Across The Nation

Washington Post Examines Issues Surrounding Washington, D.C., Clinic's Efforts To Expand Services

[Apr 24, 2009]

The Washington Post on Friday examined issues surrounding efforts by the Whitman-Walker Clinic to "expand into a full-service health care provider as it struggles with declining revenue." According to the Post, Washington, D.C., Council Member David Catania (I), has said that with these efforts, Whitman-Walker is abandoning its ties to the city's gay community and that the clinic is being mismanaged and could close. The Whitman-Walker Clinic ahead of a meeting on Monday provided Catania with more than 2,000 documents, and Catania has pledged to "explore substantial allegations of mismanagement." In reaction to Catania's allegation, the clinic's board of directors recently ordered an independent audit. According to the audit, Whitman-Walker Clinic is responding to the changes in HIV/AIDS in the city, the Post reports. "We see a whole bunch of people in the District of Columbia -- gay, straight, black, white -- now at risk, and our job is we need to retool how we talk about this," Whitman-Walker CEO Donald Blanchon said (Craig, Washington Post, 4/24).

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Illinois Program Aims To Curb Spread of HIV, Raise Awareness About State Services

[Apr 24, 2009]

The Illinois Public Health Association and the St. Clair County Health Department have launched an outreach program that aims to curb the spread of HIV in southwestern Illinois by raising awareness about state services, the Belleville News-Democrat reports. The initiative, called Illinois HIV Care Connect, is funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health through Ryan White Program grants. It provides confidential case management services to all HIV-positive people, in addition to health and support services to people who meet eligibility requirements. HIV-positive people who enroll in the program could quality for services such as outpatient medical care, mental health services, oral health care, nutritional services, and substance abuse treatment and counseling.

Illinois HIV Care Connect also aims to increase HIV/AIDS awareness among health care providers and encourage corrections officials to refer HIV-positive inmates to state services. The state health department estimates that about one-quarter of HIV-positive people in Illinois are not aware of their status (Bowen, Belleville News-Democrat, 4/23).

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Global Challenges

Scotland Records More Than 100 New HIV Cases During First Three Months of 2009

[Apr 24, 2009]

More than 100 new HIV cases were reported in Scotland between January and March, bringing the total number of cases recorded to date to 5,901, according to a recently released report from Health Protection Scotland, the PA/Press and Journal reports. The report showed that 64% of the 109 new cases were among men and that 50 cases were recorded in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, which has seen an increasing number of cases in recent years (Bussey, PA/Press and Journal, 4/22).

The report also indicated an increase in the number of cases among pregnant women, up to 27 last year from 22, BBC News reports. All pregnant women have been offered routine HIV screening since 2003, according to BBC News (BBC News, 4/22). Forty-three of the new cases were believed to be acquired by residents while they were outside of Scotland. The most common mode of transmission was heterosexual sex with 54 cases. Meanwhile, 23 cases were suspected to be among men who have sex with men, while three were likely transmitted through injection drug use, the PA/Press and Journal reports.

Catherine Murphy of the Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland said that in recent years, Glasgow has seen a "significant increase" in HIV cases, adding that cases continue to increase across the country and that one-quarter of HIV-positive residents are unaware of their status. Murphy called for increased condom use and HIV testing. Health spokesperson Ross Finnie said the report's findings are a "wake-up call for those people who think that HIV is a disease confined to the" 1980s, adding, "It is clear HIV is still on the rise in Scotland." He emphasized the need for more education "across all age groups and all areas about the dangers of HIV" and sexually transmitted infections (PA/Press and Journal, 4/22).

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Afghan AIDS Control Program Reports 556 HIV Cases Through 2008

[Apr 24, 2009]

Afghanistan had recorded 556 HIV cases by the end of 2008, according to a recently released report from the National AIDS Control Program, the Pajhwok Afghan News reports. However, the health ministry on Tuesday said that there likely are 2,000 to 2,500 HIV-positive people in the country. According to the ministry, studies have shown that HIV prevalence among the general population is about 0.5%, while it is about 3% among the country's injection drug users. Ministry officials say that although HIV prevalence is low compared to other countries, 30 years of war, poverty, high levels of poppy cultivation and trafficking, and commercial sex work have created risk factors for the spread of HIV.

Public Health Minister Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatimie said the availability of antiretroviral drugs "helps us to prevent further spread of HIV in the society" and "saves lives of many HIV-positive people." He also said that health officials are committed to keeping Afghanistan's HIV prevalence relatively low. According to the News, Fatimie on Tuesday opened the country's first-ever hospital for people living with HIV/AIDS in the capital of Kabul. The hospital cost $110,000 and was supported by USAID. Additionally, NACP is attempting to implement a national HIV/AIDS strategy within the country in partnership with donors, the government and nongovernmental organizations (Salehi, Pajhwok Afghan News, 4/21).

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Inter Press Service Examines TB Epidemic, Effect of HIV/AIDS on Disease in Swaziland

[Apr 24, 2009]

The number of tuberculosis cases in Swaziland has increased from about 1,000 cases annually in 1987 to about 9,600 cases annually today, National TB Control Program Manager Themba Dlamini, said recently, Inter Press Service reports. In addition, Swaziland has the highest HIV prevalence worldwide, Inter Press Service reports. "This escalation of TB cases can be attributed to the HIV/AIDS epidemic," Dlamini said, adding that 80% of people with TB in the country also are HIV-positive. Swaziland's TB detection rate is 57.7%, below the World Health Organization target of 70%, and the country's TB treatment success rate is 42%, compared with the WHO target of 85%. The increase in drug-resistant strains of the disease also is contributing to the situation, Dlamini said.

Dlamini said that efforts to declare TB a national emergency in Swaziland are underway. According to Inter Press Service, efforts to increase human resources, strengthen and decentralize TB services, and promote education about the disease likely will be scaled up if TB is declared a national emergency. "We needed to do serious lobbying to convince the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Disaster Management Agency that indeed TB is an emergency," Dlamini said. Swazi Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku in an address on World TB Day last month said that the Swazi government is "aware of the plans under way to declare TB as an emergency" and is supporting such efforts in line with the 2005 Maputo Declaration, which declared TB a continental emergency (Phakathi, Inter Press Service, 4/22).

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