Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 5/1/2003

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U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network

CONTENT:

1 - CONGO: Insufficient means to fight HIV/AIDS, says health minister

2 - ETHIOPIA: UNICEF, gov't tackling HIV/AIDS transmission to children

3 - SOUTH AFRICA: Chronology of HIV/AIDS treatment access row

4 - ZAMBIA: Government acts against widespread abuse of girls

1 - CONGO: Insufficient means to fight HIV/AIDS, says health minister

BRAZZAVILLE, 1 May (PLUSNEWS) - Only about 100 people with HIV/AIDS in the

Republic of Congo (ROC) has access to adequate treatment, Health Minister

Alain Moka told medical workers during a training seminar on Monday in the

capital, Brazzaville.

He also said that despite the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country, the

level of medical treatment available was lagging far behind other nations.

About 10 percent of the country's population of 3.1 million may be

infected. He said despite efforts to contain the crisis, such as the

provision of mobile treatment centres in the cities of Brazzaville and

Pointe-Noire, as well as projects to prevent mother-to-child transmission

of HIV, patient care nationwide was woefully inadequate.

Addressing the seminar, Dr Elira Dokekias, echoing Moka's concerns, said

the number of HIV/AIDS patients being treated in the country's hospitals

had nearly equalled the number suffering from malaria, the leading cause

of illness in the country.

The training session was organised by HIV/AIDS experts from France for

some 40 Congolese doctors and pharmacists from Brazzaville and

Pointe-Noire. Its objective was to provide health practitioners with the

latest information on care and antiretroviral (ARV) treatment of patients.

According to the National Programme to Combat AIDS (Programme national de

lutte contre le sida), the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Brazzaville and

Pointe-Noire is 7 percent and 17 percent respectively, with an 80 percent

mortality rate. These cities are the largest in the country. HIV infects

about 300 people each day nationwide.

In December 2002, the ROC government said it would make available 300

million francs CFA (US $530,673) for the purchase of ARV drugs. Monthly

ARV treatment for an HIV/AIDS patient in the ROC costs about 350,000

francs ($619) - roughly equal to the national average annual income.

[ENDS]

2 - ETHIOPIA: UNICEF, gov't tackling HIV/AIDS transmission to children

ADDIS ABABA, 1 May (PLUSNEWS) - The UN's Children's Fund (UNICEF) and

Ethiopian government are tackling mother-to-child transmission of

HIV/AIDS, which has

affected as many as 200,000 children in Ethiopia.

UNICEF has joined the ministry of health and the HIV/AIDS Prevention

Control Office (HAPCO) to combat transmission of the virus.

" The HIV/AIDS pandemic is having an overwhelming impact on the world's

children, " said Bjorn Ljungqvist, UNICEF head in Ethiopia. " The vast

majority of those children infected were

passed from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding. "

UNICEF says around the world some 1,500 unborn or newborn babies are

infected with HIV each day. Most of these babies will die before they can

celebrate their fifth birthday.

Globally nearly three million children under the age of 15 years are

living with HIV/AIDS and 580,000 children died of AIDS in 2001.

" But means exist to reduce the risk of this tragedy, " added Ljungqvist.

UNICEF has launched a two week campaign to train HIV/AIDS workers in

issues such as voluntary counselling and testing as part of routine

antenatal care, as well as safe, affordable infant feeding practices for

HIV-positive mothers.

The government is extending help to prevent mother to child transmission,

which so far is only available in the capital Addis Ababa. After the

training programme is complete, it will

launch four sites countrywide – covering the north, south, east and west

of Ethiopia.

[ENDS]

3 - SOUTH AFRICA: Chronology of HIV/AIDS treatment access row

JOHANNESBURG, 1 May (PLUSNEWS) - Following a meeting with South African

Deputy-President Zuma last week, AIDS lobby group, Treatment Action

Campaign (TAC), announced it would suspend its civil disobedience action

aimed at forcing the government to introduce a national HIV/AIDS treatment

programme.

TAC said they would meet with the government next month to try to iron out

disagreements on the treatment plan.

