Dear Friends,

It is really sad that serials which incorporate the subject of HIV/AIDS actually
miss a great opportunity to educate the masses who they have as a captive
audience. Although I have never watched the serial befoer, I was appaled at the
treatment of the subject not only with regard to universal precautions but the
fact that the main fight seems to be about the chief protagonist making sure
that the hospital opens a special HIV ward. In which era is this
writer/director??

Eldred Tellis.
Director
Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust.
E-mail: <sankalpt@...>

Govt offers umbrella to kids against AIDS

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2005 11:27:57 PM ]

PUNE: The increasing number of HIV/AIDS-infected young population in
the country can finally hope to be better looked after, following
the declaration of the 'Delhi commitment' by major stake holders,
including the Union government and Unicef.

Acknowledging the enormous impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on
children, the Centre on Wednesday mooted a national alliance and a
plan for children and families, which will establish a comprehensive
framework to develop programmes and interventions for children made
vulnerable by the killer virus.

Represented by the ministries of human resource development
(department of women and child development) and health (National
AIDS control organisation), the commitment was signed after
deliberations with national and international United Nations partner
agencies (Unicef and others).

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1065781.cms

To all friends and concerned persons,

WHO WATCH MAINSTREAM TV AND THOSE WHO DO NOT

Please watch STAR PLUS tonight. They have a programme called SANJIVANI at 9.00pm
where they are showing an HIV positive doctor being insisted upon by another
doctor colleague to operate on her for her delivery.

While on one hand it is spreading awareness about HIV which is commendable.. it
is also I feel at the same time endorsing that an HIV positive doctor can
operate upon a pregnant women and help her deliver her first child - either with
operation or without.

It does not talk about the need for adequate precautions and other
conditionalities within which an HIV positive doctor must operate.
Can there be some intervention to facilitate inclusion of such vital and
absolutely important information in this serial?

Sincerely

Mallika
E-mail: <mallika_lal@...>

Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your life partner online.

Futures Group is a management, marketing, research, and strategic
planning organization that help clients make well-informed decisions
in the presence of future uncertainty. Since its founding in 1971,
the Futures Group has worked in more than 60 developing countries to
build local capacity to design and implement effective strategies to
address critical development issues. We have earned a reputation as a  global
leader in public health and social concerns, including
population, family planning, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and
sexually transmitted infections, safe motherhood, poverty
alleviation, education, and the environment.

Purpose: The Project Director (PD) will have overall responsibility
for directing the Futures Group Avahan Advocacy Program in HIV/AIDS.

Overall Program Description: The Avahan Advocacy Program (AAP)
utilizes a capacity building model to help galvanize the leadership
around HIV/AIDS and foster a supportive environment for HIV
prevention, care and treatment efforts. There is a special emphasis
on reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination by increasing
leadership involvement at all levels. As a result, partners and
stakeholders will be better placed to understand the impact of the
HIV epidemic and take effective advocacy, policy and program measures  to
address it. The program will be operational in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, and Delhi.

Responsibilities:

The Project Director is responsible for the technical, program,
personnel, operations, and financial management of the AAP in all six locations.
This includes overall responsibility for assessing state policy and advocacy
conditions, designing state programs, and
ensuring state and national programmes are carried out and monitored
successfully. Additionally, the PD is responsible for working in
partnership and coordinating with other members of the Avahan team to support
the overall objectives of the Gates Avahan Initiative in
India. Specific responsibilities include:

1. Reports to the Futures Group Managing Director.
2. Provide management leadership and overall technical direction of
project activities to all staff.
3. Work closely with the Managing Director to assure that project
objectives are met in a timely and effective manner.
4. Provide technical and management guidance to the 5 State
Coordinators in policy areas including advocacy, policy dialogue,
multisectoral approaches, planning and finance, and capacity
development.
5. Identify training needs of State Coordinators, other AAP staff and
partners and create opportunities to build local capacity.
6. Coordinate interaction and experience sharing amongst AAP staff
and partners
7. Provide specific guidance to state programs on subcontracting,
grants, systems, and operating procedures. Review and approve project
and state-level work plans and budgets. Approve travel, consultant
agreements, subcontracts and grants.
8. Develop and implement monitoring and evaluation activities
implemented by country programs.
9. Responsible for annual program and financial reports as well as
other ad hoc reports as required.
10. Initiate and participate in liaison activities with Avahan
partners, other agencies and organizations to ensure information
sharing, coordination, and collaboration.
11. Interact with Gates Foundation project managers and facilitate
communication in both directions.

Qualifications: Senior level position requiring 10 yrs minimum,
demonstrated experience, successfully managing HIV/AIDS or similar
health activities. Knowledge and experience with standard
contracting, management systems, operational procedures, budgeting
and financial reporting required. Documented experience leading
policy and advocacy activities in the field. Technical expertise in
HIV/AIDS working with vulnerable populations, treatment access, or
policy issues essential. Excellent oral and written skills required
in English. Knowledge of Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Marathi besides
Hindi is an added advantage.

