Kaisernetwork.org (Washington, DC)
10 October 2008
Special Notice
Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Will Not Publish Monday, Oct. 13
[Oct 10, 2008]
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report will not publish on Monday, Oct. 13, in observance of the Columbus Day holiday. The report resumes publication on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Link to this story.
Drug Access
Drug Companies Plan To Invest in HIV/AIDS Drug Development, Improve Access, U.N. Secretary-General Says
[Oct 10, 2008]
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday said that many large pharmaceutical companies -- including Abbott Labs, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer -- plan to increase their efforts to develop HIV/AIDS drugs and diagnostics for impoverished regions, Reuters reports. The companies have promised to invest more in prevention efforts -- including vaccine development and pre- and post-exposure prophylactics -- Ban said in a statement after he met with senior pharmaceutical executives from 17 companies and other U.N. officials. "We noted that despite the gains, the epidemic continues to outstrip our best efforts," Ban said, adding, "Only one-third of those who need antiretroviral treatment in low- and middle-income countries are getting it. Each day, for every two people who are placed on antiretroviral treatment, five more are infected. Collectively, we still have more work to do."
The companies also agreed to work toward adapting medicines and treatment for "resource-limited settings to be used safely in children, adolescents, adults and pregnant women," according to Ban. He added that the drug companies and the United Nations jointly agreed that increasing access to vaccines and medicines is "essential in scaling up prevention and treatment efforts" (Charbonneau, Reuters, 10/9).
Link to this story.
Global Challenges
HIV Drug Resistance Spreading in China, Researcher Says
[Oct 10, 2008]
As HIV spreads beyond high-risk groups into China's general population, drug-resistant strains of the virus also are appearing in parts of the country, Chen Zhiwei of the AIDS Institute in Hong Kong said recently, Reuters reports. According to Chen, the two trends are "alarming" and people living with HIV in China could face treatment obstacles because relatively few antiretroviral drugs are available in the country. "All these drug-resistant mutations are in China now, they are emerging in Chinese patients," he said, adding, "The major worry is whether the drug-resistant virus will spread. We are studying whether that is happening, but that will be the case if you don't provide proper treatment. If drug-resistant virus (strains) spread in China, we don't have enough selection of (drugs) that are made available."
According to Reuters, about seven of the more than 20 different antiretrovirals are available in China, meaning that HIV-positive people might be left with limited options if they develop resistance to certain drugs. In addition, treatment adherence can be low in rural parts of China because of a lack of knowledge among patients, low access to health care and inadequate numbers of health care workers to explain the importance of adherence.
Chen's comments follow a study published last week in the journal Nature that found how HIV cases are increasing among women and men who have sex with men in the country. "The virus is moving into the general population," Chen said, adding, "Signs are prevalent among women and" in mother-to-child transmission. Chen also said if "there is no good prevention, transmissions will suddenly explode." According to Chen, China's open southern border is a concern, and an HIV strain recorded in Yunnan province also has been detected in Thailand and Myanmar. He added that this could be explained by women working as commercial sex workers in other countries and returning to China. In addition, travelers crossing China's southern border could be contributing to the situation, Chen said (Ee Lyn, Reuters, 10/10).
Link to this story.
Panel Discusses How Asian Migrant Women Are Vulnerable to HIV
[Oct 10, 2008]
Although Asian migrant women working in Arab countries generate significant economic benefits for both their home and host countries, many of them are at risk of HIV because of the unsafe conditions under which they migrate and live, according to a panel of experts organized by the United Nations Development Programme Regional Center in Colombo, Sri Lanka, The Hindu reports. According to the panelists -- which included senior government officials and representatives of civil society in Lebanon, the Philippines and Sri Lanka; representatives of key diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka; U.N. officials; and migrant welfare organizations -- it is critical that the HIV vulnerabilities of this demographic are addressed so that the economic gains of both home and host countries, as well as the health and rights of migrant women, are protected.
Ajay Chhibber, assistant secretary-general and director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, said that women account for 43% of the 54 million people who at any given time are on the move within Asia and to destinations outside the region. "Women often migrate under unsafe conditions, live under very difficult circumstances, and can be targets of sexual exploitation and violence," Chhibber said, adding, "With little or no access to health services and social protection, these factors can make them highly vulnerable to HIV." He said that an increasing number of migrant workers from Asia who have contracted HIV in various host countries in recent years have been deported, which causes economic loss for the workers and their families. According to Chhibber, "There is a need for strategic national, regional and international action to ensure safe movement and access to HIV programs for migrants and mobile populations." In addition, Chhibber said that addressing the HIV vulnerabilities of migrants is key to achieving universal access to treatment and the U.N. Millennium Development Goals' aim of halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.
UNDP Releases Summary of HIV Vulnerabilities Among Migrant Women
During the round table, an executive summary of a UNDP study -- titled "HIV Vulnerabilities Faced by Women Migrants: From Asia to the Arab States" -- also was released. According to Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP's HIV/AIDS regional program coordinator and practice leader, although migrant women are among the most vulnerable to HIV, it is important to emphasize the fact that the conditions under which people migrate -- such as being separated from families and social support systems -- rather than the actual act of migration are what make women vulnerable to contracting the virus. Wiesen said, "Women, particularly domestic workers, are among the most vulnerable. They experience basic rights violations, in terms of pay and conditions of work. Many respondents reported physical violence, verbal and sexual abuse."
Malu Marin -- study coordinator and director of the nongovernmental organization ACHIEVE, which works for migrants' welfare in the Philippines -- said that restricting the movement of female migrants would force migration underground and increase women's risk of exploitation and HIV transmission. Marin added that in some cases, domestic workers are tested for HIV without consent and counseling and are deported if they are found to be HIV-positive. "This needs to change in favor of a migrant-friendly testing policy," Marin said.
According to The Hindu, the study recommends dialogue and coordination between ministries of health, labor, foreign affairs and social welfare in both countries of origin and destination to reduce vulnerabilities of HIV, as well as facilitation of multi-country negotiations between origin and host countries. The Hindu reports that the study examines HIV-susceptibility among female migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka to Bahrain, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates and explores ways to address their HIV risks without compromising their right to movement and livelihood. The study was based on research comprising more than 500 interviews over nine months using focus group discussions and key informant interviews with migrant workers; senior officials of the ministries of health, labor and foreign bureaus of employment; embassy officials; service providers; and recruitment agencies in both origin and host countries (The Hindu, 10/9).
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Read comments. Write your own.
