries such as the Philippines, where women ages 15 to 49 are most affected. Santiago said the STIs that could be prevented by the use of microbicides "impose high human costs in pain, diminished quality of life, disability and death," adding that STIs "substantially enhance susceptibility to HIV infection." According to Santiago, he hopes the legislation will "lessen if not totally stop" the spread and impact of STIs. Hepatitis B, herpes, HIV and human papillomavirus represent two-thirds of new STIs recorded in the country, Santiago said (Philippines News Agency, 8/21).
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Researchers Examine How Perceptions of Masculinity Influence HIV Prevention in Central America
[Aug 22, 2008]
A team of researchers is examining how different perceptions of masculinity can influence HIV prevention messages in Central America, the Columbia State reports. The team, which is supported by USAID and Population Services International, has held focus groups with 1,200 men from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama to learn about different perceptions of masculinity and how the men see themselves. The men completed 11-point surveys on issues such as what motivates them, what is important in life and what word best describes them. Using the surveys, the researchers developed six primary categories to which HIV/AIDS prevention messages can be customized, according to the State. "It's another approach for behavioral change messages," Susana Lungo, program director for the initiative, said.
The six primary categories are powerful, men to whom researchers should stress that they have the power to choose condom use; energetic, who can be reached by emphasizing that they can make a contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS; protector, who should be given messages about fidelity and condom use for the sake of protecting their families; relaxed, who tend to be receptive to condom use because of generally open attitudes; searchers, to whom condom use has to be presented in interesting and engaging ways; and passionate, men who are receptive to fidelity and condom use messages out of respect for their partners.
According to the researchers, although the categories were developed to promote HIV prevention, they also can be used for teenage pregnancy prevention and other health issues (Reid, Columbia State, 8/21).
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Vietnam Launches HIV/AIDS Prevention Campaign Targeting Youth
[Aug 22, 2008]
Vietnam's General Department of Population and Family Planning under the Ministry of Health on Tuesday launched an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign that promotes safer-sex practices among young people in the country, the VNS/Viet Nam News reports. The campaign will focus on youth ages 15 to 24 in 15 provinces with large ethnic minority populations. It falls under the framework of a $20 million campaign funded by the Asian Development Bank and implemented by the population and family planning department between 2007 and 2011.
The HIV/AIDS youth campaign is the largest of its kind launched in Vietnam, according to VNS/Viet Nam News. It aims to reduce HIV/AIDS prevalence to less than 0.3% by 2010, according to a population and family planning department official. In addition, the project will focus on implementing Vietnam's national HIV/AIDS strategy, which includes prevention and outreach programs at the provincial and district levels (VNS/Viet Nam News, 8/21).
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IRIN/PlusNews Profiles Ethiopian Cafe That Provides No-Cost Condoms
[Aug 22, 2008]
IRIN/PlusNews on Wednesday profiled Bellissima, an Ethiopian cafe located in the capital of Addis Ababa that provides no-cost "Sensation" brand condoms with every order. Hayat Ahmed, 2003 Miss Ethiopia and owner of Bellissima, said that as the brand ambassador for "Sensation" condoms in the country, she "wanted to link business with a message for sexually active people." According to IRIN/PlusNews, the cafe's concept is modeled on "condom bars" in Asia. Within the first two days of business, the cafe handed out six boxes that contained 48 packets of three condoms each. The campaign is supported by social marketing groups like DKT Ethiopia, and Ahmed said she plans to open more cafes around the country and promote other HIV/AIDS prevention strategies, such as fidelity and abstinence. Ahmed said that many Ethiopians are "ashamed" to discuss condom use and that she wants to "spread the message that condoms can protect you from HIV/AIDS." According to IRIN/PlusNews, the no-cost condoms have "elicited mixed reactions, with older patrons tending not to like the idea, while younger ones love it and sometimes ask for a second packet." Ahmed added that she plans to set up condom vending machines in the cafe (IRIN/PlusNews, 8/20).
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Drug Access
Ugandan Pediatric HIV/AIDS Conference Cites Lack of Access to Antiretrovirals, High Rates of Mother-to-Child Transmission
[Aug 22, 2008]
About 12,000 of the 50,000 HIV-positive children in Uganda who are in need of antiretroviral therapy are receiving the treatment, delegates said on Wednesday during the second annual national pediatric HIV/AIDS conference in Kampala, Uganda, the Monitor reports. According to the Monitor, there are currently 110,000 HIV-positive children living in the country (Kirunda, Monitor, 8/21).
First lady Janet Museveni at the conference said that despite increasing access among adults to HIV prevention, care and treatment in Uganda, the number of children accessing the services remains low. "Access to care and treatment for children still falls far below that of adults," Museveni said, adding that out of Uganda's 310 antiretroviral clinics, only 174 provide the drugs for children. "The children also need psycho-social support, which is also limited," Museveni added (Bugembe, New Vision, 8/20). According to Museveni, "This horrendous scenario is something that we must address without flinching" (Monitor, 8/21).
Kihumuro Apuuli, director-general of the Uganda AIDS Commission, also told the conference that efforts to reduce new HIV cases among children in the country should start with prevention of mother-to-child transmission (New Vision, 8/20). Every year, 22% of new HIV cases in Uganda -- or 25,000 cases -- are the result of MTCT, according to Apuuli, with 91,000 HIV-positive women becoming pregnant annually (Monitor, 8/21).
Some people in Uganda were "born in an AIDS-free generation," Apuuli said, adding, "It is our moral responsibility to ensure that our children and grandchildren are born and remain free from HIV/AIDS" (New Vision, 8/20). In addition, Apuuli said it is possible for Uganda to reduce the number of HIV cases among children but added that "[p]olitical will needs to be re-energized." Conference Official Phillipa Musoke said that although there have been "pockets" of success in pediatric HIV/AIDS efforts, much progress still needs to be made (Monitor, 8/21).
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