USAID HIV/AIDS E-Newsletter - January 2005

The Synergy Project, implemented by Social & Scientific Systems, Inc., published this E-Newsletter on behalf of USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS.

This E-Newsletter ended in 2005, but access past editions in the archive section.

The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of HIV/AIDS is proud to be a partner in The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. This e-newsletter is a regular update from USAID and its partners on programs that prevent and mitigate HIV/AIDS across the developing world.

We encourage you to circulate this publication to colleagues.

Table of Contents

• A. News
  • Arab Religious Leaders Endorse Groundbreaking Statement on AIDS
  • CORE Initiative Grants Fund New Partnerships in China and India
  • U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Visits South African AIDS Projects
  • Egypt Opens Its First Anonymous Voluntary Counseling and Testing Site
  • Horizons to Examine Treatment Services for Pediatric HIV Infection in South Africa
  • C-SAFE Monitors Impact of Food on HIV/AIDS-Related Beneficiaries
  • Ugandan Clubs Empower Young Women to Protect Future
  • Organization Gives HIV-Positive Nepalese Women a Voice
    
    
• B. Recent Events
  • Seminar Highlights Advances in Addressing HIV/AIDS among Women and Girls
  • First Asia-Pacific Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS Best Practices Conference Held
  • Kenyan Youth Turn Out for AIDS Rock Concert
  • Media Barons Mobilize Against HIV/AIDS
    
    
• C. Publications
  • Synergy Project Series Explores Important Issues and Challenges to Scale-Up of HIV/AIDS Programs
  • Report Describes Costing of Nevirapine Delivery to Infants in Zambia
  • IMPACT Project Releases Three Issues in "Snapshots" Series
  • Bulletin Focuses on Integration of Family Planning and HIV Services
  • Resources on Health Systems Strengthening and HIV/AIDS Cited
    
    
• D. Online Resources
  • POLICY Project and FHI/YouthNet Launch Newsletter, Update Resources
  • The Synergy HIV/AIDS Resource Center Highlights What's New
  
  

A. News

• Arab Religious Leaders Endorse Groundbreaking Statement on AIDS
  More than 80 Muslim and Christian religious leaders at the Regional Religious Leaders Colloquium in Cairo, held December 11-13, 2004, signed the Cairo Declaration, which supports the participation of religious organizations in a comprehensive response to the epidemic. The colloquium was part of a series of activities for regional religious leaders sponsored by the Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project, which is managed by Family Health International.
  
  
• CORE Initiative Grants Fund New Partnerships in China and India
  The Catholic Medical Mission Board has received a $250,000 grant from the CORE Initiative to address HIV/AIDS issues in China and India. The China Nursing Leadership Initiative will improve the skills of China's nurses in HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and counseling. Voluntary counseling and testing centers in India will be strengthened to reduce young people’s vulnerability to HIV in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states.
  
  
• U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Visits South African AIDS Projects
  In December, Ambassador Randall Tobias, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, and U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Jendayi Frazer, visited HIV/AIDS projects in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa that are supported by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Ambassador Tobias signed a Memorandum of Agreement on behalf of USAID at Addington Hospital in Durban. The hospital's Reproductive Health Research Unit will train staff to improve reproductive health care and HIV prevention, integrate HIV/AIDS services, and assist the South African Government in implementing treatment programs.
  
  
• Egypt Opens Its First Anonymous Voluntary Counseling and Testing Site
  On World AIDS Day, Family Health International's Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project and the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population launched Egypt's first anonymous voluntary counseling and testing center in Cairo. In 2005 Family Health International/Egypt plans to support five additional VCT sites.
  
  
• Horizons to Examine Treatment Services for Pediatric HIV Infection in South Africa
  Although antiretroviral treatment services have expanded worldwide, little is known about the provision of pediatric HIV care services by health facilities, households, and communities. The Horizons Program and the University of Cape Town have launched a situational analysis study in four South African provinces to document current treatment practices in order to make recommendations for increased access to antiretroviral therapy by children.
  
  
• C-SAFE Monitors Impact of Food on HIV/AIDS-Related Beneficiaries
  The Consortium for Southern Africa Food Security Emergency (C-SAFE) is engaged in a learning exercise to develop appropriate monitoring and evaluation indicators for monitoring the impact of food on the chronically ill, women in programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission, tuberculosis patients, and individuals on antiretroviral therapy. In addition, the consortium is developing the "C-SAFE HIV/AIDS Analysis Tool" and manual for adapting Food for Assets programs to an HIV/AIDS context.
  
  
• Ugandan Clubs Empower Young Women to Protect Future
  Population Services International’s Go-Getter Clubs are empowering young women in Uganda to protect themselves from cross-generational sex, which has been recognized as fueling the spread of HIV infection in Africa, and collaborating with corporate and faith-based partners to provide these women with skills-building and employment opportunities.
  
