Friday, May 08, 2009

• Connecticut HIV/AIDS Advocates Lobby Legislature for Continued Funding

Connecticut HIV/AIDS Advocates Lobby Legislature for Continued Funding
[May 08, 2009]

      About 450 advocates in Connecticut on Wednesday rallied outside the state capitol and then urged state legislators to continue funding HIV/AIDS efforts, saying that the disease is spreading outside high-risk groups and into the general population, the Connecticut Post reports. The rally was led by the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition, which reported that more people are delaying testing and discovering that they are HIV-positive after the disease has progressed to AIDS. Doctors have said that nearly one-fourth -- or 23% -- of newly-diagnosed HIV cases have progressed to AIDS.

Shawn Lang, director of public policy for CARC, said many people "may have been unknowingly infecting other people, but their health has also progressed to the point where it's very difficult to catch up to the disease once it has progressed to the point that you're diagnosed with AIDS." In addition, an increasing number of cases are being transmitted through heterosexual sex, which is a shift from a high number of cases reported among injection drug users and men who have sex with men, the Post reports. There are about 11,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the state, according to the Post.

HIV/AIDS advocates rallied to highlight the need for government support and funding for treatment programs. Emilio Quilles, an advocate who participated in the rally, said that he wants the state governor to know that if HIV/AIDS funding is reduced, "it will be ... devastating to us, not just New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, Stamford, everywhere." State Rep. Patricia Dillon (D) said that HIV/AIDS "is not over," adding, "We have been through worse times than this, and we will get through this together." Kevin Lembo, director of the state Office of Health Care Advocate, said the HIV/AIDS community has support from legislators. He said that several groups have "all come together and worked on it together and put our interests together and not one in front of another" (Dixon, Connecticut Post, 5/6).

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Bergen County, N.J., Rejects Plans To Close No-Cost HIV Testing Center
[May 08, 2009]

      The Bergen County, N.J., Board of Freeholders on Thursday rejected plans to close the only no-cost HIV testing center in the county after opponents said the potential closure could lead to a reduction in the $4 million in Ryan White Program funding that Bergen and Passaic counties receive, NorthJersey.com reports.

County spokesperson Brian Hague recently said that the county would save $104,000 by closing the clinic and allowing a private not-for-profit to conduct no-cost HIV testing at another facility in the county (Gartland, NorthJersey.com, 5/7). Hague said closing the clinic would not threaten federal funding because the county would still provide "public outreach and public education" on HIV (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/4). However, opponents of the plan said the potential closure would put Ryan White funding at risk because the county would not be meeting the federal requirement to maintain HIV programs. Hague on Thursday said the county will continue to provide $104,000 for the center and also will continue to receive $106,000 in state funding. "However we need to satisfy the maintenance of effort, we will," Hague said, adding, "We're not going to work in a capacity that would jeopardize $4 million in the region ... We never had any intention of getting rid of that service."

County Freeholder David Ganz said the Board of Freeholders was "unanimously against" the closure. Ganz said he was more concerned about an interruption in access to no-cost, anonymous HIV testing than about a reduction in Ryan White funding. "It's not a money issue," Ganz said, adding, "It's the anonymity. The people that go want this to be an anonymous test." According to Ganz, the center will remain at its current location but will later be housed in the county's new Housing, Health and Human Services Center, which is expected to open at the end of the year (NorthJersey.com, 5/7).

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HIV Cases Increasing in Britain, UNICEF Report Says
[May 08, 2009]

      Recent figures from UNICEF indicate that Britain recorded 7,734 new HIV cases in 2007 -- almost twice the number of cases recorded around 2000 -- London's Metro reports. According to the report, Britain has double the number of recorded HIV cases than any other Western European country. Metro reports that the country now has a record number of 77,000 HIV-positive people and that more than one-quarter of people living with the virus are unaware of their status. The highest numbers of new cases in 2007 were recorded among men who have sex with men and immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, according to UNICEF. The group's United Kingdom executive director, Anita Tiessen, said that the increase in cases is not "simply a case of people coming here with HIV -- there's a behavior issue."

