BEIJINGNews (Updated
December 6, 2009)
[Home]
[Previous
news]
30 Nov 2009
Source: Reuters
BEIJING
The health department in
Dali, a picturesque city on a lake in southwestern
Same-sex transmission
accounts for about one-third of new HIV infections in
"Some readers think
that it's a waste of taxpayer money, or an indirect endorsement of homosexual
behaviour," the Beijing News said in an opinion piece on Monday, citing
letters to the editor after it ran an article on the bar over the weekend.
"They think if there
were another way to reach out to the gay community, it wouldn't be necessary to
open a bar."
Founder Zhang Jianbo hopes
that the bar will be a public gathering place for gay men, especially from rural
villages, who used to gather in a patch of woods near the historic town.
The bar offers sex
education and free condoms, in addition to companionship, Zhang said in an
interview with the newspaper.
Though funded by the
government, the bar is staffed by volunteers from a local non-government
organisation that works to prevent AIDS.
"Each year, the Dali
city government spends 20,000 yuan ($2,929) on treatment drugs for AIDS. So if
our bar succeeds in reducing transmission, our 120,000 yuan will be
well-spend," Jiang Anmin, deputy director of health in Dali, told the
paper.
"In the past the
government relied on NGOs to reach out to the gay community," Bing Lan,
director of outreach organisation Aibai, told Reuters.
"Now there's a
change, in that some local health bureaus feel they are able to reach out to the
community themselves."
But one unintended
consequence of outreach efforts in parks, bars and bathhouses frequented by gay
men, Bing said, is that some gay men now avoid those haunts for fear of being
found out.
"Today I saw a blog,
saying that when the bar in Dali has its official opening on World Aids Day,
no-one will dare to go because there will be too many reporters there," he
said.
December 1, 2009
Royston Chan
The second storey of this
nondescript building in Fuyang city in
Heavy stigma still
surrounds the disease in
Change is occurring,
albeit slowly.
President Hu Jintao last
year shook hands with AIDS patients to try and reduce some of the stigma. On
World AIDS Day -- December 1 -- this year, he met with AIDS awareness
volunteers, and spoke with patients by telephone.
At this orphanage run by
the non-government Fuyang AIDS Orphan Salvation Association, children are
provided with food, lodging, education and badly-needed drugs to help them
control the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS.
The children play games
and attend classes, while the association also checks on those who live at home.
"Our children have a
healthier state of mind now. When I first started to get to know these children,
they had a low self esteem and were afraid of being discriminated against by
others," association director Zhang Ying told Reuters.
"After these few
years, by staging different kinds of activities for them, the children no longer
feel inferior and are more confident about themselves."
One of the biggest
difficulties is getting the children to take their medication regularly. HIV is
infamous for the speed with which it mutates and incorrect use of drugs will
quickly result in drug resistance -- meaning the patient has to take stronger
drugs which may not be available in the country.
Chen Xueyan, 9, lives with
her grandmother in their dilapidated village home near Fuyang. She contracted
HIV from her deceased mother, who was infected when she sold blood.
The transmission of HIV
through blood is a particularly sensitive topic. On Tuesday, tearful relatives
of haemophiliacs who contracted HIV from blood products took the stage at an
AIDS-awareness event in
INCORRECT DOSAGES
Sun Panpan, a staff worker
with the Fuyang association, said Chen had previously been taking incorrect
dosages of HIV drugs as her father and grandmother had not been monitoring her
closely.
"If she persists with
such incorrect intake of these medicines over a long period of time, there is a
possibility of her becoming immune to the medicine. Then, she would have to
change the kind of medicine she is taking," said Sun.
Some 10,000 children in
The children mostly live
in central
Some children have lost
both parents to AIDS and are now facing another challenge -- how to survive.
The Clinton Foundation
gave
Some NGOs are now making
regular visits to the homes of these children to ensure they take their
medication correctly. Some, particularly those in rural areas, go without
treatment because their families are too poor to afford proper diagnosis.
(Writing by Tan Ee Lyn;
Editing by Lucy Hornby and Ron Popeski)
The statement by the
health ministry came a day after President Hu Jintao called on the nation's
people not to discriminate against those with HIV in comments widely broadcast
by the nation's government-controlled media.
"Sexual contact
continues to be the main channel of transmission with the speed of homosexual
transmission clearly increasing," the health ministry said.
"This is a new
situation that we need to pay attention to."
The disease first gained
hold in
But in recent years,
transmission avenues have expanded out from those traditionally high-risk
groups, the ministry said.
"The AIDS epidemic
has already spread from high-risk groups to ordinary people, dangerous elements
of AIDS transmission are present everywhere," it said.
"AIDS is affecting
more and more people and the transmission is becoming more diverse."
The ministry urged
stepped-up education efforts on safe sex and condom use.
By the end of October
2009,
The ministry has estimated
that up to 740,000 people in
You "must care more
and better for AIDS patients and people living with HIV, and in particular guide
society into not discriminating against them," the president told AIDS
prevention volunteers.
"We welcome the
positive attitude of Chinese leaders on the fight against AIDS," prominent
AIDS activist Wan Yanhai and director of the AIDS Action Project told AFP.
