$22-million USAID Grant propels University of Manitoba's AIDS work in India

[Guest guest]

Grant propels University of Manitoba's AIDS work

JOE FRIESEN

WINNIPEG -- An American aid agency has awarded a team of physicians

from the University of Manitoba $22-million (U.S.) to design and

implement an HIV-AIDS prevention and support program in India.

The grant from USAID is one of the largest in the university's

history, and cements the institution's reputation as a leader in HIV

community health care and public education.

" It's a significant amount of money. We're excited to have access to

it, " said Dr. Moses, one of the project's leaders. " About

two-thirds of the funding will go to services and programs for care

and support of people who have HIV, and this is the first time we've

had a significant amount of money to help people living with the

virus. "

Dr. Moses said India has the highest number of HIV-infected people

in the world: five million. Although infection rates are still well

below those in parts of Africa, the absolute numbers are high

because of India's enormous population.

" The most severely affected areas are in the south, where we're

working, " Dr. Moses said.

" There are four large states that that have about 30 per cent of the

population, and 70 per cent of the people with HIV. "

Emoke Szathmary, president of the University of Manitoba, said the

grant is further proof that the university's work on AIDS in the

developing world is recognized globally.

" You have to go right where the disease is spreading in order to

contain it, " Dr. Szathmary said. " You need to understand how human

beings actually function and how their behaviour contributes to

transmission. This is a character of the work that we've done on

HIV/AIDS prevention, right from the very beginning. "

University of Manitoba researchers were at the forefront of public-

health research on HIV and AIDS with their work in Kenya in the

1980s.

They discovered a group of Kenyan prostitutes who, although

repeatedly exposed to HIV, didn't contract the virus. The discovery

has been described as one of the best hopes for developing an HIV

vaccine. The researchers also established a number of community-

based prevention strategies, such as free clinics, prevention

counselling and support for sex workers, that have been emulated

elsewhere around the world.

" The fact that we've been able to do as much as we've been able to

do is because our infectious-disease specialists have recognized

that disease has both social and biological dimensions, " Dr.

Szathmary said. " The work that they've done in Africa and India is a

demonstration that inter-cultural knowledge can be put to extremely

good use not only for the sake of local people but also in terms of

global safety. "

Dr. Moses and his colleague Dr. Blanchard are based in

Bangalore, a high-tech capital of seven million people in southern

India. The $22-million from USAID is specifically for the southern

state of Karnataka, where 500,000 people are infected with HIV, and

for coastal districts in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh.

" There tends to be more commerce, more movement of people and goods

[in the south], " Dr. Moses said, which means many more opportunities

to be exposed to HIV.

The grant from USAID, an arm's-length agency of the U.S. government

that funds development work, is to be paid over five years. It

follows several multimillion-dollar grants from the Bill and Melinda

Gates Foundation and the Canadian International Development Agency.

In total, close to $70-million has been channelled to the

university's HIV/AIDS programs in India.

Dr. Blanchard, who has lived with his family in southern India for

the last 5½ years, said the program has evolved from a small,

dedicated group to a massive organization that links community

groups and non-governmental organizations with government officials,

physicians and researchers.

While most academic institutions tend to focus on laboratory and

clinical research, Dr. Blanchard said Manitoba's more hands-on

approach evolved naturally from its early work in Africa.

" Once you start working in this kind of context, it's very difficult

to not see what else you can do, " he said.

Dr. Blanchard and his colleagues will use the additional funds to

expand the reach of their prevention and education programs, and

bring HIV care to areas that haven't had it before. This will mean

establishing local networks for HIV care referral, building drop-in

centres for care and establishing out-patient clinics where drugs

will be available. All of this will require a great deal of co-

operation from local officials and non-governmental groups.

" It takes a lot of administrative skill, because you're managing not

only a lot of staff, but a lot of partner NGOs. So you have to

establish a very strong managing structure, " Dr. Blanchard said.

" You're talking about an incredibly complex, social, cultural

demographic environment. The main challenge working in India is

trying to understand how to focus efforts. "

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061106.MANITOBA06/

TPStory/National

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

I was shocked to read that 70% of the population in the Southern States of India

are infected with HIV, as stated by Dr. Moses, one of the University of

Manitoba's India AIDS project's leaders.

The figures are too kuch exaggerated and project a bad imaga of the country. May

I request you to please be very cautious in giving the statistics which have no

base.

I will like to have the e-mail id of Dr. Moses to discuss the matter with him.

Please oblige.

With regards

Yours sincerely

Lt.Col. (Dr.)S.S.Verma (Retd.)

e-mail: <suren_verma@...>

[Guest guest]

[Moderators note: Based on the clarification from Dr. Moses, any further

discussion on this topic is closed. Those of you contributed to this discussion

please note, your comments will not be posted. Thank you]

Dear Dr. Verma and the FORUM,

I did not say that 70% of the population in the southern states of India are

infected with HIV. What I said was that about 70% of all infected people in

India are in the southern states.

Best regards.

Dr. Moses

e-mail: <smoses@...>