Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
President of India
Rashtrapati Bhawan
New Delhi 110 004
India

Geneva, February 22nd 2005

Your Excellency,

We understand that amendments to the Patent Act of 1970 of India will be
discussed in Parliament in the coming weeks. As a humanitarian
organisation providing medical assistance and relief in nearly 80
countries around the world, Médecins Sans Frontières is writing to ask
for your support to ensure that patients in developing countries will
continue to have access to affordable medicines.

India has played a pivotal role in supplying affordable generic versions
of drugs used throughout the developing world. It has also been a leader
in the debates at the World Trade Organization on the Agreement on
Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and its effects on
Public Health.

Of the 700,000 people who currently receive antiretroviral treatment in
the developing world, 50% receive Indian generic medicines. Today, MSF
treats 25,000 people with antiretrovirals in 27 countries around the
world, and 70% of our patients use medicines that originate in India.
The availability of fixed-dose combination therapy (or three-in-one
pills) has revolutionised AIDS treatment, a fact we have witnessed first
hand in our own programmes. Providing this user-friendly form of
treatment has only been possible because there are no patent constraints
in India on putting these medicines together in one tablet.

MSF has examined the proposed amendments to the Patents Act of 1970. We
believe they will drastically restrict, perhaps even prevent, the
production and supply of this vital therapy by Indian pharmaceutical
companies to other developing countries.

India is the major manufacturer and supplier of affordable generic
medicines. We strongly urge you to ensure that India's compliance with
the WTO agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights will ensure maximum flexibility in the Indian patent law and
policies for the benefit of patients - in India and globally.

We hope that India will continue to demonstrate the kind of
international leadership it has shown with the WTO Doha Declaration on
TRIPS and Public Health. We appeal to you that any amendments to the law
will safeguard not only the citizens of India, but also the millions of
children, women and men in the developing world whose lives depend on
access to affordable generic medicines.

Yours sincerely,

Rowan Gillies, M.B.B.S.
President
International Council of Médecins Sans Frontières
Geneva, Switzerland

Karim Laouabdia-Sellami, MD, MPH
Director
Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines
Médecins Sans Frontières
Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0) 22 849 84 06
Fax: + 41 (0) 22 849 84 04
klaouabdia@...

c.c. The Honorable Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India
c.c. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, National Advisory Council

Dear All

On behalf of the scores of sex workers and their children in Andhra Pradesh
and on behalf of the National Network of Sex Workers, we at WOMEN’S
INITIATIVES (WINS) deem it a privilege to congratulate the whole team,
especially the children in Sonagachi for the Documentary film “Born Into
Brothels” which has won the OSCAR award 2005 for the Best Documentary Film.

WINS Team
Chittoor District
Andhra Pradesh
E-mail:  <rmeera102@...>

The stigma, discrimination and ostracisation surrounding HIV/AIDS ,
surprisingly , is still going on unabated. After this incident in Assam
where a HIV positive child has been debarred from attending school , there
is a lot of head stratching to be done by everyone involved in addressing
this problem in his/her/their own way -

1. Has no sensitisation been carried out on the media to behave in a
responsible , sensible and sensitive manner ? There cannot be any bar
regarding media pulling out scoops - all profession and proessionals want to
do something special and prove his/her/ its mettle. The question is not of
the scoop but of the manner in which rights to privacy had been overlooked .

2. There has to be insensitive, irresponsible and insensible health care
providers who had helped the media in getting the scoop. Two issues need to
be looked into carefully - (i) on what basis did the health care provider(s)
have access to such 'confidential' reports - was it 'shared' confidentiality
? (ii) was/ were health care providers aware of the process of highlighting
detection of HIV positive status of families ? To put it in another way ,
was the consent of th efamily members taken to disclose their status in this
manner ( having consent of the child may not have much meaning as he is
still a minor ) ?

3. 'Trainings' of health care providers and media personnel have been going
on in the state for quite sometime now . Is there a priority need to revisit
the trainings and to incorporate the newer topics as human rights vis a vis
HIV testing, treatment and care of people living with HIV/ AIDS and media
responsbility into the training 'curriculum' ?

4. Should we have a relook the way 'awareness' programmes on HIV/ AIDS are
being carried out ?

5. Was any 'awareness' programme on HIV/ AIDS carried out in the area in the
past couple of years where the parents of those pupils, whose parents had
threatened to pull their children out of the school in question, resides ?

A lot of harm minimisation will be attempted and we may, as individuals/
organisations working in the field of HIV/ AIDS be a party to it but weneed
to evolve proactive strategies to address these issues . In Assam we still
have an window of opportunity left - an we need to grab it now. Or never !


Dr Chiranjeeb Kakoty
Director
NESPYM, "Puspalaya"
Red Cross Road, Khaliamari, Dibrugarh 786 001
Phone :- 2329914, 2320150, Mobile :- 94350-44146

E-mail:  <chkakoty1@...>

MSM Sangams in partnership with  South India AIDS Action Programme
associated with the National Campaign for Sexuality Rights (NCSR)

Cordially invite you to their meeting on

Issues Regarding Sexual Minorities on  27th February 2005 at 9.30 am
at Pandiyakula Nadar Chatram (Backside of Kumbheswarar Temple),
Kumbakonam

Guests of Honour
S M Martin,
Proprietor, Star Air Travels
Youth Chairman
Star Social and Human Welfare Organization

Mr. I Navaneeth Sethiya,
Proprietor, Sujatha Jewellery
President, Vazhkkai – 2000

Ms. B V Rajatthi,
President,
Durga Women's Organization

===============================

Agenda

  09:30 - 10:30 : Fashion show

  10:30 - 10:45 : Break

  10:45 - 11:00 : Welcome address, Introduction of  guests of honour
                  and Sangams
   	          Gowri, Director, Kumbakonam Sangam

  11:00 - 11:15 : Sexual Diversity
 		  Muthukumar, Siaap, Chennai

  11:15 - 11:45 : Discussion

  11:45 - 11:55 : Portrayal of sexual minorities in modern cinema
 		  Abraham Director,Thanjavur Sangam

  11:55 - 12:15 : Discussion

  12:15 - 12:30 : Break

  12:30 - 12:45 : IPC 377
 		  Jonathan, AIF Fellow, Siaap, Chennai

  12:45 - 1:30  : Discussion

  1:30  - 2:30  : Lunch break

  2:30  - 3:30  : Action plan

=====================================================
MSM Sangams

Lotus Integrated AIDS Awareness Sangam, Kumbakonam
Pathikapatta Angal AIDS Thaduppu Seiyal Thittam, Salem
Krishnagiri AIDS Villupunnarachi Sangam, Krishnagiri
Kunthalai Nachiyar AIDS Thaduppu Sangam, Thanjavur
Saral AIDS Thaduppu matrum Padhukappu Sangam, Tirunelveli

Indhu S
E-mail: <indhu27770@...>

To

The Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor of Delhi,
Raj Niwas Marg,
Delhi-110054.

Subject;

Demand for judicial enquiry in the matter of deaths of indoor MDR TB patients in
the past one year due to denial of essential medicines and also in the matter of
denial of essential medicines to more than 50 Indoor MDR TB patients in Rajan
Babu T.B. Hospital, Kingways Camp, Delhi.