Experience working with teams of diverse cultural and professional backgrounds
required. This position will be based in Hyderabad. People with HIV are
encouraged to apply.

To apply visit the job board found on our website
www.futuresgroup.com.

"Futures recruiting"
e-MAIL: <jfields@...>

1st National Conference of AIDS Society of India April 2-4, 2005: New Delhi

"Share & Care"

The capital city of Delhi will have major event in the field of HIV/AIDS from
April 2-4, 2005 with several renowned experts and researchers, at a crucial time
when India is grappling with one of the highest numbers of HIV/AIDS cases in the
world, with late but increasing level of commitment to fight AIDS, the
availability of anti-HIV drugs at cheaper prices but threatened by patent laws
and the government roll-out for free HIV treatment to 100,000 HIV patients but
ill-equipped doctors.

The AIDS Society of India along with National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO)
and US Dept. of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/National Institutes of Health
(NIH) and several national and international agencies, is co-sponsoring the "1st
National Conference of AIDS Society of India: ASICON-2005" at The Ashok in New
Delhi. World-renowned faculty in HIV medicine and researchers from around the
globe and India will share the state-of-the-art knowledge, their insights,
experience and vision both in plenary and interactive sessions that will be
useful in enhancing our capacity to offer quality care to HIV infected
individuals in India.

Nearly 700 doctors from different specialties dealing with HIV and researchers
are expected to be participating in the deliberations of the conference that
will have more than 100 oral presentations and 70 poster presentations.

Among other dignitories, US Ambassador in India Dr. Mulford; , Union Minister
for Youth and Sports Shri Sunil Dutt and Union Minister for Health Dr. Ambumani
Ramadoss will address the conference on April 2, 3 and 4 respectively.

Sponsors: ASICON 2005 is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare, GOI; Dept. of Science and Technology, NACO; ICMR; YRG-Care and Peoples
Health Organisation (India) from India and DHHS/NIH (USA); UNAIDS; International
AIDS Society; USAID; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Intl. AIDS Vaccine
Initiative (IAVI) and similarly pharma giants Cipla, Emcure, Roche, Aurobindo,
Ranbaxy, Alkem and Diagnostic companies Beckman Coulter and Becton Dickinson,
Abbott Laboratories.

Faculty: Eminent world-renowned international and national faculty shall
participate in this conference. Some of original researchers and ace clinicians
are part of the conference. The International faculty includes renowned authors
of the textbook on HIV/AIDS Management John Bartlett and Joel Gallant (Johns
Hopkins University, USA). Robert Bollinger, Adriana Andrade, David Celentano,
(JHU, USA); Kenneth Freedburg (Harvard); Mark Dybul (US Global AIDS
Coordinator); Kenneth Mayer, Charles Carpenter and Timothy Flanigan (Brown
University, USA); Paolo Miotti (NIH); Mark Wainberg (McGill University, Canada),
Dr. H. Fleury (France). Kimberley Brouwer, (UCSD, USA); ); Tim Mastro, Lihua
Xiao and Bharat Parekh (CDC, USA); Martin Adelmann (Switzerland); Suzanne Crowe
(Mcfarlane Burnett Institute) and John Wotherspoon from Australia; Constance
Corrino, USAID; Harriet Robinson (Emory Univ.,USA); Swarup Sarkar (UNAIDS,
Bangkok); Nirupama Sista, FHI, USA; Charles Farthing (LA,USA); David Katzenstein
(Stanford,USA);  Sunanda Gaur (MDNJ,USA); Sandra Lehrman (DAIDS/NIH, USA); Dr
Paramita Sudharto (WHO-SEARO); Robbin Shattock,London; Representative of the
Pharma and other Industries; Media and several key national figures from
HIV/AIDS field.

Topics/Issues: Following key issues will be discussed in the conference;
Epidemiology of HIV infection; Role of Donors in response to Global HIV/AIDS
epidemic; Immuno-pathogenesis of HIV disease, Issues in HIV diagnosis, Incidence
assays, Monitoring HIV-infected persons, Quality Assurance for laboratories;
Opportunistic infections and Malignancies in HIV/AIDS; Antiretroviral Therapy
(ART); Drug resistance in HIV/AIDS; HIV Management in Women and Children;
Prevention, Behavioral, Social Challenges; HIV in special populations; 
Principles of HIV vaccines, challenges in development; HIV vaccine trials in
India; Linking prevention with care

Who would Attend? Practicing Doctors/Clinicians with experience and/or interest
in HIV/AIDS, Clinical Epidemiologists, Researchers, representatives of
organizations/ institutions involved in HIV care and funding agencies from India
and those with interest in India from abroad, nearly 700 delegates will attend
the Conference from 2-4 April, 05.