The suspension of the campaign comes after months of a bitter stand-off

between the South Africa's AIDS activists and the department of health,

over its refusal to implement a treatment policy.

The following is a chronology of events during 2002 and 2003 over South

Africa's controversial HIV/AIDS treatment access programme.

2001: December - The Pretoria High Court orders the South African

government to provide antiretrovirals (ARVs) to all HIV-positive pregnant

women after a court case brought against the government by TAC. In their

application TAC argued that the government had a duty to offer Nevirapine

under the constitutional right to health care.

In handing down his judgement, Justice Botha said the government

should provide a programme on how they will extend their mother-to-child

transmission (MTCT) prevention scheme by the end of March 2002.

The government's MTCT programme was initially restricted to 18 national

pilot sites. Doctors at state hospitals which were not part of the pilot

sites were not allowed to prescribe Nevirapine.

2002: 21 January - The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government announces that

HIV-positive pregnant women in state hospitals will receive Nevirapine.

KwaZulu-Natal becomes the second province, after the Western Cape, to defy

government policy by making the drug available.

February - Finance Minister Trevor announces that in addition to an

estimated R4 billion (US $348 million) spent by provincial health

departments on AIDS-related illnesses, funding for " prevention programmes,

hospital treatment and community-care programmes will amount to R1 billion

(US $87 million), rising to R1.8 billion (US $156 million) in 2004/5. "

This amount includes a " progressive roll-out of a programme to prevent

mother-to-child transmission at the conclusion of the current trials. "

1 February - International humanitarian organisation, Medecins Sans

Frontieres (MSF) and TAC announce they are importing generic drugs from

Brazil for their pilot ARV programmes.

March - When asked during an interview on national television if

government would be prepared to follow the court order to roll out its

Nevirapine programme, minister of health Tshabalala-Msimang was quoted as

saying: " No, I think the courts and the judiciary must also listen to the

authorities — regulatory authorities — both from this country and the

United States. "

28 March - The government announces it will appeal the Pretoria High Court

judgement, ordering them to provide Nevirapine to HIV-positive pregnant

women, in the Constitutional Court.

5 April - The 2001 High Court decision ordering the state to roll out

Nevirapine is upheld by the Constitutional Court, which points out that by

restricting Nevirapine to 18 pilot sites, government is violating the

constitutional rights of women and their babies.

17 April - In a cabinet briefing, government announces that survivors of

sexual assault and rape can finally receive ARVs. A hospital

superintendent had earlier been discharged for insubordination because he

had accommodated the Greater Nelspruit Rape Intervention Project (GRIP) in

his facility. GRIP was the first NGO to provide antiretroviral prophylaxis

for rape survivors in cooperation with doctors.

26 April - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria awards the

country a US $165.2 million grant. But Tshabalala-Msimang blocks the US

$72-million grant awarded to KwaZulu-Natal, saying the province should not

have approached the fund directly.

June - The release of the 2001 antenatal survey showed a minimal increase

of 0.3 percent in the national HIV prevalence rate, taking the overall

figure for people aged between 15 to 49 to 20.4 percent.

July - Findings from the 14th international AIDS conference in Barcelona,

Spain, demonstrate that AIDS treatment campaigns are possible in poor

communities.

July - Tshabalala-Msimang, attending the international conference, is

quoted as saying ARVs are " poisons " killing " our people " .

August - Mining giant Anglo American says it will pay for ARVs for its

workers, as part of its expanded HIV/AIDS strategy.

October - During the launch of its " Campaign of Hope " on AIDS, cabinet

issues a statement acknowledging that ARVs could " improve the condition of

people living with HIV/AIDS " and says government is addressing challenges

such as drug prices " to make it feasible and effective to use

antiretrovirals in the public health sector " .

14 October - Deputy-President Zuma meets with representatives from TAC for

the first time, indicating a thaw in relations between the groups.

17 December - In an interview with the Guardian newspaper,

Tshabalala-Msimang is reported as saying budgetary priorities meant her

department could not provide ARVs to HIV-positive South Africans. " South

Africa cannot afford drugs to fight HIV and AIDS, partly because it needs

submarines to deter attacks from nations such as the US, " the newspaper

quoted her as saying.