Respected Sir,

We are a Civil Rights Group consisting of Lawyers and Social Activists dedicated
to the cause of down-trodden, socially oppressed and economically exploited
sections of society.  We are very much concerned about the right to health of
the poor people of this city.

We would like to bring to your kind notice that yesterday, on 23.02.2005, Sh.
Ashok Agarwal Advocate and Advisor Social Jurist visited R.B.T.B. hospital,
Kingways Camp, Delhi and found that more than 50 indoor MDR T.B. patients both
in male ward and female ward are not being given essential medicines, namely,
kanamycin injection, Ofloxcin Tablet, Ethionamide Tablet, Pyarazinimide (PZA)
etc.  for the last 10 to 12 months continuously. The names of some of such
patients are (1) Bala w/o Sh. Naresh, (2) Hukmi Devi, (3) Saroj, (4) Jyoti, (5)
Hemlata, (6) Meenakashi, (7) Poonam, (8) Rajrani, (9) Neelam, (10) Kastri etc.
It may be stated that this hospital under MCD is the Asia's biggest T.B.
Hospital having 1200 beds.

During his visit to the hospital he interacted with indoor MDR TB patients,
their relatives, nursing staff and doctors including Medical Superintendent of
the Hospital.  He was told that during the past one year, due to
non-availability of the essential medicines for indoor MDR TB patients, hundreds
of MDR TB patients left the hospital without completing their treatment and
hundreds of patients have died.  He was told by the Medical Superintendent Dr.
R.C. Panda that he has not brought these facts to the notice of the higher
authorities because according to him, the higher authorities very well knew
about all these things.  Such statement by such a responsible officer was a
surprise to Sh. Agarwal and it also reflected callousness on the part of  the
municipal authorities. Sh. Agarwal also noticed that the toilet blocks in the
hospital were in very bad shape.

That today, the Indian Express has also reported the above happening.  A copy of
the said press-report is enclosed hereto for kind perusal.

That we have sent a legal notice to the Municipal Commissioner Sh. Rakesh Mehta
on 23.02.2005 bringing to his notice that he has committed contempt of Hon'ble
Delhi High Court as denial of essential medicines to the indoor MDR TB patients
in the Hospital was in violation of the orders dated 22.04.1998 of the Hon'ble
Delhi High Court passed in PIL (C.W.No. 1404  of 1997 entitled All India Lawyers
Union v. Union of India etc.) and also in violation of the undertaking given by
Municipal and Govt. authorities before the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the said
PIL.

Copies of the said legal notice dated 23.02.2005 and of Delhi High Court order
dated 22.04.1998 are enclosed hereto to for your ready reference.

That the aforesaid act on the part of the municipal authorities is a serious
criminal negligence in violation of fundamental right of the people to health
under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.  This is a very serious matter of
great public importance and we therefore, earnestly expect from you to look into
this matter and order a judicial enquiry to ascertain the following:

(a) Whether there was non-availability of essential medicines for indoor MDR TB
patients during the last one year, if so, who is/are responsible for the same?

(b) How many Indoor MDR TB patients were admitted in the hospital during the
last one year?

(c) How many indoor MDR TB patients have died during the last one year and what
were the causes thereof?

(d) How many indoor MDR TB patients have left hospital without completing their
treatment and what were the causes thereof?

(e) Whether the indoor MDR TB patients who are denied essential medicines are
entitled to compensation from municipal authorities, if so, what should be the
quantum thereof?

(f) Whether the next kin of the indoor MDR TB patients who have died due to
culpable negligence on the part of municipal authorities during the past one
year are entitled to compensation, if so, what should be the quantum thereof?

(g) What could be the mechanism to have continuous monitoring to ensure good
treatment to the TB patients in the hospital?

It is also requested that judicial enquiry can also make other suggestions on
the improvements in the hospital.

We hope that immediate action may be taken to order judicial enquiry in the
present matter.


With warm regards.

Yours sincerely,

(ASHOK AGARWAL) ADVOCATE
ADVISOR, SOCIAL JURIST
M- 9811101923

SOCIAL JURIST: A Civil Rights Group
478-479, Lawyers' Chambers,
Western Wing, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-110054.
Phone: 23910014, Fax:  23986541

E-mail: socialjur@...
Website: http://www.socialjurist.com

1)AIDS boy banned from school
24/02/2005 13:06  - (SA)

Guwahati - A four-year-old HIV-positive boy has been kicked out of
school in India's northeastern state of Assam under pressure from
the parents of his classmates, a rights group said on Thursday.
The Assam Network of Positive People (ANPP) said it had appealed to
the Assam Human Rights Commission to intervene on behalf of the boy.
"This is nothing but a serious crime to have thrown out a little boy
from school just because he is HIV-positive," ANPP leader Jahnabi
Goswami, who is herself HIV-positive, told press.

According to the principal of Sishu Niketan primary school, in the
industrial town of Namrup in eastern Assam, some parents had
threatened to take their children out of class if the infected boy
was allowed to stay.

"We were forced to dismiss him following pressure from other parents
whose children were studying in our school," a school management
official said.

The parents of the boy had tested HIV-positive five years ago but
kept it a secret.

When news leaked out, they were ostracised by members of their
community.

After the boy was barred from classes, they moved to Assam's main
city of Guwahati where they are undergoing treatment at a city
hospital.

"Soon after the news broke the family was virtually ostracised, with
the couple, who run a small business, shocked to find their regular
customers looking the other way," another ANPP member said.
In a similar incident two HIV-positive children were thrown out of
school in the southern Indian state of Kerala in 2003 after parents
of other students protested.

Government figures put the number of people living with HIV-Aids in
Indian at 5.1m - second only to South Africa - although health
workers say the number is much higher.

About 100 000 HIV-positive people live in India's northeast, which
borders the heroin-producing "Golden Triangle" of Laos, Myanmar and
Thailand and has high rates of intravenous drug use.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1667236,00.html
________________

2) Media 'scoop' pushes HIV family into distress:

[India News]: Guwahati, Feb 24 : Until a month ago, four-year-old
Bhairab (not his real name) went to a school in Assam like any other
child his age, playing, studying and having a good time.

Then, last year in December, the management of the private school in
eastern Assam ruthlessly expelled Bhairab. His crime -- he was HIV-
positive.

The nightmare didn't end there for the family. Bhairab's parents,
both HIV-positive, were also virtually ostracised by society. The
young couple who ran a small business were shocked to find their
regular customers looking the other way.

Although the couple tested HIV-positive five years ago, they had
managed to keep it a secret. That is until a vernacular newspaper
and a local television channel 'scooped' the news of the family
afflicted with the killer virus.

Haunted by social stigma, the family was forced to shift to Assam's
main city of Guwahati and is currently undergoing treatment at a
city hospital. Healthcare workers and rights activists are angry
over the insensitive media that went for a sensational story pushing
the family into deep distress and trauma.

"We are ashamed to find the media (the local newspaper and the TV
news channel) so insensitive and irresponsible. It is not only
unethical but libellous to have directly or indirectly identified
the family for which they are suffering today," Jahnabi Goswami, a
member of the Assam Network of Positive People (ANPP), told IANS.