The ASICON-2005 is expected to answer several questions of the doctors managing
HIV/AIDS  in India which will ultimately result in better care for those
afflicted with HIV disease leading to better quality and enhancement of the 
lives of those people at affordable cost, yet with international standard.

Co-chairs, ASICON-2005
Dr. Suniti Solomon, Chennai / Dr.Ishwar S.Gilada, Mumbai

Conference Secretariat:
Unison Medicare & Research Centre; Maharukh Mansion, Alibhai Premji Marg, Mumbai
- 400 007; E-mail: asicon@... ; ihoaids@...; Tel. +91-(22)
23061616; Fax: -23864433 and 23000016; Conference Website: www.india-aids.org

Temporary Secretariat: Hotel Ashok, Delhi, from 31 March to 4 April, 2005
______________
Dr.I.S.Gilada
E-mail: <ihoaids@...>

Hi Forum Members:

Greetings!

I am working on a paper in which i would like to mention the HIV/AIDS
scenario of the coastal region in India, with how and what and where it has
changed.

I was wondering if someone would be able to provide me information or cite any
surveys, studies or research done on Sexual Behaviour among the citizens of the
coastal communities in the Indian Sub-continent or direct me to a relevant link.

I am interested to find out what differences are seen pre and post-tsunami among
the communities. Also try to understand the HIV/AIDS/STD scenarios post-tsunami.
If anyone is able to supply me with such information, it would be greatly
appreciated.

Please contact me offline and I will report a summary of the responses that I
get to the List. I would also be willing to share my findings (if any) to
members of the forum but would appreciate if you would kindly email me and let
me know.

Thank you for taking the effort to send me information or direct me to
links.

Many Thanks,

John O. Lall
E-mail: jol@...

Socio-Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS
A Study of Six States

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) with the help
of and funding from UNDP and NACO is conducting a study on the socio-
economic impact of HIV/AIDS in India. It is known that within a short
span of 15 years HIV epidemic has emerged as one of the most serious
public health problems in India and across the globe.

The epidemic warrants appropriate policy action as early as possible.
However, the ¡¥appropriateness¡¦ of the policy action depends on
thorough research into:

(1) the channels of influence of HIV/AIDS on individuals, sectors and
national economies and its quantification;
(2) the knowledge of individual and societal behaviour which may
negate the effects of policy;
(3) the costs of non-intervention compared with the net benefits (or
costs) of (alternative) policy interventions etc.

The main focus of UNDP-NACO-NCAER study is on the first two
questions, with particular reference to the six high prevalence
states in India i.e. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Manipur and Nagaland.

With regard to the second question, it is felt that social stigma
attached with the disease is the major inhibiting factor in
controlling the spread of the disease. This study intends to deal
with this aspect also.

Specifically the study is attempting to achieve the following and
contribute to NACP111 formulation:

Analyze the nature and type of socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS on
households: This segment of research will help in developing state-
specific strategies that are needed to alleviate the problems faced
by HIV/AIDS affected households.

Assess sectoral impact through measurement of the current and
potential impact of HIV/AIDS on different sectors of the economy
including agriculture, tourism and health care industry.

Assess net impact of HIV/AIDS on national-level economic
performance. An integrated model incorporating specific sectors
associated labour force participation and effects on productivity
will be developed to evaluate and estimate the impact of HIV/AIDS on
the Net Domestic Product (NDP).

The study results will be based on the data collected from an
independent primary survey by NCAER and a supplementary questionnaire
supplied by NCAER to ICMR for administration to a larger sample. The
impact of HIV/AIDS on sectors and national economy will be determined
on the basis of a General Equilibrium model. In addition, the study
will also use qualitative techniques like Case Studies and Focus
Group Discussions (FGD).

Keeping in mind the objectives of the study, NCAER is conducting a
survey of both HIV and non-HIV households. The purpose of surveying
both HIV and non-HIV households is to compare their socio-economic
characteristics, pattern of household expenditure, prevalence of
morbidity, differences in enrolment and drop out of children and time
use pattern of all the household members.

The survey of approximately 8, 000 households is currently being
undertaken and out of this, one-fourth of households have an HIV
positive person (s) i.e around 2,000 households spread across all the
six states. This number is large enough considering the difficulties
involved in identifying Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and
their households and more importantly securing their consent for
interview.

The sample is being drawn from both rural and urban areas of the
states. NACO, through its State AIDS Control Organisations, is
providing crucial support to us for the Survey. It may further be
noted that the number of PLWHA interviewed for the study would be
greater than the number of households since wherever the spouse is
affected by HIV/AIDS, a separate questionnaire is being administered
for the spouse.

Survey in four states (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and
Karnataka) is already over. Data processing is currently on. Manipur
and Nagaland are to be taken up in the first week of April. FGD has
been conducted in Bombay (Maharashtra), Bangalore (Karnataka),
Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh) and Cambam (Tamil Nadu). One more FGD in
Imphal, Manipur has been planned and is likely to be conducted some
time in April. The FGDs were conducted with the members of the
Network of Positive People.


