IHSJ Reader, June 17, 2011

IHSJ Reader     June 2011     Issue 3          

Note: Triple asterisk (***) indicates subscription-only sources.

HIV/AIDS

Bold New HIV/AIDS Targets for 2015 Set by World Leaders  (Press Release – UNAIDS, June 10, 2011)
The UN General Assembly adopted the “Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS: Intensifying our Efforts to eliminate HIV/AIDS” at the conclusion of the High Level Meeting on AIDS in NYC. The Declaration sets forth bold new targets for putting 15 million people on life-saving antiretroviral therapy in low and middle-income countries by 2015 (about twice the number currently on therapy) and halving the number of TB-related deaths among people with HIV. The declaration also calls for eliminating HIV infections among children, reducing sexual transmission of HIV, halving infections among people who inject drugs, and increasing AIDS-related spending to reach between US $22-24 billion in low- and middle-income countries by 2015.  PDF of Declaration:  http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/2011-Political-Declaration-on-HIV-and-AIDS.pdf.

We CAN End the AIDS Epidemic (AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, June 2011)
For the first time in the 30 years of the AIDS epidemic, there is now conclusive evidence showing that earlier initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy at 350-550 CD4 cells/mm3 is a powerful tool for reducing transmission and has clinical benefit for HIV-positive people. In light of these results, this statement calls for increased funding to be directed to the treatment and prevention of HIV through community-based mobilization for health and human rights.

World Leaders Launch Plan to Eliminate New HIV Infections Among Children by 2015 (Press Release – UNAIDS, June 9, 2011)
Last week, world leaders also launched a Global Plan for eliminating all new HIV infections among children by 2015, and for extending access to life-saving HIV prevention and treatment to all–but especially pregnant–women. The plan focuses on a series of specific policy and programmatic measures that countries will take to ensure that all pregnant women living with HIV have access to HIV prevention and treatment services. PDF of Global Plan: http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2011/20110609_JC2137_Global-Plan-Elimination-HIV-Children_en.pdf

The 30^th Anniversary of the First Reported Case of AIDS (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Anthony Fauci and Jack Whitescarver, June 2, 2011)
Thirty years after the first reported cases of AIDS, the epidemic continues to be one of the most serious public health crises of our time and will continue until more effective and affordable prevention and treatment regimens are developed and made universally available.  Read more about past and future efforts from the National Institutes of Health on research efforts to halt the epidemic from two preeminent scientists.

States Cut Back Efforts to Provide Drugs for HIV, AIDS (Washington Post, Shefali S. Kulkarni, May 22, 2011)
A May 2011 article in the Washington Post illustrates how important it is to increase domestic spending on HIV/AIDS as well. Several states are scaling back efforts to provide life-saving medication to HIV patients due to budget restrictions. A record number of people–more than 8,300–are now on waiting lists for drugs used to treat HIV and AIDS or side effects and opportunistic infections. The AIDS Assistance Drug Program (ADAPs) is not an entitlement program, so as state budgets are cut, more and more low-income applicants who cannot afford the drugs are turned away or placed on waiting lists until further notice. 

Effectiveness of Early Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation to Improve Survival among HIV-Infected Adults with Tuberculosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study (PloS Med, Molly F. Franke et al., May 3, 2011)
This study used randomized clinical trials to examine the optimal time to initiate combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in HIV-infected adults with tuberculosis. The results were clear: early cART reduced mortality among individuals with low CD4 counts and improved retention in care, regardless of CD4 count. It is still unclear whether these results can be generalized to the vast majority of people co-infected with TB and HIV, given their limited access to standard diagnostic tools.  

***Occupational Segregation, Gender Essentialism and Male Primacy as Major Barriers to Equity in HIV Care giving: Findings from Lesotho (International Journal for Equity in Health, Constance Newman, Linda Fogarty, Lucia Makoae, Erik Reavely, June 8, 2011)
Gender segregation within the health workforce has been recognized as a major source of inequality worldwide. Gender segregation is particularly dramatic in HIV/AIDS occupations, which typically allocate caring/nurturing jobs to women and technical/managerial jobs to men. This study investigates strategies for increasing equity in caregiving, including ways in which men may be recruited into the community workforce. 

GLOBAL HEALTH FUNDING

Donors Pledge $4.3 billion for Vaccines for the Poor (Reuters, Kate Kelland and Adrian Croft, June 13)
International donors led by Britain and Bill Gates pledged $4.3 billion on Monday to buy vaccines to protect children in poor countries against potential killers such as diarrheal diseases and pneumonia. "Today is an important moment in our collective commitment to protecting children in developing countries from disease," said Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who attended the pledging conference in London.

GAVI’s future: Steps to Build Strategic Leadership, Financial Sustainability, and Better Partnerships (CSIS and CGD, Lisa Carty et al., June 7, 2011)
This policy brief, developed collaboratively by the Center for Strategic and International Studies Global Health Policy Center and the Center for Global Development, provides analysis and recommendations to Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) leadership in three vital issue areas: GAVI’s mandate and business model; its financing strategy; and the GAVI Secretariat and partners’ capacities.

***Going Horizontal – Shifts in Funding of Global Health Interventions (New England Journal of Medicine, Till Bärnighausen, David Bloom and Salal Humair, June 9, 2011)
PEPFAR, GAVI, and the Global Fund have recently prioritized more horizontal approaches to global health interventions that do not isolate critical human and financial resources from general health care systems. This shift carries the promise of improving health care delivery in developing countries if global health organizations work side-by-side with in-country policymakers.

HEALTH SYSTEM STRENGTHENING

Ethiopia gears up for more major health reforms (The Lancet, John Donnelly, June 4, 2011)
After five years of strong support for community-based health care programs, Ethiopia’s Federal Ministry of Health has announced that it will create a Health Transformation Army. Though this army will take years to build, Ethiopia is focused on primary health care and being able to help communities help themselves by expanding public health services in villages.       

FOOD SECURITY

Micronutrient Deficiencies and Protein-Energy Malnutrition (The Social Medicine Portal, Claudia Schuftan, May 2011)
Addressing malnutrition cannot be accomplished by focusing on high-tech micronutrient interventions alone. There must also be a focus on empowering people and communities to address the underlying determinants of protein-energy malnutrition, including issues of equity, participation, wealth distribution, and access to health and education services. 

MULTIMEDIA

2011 High Level Meeting on AIDS: Silvia Petretti, Global Network of People Living with HIV (UN, June 10, 2011)
In her statement at the 95th Plenary Meeting of the UN's 2011 High Level Meeting on AIDS, Silvia Petretti emphasizes the importance of involving people living with HIV–and women living with HIV in particular–to be at the center of the response to HIV/AIDS. Petretti clearly explains how this involvement is crucial for historical, political, economic, and health reasons.

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