Moving the Assam Human Rights Commission seeking justice on behalf
of Bhairab and his parents Wednesday, ANPP holds the media
responsible for the family's trauma.

"We want to know why the child was thrown out of school," said a
ANPP member.

According to the school principal, several guardians threatened to
take their children away from the school if Bhairab was allowed to
continue his studies.

"We were forced to dismiss Bhairab following pressure from other
parents whose children were studying the school," a school
management member said.

Today, campaigners like Goswami are trying to drum up public opinion
to create awareness about the disease. "It is very unfortunate to
find society so ignorant about HIV-AIDS. People should know that HIV
does not spread just like that," Goswami said.

Twenty-eight-year old Goswami has a personal reason for campaigning -
  she was infected with HIV by her husband soon after they married in
1994. "In India, a majority of parents visit astrologers with
horoscopes of the bride and the groom to find out if the couple will
stay happy after marriage," said Goswami.

"But from my personal experience, instead of matching horoscopes, it
would be wise if the couple go for a blood test to rule out being
HIV-positive."

Goswami is one of the few women in India fighting to raise awareness
of the disease and one of an even smaller number to have publicly
declared that she is HIV-positive.

-Indo-Asian News Service
http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=76935

Dear Colleagues:

This poem cross posted from healthdev.org is able to summarize many a
issues in a thought provoking manner.

Best,
Jagdish Harsh
E-mail: <jharsh@...>
********************************

AN OPEN LETTER FROM GOD

I know you have been wondering
How a loving God
Would unleash
Such a horrible disease
Like HIV/AIDS
On His people.

I have sat quietly
For some time now
Observing
How you would respond
To such a sinister invader
As well as the response
Of my Special Forces
In the face of such an enemy
And I have felt the pain and suffering.

In the beginning
I was not that worried
I knew I had my Special Forces out there
Pope, Bishops, Priests, Rabbis, Imams
And others across the globe.
They are my Special Forces
To defend humanity
But as time went by
I was just angry
As HIV/AIDS invaded
Every country
Every neighborhood
And my Special Forces
Ran and hid
Not rising
To meet the invasion.

Behaving like collaborators
They were silent
In the face of the invasion
As their communities
Were invaded and occupied
In the face of Disease
Death
And Destruction
They were silent
As millions of my people
Perished
My Special Forces
Were nowhere to be found.

But I am a patient God
I gave them time
To come to their senses
I was to be disappointed
When they opened their mouths
They sounded
More like idiots
Rather than
My Special Forces
When many moved
Into education and prevention
They found ways
To do nothing
As millions of my people
Died
I watched in dismay
As they found excuse
After excuse
Why talking about HIV/AIDS
Was not on their agenda.

As many talked about condoms
My Special Forces avoided the topic
At first I thought
Maybe these condoms
Did not work at all
Only to find out that
My front line
Were condemning condoms
Because, they ‘might’
Encourage young people
To engage in intercourse
But that was not all
My Special Forces
Fought against
Teaching my people
About themselves
Their bodies
And how to prevent
This new disease
I could not understand
How one
Could enter my Kingdom
If one is ignorant of self
Mind and body
I know I have never
Encouraged ignorance
Only enlightenment
I wondered
Why my best and brightest
Were not raising hell
Excuse my language
When their flock
Was being decimated
By HIV/AIDS
Were they blind?
Did they not know
Their first obligation
Is to defend the lives
Of my people?
Did they not know
The biggest sin
Is to sit back
And not defend life?
Who told my Special Forces
They could discriminate?

All my people deserve
Love
Compassion
Care
Respect
And
Protection.

I have preached
The loudest
About loving thy neighbor
Of being a Good Samaritan
Which of these
Do my Special Forces
Not understand
Do they not understand
I gave my only son
For the imperfection
Of my people?

Mwaganu wa Kaggia
Date of poem: 13.11.2004
Email: Mwaganu@...

Dear All,

It is a fact that money moves the world and increasingly so in the
integration of the Indian economy with the global one that the powers
that be want to see happen. In that scheme of things it is often money
that becomes the determining factor in most things while the nurturance
that domestic talent needs falls on the wayside.

It would be really sad if what the report says turns out to be true, for
we all know that the 'foreign' vaccines when tested on Indian Guinea
pigs, also bring with it huge amounts of money that ultimately becomes
the factors that move the whole game. Even a part of that money is often
either willingly, or negligently, or by sheer lack of foresight is not
available for testing of indigenously developed vaccines, which have the
potential to cause another revolution with vaccines for HIV as happened
when Indian manufacturers started producing generic versions of ARVs,
making international prices crash and ARVs accessible to millions across
the globe.

If the allegations made in this article are true, NACO and the
Government of India has an obligation to answer why it neglected to
pursue this matter after spending so much effort and money on developing
it.

Aditya Bondyopadhyay
E-mail: <adit@...>

Four years ago, millions of people living with HIV/AIDS could not afford the
price of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. The price was between US$10,000 -12,000
(Approx.Rs.4,50,000 - 5,40,000) per annum. By 2003 the prices had come down to
US$ 140 (Rs.6300) per annum.

How did this miracle happen? The answer lies in the Indian Patents Act, which
provides only process patent protection to pharmaceutical inventions.

However, after 31st December 2004, because of a Presidential Ordinance brought
out by the Indian Government to comply with TRIPS the situation could go back to
the one four years ago as the Indian Government did not make use of the
flexibilities available within TRIPS and instead has included TRIPS PLUS
provisions.

A Global Day of Action is being organized on Feb 26, 2005 to protest the Patents
Amendment bill that is currently under consideration by Indian parliament. India
is under pressure to comply with the TRIPS agreement on Intellectual Property
Rights, as dictated by World Trade Organization (WTO).

This peoples' mobilization effort is aimed at building solidarity around
pressurizing the Indian Government to reassess the Bill to take into account all
the flexibilities offered by TRIPS. The bill in its current form is even more
stringent than what the TRIPS regulations demand. Ideally, we believe it is in
the best interest of people in India that TRIPS itself be eliminated altogether.

  If India's patent laws are changed to favour international market demands,
majority of Indians who can barely afford medicines and health care even in the
current scenario and as many as 200 developing countries, would be severely
affected by this. Costs of medicines will be dictated by a few multi-national
companies in US and Europe, and borne by those suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer,
tuberculosis, malaria and other life threatening diseases.

In fact, recently World Health Organization, the premier institution in health
services in the developing world has sent a letter to the Indian Health Minister
outlining the harmful implications of the proposed amendments on the health care
sector. They are especially concerned for 40 million people suffering from HIV
and AIDS in the world. These people need life- saving anti-retroviral therapy as
well as generic drugs that were available from India at much lower price as
compared to those from multi-national companies. New York Times published a
scathing criticism of the Indian Government asking it not to yield under
international pressure and amend its patent laws.

At present, an average "poor" household in India spends almost 50% of its
lifetime income on healthcare. Health care expenses are the second largest cause
for indebtedness in rural India. Changes in the patent laws will stop the local
drug companies from making generic versions of medicines causing prices to shoot
up astronomically.

