Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 7/29/2004

[Guest guest]

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

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network

[These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENT:

1 - DJIBOUTI: More free antiretroviral drugs to become available

2 - GREAT LAKES: New intergovernmental effort to combat AIDS

1 - DJIBOUTI: More free antiretroviral drugs to become available

DJIBOUTI, 29 July (PLUSNEWS) - The Djiboutian government is to expand the

provision of free antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to people infected with the

HIV virus using an allocation of US $12 million from the Global Fund

Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS Malaria and Tuberculosis, officials told

PlusNews.

Ali Ismael, the head of Djibouti’s inter-sectoral technical committee

on HIV/AIDS, said that the government would also improve treatment and

care for those suffering from AIDS, target vulnerable groups through

prevention and care, promote civil society involvement and improve data

gathering and surveillance.

Until now, only 200 people were receiving free ARVs, Ali said. With

the new funding, the number of those receiving free ARVs would initially

be increased to 4,000.

" Everybody in Djibouti, including refugees and legal immigrants who need

ARVs upto 2007, will be able to receive them free, " he told PlusNews on

Monday.

A March 2002 survey showed that the national HIV-prevalence rate in

Djibouti was 2.9 percent - a figure which the country's health authorities

say is low by African standards, but represents a generalised epidemic.

The country however has one of the highest rates of TB infection in the

world.

The survey also showed that 90 percent of those infected lived in Djibouti

Ville, and that women were more affected than men. But it also showed that

less than half the population knew that condom use reduced the risk of

infection.

Ali said Djibouti's application to the fund for support to control

malaria and TB had not been successful. " I don’t know why they refused the

TB proposal, and we will be appealing. If the appeal is not successful,

then we will apply in the fifth round, " he said.

Tim , spokesman for the fund told PlusNews that the application was

not successful due to technical reasons which needed clarification.

A Global Fund mission is expected to visit to Djibouti in September.

said the government would clarify the technical questions raised by the

fund.

According to officials in the capital, Djibouti Ville, the spread of

HIV/AIDS could be stabilised because of the low prevalence in the country,

and also because most of Djibouti's small population of 600,000 was

concentrated in the capital.

The Global Fund's technical review panel noted that Djibouti's strengths

in combating the spread of HIV included political commitment, a balance

between prevention and care and strong donor participation. But it said

that the environment in the country was difficult to operate in, citing

severe human resource constraints and dependence on foreign experts.

Djiboutian officials say the spread of HIV/AIDS has been fuelled by

several factors. These include poverty that is linked to prostitution,

traditions that encourage " sexual relations with prostitutes " , low

literacy rates and high urbanisation.

In May 2003, the World Bank gave a $12 million grant to support the

Djibouti government's response to HIV, sexually transmitted infections,

malaria, and TB. Ali said the World Bank grant was mainly for

prevention, while the new funding from the Global Fund would be used for

care and treatment.

[ENDS]

2 - GREAT LAKES: New intergovernmental effort to combat AIDS

BUJUMBURA, 29 July (PLUSNEWS) - In an effort to stem the spread of

HIV/AIDS in the Great Lakes region, government ministers from six

countries signed a convention on Tuesday establishing a new regional

organisation called the Great Lakes Initiatives on AIDS (GLIA).

The Great Lakes has the world's second highest incidence of HIV infection

after southern Africa.

In a statement following a two-day conference in Bujumbura, the Council of

Ministers agreed that the organisation would be headquartered in Rwanda's

capital, Kigali. Member states are Burundi, Democratic Republic of the

Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

Part of the GLIA's role will be to monitor the movement of people in the

region, said Burundi's representative, Luc Rukingama, the country's

minister in charge of fighting AIDS.

" HIV often expands due to migration, displacement and repatriation from

one country to another, " he said.

But rather than try to control the movement of people, the GLIA plans to

raise awareness of the pandemic. The Council of Ministers is planning a

programme that would include posters at border crossings as well as

workshops and seminars targeting itinerant segments of their societies,

including traders and teachers.

Rukingama said the GLIA would also support people infected with HIV as

well as others dependent on them. " This organisation will bring about

innovations in how we fight AIDS, " he said.

Despite political tensions in the subregion the ministers in the council

said they were committed to working together and had recommended that the

convention be ratified no later than 26 October.

[ENDS]

[This Item is Delivered to the English Service of the UN's IRIN

humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views

of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or

to change your keywords, contact e-mail: Irin@... or Web:

http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post

this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by

commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004

IRIN Contacts:

IRIN-Asia

Tel: +92-51-2211451

Fax: +92-51-2292918

Email: IrinAsia@...

To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit:

http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions

Subscriber: AIDS treatments