25 December - The National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS

launch a fasting protest outside the offices of GlaxoKline as part of

its 'Black Christmas' campaign to demand free ARVs.

14 February 2003 - AIDS activists march on the opening of parliament to

call for a national treatment plan to provide free ARVs to all those who

need them.

AIDS advocacy groups say they have been left with no choice but protest

action after the government failed to sign a National Economic Development

and Labour Council (NEDLAC) agreement for a treatment and prevention plan

last year.

21 February - The government will not elevate HIV/AIDS above other

diseases by giving it priority attention, Tshabalala-Msimang is reported

as saying. She had seen the draft treatment plan drawn up by NEDLAC, but

no one would compel her to sign as the state had many pressing issues to

deal with.

27 February - Finance minister announces plans to almost double the

amount spent on HIV/AIDS. Over the next three years, R3.3 billion (US $400

million) will go towards extending preventative programmes and finance

" medically appropriate " treatment for HIV/AIDS.

28 February - Government misses the TAC deadline for signing the NEDLAC

framework agreement for a national HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention plan.

March - The health minister comes under fire again for appointing AIDS

dissident o Giraldo as her nutritional adviser.

18 March - Tshabalala-Msimang denies undermining the importance of ARVs

but maintains the need for adequate infrastructure before rolling out a

treatment plan. " I want to put the infrastructure in place before freely

distributing it. However, it appears the Constitutional Court is forcing

me to do it. In my heart, I believe it is not right to hand them [ARVs]

out to my people. "

19 March - In an update on the national HIV/AIDS plan, government says the

work of a joint technical team tasked to look into the resource

implications of an expanded response to HIV/AIDS, including antiretroviral

treatment, is nearing completion and cabinet will be considering the

findings.

But slams calls for ARVs, saying claims about the effectiveness of

the drugs in the treatment of HIV/AIDS are " a lot of voodoo " and spending

government money on them was " a waste of very limited resources " .

20 March - TAC launches its civil disobedience " Dying for Treatment "

campaign. Activists lay charges of culpable homicide against

Tshabalala-Msimang, and Minister for Trade and Industry Alec Erwin, for

failing to prevent an estimated 600 AIDS-related deaths every day.

April - Global Fund executive director Feachem flies into the

country expecting to sign an agreement allowing the grant money to be

released. The government blames last minute hitches and there is no

signing. " This is very disappointing. The work is urgent and the money

needs to flow - the delay in money means a loss of human lives. These are

life and death issues, " Feacham was quoted as saying.

23 April - South Africa's AIDS policies are failing and the government

urgently needs to make drugs freely available, a report by the South

African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) shows. Despite the creation of one

of the most comprehensive policies and enabling legislation in the world,

the country had not succeeded in implementing these plans sufficiently to

make an impact on reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, the SAHRC report

said.

[ENDS]

4 - ZAMBIA: Government acts against widespread abuse of girls

JOHANNESBURG, 1 May (PLUSNEWS) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed a

commitment by Zambia to address allegations of widespread sexual abuse of

young girls.

The international rights group on Thursday reported it had received a

letter from the office of President Levy Mwanawasa stating that an

inter-ministerial programme would be established to address the issue of

sexual abuse.

The move followed a damning report by HRW in January which detailed sexual

abuse and other rights abuses of Zambian girls, especially those orphaned

by HIV/AIDS.

The report said that due to widespread sexual abuse, girls in Zambia were

five times more likely to be infected with HIV than boys.

" It is no accident that HIV prevalence is five times higher among girls

than boys under age 18 in Zambia, " Janet Fleischman, Washington director

for Africa Division of HRW said at the launch of the report. " Young girls

are preyed upon by older men, including those who dare call themselves

guardians or caretakers of these girls, and the government fails to

protect them. "

HRW has accused authorities of often being insensitive and ineffective in

enforcing anti-sexual abuse laws in Zambia, leading to girls being

reluctant to report abuse.

The organisation said it would follow up closely on the government's

commitment when the programme was established.

For the full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=1691

[ENDS]

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