Many Indian organizations and international groups are making intensive efforts
to prevent these amendments from coming into effect. We believe that a
collective struggle can bring a significant impact on the Patents Act. A major
global mobilization for "right to health" is underway! This coalition is trying
to interact members of the Indian parliament to urge them to stop this draconian
law from coming into existence, for the interest of common people's right to
health.

More info http://www.gcaipa.org/

Risky Sex Is Back Author: Editorial

Publication: The New York Times
Date: February 18, 2005

Gay Americans who watched their friends and neighbors die in large
numbers in the AIDS epidemic of the 1980's learned a tragic lesson about
disease transmission and the dangers of unprotected sex. But the lesson
seems not to have endured: young people are returning to dangerous
sexual behavior.

Public health officials in New York recently encountered a gay man
infected with a strain of H.I.V. that is resistant to virtually all of
the standard drugs and that appears to lead to a rapid onset of
full-blown AIDS. No one yet knows whether the case represents a new
phase in the epidemic or a problem confined to a single individual in
New York and possibly another in San Diego. But public health workers
are justifiably alarmed by the apparently widespread risky behavior this
case has brought to light.

The patient is believed to have had unprotected sex with hundreds of
people in recent months, sometimes at parties stoked by methamphetamine,
a drug that lowers sexual inhibitions. Open sex parties were common 30
years ago, but were all but stamped out in the 90's thanks to gay
anti-AIDS campaigners and public health officials.

Health workers and community volunteers have a lot of work to do to turn
this trend around. The medical community should make the new rapid AIDS
tests more widely available so people can learn right away whether they
are infected. It should also be routine to test newly identified AIDS
patients for drug resistance, as is now common for tuberculosis. Such
data could serve as an early warning system for changes in the AIDS
virus.

The first step, however, should be to teach another generation to
avoid risky behavior - like the plague.
__________
ASHOK ROW KAVI
E-mail: <arowkavi@...>

Dear All,

One must remember that the health system works along with several other systems.
In Delhi, a poor person can get their CD4 count test done free.

This is true but they have to show their BPL certificate. The time, loss
of wages, transport costs and bribes that are required to get thecertificate is
more than the cost of several CD4 tests.

What I would like everyone to try and work at is ensuring a single window or
channel that covers all the systems a PLHA will have to go through to get their
free ARV or other medication. There is a need for looking at synergies across
systems, ministries and treatment centres.

Regards

Sasi

Sasi Kumar
E-mail: <skumar@...>

Dear AIDS INDIA e FORUM members,

Concern- Bangladesh an International NGO working in Bangladesh at various
geographical locations. One of the program of Concern" Socialy Disadvantaged
peoples program" working on different aspects of rights and services in regard
to sex workers. This program intends to have a learning visit to organizations
in India working with the sex workers.

This is worthy mention here, we have already existing working relation with
Durbar ( Through Dr. S. Jana).

It would be highly appreciated if you can recomend and refer organizations
especially in Bombay, Delhi and central part of India including contact details,
so that we could plan learning visits to those organizations.

Please feel free to contact me or Ms. kalpana Rani ( kalpana@...) in
this regard.

Kind regards

Dr. Kazi Faisal Mahmud
E-mail: <kazifaisalmahmud@...>

Two messages: Combined posting (Moderator)


1) Sibichan varghese" <amminikuttysv@...>

Dear Forum,

Some of the views expressed in the forum are far from the truth. We
need to take a collective look at the reason for dealy. While I may
agree with the fact that delay from NACO causes serious concerns at
the state level as expressed by some of us, the project holders
at the state level are also responsible for the delay as the don't
do the prerquesites for the early realease of funds from the state
society. So when we look at such issues of national importance, we
may not drag in the state issues as they are very specific to
each state and it would be unfair to publish such one sided views
without taking all aspects into consideration.

I agree with the fact that DFID needs to take initiatives to create
a system for timely release of funds from NACO and also from the
State Societies to the project holders.

Sibichan Varghese
Kerala
E-mail: <amminikuttysv@...>


2) Indian Institute of Development Management" <iidmbpl@...>

Dear Members of the Forum

The delay in release of funds is an attitudinal & competence issue.
Both could have been settled if theare are effective pressure
groups. Its not only NACO but at SACS the situation is worse than
NACO. For example MP ACS unable to handle the issue. They are
incopetent to take decisions so delay- dallying is adpted with a
hope the successor will solve the issue. Who is bothered to monitor
the output of SACS & NACO. While distributing the funds to SACS the
NCAO simply should not look into the past expenditure by SACS but
look into the persons manning the positions.

Dr S K Trivedi Bhopal
E-mail: <iidmbpl@...>

Goa: Rally to Mark Anti-Patents Day for Drugs

As you may be aware, the Indian Patent (Amendment) Bill is likely to
be passed in the Parliament in March 2005.  However, it is seen as
draconian, since it would  cause prices of essential medicines to go
out of reach of common man.

A Global Campaign has been launched around the world against this
Indian Patent (Amendment) Bill.  February  26th 2005 (Saturday) is
going to be observed as the "Anti Patents Day for Drugs".

On this day, the world over, rallies, campaigns, etc., are being
organized.  Here, in Goa, a people's protest rally has been
organized by Positive People in Panjim on 26th February 2005
starting at the Panjim Church steps at 10.a.m. The rally will move
through the city and culminate at Azad Maidan after which a
delegation will be forwarding a memorandum to the Chief Minister of
Goa.

We call upon all of you to join us at the rally, and protest against
the Patent Amendment Bill.


Yours in Solidarity

Positive People, Goa.
Convener: Raj Vaidya
Co-Conveners: Reggie Gomes & Cynthia Andrade
First Floor , Maithili Appts., Opp. Govt. Qtrs.
St. Inez Panjim – Goa. 403 001. India
Ph: 082-2424396,2431827
e-mail: ppeople@...

Two messages. Combined posting (Moderator)

1) Amitrajit Saha

Dear Forum,

It's great to hear from Mr. Harjeet that UNICEF and UPSACS have  taken down  the
anti-HIV campaign hoardings that were discriminatory to PLWHA. That's a  great
victory won and congratulations to all the civil society organisations  and
forums that took the initiative.

An added success of this campaign has been that UNICEF and UPSACS have  agreed
to have representatives from affected CBOs prior to similar initiatives in
future. That's a lesson they've been forced to learn by the  community...

This incident also highlights the importance of vigilance that we need to
maintain over bilateral agencies and SACS, etc. Just because they fund and
provide "expertise" does not mean they are reconstructed with re to sex,
sexuality, gender, STIs and HIV infection all of which are necessary
to address the epidemic!

Once again, congratulations for success in withdrawl of advertisements/hoardings
offensive to affected communities.

In solidarity,
Amitrajit

Dr. Amitrajit Saha
Kolkata (India)
E-mail: amitrajitsaha@...

___________________________

2) Mike marksman

Dear Forum,

After Mumbai it seems the heat is on in Uttar Pradesh to bring down the
activities done by few people.

Internationally in the name of development people have a very strong desire to
be recognized without being creative.