  
• Organization Gives HIV-Positive Nepalese Women a Voice
  The POLICY Project/Nepal assisted 15 HIV-positive Nepalese women in the formation of a support group for women and children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The group, which now has more than 30 members, chose the name SNEHA Samaj, which means "community of love and affection." It is the first organization of its kind in Nepal.

B. Recent Events

• Seminar Highlights Advances in Addressing HIV/AIDS among Women and Girls
  To commemorate World AIDS Day, the International Center for Research on Women, the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, and Horizons held a seminar in Washington, D.C. that focused on critical issues affecting HIV prevention, treatment, and care for women and girls. Drawing on research and field experience, the presenters focused on property rights, stigma, gender-based violence, microbicides, vaccines, antiretroviral treatment services, and home and community care.
  
  
• First Asia-Pacific Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS Best Practices Conference Held
  Support from the POLICY Project enabled 20 HIV-positive women to participate in the First Asia-Pacific Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS Best Practices Conference. The POLICY Project also sponsored sessions on positive women’s leadership and skills-building. Some 300 delegates from 25 countries attended the conference, which was held in Islamabad from November 29 to December 1, 2004.
  
  
• Kenyan Youth Turn Out for AIDS Rock Concert
  Thousands of young Kenyans "rocked" against AIDS in Nairobi in recognition of World AIDS Day. The concert, held on December 5, was the first of its kind in Kenya. For a week prior to the concert, seven disc jockeys who helped host the event attended an HIV/AIDS reporting workshop provided by Internews' Local Voices project. The concert and the Local Voices training were funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
  
  
• Media Barons Mobilize Against HIV/AIDS
  Internews' Local Voices project, along with the Nigerian National Action Committee on AIDS, the Society for Family Health, and the Futures Group/POLICY Project, convened a summit bringing together prominent Nigerian media leaders for an unprecedented dialogue focusing on ramping up information programs about the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. Attendance at the October 2004 Media Owners and Top Executives Summit was strong, with nearly 100 participants demonstrating a vital interest in mobilizing action against HIV/AIDS.

C. Publications

• Synergy Project Series Explores Important Issues and Challenges to Scale-Up of HIV/AIDS Programs
  "Big Issues in Brief: Scaling Up Responses to HIV/AIDS" provides program managers with valuable information on what works in HIV/AIDS programming. Produced by Social & Scientific Systems, Inc./The Synergy Project, these three briefs delve into counseling, living positively, and stigma.
  
  
• Report Describes Costing of Nevirapine Delivery to Infants in Zambia [PDF, 304KB]
  Produced by Partners for Health Reformplus, "Costing Nevirapine Delivery to Infants: A Zambian Case Study" estimates costs associated with the packaging of infant doses of Nevirapine in four scenarios. The report was requested by USAID for its participation in a public/private sector collaboration with Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, Population Services International, Boehringer Ingelheim, Axios International, and other partners.
  
  
• IMPACT Project Releases Three Issues in "Snapshots" Series
  The latest "Snapshots from the Field" summarize activities of the Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project that support: orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia; community-based organizations initiating prevention, care and treatment programs in Kenya; and home and community-based care in Ethiopia.
  
  
• Bulletin Focuses on Integration of Family Planning and HIV Services
  The latest issue of Family Health International's scientific bulletin, "Network," explores the integration of family planning and HIV services. While such integration is not new, much remains unknown about how best to accomplish it and what impact it will have on reproductive health outcomes. This edition of "Network" is the first in a series of USAID-supported publications intended to encourage reproductive and sexual health experts to address the feasibility and effectiveness of efforts to integrate family planning and HIV services.
  
  
• Resources on Health Systems Strengthening and HIV/AIDS Cited [PDF, 576KB]
  To provide comprehensive information on the costs of interventions and the impact of HIV/AIDS on health systems to policymakers, technical personnel, and other stakeholders, Partners for Health Reformplus prepared "Health Systems Strengthening and HIV/AIDS: Annotated Bibliography and Resources." Documents included in this volume focus on economic impact, financing and resource allocation, costing, health system strengthening, scaling up antiretroviral therapy, surveillance systems, and program monitoring and evaluation.

D. Online Resources

• POLICY Project and FHI/YouthNet Launch Newsletter, Update Resources
  • The youth-policy.com website is an online resource for improving youth reproductive health and HIV policy worldwide, and is used by youth, policymakers, nongovernmental organizations, donors, and technical experts. The youth-policy.com Newsletter features news, events, and policymaking efforts in the rapidly changing field of youth reproductive health.
  • Youth InfoNet No. 11 is a valuable source for new publications and information on youth reproductive health and HIV prevention.
    
    
• The Synergy HIV/AIDS Resource Center Highlights What's New
  The Synergy HIV/AIDS Resource Center currently contains more than 3,500 documents on HIV/AIDS project management, research, and reproductive health issues, most of which are available for download. Users can refer to "What's New in the Synergy Resource Center," which provides links to new publications, or search the entire online database.