"But we would like to
see the government open up to all non-government organisations... as our
activities are still being restricted, we are unable to raise funds from inside
China and we are still subject to (police) surveillance."
AFP - Tuesday, December 1,
2009
A
patient is told how to take anti-retroviral drugs at a hospital in
GENEVA (AFP) - – The
World Health Organisation (WHO) issued new advice on the treatment of HIV on
Monday, the eve of World AIDS day, saying drugs should be given earlier and even
be prescribed to breastfeeding mothers.
The WHO says adults and
adolescents should receive anti-retroviral therapy (ART) when their immune
system strength falls below 350 cells per cubic millimetre of blood. In 2006,
the organisation had set the level at 200 cells per cubic millimetre.
"These new
recommendations are based on the most up to date available data," said
Hiroki Nakatani, assistant director general for HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and
Neglected Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organization.
"Their widespread
adoption will enable many more people in high-burden areas to live longer and
healthier lives."
The WHO also recommended
pregnant women exposed to the virus could be treated with anti-retroviral drugs
(ARVs) from the 14th week of pregnancy and that treatment could continue during
breastfeeding.
"Several clinical
trials have shown the efficacy of ARVs in preventing transmission to the infant
while breastfeeding," a WHO statement said.
The WHO also said
Stavudine, a relatively cheap HIV/AIDS drug that is widely used in developing
countries, should be replaced with Zidovudine and Tenofovir as they have less
harmful side effects.
Some 33.4 million people
worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS and there are 2.7 million new cases each
year.
by Hasan Mansoor Hasan
Mansoor Sun Nov 29, 10:07 pm ET
KARACHI
"None of us were
aware about the danger of AIDS looming over us for years but now we all know and
can avoid it," said the tall 29-year-old who lives in a Victorian-style
building in the heart of the neighbourhood.
Shumaila's awareness --
rare among
"So far we have
provided hundreds of thousands of condoms to sex workers in the last two years,
which have saved them from being infected with the lethal virus," said
Mirza Aleem Baig, who runs the forum.
"This is 20 percent
of their overall population in
Prostitution may be
illegal but it has prospered in an increasingly Islamised Pakistan, where an
economic downturn and widening poverty have forced women and men onto the
streets to meet the rising cost of living.
Shaheena, 38, is a
home-based sex worker. She is a skilled paramedic but seldom finds a permanent
job.
"So I opted to enter
this business on the side," she told AFP, veiling her face to hide her
identity.
"I have sibblings,
cousins, nephews and nieces who don't know about my second profession. So I
don't want to identify myself to embarass them.
"But it's a question
of survival as none of my relatives support me with money. They are all too
stretched themselves," she said.
Azam says more than 60
percent of
This year's annual UN
report on AIDS said while the epidemic in Asia appears to be stable overall, HIV
prevalence is increasing in some parts of the region, such as
A survey published in the
report said 60 percent of female sex workers and 45 percent of their male
clients in
Of those that do, few
protect themselves.
"The number of our
clients who agree to wear a condom is very small. Female condoms are not
available, which can save us more effectively," said Nasreen, another
prostitute in
"I can't carry
condoms in my purse on the street as we're vulnerable to the police and could be
arrested if they find them," said Afshan, 29, who walks the city's busy
streets looking for clients.
The most recent survey
conducted by
The UN report estimates
that around 96,000 people, or 0.1 percent of the population, live with HIV in
NACP says the disease is
spreading among high-risk groups, especially drug users, who mostly inject and
use dirty needles, raising fears the virus could spread quickly from addicts to
prostitutes.
In 2006,
"It is at least 15
percent," said Azam.
"They are totally at
the mercy of their clients. Most of their clients refuse to wear condoms,"
he said.
"In
Baig said he had
identified an HIV-positive sex worker a few months ago and tried to help her
with treatment and a new job but she left because her colleagues considered her
a blot on their business.
"Now, no one knows
where she is and what she is doing," he said.
November 30, 2009
The
AIDS epidemic in
"Heterosexual contact
has become the chief transmission path as the number of new cases transmitted
through drug consumption has dropped," the UNAIDS coordinator in Ukraine
Anna Shakarishvili told reporters.
This trend "threatens
to make the epidemics generalised," while at present it is concentrated in
risk groups such as prostitutes, homosexuals and drug addicts, a health ministry
official, Svitlana Tsherenko, warned.
Lacking a swift and
efficient response, "the epidemics may reduce male life expectancy in
Ukraine by up to four years and its GDP by six percent by 2014," the UNAIDS
stressed in its statement, pointing out the lack of budget funds allocated to
combat the disaster.
Of
Officially, 151,000 cases
of HIV contamination have registered since 1987.
The highest number of new
cases was recorded last year at nearly 19,000, which is a 7.3 percent rise from
2007 figures. This year, over 10,000 new cases were registered in the first six
months alone, compared to last year's 9,400 for the same period.