The sentence is enclosed below by Mr Harjeet Singh <harjeet@...
Member of "HIV&AIDS Citizen Forum" in Uttar Pradesh"

"The senior management of UNICEF had again shared in person on February 14, that
they had no such intention and whatever happened was unfortunate on their part
and have promised the Forum that from now onwards the Forum would be consulted
before initiating any such media campaign or other HIV&AIDS related programmes."

God bless the people involved in HIV work. We shall stop cutting each others
roots but shall build upon the positive strentghs.

All the best to UNICEF for managing the show. Learn and start greasing butter on
the activists.

with regards,

Mike
E-mail: <aidswatchindia@...>

Dear FORUM,

This is in response to Mr. Satish Palande's posting on "1st National Conference
of AIDS Society of India (ASICON 2005): April 2-4, 2005: New Delhi"

Now I am not associated in any way to AIDS Society of India or Not amongst the
friends or followers of AIDS Society of India But I would like to enlighten of
the happenings in India and For Plwhas

Question:-  Conferences..conferences.. and more AIDS conferences.

Answer:- Unless and unless we have conferences there will be no give and take of
knowledge between people managing HIV/AIDS patients

Question:- The first announcement came just today. I find that these conferences
are arranged in rush and not properly planned (except to provide platform to
some of organisors to launch themselves).

Answer :- Why the hell did u find that this conference was arranged in a rush,
as I found only the website which was launched by them was under construction
and that is why it was hosted as the material was available(Either u must be
very close to them to know this because the conference is not even started yet,
and no body else than the organizers know how badly or properly it is
planned.

Question:- The PLWAs are totally sidelined by a group of self-appointed "well
wishers" who want to play God on us! One of the organisors is a very
controversial man.

Answer:- The PLWHA will not be sidelined as this conference is for Treating
PLWHA's and as they are the main centre of discussion.

Question:-Instead of leaving the business of holding conferences in the hands of
this mafia, NACO should appoint a proper committee.

Answer:- I dont think NACO is involved in this conference as Organizer maybe it
would be a co-organizer or something like that.

Question:- The registration cost is too high for a poor country like India. How
many NGOs can afford to send their workers to five star hotels.

Answer:- This conference is not for PLWHA's and NGO's, but for Doctors who want
to update their knowledge. There is no three star or two star hotel which could
accomodate and provide a seminar hall facility as utilized by such conferences,
Talking about the registration cost, It could only solve the purpose of three
nights and two days of stay with meals in a five star hotel.

Question:-This conference appears like a private event. Send these doctors to
villages and treat patients there rather then play God on our lives.

Answer:- Let it be a private event but they are sending good messages and proper
guidelines for Doctors, So why to hamper a better ongoing process of updation of
knowledge through them. Talking about people at villages, let me tell u no
person from village will come forward and test himself for HIV.

Note:- If u are a PLWHA please seek help at ur nearest HIV care centre and stop
blaming others for not doing anything.

Dr. Umesh Nichat
E-mail: Usnichat@...

Dear friends,

This is not to comment anything about the controversy regarding red tape and
laziness. This is also not to comment anything upon the 'passion of the senior
resercher'.

I was just amazed at the mention of the fact that the researcher injected
himself with the 'vaccine'. Is it scientific? Is it not about 'a human trial'
without necessary ethical committee sanctions and clearences?

Was there not a 'case' of a crusader doing a trial on a vaccine in Mumbai and
then landing in trouble? Should there be not some discussion on these issues
too?

I am just commenting from the jist of the press note released and do not have
the complete details though.

Vinay Kulkarni
E-mail: <prayashealth@...>

Dear Colleagues:

HIV/AIDS as a pandemic has time and again been tested when it comes to
integration of HIV/AIDS services with other public health issues and
TB/STI in particular. Looking at the things in a perspective the term
HIV/AIDS related stigma has many associations and implications rooted in
history, social science, and public health. The historical concept of
HIV/AIDS stigma and the public health framework of deviance have
research needs for guiding desirable public health interventions to
reduce stigma.

DOTS program had been highly successful all over the world. For sure,
there must be incidents related to stigma around TB services when
integrated with HIV services but then they need to be tackled with a
more holistic approach.

There are innumerous examples from India, China and Africa where a
fragmented approach in tackling HIV/AIDS and TB has only complicated the
things. A very good piece of work from FHI in this regards is:

http://www.fhi.org/en/HIVAIDS/pub/Archive/articles/IOH/ioh22/ioh-tubercu
losis.htm

One of the strongest statements in this regards are of Dr. Peter Piot,
when he said in year 2000 that:

"Firstly, anything that stops the HIV epidemic will also stop TB
Second, to stop TB we need to go beyond DOTS and
Third, the HIV and TB establishments, if I can use that term, are not in
competition. "

The whole text of his speech is available on:
http://www.stoptb.org/conference/PeterPiot.speech.htm

One of the articles on TB-HIV at Coregroup.org is also good to read:
http://www.coregroup.org/resources/hiv-tb_co-infection.cfm

TB News from India is also a very good source for this discussion:
http://www.healthinitiative.org/html/tbnews/

Best,
Jagdish Harsh
E-mail: <jharsh@...>

Patent Bill will hit growth in pharma sector: Ekbal

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, FEB. 20 . The move to promulgate the Patent (Amendment)
Ordinance, 2004 without allowing a debate in Parliament would
ultimately result in a setback to India's leap into the
international pharmaceutical market, said B. Ekbal, former Vice-
Chancellor of Kerala University.

Delivering the keynote address on `Patent (Amendment) Ordinance and
the Pharma Sector' at a People's Convention convened by the Kerala
Sastra Sahitya Parishath (KSSP) district committee against the
Patent (Amendment) Ordinance, 2004, at S.R.V. School here on Sunday,
Dr. Ekbal said the Ordinance would only serve to help the global
monopolies in the pharmaceutical sector.

He said India had been marketing many medicines, including those for
AIDS, at low rates so far. India became a role model to the world by
passing the Patents Act in 1970. While American pharmaceutical
companies charge $15,000 for medicines for AIDS, Indian companies
charge only $350 for AIDS medicines. India's share in the
international pharmaceutical market stood at Rs. 10,000 crores, he
said.

Dr. Ekbal said the people should realise the implications of the
Patents (Amendment) Ordinance, as prices of medicines, including
those for diabetes, would escalate.

He condemned the UPA Government's attempt to send the Ordinance
introduced by the former NDA Government to Parliament without
holding a debate.

Sebastian Paul, MP, who inaugurated the convention, pointed out that
the Patent Ordinance was a tool to conquer the world without the
help of arms or weapons.

Seeds Act
Referring to `Seeds Act, 2004 and Agriculture Sector,' Mr. Paul
warned that the Seed Act, which will replace the gene pool of
traditional seeds used by our farmers with new generation seeds born
in laboratories, would lead to the total destruction of our farming
sector.

A memorandum to the Prime Minister carrying 10,000 signatures
collected by KSSP against the Seeds Act, 2004 and Patents
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2004, was handed over to Mr. Paul by the
Parishath district president, E.K. Prakashan.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/02/21/stories/2005022108880300.htm

CSWs to get drop-in facility

With $8.5-m Gates' grant, centres to open by March

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Pune, February 20: FOR the 5,000-odd commercial sex workers (CSWs) in the city,
here is some relief from the daily drudgery. With $8.5 million grant from Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation, Pune will have drop-in centres — a one-stop centre
for taking care of CSWs welfare —by March.

