HIV/AIDS Conference
A while back we discussed an upcoming major AIDS conference in Moscow, well the event has arrived and it comes with some positive news. It was the largest Eastern Europe/Central Asia conference ever held and lasted for three days. Around 2,000 participants from over 50 nations took part to assess regional achievements, share results and best practices, examine the epidemic’s recent feminization, and determine how to meet this epidemic’s challenge to their region. The official theme of the conference was ‘Accelerating Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care for All,’ and was hosted by entities from the UN, the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, the International AIDS Society, and a Russian government sponsored organization.
Both regions were said to be at a ‘critical turning point’ in this fight and the UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot optimistically noted that the region’s governments, civil societies and communities were displaying indications of ‘enhanced leadership and cooperation’ on this issue. However, he lamented that discrimination and a negative stigma still resonates in both regions, keeping HIV prevention projects from making real progress. Overall there was good news which showcased that prevention efforts have made an impact; the estimated number of new HIV infections dropped from 230,000 in 2001 to 150,000 in 2007.
A report by the Times of Central Asia included a terse examination of HIV/AIDS in Tajikistan with an emphasis on the fore-mentioned stigma and discrimination that have been associated with the disease. They present a much darker picture of the epidemic’s spread and of a culture and society that has largely turned its back on its victims. They cite recent government data, which indicates that the disease has been on the rise in the country every year since 2001. The Times states that the nation is ’struggling’ to cope’ with the spread HIV/AIDS because of poor medical services and ‘conservative moral attitudes which encourage shame and secrecy.’ We can only hope that the recent conference can bring some effective policies to Tajikistan and help them deal with this challenging and deadly disease.
I want to leave on a more positive note, so here is a story about how the Global Fund to Fight AIDS is considering providing loans, to replace grants, to nations moving above their required income-level such as Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. Kazakhstan’s rising economy will push them above the income-level to receive grants, but Michel Kazatchkine, the fund’s director, cites the nation as an example of a country which can still benefit from a loan and extended help. This sounds like good policy since many of these nations still only have incipient HIV prevention structures and civil society’s which may perish or fall into disrepair without continual aid and oversight by such a group as the Global Fund.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:46 am
[…] Getting health care and health care policy right is a continual battle for developed countries, as one hears cases of doctor and medical mishaps all to frequently, but one thing we have come to count on, at least here in the US, is that the blood transfusions we receive are clean and safe. A new World Bank study titled ‘Blood Services n Central Asian Health Systems– A Clear and Present Danger of Spreading HIV/AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases‘ reports that this is not so in many CA states. For a little background on Central Asia’s HIV/AIDS problems here is a old write-up with some useful resources. […]