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PlusNews Africa News Roundup 8, 26 November 2002
CONTENTS:
AFRICA: HIV/AIDS and older people
ZAMBIA: Doctors urged to improve HIV/AIDS skills
ZAMBIA: Distribution of HIV/AIDS drugs to begin next month
NAMIBIA: HIV/AIDS workshop to tackle AIDS orphans
NAMIBIA: More action needed on HIV/AIDS drug move
MALAWI: HIV/AIDS policy to coordinate plans to fight the virus
AFRICA: HIV/AIDS and older people Help Age, the international NGO fighting for the rights of the elderly, has called for greater research on the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on older people. In a recent report the organisation said governments and civil society had not recognised the significant role played by older people in the management of HIV/AIDS in their communities. "HIV/AIDS programmes, strategies and policies must include older people. Failure to do so will not only adversely affect the older generation but also those they care for," the report said. The study pointed out that more than half of the world's AIDS orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, under the care of older family members, mostly women. "The caring role exposes older people to the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS as they come into direct and unprotected contact with opportunistic infections and the body fluids of those who are sick," the report said Moreover, Help Age said it was a "fallacy" that older people are not sexually active. As a result of the misconception, older people are not generally targeted under HIV/AIDS programmes, the study noted. For more details ZAMBIA: Doctors urged to improve HIV/AIDS skills Health minister Brian Chituwo on Tuesday called for more doctors to specialise in HIV/AIDS care and treatment. Opening a course for doctors on clinical management of HIV/AIDS at Zambia's Institute of Mass Communication Trust (ZAMCOM), Chituwo said antiretroviral (ARV) drugs needed to be administered by trained clinicians to be effective. "We are now fortunate, however, in having a treatment for HIV/AIDS, through the use of antiretroviral drugs, which however is very costly. It requires great discipline from patients and close monitoring by medical staff," The Zambia Post quoted Chituwo as saying. Chituwo said the government was doing everything possible to ensure increased access to ARVs. "This is truly a Herculean task, and, on the face of it, impossible, but for medicine to attempt the impossible is nothing new," Chituwo added. ZAMBIA: Distribution of HIV/AIDS drugs to begin next month Ministry of health permanent secretary Simon Miti said at the weekend that Zambia would begin distributing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to 10,000 HIV-positive people countrywide next month. Miti told the Times of Zambia that the distribution of the ARVs had been delayed because the government wanted to ensure that the drugs were properly stored and secured against pilfering. A spokesperson for the Network of Zambian People living with AIDS (NZP+) told the UN news agency IRIN that they were still not sure what the selection criteria was for beneficiaries, and added that government had done very little about distribution since the first pronouncement six months ago. According to UNAIDS 21.5 percent of Zambians between the ages of 15-49 years are HIV-positive. NAMIBIA: HIV/AIDS workshop to tackle AIDS orphans The increasing number of children orphaned and affected by HIV/AIDS will be highlighted at an international conference in the capital Windhoek next week. Delegates from 22 southern and east African countries are expected to consider a recommendation made by the African Leadership Consultation held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September to "accelerate immediate and practical action to support and protect orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS". The international meeting was announced at a joint briefing held by officials from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the British Council on Monday. Estimates by UNAIDS indicate than 13 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS and this number is expected to reach more than 25 million by 2010. "With HIV infection rates still rising and adults continuing to succumb to the disease, the problem will get worse," UNICEF warned. NAMIBIA: More action needed on HIV/AIDS drug move The AIDS Law Unit (ALU) of Namibia's Legal Assistance Centre on Monday called on government to scale up its response to HIV/AIDS within a human rights framework. "Prevention, treatment, care and support are mutually reinforcing elements and a continuum of an effective response to HIV-AIDS. They must be integrated into a comprehensive approach, and a multi-faceted response is needed," the ALU said in a statement. ALU's comments followed an announcement last week by Minister of Health and Social Services Libertina Amathila that the government would expand its antiretroviral treatment programme for HIV-positive people by early next year. Brazil is expected to supply some generic AIDS drugs as part of an aid agreement to 10 fellow developing countries. "We urge the ministry to roll out this treatment to all Namibians who need it as quickly as possible," The Namibian newspaper quoted the ALU as saying. MALAWI: HIV/AIDS policy to coordinate plans to fight the virus Malawi's National AIDS Commission has announced that the government is developing an HIV/AIDS policy to help it provide a legal and administrative framework to combat the pandemic. "Malawi has had no AIDS policy for the past 20 years. We have been operating without any guiding principle," director of the commission Biswick Mwale told French news agency, AFP. Local NGOs in the southern African country were optimistic about the initiative. Project leader for the Development NGO Aid from People to People in Malawi, Jennie Mueller, told the UN news agency IRIN that despite a lack of policy, the government had implemented other successful programmes in response to HIV/AIDS. In a recent report on progress towards implementation of the 'Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS', UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan said: "While most countries have devloped national HIV/AIDS strategies, implementation of these are slow, in large measure owing to a lack of resources and technical support".