Shalabh Kumar Singh
National Council of Applied Economic Research
Parisila Bhawan, 11 I. P. Estate
New Delhi - 110 002
Phone: 91-11-23379861/62/63
Fax: 91-11-23370164
E-mail: <SkSingh@...>

Hi All

Below is the abstarct of the article that I published on Tipranvir- a new
Protease Inhibitor. If you would like to have the complete article contact me
(see contact info at bottom of email).

Vijayabhaskar Reddy Kandula
E-mail: <emailreddy@...>
-----------------------------

Tipranavir: a novel second-generation nonpeptidic protease inhibitor.

Kandula VR, Khanlou H, Farthing C.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, 1300 N Vermont Avenue, Suite 407, Los Angeles, CA
90027, USA. reddy@...

Tipranavir is a new nonpeptidic protease inhibitor and belongs to the class of
4-hydroxy-5, 6-dihydro-2-pyrones. Chemically, tipranavir is based on coumarin
and sulfonamide compounds, amongst others. It exhibits potent and specific
activity against both HIV-1 and -2. Tipranavir 500 mg in combination with
ritonavir 200 mg twice daily results in optimum viral load reduction and
suppresses both wild-type and protease inhibitor-resistant virus. It is
metabolized by the cytochrome P4503A4 enzyme and its pharmacokinetic parameters
are enhanced when combined with ritonavir.

Tipranavir is excreted primarily in the feces, with minimal excretion in urine.
In early trials, tipranavir/ritonavir was demonstrated to be safe and well
tolerated, with mild gastrointestinal side effects.

Preliminary data indicate pharmacokinetic interaction with nucleotide reverse
transcriptase inhibitors; however, no dose adjustments are recommended at this
time. Virologic response is not adequate when combined with  other
ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors, and is currently not recommended. As with
other protease inhibitors, tipranavir interacts with fluconazole, atorvastatin,
clarithromycin and rifabutin and absorption is reduced when taken with antacids
and didanosine (enteric coated formulation). Phase III trials are underway to
compare the efficacy of tipranavir/ritonavir with other antiretroviral agents.
_________________
Vijayabhaskar Reddy Kandula MD MPH
HIV Physician
740 S St Andrews Pl Apt 16, Los Angeles CA 90005
Ph: 213 382 8521, Cell: 626 - 215 - 0569
E-mail: <emailreddy@...>

Dear All,

I would like to know the following:

Can a Doctor who is HIV Positive and / or who has AIDS, practice as a surgeon
and operate upon those who are either HIV negative or not tested yet? Do kindly
advice.

Sincerely

Mallika
E-mail: <mallika_lal@...>

[Moderators note: Please don't press 'reply function' to order for the booklet.
Please e-mail Dr. Kapoor on him e-mail<jpkapoor@...>)

Ref: Message requesting education materials for Poonch in J & K,

Dear Ashwani & the Forum,

This is for your information and information of all the members of AIDS India
e_group that,  as requested by you, we can provide you a very good booktet on
frequently asked questiiond on HIV/AIDS, in local language of the area i.e. Urdu
and  punjabi, if you so desire.

Thanks

Dr. Kapoor JP
APD, DSACS
E-mail: <jpkapoor@...>

http://www.issuesinmedicalethics.org/nbc2005.html

CALL FOR PAPERS/ABSTRACTS: Indian Journal of Medical Ethics

NATIONAL BIOETHICS CONFERENCE

Ethical challenges in health care: global context, Indian reality
November 25, 26 and 27, 2005. YMCA, Mumbai Central, Mumbai, INDIA

The Indian Journal of Medical Ethics completed 12 years of publication in 2004.
During these years, it has contributed to and benefited from the emergence of
bioethics as a distinct discipline in India.

The IJME hopes to build upon this relationship through the National Bioethics
Conference. The conference aims to establish a regular platform for coming
together, sharing experiences, and fostering cooperation among individuals,
organisations and institutions concerned with bioethics in India.

Conference theme and focus sub-themes:

Bioethics in India has developed in response to multiple influences. The
community health movement has demanded universal access to basic health services
and offered a critique of professionalisation, mystification and
bureaucratisation in health care. The patients’ and consumers’ rights movement
has drawn attention to commercialisation in health care and medical malpractice.
The movement for rational therapeutics and drug price controls has analysed the
conduct of the pharmaceutical industry and doctors’ prescription practices. The
women’s movement has exposed the politics of population control and documented
ethical violations in contraceptive trials. While these and other significant
movements emerged from the specific political reality of India, they were - and
still are - also a response to global changes in the health sector. The process
of opening up the economy for global capital, the accelerated development of the
corporate health sector, the phenomenal increase in cheap
  drug trials, the decline of public health sector and the rise in inequities –
all these have complex national and global interconnections. Further, in India,
they are strongly associated with an increase in violence, conflict and
fundamentalism. It is in this general context that one must view the emerging
ethical challenges in health care.