The only significant
progress in fighting the disease was noted in the area of preventing HIV
transmission from mother to child, which had fallen from 27 percent in 2000 to
seven percent in 2008, UNAIDS said.
by Godfrery Marawanyika
Tue Dec 1, 2009
PRETORIA
(AFP) – Calls for an end to discrimination against sufferers rang out on World
AIDS Day on Tuesday as South Africa, the country worst affected by the pandemic,
rolled out a new battleplan to beat the virus.
With more than 33 million
people round the world carrying the virus,
And French first lady
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy lent her star power to the global campaign against AIDS by
calling for greater efforts to beat mother-to-child HIV transmission.
In
You "must care more
and better for AIDS patients and people living with HIV, and in particular guide
society into not discriminating against them," Hu told AIDS prevention
volunteers in Beijing, comments aired by state television.
Levels of stigma and
discrimination against sufferers remain high in large parts of Asia, such as
A group representing HIV
carriers, a migrants' trade union and three other rights groups filed a petition
Tuesday with
Such practices are
"in breach of the rights to human worth and dignity and rights to
work" it said, adding that discrimination against foreigners on grounds of
nationality, social status or illness was unconstitutional.
In an annual report
released last week, the UN said that around two million people died of the
disease in 2008, bringing the overall toll to around 25 million since the virus
was first detected three decades ago.
Almost 60 million people
have been infected by the HIV virus since it was first recorded, the UNAIDS
agency said in its report, putting the total number of people currently living
with the virus at 33.4 million. Related article:
President Jacob Zuma, who
was then head of the National AIDS Council, provoked ridicule three years ago
when he said that he had showered to wash away the risk of AIDS after having sex
with an HIV-positive woman.
But since then, Zuma has
been trying to reshape his image and used World AIDS Day to announce a raft of
new measures to rein in the disease that has hit 5.7 million of
"Let today be the
dawn of a new era. Let there be no more shame, no more blame, no more
discrimination and no more stigma," he said in his speech.
The most eye-catching
announcement from Zuma was that all babies with HIV would receive
anti-retroviral treatment.
"All children under
one year of age will get treatment if they test positive," Zuma said.
He also announced expanded
treatment for pregnant women, in a bid to prevent the transmission of HIV to
their children.
"Sexual contact
continues to be the main channel of transmission with the speed of homosexual
transmission clearly increasing," the health ministry said.
"This is a new
situation that we need to pay attention to."
By the end of October
2009,
The ministry has estimated
that up to 740,000 people in
But in a sign the epidemic
is mutating differently in other parts of the world, authorities in the
"Heterosexual contact
has become the chief transmission path as the number of new cases transmitted
through drug consumption has dropped," the UNAIDS coordinator in Ukraine
Anna Shakarishvili told reporters.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Activists Tuesday filed a
petition with
A group representing HIV
carriers, a migrants' trade union and three other rights groups said in their
petition that the policy breaches the rights of migrant workers, according to
the National Human Rights Commission which received the document.
Foreign applicants must
prove they do not have HIV to qualify for work in the entertainment sector or
low-skilled industries in
The Ministry of Labour
obliges all low-skilled work applicants to submit physical examination results
including HIV testing in their countries of origin.
Upon arrival in
Such practices are
"in breach of the rights to human worth and dignity and rights to
work" the five groups said in the petition filed to coincide with World
AIDS Day.
They said discrimination
against foreigners on grounds of nationality, social status or illness was in
breach of the constitution.
"According to
"Even foreigners who
have received work permits are deported from the country if they test positive
for HIV," Youn was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
More than 600 foreigners
have been forced to leave since the late 1980s, he said.
UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-Moon has urged
December 1, 2009
French
first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy said Tuesday she had witnessed first-hand the
toll that AIDS took on the fashion industry in the 1980s and spoke about her
brother's death from the disease.
"I have witnessed the
damage that HIV has caused for humanity for some 20 years now," said
Bruni-Sarkozy in an interview to TV5Monde television on World AIDS Day.
Recounting her years as a
supermodel, Bruni-Sarkozy said "the fashion world was hit head-on by the
AIDS pandemic. It really did lose members of its family."
"The fashion industry
became aware about this disease very, very early on, because it was a victim of
it," she added.
Bruni-Sarkozy, who lost
her brother Virginio to AIDS in 2006, last year became an ambassador for the
Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The
supermodel-turned-singer has called for greater access to AIDS-fighting drugs to
eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission in poor countries by 2015.
"I am personally very
sensitive about this issue," she said in the interview.
But the wife of President
Nicolas Sarkozy stressed that her decision to join the global AIDS campaign was
not directly linked to her brother's death.
"My brother
unfortunately contracted HIV and he died from it," she said.
"But my role with the
Global Fund is really not linked to my brother's situation.
"My brother was lucky
to live in
"I am now a
spokeswoman for people who have access to nothing."
Since becoming AIDS
ambassador, the 41-year Bruni-Sarkozy has travelled to
The Elysee presidential
palace for the first time displayed two large red ribbons on its columns Tuesday
to mark World AIDS Day, supporting a cause dear to the first lady.
In another show of French
solidarity with people living with HIV and AIDS, the lights were to be switched
off for five minutes at the
The