AFRO-NETS> Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Fri, 4 Jan 2002

[Cecilia Snyder <csnyder@ccmc.org>]

Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Fri, 4 Jan 2002
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* Restructured 14th International AIDS Conference Will Include
  Greater Emphasis on Prevention, Implementation and Policy
* Zambian President 'Vows' to Fight AIDS 'National Disaster'
* In Partnership With Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation,
  CBS' 'Survivor: Africa' Highlights Mother-to-Child Transmission Ef-
  forts
* Catholics for a Free Choice, Catholic League Presidents Discuss Ad
  Campaign Criticizing Bishops' Stance on Condom Use on CNN's 'Cross-
  fire'


--
Restructured 14th International AIDS Conference Will Include Greater
Emphasis on Prevention, Implementation and Policy

The 14th International AIDS Conference, which will take place July 7-
12 in Barcelona, Spain, will be restructured to include a greater em-
phasis on prevention, implementation and policy as part of an "effort 
to close what [organizers] feel is a serious gap between AIDS scien-
tists and people working on the ground," the Lancet reports. Previous 
sessions of the biannual conference have placed a "heavy emphasis on 
biomedical research" because of the relative newness of the disease 
and because "little was known about the causal virus," conference co-
chair Jordi Casabona, director of the Center for Epidemiological 
HIV/AIDS Studies at the Catalan Health Department in Barcelona, said. 
However, it has become "increasingly clear" that a biomedical ap-
proach alone will not defeat HIV/AIDS and that "effective policies 
and programs that promote science-based prevention and provide af-
fordable access to effective treatments" are also needed.

The New Conference Model

This year's conference will be divided into two main components: a 
"science" and an "action" component, with "bridging sessions" to 
bring scientists and policymakers together on certain issues. The 
conference will also feature three new tracks. "Prevention Science" 
will be part of the science component and feature workshops on vac-
cine and microbicide development and behavioral prevention work. Ca-
sabona noted that many researchers erroneously thought that preven-
tion research was "less scientific than clinical studies" and preven-
tion papers had been "scattered" around previous meetings as a re-
sult. The other two tracks -- "Interventions and Program Implementa-
tion," which will focus on how to "design, implement and sustain" ef-
fective HIV/AIDS programs, and "Advocacy and Policy," which will con-
centrate on how to create a "political, social and cultural climate 
that will help people fighting HIV/AIDS succeed" -- will be housed 
under the action component. The interventions and programs track will 
include peer-reviewed abstracts, group discussions and speaker ses-
sions, while the advocacy and policy track will focus on ways to mo-
bilize resources, how to deal with trade and intellectual property 
rights and how to "empower marginalized groups" such as sex workers, 
refugees and sexual minorities. The bridging sessions will blend par-
ticipants from all of the tracks, combining the "scientific rigor" of 
the conference with a "multisectoral approach," Casabona said, adding 
that "as a public health problem, the fight against AIDS needs both 
of them" (McCarthy, Lancet, 1/5).


--
Zambian President 'Vows' to Fight AIDS 'National Disaster'

Newly elected Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has "vowed" to fight 
his country's AIDS epidemic, calling it a "national disaster" and 
promising to examine ways to obtain cheaper AIDS drugs for Zambians, 
Reuters reports. "I myself will be leading a campaign against AIDS," 
Mwanawasa said in his first media interview after being sworn in on 
Wednesday, adding that he would "look at ways to get cheaper drugs to 
people with HIV/AIDS while increasing awareness about the dangers of 
the disease." Zambia, a country in which one in five adults is HIV-
positive, currently has no national AIDS program. AIDS groups "wel-
comed Mwanawasa's openness," but said that he "will need to have se-
rious political commitment." The Zambian people will "be watching 
closely to see if Mwanawasa [will] translate words into deeds," a 
spokesperson for the Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa Foundation, an 
organization founded by former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda to 
help children orphaned by AIDS, said, adding that they "hope [he] can 
give AIDS the seriousness it deserves, because the disease is de-
stroying the fabric of the nation." HIV/AIDS is "eroding" Zambia's 
skilled workforce and food security as professionals, farmers and la-
borers die from the disease. A draft 2002 state budget, which should 
reflect Mwanawasa's "priorities," will be presented Jan. 25 to par-
liament (Esipisu, Reuters, 1/3).


--
In Partnership With Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, CBS' 
'Survivor: Africa' Highlights Mother-to-Child Transmission Efforts

A partnership between the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation 
and the CBS reality television show "Survivor: Africa" will highlight 
the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the foundation's work to prevent mother-to-
child transmission of the disease. In last night's episode of "Survi-
vor: Africa," participant Lex van den Berghe won a Chevy Avalanche 
truck and used the vehicle to deliver HIV test kits and the drug 
nevirapine to Kenya's Wamba Catholic Hospital for a "first-hand look 
at the HIV/AIDS crisis and its devastating effect in Africa." The 
foundation is working with Wamba Hospital to create a "sustainable 
program" to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In addition, 
CBS began airing public service announcements about HIV/AIDS during 
its primetime programming in October. The spots feature "Survivor: 
Africa" Host Jeff Probst and direct viewers to the foundation's web 
site. CBS will continue to air the PSAs during the network's prime-
time schedule throughout 2002. Finally, the network will auction off 
"Survivor: Africa" props and memorabilia on eBay following the show's 
Jan. 10 finale, with all proceeds going to the foundation. Elizabeth 
Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation President and CEO Kate Carr said, 
"The visibility that the 'Survivor' partnership brings to the founda-
tion through the airing of PSAs and the inclusion of our work in an 
episode of 'Survivor: Africa' is helping us to spread the word about 
our work" (CBS/Glaser Foundation release, 1/3).


--
Catholics for a Free Choice, Catholic League Presidents Discuss Ad 
Campaign Criticizing Bishops' Stance on Condom Use on CNN's 'Cross-
fire'

Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice, and Wil-
liam Donohue, president of the Catholic League, last night discussed 
on CNN's "Crossfire" a CFFC international ad campaign criticizing 
Catholic bishops' stance on condom use. Explaining the reasoning be-
hind the ad campaign's slogan "Banning Condoms Kills," Kissling said 
that although the "Catholic church treats nine million people a year 
who are currently infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide ... they're told 
nothing about condoms," adding that some of those people are sexually 
active. When asked by co-host Bill Press if he had to "admit [that] 
every single word of that ad is true," Donohue responded, "There's 
not a single person in the history of the world ... who has ever died 
as a result of a sexually transmitted disease because they followed 
Catholic teaching. ... It is preposterous."     

--
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, 
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National 
Journal Group Inc. © 2002 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser 
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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