AFRICA: HIV/AIDS and older people Help Age, the international NGO fighting for the rights of the elderly, has called for greater research on the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on older people. In a recent report the organisation said governments and civil society had not recognised the significant role played by older people in the management of HIV/AIDS in their communities. "HIV/AIDS programmes, strategies and policies must include older people. Failure to do so will not only adversely affect the older generation but also those they care for," the report said. The study pointed out that more than half of the world's AIDS orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, under the care of older family members, mostly women. "The caring role exposes older people to the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS as they come into direct and unprotected contact with opportunistic infections and the body fluids of those who are sick," the report said Moreover, Help Age said it was a "fallacy" that older people are not sexually active. As a result of the misconception, older people are not generally targeted under HIV/AIDS programmes, the study noted. For more details ZAMBIA: Doctors urged to improve HIV/AIDS skills Health minister Brian Chituwo on Tuesday called for more doctors to specialise in HIV/AIDS care and treatment. Opening a course for doctors on clinical management of HIV/AIDS at Zambia's Institute of Mass Communication Trust (ZAMCOM), Chituwo said antiretroviral (ARV) drugs needed to be administered by trained clinicians to be effective. "We are now fortunate, however, in having a treatment for HIV/AIDS, through the use of antiretroviral drugs, which however is very costly. It requires great discipline from patients and close monitoring by medical staff," The Zambia Post quoted Chituwo as saying. Chituwo said the government was doing everything possible to ensure increased access to ARVs. "This is truly a Herculean task, and, on the face of it, impossible, but for medicine to attempt the impossible is nothing new," Chituwo added. ZAMBIA: Distribution of HIV/AIDS drugs to begin next month Ministry of health permanent secretary Simon Miti said at the weekend that Zambia would begin distributing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to 10,000 HIV-positive people countrywide next month. Miti told the Times of Zambia that the distribution of the ARVs had been delayed because the government wanted to ensure that the drugs were properly stored and secured against pilfering. A spokesperson for the Network of Zambian People living with AIDS (NZP+) told the UN news agency IRIN that they were still not sure what the selection criteria was for beneficiaries, and added that government had done very little about distribution since the first pronouncement six months ago. According to UNAIDS 21.5 percent of Zambians between the ages of 15-49 years are HIV-positive. NAMIBIA: HIV/AIDS workshop to tackle AIDS orphans The increasing number of children orphaned and affected by HIV/AIDS will be highlighted at an international conference in the capital Windhoek next week. Delegates from 22 southern and east African countries are expected to consider a recommendation made by the African Leadership Consultation held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September to "accelerate immediate and practical action to support and protect orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS". The international meeting was announced at a joint briefing held by officials from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the British Council on Monday. Estimates by UNAIDS indicate than 13 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS and this number is expected to reach more than 25 million by 2010. "With HIV infection rates still rising and adults continuing to succumb to the disease, the problem will get worse," UNICEF warned. NAMIBIA: More action needed on HIV/AIDS drug move The AIDS Law Unit (ALU) of Namibia's Legal Assistance Centre on Monday called on government to scale up its response to HIV/AIDS within a human rights framework. "Prevention, treatment, care and support are mutually reinforcing elements and a continuum of an effective response to HIV-AIDS. They must be integrated into a comprehensive approach, and a multi-faceted response is needed," the ALU said in a statement. ALU's comments followed an announcement last week by Minister of Health and Social Services Libertina Amathila that the government would expand its antiretroviral treatment programme for HIV-positive people by early next year. Brazil is expected to supply some generic AIDS drugs as part of an aid agreement to 10 fellow developing countries. "We urge the ministry to roll out this treatment to all Namibians who need it as quickly as possible," The Namibian newspaper quoted the ALU as saying. MALAWI: HIV/AIDS policy to coordinate plans to fight the virus Malawi's National AIDS Commission has announced that the government is developing an HIV/AIDS policy to help it provide a legal and administrative framework to combat the pandemic. "Malawi has had no AIDS policy for the past 20 years. We have been operating without any guiding principle," director of the commission Biswick Mwale told French news agency, AFP. Local NGOs in the southern African country were optimistic about the initiative. Project leader for the Development NGO Aid from People to People in Malawi, Jennie Mueller, told the UN news agency IRIN that despite a lack of policy, the government had implemented other successful programmes in response to HIV/AIDS. In a recent report on progress towards implementation of the 'Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS', UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan said: "While most countries have devloped national HIV/AIDS strategies, implementation of these are slow, in large measure owing to a lack of resources and technical support".
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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