Focus sub-themes: Within this broad theme providing the framework to
deliberations at the conference, in-depth discussions will be held on the
following focus sub-themes.

(a) Ethical challenges in HIV/AIDS: The advancing epidemic of HIV/AIDS and the
extremes of cultural, religious, professional and other social responses to it
have posed severe ethical challenges in clinical practice, research, public
health and health policy. Stigma and discrimination in social and occupational
settings, and the intervention of people living with HIV/AIDS in defence of
their human rights, have shaped both the ethical challenges and the response of
health care providers.

(b) Ethics of life and death in the era of hi-tech health care: The increased
investment in hi-tech health care has posed ethical challenges in public policy,
resource allocation and addressing inequity. It has also highlighted ethical
complexities in specific areas such as organ transplantation, artificial
reproduction, euthanasia, palliative care and the use of sex selection
technologies.

(c) Ethical responsibilities in violence, conflict and religious strife: What
are the tensions between health professionals’ religious, caste, ideological and
other affiliations and their professional obligations, and how may they be
resolved? The subject of health professionals’ ethical responsibilities in
conflict situations is crucial, as is the question of researchers’ ethical
responsibilities when undertaking studies in such situations.

Cross cutting themes: Each of these sub-themes will be discussed in the context
of clinical practice, research and public health. Discussions will also be
informed by several cross cutting themes such as equity and access; culture and
religion; laws and regulations; provision for ethics reviews and consultations,
and so on.

Structure of the conference

The conference will be structured around morning plenary sessions with
presentations by experts; parallel sessions for each focus sub-theme; and late
afternoon/evening satellite sessions consisting of lectures, discussions,
role-plays (such as mock ethics review boards or clinical consultations), films
and cultural events.

Organising Committee (OC): The Conference will be a collaborative effort. We are
in the process of forming the OC for the Conference, which will be the decision
making body and do the selection of papers/concept notes. Institutions,
organisations and individuals interested in participating in this collaboration
are requested to contact us before February 28, 2005.

Submission of abstracts

Abstracts/concept notes (not exceeding 300 words) on topics within the theme and
focus sub-themes are invited from all who want to present papers or organise
cultural events and satellite sessions. The last date for sending abstracts is
June 30, 2005. Writers will be informed of the programme committee’s decision by
July 31, 2005.

Conference registration

Registration fees are inclusive of conference material, lunch and tea/coffee for
the three days of the conference. Registration fees are Rs 500 if paid before
July 31, 2005 and Rs 800 thereafter.

Accommodation

For outstation participants, accommodation at the venue (YMCA International
Guesthouse, Mumbai Central) is available in double occupancy rooms for Rs 1000
per day per person in air-conditioned rooms, and Rs 500 per day per person in
non-air-conditioned rooms (both inclusive of breakfast and dinner).

Please send abstracts/concept notes and all inquiries to:
bioethics2005@...

Anant Bhan
E-mail: <dranantbhan@...>

Dear Forum,

As a Global Youth Partner (GYP) for UNFPA ,India on HIV/AIDS Prevention program,
I am preparing the UNGASS Youth Report - A review of the UNGASS Targets related
to young people in the Indian context.

In this matter , I need help on a few questions on the Financial Committment of
the Government of India related to HIV prevention among young people.

1. What percentage or amount in a year of government funds has been committed to
HIV/AIDS ?

2. Of these funds , how much has been allocated to HIV Prevention efforts among
young people including life-skills based education , through schools , IEC
campaigns targeted at young people , and programs for the provision of youth
friendly services ?

3. Are most youth related HIV Programmes funded by the Government , by NGO's or
by international organisations ?

Help on these questions would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Arindam Roy
Global Youth Partner(GYP), UNFPA-India
E mail : net_arindam@...

Dear Friends,

Family Planning Association of India (FPA) India is a non governmental
organization working towards a future where exercising the right to sexual and
reproductive health by all individuals and couples including adolescents and
young persons contributes towards population stabilization leading to a
reduction in poverty and a better quality of life.

FPA India, recently in February, 2005 had organized a national conference
“Tomorrow’s Youth Today ?very young people (10-14 years) in sexual and
reproductive health?at India International Center New Delhi. This was followed
by a Consultative Meeting of approximately 37 participants to discuss effective
strategies for program implementation.

We request agencies (both in India and abroad)  working with this age group to
send us material and information on the type of intervention the organization
implements for 10-14 years by Friday, April 15, 2005.

Name of the organization and contact details (including telephone nos., email
and website),

Contact person and designation,

Type of intervention / activities conducted in the last 2 years,

Document / material developed and provide details mentioning whether they are
published or unpublished.