With $20 million each  slotted for Mumbai and Thane, the Gates Foundation's
India-centric project on preventing AIDS has allotted Pune and 10 districts —
Ahmednagar, Raigad, Kolhapur, Latur, Beed, Nandurbar, Yavatmal and others —
their share of $8.5 million. While care and support of HIV patients is not yet
the thrust of Gates Foundation, the prevention programme has been given a major
boost with the creation of drop-in centres.

`We want to build an enabling enviroment to reduce the risk of the infection,''
says Arvind Kumar, deputy country representative of Pathfinder International, an
NGO identified by the Gates Foundation to carry out activities in Pune and other
districts.

Kumar said the funds have just arrived and the drop-in centres will be launched
in March. As part of TIGRIS — targeted intervention for groups at risk — drop-in
centres will be set up at areas that have a sizeable chunk of CSWs. Pune
operations have been initiated at Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) clinic
at Budhwar Peth and at Swargate, Shivajinagar and Pune Railway Station.

`The proposed centres are designed to give the CSW her space, understand their
issues, health needs, set up income generation activities, teach her to write
and even start a self-help group,'' says Kumar, adding that it is a step beyond
the regular programmes of promoting condoms and creating awareness about
HIV/AIDS.

These centres will try and answer some of the questions like: is there a creche
or a day care centre to leave her child? If she has problems with the
brothel-keeper, can she solicit a lawyer's opinion? And if she wants to read and
write and also save some money, is there a way out?

``Project TIGRIS will answer all these questions,'' says Tejasvi Sevekari of
Saheli and People's Health Organisation (PHO), an NGO that is currently working
with CSWs to introduce the drop-in centre concept.

As for the centre, it will offer a range of services — from legal aid to
awareness about civic rights, to literacy classes and how to procure a ration
card or a voter's identity card — and also give counselling. Support groups that
include Men Having Sex with Men (MSM) and others will be identified to
understand each other's problems.

WHAT'S A DROP-IN CENTRE?

A one-stop centre which will address all the needs of the commercial sex workers
— from legal aid to awareness about civic rights, literacy classes to how to
procure a ration card or a voter identity card and even get some counselling

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=118496

Re: Join the Protest Rally Against the Patent Ordinance promulgated by the
Govt., Jantar Mantar, Delhi, 26th Feb' 05, 11.30 a.m.

Dear Friends,

On Sunday, 26 December 2004, the Christmas weekend, while much of the media
attention was focused on the Tsunami disaster, the UPA government
promulgated an Ordinance amending the Patent Act 1970.

The Ordinance has raised serious concerns on the process as well as content
of the third amendment of the Patents Act, which will compromise people’s
ability to access medicines. As per the Common Minimum Programme, the UPA
government promised, “to take all steps to ensure availability of life
savings drugs at reasonable prices”. The government has however passed a
‘TRIPS PLUS’ Patent Amendment Ordinance that contradicts the National Common
Minimum Program and violates the constitutional right to health and life.

The government seeks to set aside all criticisms of the Ordinance on the
ground that these are minimum amendments to comply with TRIPS. However, the
fine print of the Ordinance clearly shows that significant amendments not
required by the TRIPS agreement have been made that seriously promote the
interests of Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies and directly compromise
accessibility and affordability of drugs. This same Ordinance will now be
placed before the Parliament during the Budget Session.

Globally people are opposing the Amendment in its present form and are
coming together to fight for their Right to Health and in that connection a
Global Day of Action to protest against the Patent Ordinance has been
announced for February 26, 2005, the second day of the Parliament’s budget
session. On this day health and patient groups, trade unions, healthcare
workers are coming together to demand that the there should be:

1. A clear Definition of “Patentable Criteria”
2. No Patents for new usage and dosage of known drugs
3. Pre-grant opposition as before to stop frivolous Patents
4. Simple procedures with a time limit for grant of Compulsory Licensing
5. Introduction of Ceiling on Royalty to MNCs

As part of the Global Day of Action, Trade Unions and health groups are
organizing a protest rally in Delhi from Jantar Mantar to the Parliament on
Saturday, February 26, 2005 at 11.30 a.m. We urge you to join us at the
rally and support the Campaign.

In solidarity,

The Affordable Medicine and Treatment Campaign
For more information about the protest march contact:

AMTC, C/o Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit
Phone: 24321101/2, Fax: 24322236, Email: aidslaw1@...

Leena Menghaney
Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit, Delhi
E-mail: <aidslaw1@...>

Dear All,

As we all know, TB is the most common opportunistic infection in PLWHA. As there
is a lot of debate going on, on providing the services for both TB& HIV under
the same roof, i have an apprehension about the impact this integration of
services is going to have with regards to stigma. The prevalence of HIV
infection in India is under one percent while the prevalence of TB infection is
much higher.

If there is any misconception in general public with regards to having TB being
related to having HIV, the consequences may be disatourous for AIDS & TB control
programmes.

In case someone has come across studies on this aspect (impact of HIV/AIDS
related
stigma on TB control)please be kind enough to post it.

Regards,

-Neeraj
E-mail: <neerajmonika@...>

Hello All,

For the first time probably one sees a woman and that too a middle calss Bengali
housewife on move on her battle against HIV/AIDS.

Directed to the average middle class households particularly women the Bula Di
campaign does get you thinking about howcome the vulnerability of housewives
was yet a neglected dimension for HIV/AIDS sphere ofcourse when i say this i
refer to beyond book actions.

Probably this is the reason why Bula Di has become so very popular in the
households of Bengal yet let us wait for soem kind of an impact assessment study
to substantiate what I am saying before I ask you to agree by what I say.

Check out this very interesting artcle on Bula Di which came up in telegraph a
couple of days back. The reporter has been able to bring out the essence of the
character in his article.

Would love to get the feedback from other firends who may have seen or heard of
the campaign.
___________________
Doll’s house: Sage counsel from a member of the family. Photo: Subhendu Chaki

Name: Bula-di (no middle name, no surname — just Bula-di)

Age: 30-something, just guessing, Sex: Female

Occupation: Counsellor for HIV/AIDS-related enquiries. Call 1097 to speak to her
directly.

With her area of operation being a state where 6,941 HIV-positive cases have
been registered to date, Bula-di sure has her hands full. For apart from those
taken by the virus, there are millions across the length and breadth of West
Bengal who want to know what the fuss is all about and if it isn’t too late to
ask. The questions are plenty; the answers insufficient. And misconceptions
never did anyone any good.

That’s where Bula-di steps in. Dressed in a natty sari with that ubiquitous
handbag slung over her shoulder, she peeps out of hoardings — alongside sundry
models sporting everything from branded garments and fashion accessories — at
every major city crossing. You catch a glimpse of her on TV or at the bus-stop,
asking a middle-aged housewife to go in for an HIV test despite having just one
sexual partner. She is pleasant, friendly and approachable, she speaks three
languages, and her audience — in most cases — is composed of women.

