Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 10/21/2004

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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

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

CONTENT:

1 - ERITREA: Gov't says HIV prevalence stabilising

2 - SOUTHERN AFRICA: WFP asks for US $404 million to aid 1.5 million

people

3 - UGANDA: HIV/AIDS training institute opened

1 - ERITREA: Gov't says HIV prevalence stabilising

NAIROBI, 21 October (PLUSNEWS) - The HIV prevalence in Eritrea has shown a

slight decline over the past few years and appears to have stabilised,

with survey results showing that the unweighted national prevalence rate

has fallen from 2.8 percent in 2001 to 2.4 percent last year, a government

official told PlusNews on Tuesday.

" We have adopted a multi-sectoral approach to prevention that involves

communities, the private sector, United Nations agencies and other

bilateral organizations, " Andeberhan Tesfazion, the director of the

Eritrean National HIV/AIDS/STI and TB Control Divison (NATCoD) said.

" Every partner is guided by the national plan. "

According to the findings of an HIV surveillance report conducted by the

Ministry of Health in all six zones of Eritrea between April and July

2003, prevalence rates were highest in the Southern Red Sea (7.2 percent)

and Maekel (3.6 percent) zones. It said women aged 20 to 24 and 25 to 29

years had higher-than-average rates of infection, and prevalence was

higher among pregnant women in urban areas than those in rural areas.

" Overall HIV prevalence appears to be stabilising, " the report said. " Thus

far, the country has been able to avoid a full-scale epidemic in rural

areas. "

Before the 2003 assessment, a number of attempts to generate data had been

made. The report said in 1994, an HIV surveillance activity carried out in

the capital city, Asmara, indicated a prevalence of three percent, while

another study in 1997 among pregnant women found a rate of two percent. In

2001, the Health Ministry conducted another survey which found a

prevalence rate of 2.8 percent.

" One of the factors that has helped stabilise the prevalence is government

commitment and coordination, " Andeberhan said. " As a sign of that

commitment, we have been able to get a US $40 million soft loan from the

World Bank - the greater part for HIV/AIDS and STIs [sexually transmitted

infections]. We have also developed a communication strategy that is

leading to behavioural change, " he added.

The first AIDS case in Eritrea was reported in 1988. By 2001, more than

13,000 people had been registered as infected. About 2,500 of these cases

were reported in 2001 alone. Since then, the government has embarked on

programmes to fight the epidemic including setting up " free-standing " HIV

testing facilities.

It also established the NATCoD to coordinate and improve the treatment and

management of the various diseases. Eritrea has since built a new national

blood bank in Asmara and has developed a life-skills curriculum for

schools, which encompasses AIDS education. Radio and television, as well

as posters and leaflets, have been used extensively around the country.

[ENDS]

2 - SOUTHERN AFRICA: WFP asks for US $404 million to aid 1.5 million

people

JOHANNESBURG, 21 October (PLUSNEWS) - The World Food Programme on Thursday

launched an appeal for US $404 million to support a monthly average of 1.5

million people in five southern African countries affected by food

shortages, high HIV/AIDS rates and weakened capacity for governance.

The operation, expected to run for three years, needs US $63 million

immediately to help people survive the 'hunger season' in the first

quarter of next year, the UN agency said. Families and individuals

vulnerable to food insecurity and HIV/AIDS in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,

Swaziland and Zambia are to be targeted by the intervention.

" The media spotlight may have moved elsewhere, but the people of southern

Africa will carry the scars of the last few years for generations to

come, " WFP's Regional Director for Southern Africa, Mike Sackett, said in

a statement.

" If we don't step in now with support, there's a very real danger that

southern Africa will descend into a perpetual cycle of tragedy, with

children missing out on education and vital agricultural knowledge being

lost, " he added.

WFP noted that donations received after two previous appeals as a result

of poor harvests in 2002 and 2003 had " averted a humanitarian

catastrophe " , when more than 10 million people across the region had faced

food shortages at the height of the crisis.

The five countries had some of the highest adult HIV prevalence rates in

the world and are struggling to cope with a growing number of orphans

(almost 1.8 million), extreme poverty (more than two-thirds of their

populations live below the poverty line) and rapidly declining life

expectancy.

About one-third of the funds needed for the new WFP operation will support

food relief, while two-thirds will be used to mitigate the effects of

HIV/AIDS and alleviate chronic food insecurity.

WFP said recovery activities would include school feeding, food-for-work

and food-for-training programmes, as well as support for patients with

tuberculosis and people receiving antiretroviral treatment.

After the hardships of the past two years, few households had resources or

assets left to sell to purchase food on the open market, meet the rising

costs of education and healthcare, or invest in agriculture.

" The ability to access critical amounts of food remains one of the biggest

challenges faced by millions of people in this region every day, and

clearly the magnitude of the problem is far outstripping the ability of

countries to cope, " Sackett said.

[ENDS]

3 - UGANDA: HIV/AIDS training institute opened

KAMPALA, 21 October (PLUSNEWS) - One of the largest HIV/AIDS training

centres in Africa has been opened in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. The

institute is designed to treat people suffering from AIDS and train more

than 250 health professionals annually on how best to care for those

infected with HIV.

Pfizer, one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world, funds the

Infectious Disease Institute (IDI), which cost US $15 million to build.

" The Infectious Disease Institute marks a dramatic advance in addressing

the public health needs of sub-Saharan Africa, " said Hank McKinnell,

Pfizer's chief executive, during the official inauguration of the centre

on Wednesday. The centre started receiving patients in April.

" Scientists in Uganda did well to dream about this grand idea of the

institute, but without resources from Pfizer, this would have remained a

dream, " said Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni.

McKinnell told reporters after the opening of the centre that corruption

and red tape had hampered the firm's philanthropy initiatives in Africa.

" Bureaucracy continues to frustrate us in many countries, " he said.

" We have not moved to many African countries due to corruption, especially

in West and North Africa, " said McKinnel. He added that in some countries,

drugs given for free had ended up being offered for sale in private

pharmacies.

[ENDS]

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