This information must be sent at the following address marked attention Bindiya
Nimla:

Family Planning Association of India
Head Quarters:
Bajaj Bhawan, Nariman Point,
Mumbai 400 021.
Tel: 91- 022-22029080 / 22045174
Fax: 022 ?22029038 / 22048513
Email: fpai@... / fpaindiatyt@...

Web: http://www.fpaindia.com


Please pass on this information to others too whom you think will be able to
assist us. Looking forward for your cooperation and support

With best wishes

Bindiya Nimla
Senior Manager- Programs
Family Planning Association of India
E-mail:  <bnimla69@...>

The Patent Bill: A Critique
Dr.B.Ekbal

After prolonged controversies and debated The Patent Bill that was
presented has been passed in both the houses of the parliament after
the government conceding some of the modifications suggested by the
left parties. The bill had to be presented because India is required
to amend its Patent Laws as per the provisions of the TRIPS agreement
under the WTO, Earlier the NDA government had introduced to
amendments in 1999 and 2000 to comply with some of the transitory
provisions of the TRIPS till the final changes are made by Ist
January 2005. Since the much acclaimed Indian Patent Act of  1970
will be totally overhauled by these changes there had been extensive
debate within the country and out side about the possible
implications of the changes brought in by the three amendments in
relation to people's right to health care and access to essential
drugs.

The 1970 Act served the country well and was instrumental in
development of the indigenous industry , to a point where the Indian
pharmaceutical Industry is the leader in the developing world. It is
thus imperative that the fundamental changes made in the 1970 Patents
Act need to be carefully examined, so as not to compromise the
interests of the country, both in terms of our ability to safeguard
the health of our people and our interest in promoting a self-reliant
indigenous Pharmaceutical Industry.

There is, however, a wide consensus that domestic laws, while being
TRIPS compliant, need to make full use of "flexibilities" available
in the TRIPS agreement. This was reiterated in unequivocal terms by
the WTO Doha Declaration on TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (2001),
which, inter alia, commented that countries have the sovereign right
to enact laws that safeguard domestic interests. It recognised the
gravity of public health problems in developing countries and clearly
provided that the member countries had the right to protect public
health and to promote access to medicines for all.

The health movements and other concerned organisations and individuals are  of
the opinion that the present  ordinance and the earlier bills  did not make full
use of the flexibilities available in the TRIPS agreement.  India is the leader
in the global supply of affordable Anti AIDS drugs and other essential medicines
to the less developed countries and it was felt that the ordinance will prevent
India exporting cheap drugs to other countries.

In this context international agencies like WHO and UN AIDS requested the Indian
government to take necessary steps to continue to account for the needs of the
poorest nations that urgently need access to essential medicines without
adopting unnecessary restrictions that are not required under the TRIPS
Agreement.

Specifically the main concerns of those who were campaigning against
the bill were related to the criteria for patentability, patenting of
life forms, granting of compulsory licensing, pre-grant opposition to
the patent applications, continued production of the drugs patented
after 1995 in the generic sector, and the export of cheap Indian
drugs to the less developed countries. In all these issues the rules
in the Ordinance were clearly in favor of the multinational drugs
companies and against the interest of the Indian people and the poor
in the less developed countries. It is in this context that the left
parties brought in 12 amendments to the bills.

  The government with some modifications accepted most of the amendments of the
left parties and two contentious issues i.e. the granting of patents to
microorganism and the definition of news chemicals were left to expert
committees for detailed study.

The following are some of the positive gains  of the left
intervention:

1. The scope of patentability.  There were serious concerns that
after Product Patents are allowed we would be an overflow of
frivolous Patents. In the ordinance  there were provisions that can
grant "secondary patents" lead to the perpetuation of Patents
monopoly beyond the stipulated 20 years by repeated Patent grants
based on small changes made to the original molecule. The amendments
to the Ordinance tabled by the Government has now restricted the
scope for the granting of Patents on frivolous claims to some extend.

2. Pre-grant Opposition to Patents: The bill had restricted the
provisions to oppose the grant of a Patent. on various grounds. The
new amendments have now restored all the original grounds in the
previous Act of 1970 for opposing grant. The time for filing such
opposition has also been extended from 3 months to six months.

3. Export to other countries: The Ordinance had a provision that the
importing country would have to obtain a compulsory license before
they can import drugs from India.  It would have been impossible for
the eveloping countries to import drugs from India because they can
invoke compulsory licensing only after 2016 the date stipulated for
these countries to implement the product patent regime.  The
amendments now clarify that the country can import from India
without going in for compulsory licensing.

4. Manufacture of Generic Drugs: The major concern of many was that
once patents and hence exclusive marketing rights are granted to
drugs for which patent applications are already filed as per
the "mail box" facility provided by the first amendment in 1999, the
cheap generic varieties of these drugs produced by Indian companies
cannot be marketed.  The new amendments have now clarified that such
Indian companies who are already producing these drugs can continue
to produce them after payment of a royalty even if the drug is placed
under  Patent.