In reality, however, Bula-di doesn’t exist. She is but an animated
representation of a doll, the kind fashioned through ages by local Bengali
craftsmen. Given form and shape by a six-member creative team of Ogilvy &
Mather, she is the face of the statewide drive towards HIV/AIDS awareness which
— beginning with the World AIDS Day earlier this month — has taken on the theme
‘Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS’.

“The very fact that Bula-di is not a living entity is what makes her so
universal,” explains Jayatsen Bhattacharya of Ogilvy & Mather. Hence, she is
perceived as an archetypal social worker, of indeterminate age and unflustered
temperament. She has the ability to switch roles, playing mother, aunt or sister
as the situation demands. She is practical, composed, and goes about
myth-busting with a smile. And above everything else, she guarantees a sense of
empathy and concern, just like the women in any family.

In her own way, Bula-di also symbolises female emancipation and woman power —
she is a woman working primarily for the cause of women. She also epitomises the
advisory role of women in society, having a say in social and health-related
issues and sharing her experience with anyone in desperate need of it. If there
is anyone as worldly-wise as good old Mashima, it has to be her.

“Bula-di could well be the result of rethinking communication strategies,”
opines Rajashri Dasgupta, a journalist. “In their earlier years, campaigns
against HIV/ AIDS have always triggered fear,” she says, referring to the murky
communiqué featuring the odd skull routinely used in the past. “The stigma
associated with such messages only helped in taking the campaigns underground.
What was needed was a more reassuring platform where people could come out with
their questions without a shade of fear.”

The only solution to such a crisis was “to devise a mnemonic which the target
audience (the low-risk group, in this case), could identify with,” says Menka
Jha, NGO director of the West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society
(WBSAPCS). “Bula-di fills the void, and helps us take our message to the masses
rather than have them come to us in stealth.”

And as for the mnemonic being a woman, the figures say it all. Women comprise
about half of all people living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Women aged 15 to 24
are 2.5 times more likely to be infected than their male counterparts. The
National Family Health Survey Round II (1992-93) indicates that 62 per cent of
rural and 42 per cent of urban women have little knowledge of the virus. About
61 per cent of all women infected in West Bengal are married, a stark reminder
that sticking to a single sexual partner may not be so safe after all.

In order to specifically address the women in our society, it was imperative to
have a woman as our brand ambassador,” explains Monideepa Mukhopadhyay, deputy
director (information, education and communication), WBSAPCS. “Bula-di doesn’t
condescend to address her audience. She doesn’t preach, either. She is not alien
to the masses, but is essentially one of them, and there’s a human touch to
whatever she says or does. That’s what really helps to relate to the audience.”

What also helps is her being created on the lines of a doll, asserts
Bhattacharya. Known to embody charm and good nature, dolls have been one of the
most popular handicrafts in West Bengal through centuries. They are a part of
every girl child’s treasure trove in households big or small, urban or rural.

“Bula-di thus comes across as an indigenous voice that can be instantly
understood,” he says.

Which leaves us with one question: who answers the phone when you dial 1097? On
one occasion, it happened to be a man (ahem!) presumably in his late 30s. People
have been calling up of late wishing to speak to Bula-di, he confirmed. Apart
from the gender mismatch, though, there was little to take exception to. One
only hopes he will pull it off. Just like Bula-di.

www.telegraphindia.com/1041221/ asp/atleisure/story_4152103.asp - 25k
________________________

Thanks

Dr. Arunanshu Talukder.
Calcutta National Medical College.
E-mail: <arka_talukdar@...>

Dear Forum members,

I have been studying the role of NGOs in targeted HIV prevention in India for a
while. From my work and as can be seen by the discussion that has been provoked,
I understand that this problem does not only affect the State AIDS programme of
West Bengal, .

Fund delays affect not only the ability to deliver the interventions and those
factors described by Dr Jana - but also the ability to plan and therefore to
progress and innovate. Importantly it affects the delicate relationship of trust
with, in most cases, particularly sensitive communities.

Funding gaps mean that some projects are simply closed down while the NGO 
awaits the next fund instalment - leaving a gap in services and support.

When the intervention can finally operate again it may have to take on and train
new staff, it may take months to rebuild trust with the communities that are
likely to feel betrayed. Finally, it prevents the NGOs from concentrating on
what they do best (and importantly what the government has contracted them to
do!)- work with their communities - rather they are spending time chasing up
funds and plaguing, in many cases, innocent SACS - who in some cases are
struggling themselves to obtain their ownbudgetary commitments. It also appears
that in spite of signed contracts between the SACS and the NGOs, the NGOs have
no real recourse to the legal system if funds are not delivered - the courts are
slow, expensive and working against the government in this way does not do an
NGO many favours.

I was very pleased to hear this issue raised on the forum. I hope that it can be
taken up further and leads to a succesful lobby for smoother fund flows from the
national level.

Lorna Guinness
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Research Fellow, Keppel Street London WC1E 7HT
Tel: +44 20 7927 2008 fax: +44 20 7637 5391 mobile: +264 81 2937045
E-mail: lorna.guinness@...

Indigenous development of HIV/AIDS vaccine in controversy:

[Health India]: New Delhi, Feb 20 : A senior faculty of the
prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences here complains
that indigenous development of HIV/AIDS vaccine has been a casualty
of political "laziness" and red tape.

A fortnight after India tested on human volunteers HIV/AIDS vaccine
made abroad, the scientist claims the indigenous rDNA/rMVA vaccine -
made from select genetic sequences of HIV - was ready for clinical
trials in December 2003 itself.

"Government was promptly informed at that time. But nobody seems
interested in the clinical trials anymore," Professor and Head,
Department of Microbiology at All India Institute of Medical Science
(AIIMS), Dr Pradeep Seth, said.

"Even after three high-powered committees had submitted their
reports to the authorities concerned, there has been complete
silence from the Government side on giving a green signal for phase
I clinical trials of the indigenously developed vaccine," he said.

Seth's passion can be gauged from the fact that he tested the
vaccine on himself.

"I had tested the vaccine on myself for immune response and the
results were far better that I personally thought of," he told PTI
ruing the current fate of the project with the potential to save
millions from the pandemic.

The Union Ministry of Science and Technology has spend about six
crore rupees on the project but now it seems to have slipped down in
the priority list, Seth, whose is retiring this April, added. PTI

http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?
action=fullnews&id=74954

US trying to control AIDS in India: Official

Press Trust of India: Washington, February 20,2005

Ambassador Randall Tobias, US Coordinator of the American
government's anti-AIDS programme, has said the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID), through the President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, is working closely with public and
private partners to control the epidemic in India.

In a speech in Switzerland released in Washington on Saturday, he
said in 2004 alone, the US Government provided 20.5 million dollars
to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Indian Government
to support HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care programmes.
He said, there is very little public awareness in India of how HIV
is spread.

"Part of our struggle is to get the face of AIDS out there and make
people respond to it," he pointed out, quoting Robert Clay, director
of health programs for USAID India.

One such project, said Tobias, is the YWCA community centre in
Delhi, which empowers girls by giving them realistic alternatives to
being on the street or marrying at very young ages.

Girls take life skills classes that teach them how to take care of
themselves and protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases.
AIDS is discussed openly and peer leaders perform street plays in
their communities to spread the message, he said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1249680,0050.htm

UN begins AIDS project for Army

IANS [SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19,2005 01:25:44 PM]

KOLKATA: India's border guard and health authorities are
implementing a UNDP-aided anti-AIDS project among thousands of
paramilitary troopers.