One in 10 new HIV cases in 2007 was recorded among young people ages 16 to 24, and this group also accounted for nearly half of the 40,000 new sexually transmitted infection cases recorded that year. More than four in 10 new HIV cases were recorded among MSM, and Metro reports that cases recorded among this group continue to increase. Tiessen said that Britain's "sizeable" immigrant population from sub-Saharan African might be contributing to the country HIV/AIDS figures; however, she added that sexual behavior among young people also is a key factor and urged government officials to lead "youth-friendly" prevention campaigns. The Department of Health said it will continue funding for organizations such as the Terrance Higgins Trust and the African HIV Policy Network, which target at-risk groups such as MSM and immigrants (Attewill, Metro, 5/7).

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Indonesia Provides Three Provinces With Funding To Heighten HIV/AIDS Efforts
[May 08, 2009]

      The Indonesia National AIDS Commission, or KPAN, recently provided the provinces of East Java, Bali and South Sulawesi with funding in an effort to increase HIV/AIDS responses in the regions, the Jakarta Post reports. The funding was worth 44.25 billion rupiah, or $4.25 million, and came from a Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria grant. National AIDS Commission Secretary Nafsiah Mboi said she hopes stakeholders would appropriately direct funding toward solutions to address critical issues surrounding the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the regions. She added, "All stakeholders need to back each other to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, as the disease is currently spreading fast, infecting mostly teenagers or people in their productive age." According to Mboi, 21.11 billion rupiah, or $2.02 million, will be allocated to East Java; 10.85 billion rupiah, or $1.04 million, will be given to Bali; and 12.27 billion rupiah, or about $1.17 million, will be directed to South Sulawesi.

East Java Deputy Governor Syaifullah Yusuf said that the province ranks second in the number of people with HIV/AIDS, adding that the province previously ranked third. "This shows there is still much action needed to solve the problem," he said. East Java's government has allocated 1.2 billion rupiah, or about $1.1 million, from its 2009 provincial budget to put toward HIV/AIDS efforts -- an increase from the 780 million rupiah, or about $79,800, allocated last year (Jayakarna/Harahap, Jakarta Post, 5/6).

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Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Examines Area's HIV/AIDS Vaccine Efforts
[May 08, 2009]

      The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle on Thursday examined HIV/AIDS vaccine research being conducted in the area. More than 1,200 people in the Rochester area, most of whom are HIV-negative, have participated in vaccine trials at the University of Rochester Medical Center. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, the medical center runs one of the oldest vaccine research programs nationwide. Katharine Kripke of NIH, who was speaking in the area on Wednesday as part of a National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day forum, said that some people do not participate in trials because they believe they might contract HIV from experimental vaccines. She added that the experimental vaccines cannot transmit HIV.

The Democrat and Chronicle reports that researchers at the URMC vaccine program, which on Wednesday was renamed the Rochester Victory Alliance, are preparing to participate in a large-scale trial that will examine a government-developed experience vaccine among men who have sex with men. Other studies at URMC test immune responses among HIV-negative people. Michael Keefer, lead investigator for the program, said that the research has been incremental and that it might be several years before a vaccine is developed. "We're in this for the long haul," he said (Wang, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 5/7).

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Survey Examines U.S. Public's Attitudes Toward Global Health Spending
[May 08, 2009]

      "Survey of Americans on the U.S. Role in Global Health," Kaiser Family Foundation: The survey found that about two-thirds of the U.S. public supports maintaining (39%) or increasing (25%) U.S. government funding to improve health in developing countries. Less than one-quarter, or 23%, of the public said that the government spends too much on global health. According to the survey, levels of support are similar for spending to address HIV/AIDS in developing countries, but the public sense of urgency about HIV/AIDS around the world has declined. The large majority, or 71%, of U.S. residents said that because of the current economic crisis, the country cannot afford to spend more on global health at the moment. The survey also examined perceptions of global health as part of the development agenda. It found that 59% of Americans say fighting terrorism and promoting peace should be a "top priority" for the president and Congress when it comes to helping developing nations, followed by improving education (55%). Next in line and clumped together are reducing poverty (41%), improving health (38%), protecting the environment and fighting climate change (37%), and promoting the rights of women (34%) (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 5/7).

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