  5. Compulsory licensing: There have been widespread concerns that
the process of grant of compulsory licenses to counter the monopoly
of patents may take too long and thus defeat the whole purpose for
the application for compulsory licensing. This has been addressed by
the amendments by  specifying that the reasonable time period before
the Patents Controller considers issuance of a compulsory license
when such a license is denied by the patent holder shall not
ordinarily exceed six months.

6. Software Patenting. Apart from the problems faced by the
pharmaceutical sector another issue of concern was the granting of
patents to soft ware in the ordinance. This has now been taken back
in the amendments and the option for software patenting has been
denied.

However, the wording of some of the clauses of the bill is as vague
and ambiguous as to be subjected to differing interpretations. It
appears that the multinational drug lobby has succeeded in
incorporating several clauses that can be put into effective use to
protect their interest when the bill actually starts getting
implemented. A few such points are highlighted here.

1. The Bill provides that to meet inventive step criteria the
patentee will either have to show that the invention includes
a `technical advance' or has economic significance, or both.. The
provision should have required the applicant to comply with both
requirements for an inventive step, namely existing knowledge and
having economic significance. Otherwise, the requirement of technical
advance is compromised and diluted by the fact that a patent could be
simply granted on economic significance alone. This alone, should
not  determine the inventive step of a patentable invention.

2. The Bill permits generic manufacturers to continue producing
generic version of new drugs which are in the mailbox. However, this
only applies where the generic producer has made a "significant
investment" and will have to pay a reasonable royalty. The question
of "significant investment" poses a threat of potential infringement
suits  as the generic producer would have to clearly show that it has
made what would be considered a significant investment in producing
and marketing the generic drugs. With respect to the `reasonable
royalty' it creates the problem of excessive demands from the patent
holder and litigation. The reasonable royalty rate should have been
fixed at a particular percentage, the norm being 4%.

3. In the case of compulsory licensing the amendment does not remove
the existing requirement that only after three years after the grant
of a patent, can a person make an application to the Controller for
the grant of a compulsory license.

There are other glaring problems within the bill that can affect the
public i and the Indian Pharmaceutical sector. The provisions of the
final bill that was accepted in the parliament needs detailed
examination by health and legal experts since a number of litigations
are likely to come up in future.

The left parties should be alert and form an alliance with the committed and
concerned health and legal experts to monitor the implementation of the
provisions of the Patent Bill.

This is possible only if both the political and the committed
peoples movements mutually appreciate the positive roles being played
by them without trying to take up self righteous positions.

Dr.B.Ekbal
E-mail: ekbal@...

Sir,

I am Community Information Centre Incharge(CIC) setup by the govt. of india,
Deptt. Of information technology in Jammu and Kashmir Poonch  Distt. Tehsil
Mendhar Block mendhar.

Sir, In this regard i want AIDS education material that will help me in
Promoting AIDS awarness among the people of the area

My address is

Ashwani Kumar Sharma
Community Information Centre Incharge
Block Mendhar, Tehsil Mendhar
Distt. Poonch, State J & K, 185211

E-mail:<hellosweet9@...>

UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan

Message on World TB Day. 24 March 2005
*************
Five thousand people die from tuberculosis every day, although the
disease is both preventable and curable. Clearly, we must work harder if we are
to achieve, by 2015, the Millennium Development Goal of halting and beginning to
reverse the spread of TB as one of the world's major diseases. Thanks to a
massive scale-up of the DOTS strategy for TB control recommended by the World
Health Organization, with 17 million persons treated in nine years, our
prospects for reaching the goal have improved greatly.

WHO reports that eight in 10 patients are successfully treated under
DOTS programmes, and that 45 per cent of infectious patients were
treated in 2003 -- up from 28 per cent in 2000. But huge obstacles
remain, particularly in Africa -- in the form of weak health systems, a depleted
health workforce, and an HIV/AIDS epidemic that is driving TB.

As Nelson Mandela said, "We cannot win the battle against AIDS if we do not also
fight TB. TB is too often a death sentence for people with
AIDS." I urge African leaders to make the fight against both diseases a
priority.

The Stop TB Partnership, with its 350 partner governments and
organizations, is making a difference by forging consensus on
strategies, coordinated responses, mechanisms for quality drug supply,
and action for new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. Governments,
bilateral agencies, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and
the World Bank are providing more resources. Still, to achieve worldwide impact,
more is needed. And we must provide greater support for the increasingly wide
range of caregivers who help find people ill with TB and assist them with
treatment. These providers include not just public health doctors and nurses,
but also community leaders, former patients, women's groups, and many others.

Such broad mobilization is our strongest weapon in the fight against the
disease. On this world TB Day, let us rededicate ourselves to that
mission.