A pilot project, the effort would be extended to cover more wings of
the country's armed forces and even other countries of the region if
successful.

The programme has been christened 'Project Prahari', which is
expected to build a framework for sustained HIV/AIDS prevention and
care among the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and their
families.

The project aims to reduce the HIV/AIDS vulnerability of select
cadres of the defence services with a focus on young recruits.

According to information posted on the website of UN's AIDS
prevention wing called UNAIDS, the project aims to strengthen their
capacity to expand outreach into the communities and families of
recruits through integration of HIV/AIDS prevention and care into
their existing goodwill programmes.

The programme, to run during 2004-06, is being executed by the UNDP,
the West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society and the
UNDP Regional HIV and Development Programme, India.

The UNAIDS is providing more than half of the total project cost of
$272,600.

The primary beneficiaries of the project include about 23,000
troopers, specially the young recruits and their families.

Secondary beneficiaries include sex workers, anti-trafficking
networks and non-government organisations.

The project was chosen for implementation among border guards
because they live away from home for months and are "exposed to
interactions with a variety of people".

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1025630.cms

Dear Readers:

Conferences..conferences.. and more AIDS conferences.

Another one organised by AIDS Soceity of India comes in April at New Delhi.

The first announcement came just today. I find that these conferences are
arranged in rush and not properly planned (except to provide platform to some of
organisors to launch themselves).

The PLWAs are totally sidelined by a group of self-appointed "well wishers" who
want to play God on us! One of the organisors is a very controversial man.

Instead of leaving the business of holding conferences in the hands of this
mafia, NACO should appoint a proper committee.

The registration cost is too high for a poor country like India. How many NGOs
can afford to send their workers to five star hotels.

This conference appears like a private event. Send these doctors to villages and
treat patients there rather then play God on our lives.

Credible agencies should boycot such conferences because these are meaningless..

Satish
E-mail: <palandesatish@...>

Hi to the Forum readers,

It is still apparent that NACO does not have the skills or the know how to
be able to make timely funding decisions and it should realise why and stop
trying to control the funding which is the key to any and all useful
stragegic interventions.

India is a complex country. In fact when I travel it seems like 29 countries
in some sort of federation with Central Government.

My view back in 2001 was that NACO can't know what affected and infected
communities need and I don't want to labour that point in this memo. It just
can't.

SACS committees MUST however, and if they lack interest or a sense of
urgency they should reconstitute the SACS committees so that they can and
do.

It is not hard for NACO to determine a proportional distribution percentage
on a State by State basis. Of course these percentages could be revised from
time to time but at least it could start with populations and prevalence
data and if this data is published in advance it should be able to be agreed
on by all recipient States.

When funds are available NACO should distribute the money to all SACS
requiring only that they document its expenditure, report regularly on best
practice and allocation priorities and ensure that the situation continues
to improve.

Much greater representation of affected and infected communities need to
exist at the SACS level than at present. Sometimes communities might second
staff from a particularly useful NGO or CBO if they don't feel confident in
making representations but the nomination should come from the communities
themselves and not from NACO or SACS unless it is to fill a casual vacancy
or perhaps to include some specialised expertise from time to time.

NACO should monitor national best practice and become much more informed
about what works well and what groups might need to have services provided
for them. It should also liaise with other central government ministries
like transport, education, home affairs and health to ensure that
integration and standards are maintained.

NACO could and should set standards for advertising and monitor the material
that is used in the States and even the scripts of movies and bill board
signage to ensure it remains accurate and non discriminatory.

Once the funding has been transferred to SACS, NACO should monitor the
distribution and ensure that grievances around focus testing and preferred
outcomes are measurable and effective. This may require NACO members leaving
Delhi occasionally.

Communities should be developed and affected and infected community members
should be encouraged at the SACS level to embark on capacity building that
identifies the peculiar needs and communitarian differences in the
prevalence areas so that they can be accurate in the way that programs are
focussed. Communities then can engage relevant and competent NGO's to work
with and for them to facilitate change.

We should cease forthwith considering any SACS area to be LOW PREVALENCE.

Once upon a time all of India was low prevalence and by a process of
structured ignorance we managed to generate some areas of higher prevalence
without fully undertanding how and why and who and when.

If these principles (GIPA) were followed communities will be enabled to deal
with the risk reduction strategies necessary and ensure that not only do we
reduce the rate of STI's but we also reduce the rate of unintended
pregnancies.

Inherrent in managing the society for those already infected, will be,
improvements in sanitation, water quality, nutrition and the whole community
health outcomes should improve.

What is essential is to talk about all the risk reduction strategies not
just the ones that are affordable. Far too little general knowledge about
risk management and handling emergencies is available to the general
community. In 2005 the message should be that being HIV positive is a
serious health problem but positive people need never reach the stage of
acquiring AIDS. Sero discordant couples should be able to practice skills in
sexual behaviour that doesn't lead to bad outcomes but who is going to teach
that. Post Exposure Prophylaxis must be more readily understood and
available to all those who have had an accidental or criminal risk exposure.
Young people should be totally conscious of what sexual behaviours are
inherrently risky and what ways they can be sexual without taking
unnecessary risks. Who is teaching that in India ?

If NACO followed this prescription funding delays would be overcome at
Central Government level and SACS can negotiate priorities for care support
treatment and prevention, in that order please, in their respective
catchments.

Remember these key elements to an effective education strategy :-

AIDS must be seen to be a personal threat to all sexually active people
AIDS is preventable There must be a belief that you can manage the life style
changes required You must always have peer support.

For the historians amongst us I might just reiterate some principles that
date back to the start of the epidemic in around 1986 when the Ottawa
Charter for Health promotion released these principles for health promotion.

Build good public health policy

Create supportive environments

Strengthen community action

Develop personal skills

Reorienting Health Services.

I hope that this encourages more discussion and debate vis a vis NACO and
the infected and affected communities

Geoffrey
E-mail: <gheaviside@...>

Dear All,

"HIV&AIDS Citizen Forum" at Lucknow took the initiative against these
messages on January 17 itself and communicated the angst to the both UNICEF
and UPSACS. Both shared that they had no intention of discriminating and
stigmatising the Positive Community and the deadline of removing the
hoarding was set by them was January 31st.

By that date, they could remove the discriminatory hoardings only in Lucknow
and Allahabad. On 3rd of February the civil society group in Varanasi
launched a public protest and media took up the issue. On February 4,
HIV&AIDS Citizen Forum organised a Press Conference in Lucknow and shared
the concern with the media. Both English and Hindi print media gave a good
coverage. Due to this immense pressure building on the 'duo' the hoardings
from all cities of UP have been taken down.

The senior management of UNICEF had again shared in person on February 14,
that they had no such intention and whatever happened was unfortunate on
their part and have promised the Forum that from now onwards the Forum would
be consulted before initiating any such media campaign or other HIV&AIDS
related programmes.

regards,

Harjeet Singh

Member of "HIV&AIDS Citizen Forum"
E-mail: <harjeet@...>