Kofi A. Annan

Source: http://www.stoptb.org/WTBD2005/kannan.asp
__________________
"Jamie Tonsing"
E-mail: <tonsingj@...>

Dear Forum,

Please, anyone mail me a document covering all aspects of universal prcautions
including safe injection practices and operation theatre precautions to prevent
transmission of blood born pathogens urgently.

It should suit private hospital settings.

Deodatta Gore
E-mail: <deodattagore@...>

A critical view of the new Indian Patent (Amendment) Act 2005

On 23 March 2005 the Patent (Amendment) Bill 2005 was passed by the Rajya Sabha
(Upper House). There has been very little public debate around the Bill to
determine the effects of the amendments that have been made.

Several amendments have been made to the Ordinance (the new Patent Bill 2005). 
However, many of these fail to address the serious concerns of the issues
relating to access to medicines.

From the text that has been made available, the following provides a critique of
the key issues of the new law which were voted on and the potential impact:

Expansion of the Scope of Patentability:

TRIPS does not define the basic criteria of patents viz. novelty, inventive step
and industrial application. Further, the only obligation under TRIPS Agreement
is to protect pharmaceutical products. As a result implementing countries have
the option to limit the patent protection only to a new chemical entity.
However, according to latest reports data shows that there are 8926 applications
pending for examination in the mailbox in India, the vast majority by U.S and
E.U multinational pharmaceutical companies. However, only 274 new chemical
entities received marketing approvals from the US FDA between 1995-2003. This is
a clear indication that many of the applications in the mailbox are patenting of
products with frivolous or marginal changes and, therefore, fall outside of the
requirement of protection required for patents by TRIPS.

The clauses in the Bill to limit the scope of patentability are extremely
ambiguous and full of technical loopholes which allow for ‘evergreening’.
Ideally the law should clearly limit patent protection to ‘new chemical
entities’.

Some of the key issues relating to the scope of patentability are given below.

Inventive Step :

The Bill provides the following definition of what is required of a patent
application to meet the inventive step criteria:

“a feature of an invention that involves technical advance as compared to the
existing knowledge or having economic significance or both that makes the
invention not obvious to a person skilled in the art”.

The above provision arguably broadens the existing provision to the benefit of
patent holders and is ambiguous to the extent that it allows for two criteria
for meeting an inventive step. As it stands, to meet an inventive step criteria
the patentee will either have to show that the invention includes a ‘technical
advance’ or has economic significance, or both.

The provision should have required the applicant to comply with both
requirements for an inventive step, namely  “existing knowledge and having
economic significance” and delete the term “or both”. Otherwise, the requirement
of technical advance is compromised and diluted by the fact that a patent could
be simply granted on economic significance alone. Economic significance alone,
cannot determine the inventive step of a patentable invention.

Pharmaceutical substance:

The amendment currently describes “Pharmaceutical substance” as “any new entity
involving one or more inventive steps”.

As it stands, the provision is too broad as it allows all types of
pharmaceutical substances. The term “chemical” ought to have been inserted so as
to read “any new chemical entity”.

Inventions not patentable:

Section 3(d) has been amended to read:

“the mere discovery of a new form of a known substance which does not result in
the enhancement of the known efficacy of that substance or the mere discovery of
any new property or new use for a known substance or the mere use of a known
process, machine or apparatus unless such known process results in a new product
or employs at least employs one new reactant”.

The use of the phrase “which does not result in the enhancement of the known
efficacy” is ambiguous, too broad and potentially allows for new forms of
existing substances to become patented. For example, “result in enhancement of
efficacy” could be a minor amendment to an existing invention to in order to get
around the provision as it stands.

In addition, the new Act retains the word “mere” which potentially causes
ambiguities within the provision.

Also, the explanation supporting the above provision provides:

  “Salts, esters, ethers, polymorphs, metabolites, pure form, particle size,
isomers, mixtures of isomers, complexes, combinations and other derivatives of
known substance shall be considered to be the same substance, unless they differ
significantly in properties with regard to efficacy”.

The phrase “unless they differ significantly in properties with regard to
efficacy” is not necessary and offers an entry point in favour of the patentee,
thus leading to excessive litigation. For example, certain properties are never
known or are clear at the time of application in the claim so one would not know
how they differ, thus leaving any recourse to opposition.

The definition of pharmaceutical substance is not linked to the provisions
relation to the exclusion for patents and, therefore, stands alone. Furthermore,
the inventive step requirement has been severely diluted. As a result, section
3(d) allows ‘evergreening’.

Immunity to ongoing generic production:

The Bill permits generic manufacturers to continue producing generic version of
new drugs which are in the mailbox. However, this only applies where the generic
producer has made a significant investment provided they were producing and
marketing the generic version prior to 1 January 2005. However, the generic
companies are required to pay the patent holder a reasonable royalty.

The question of “significant investment” poses a threat of potential
infringement suits as the generic producer would have to clearly show that it
has made what would be considered a significant investment in producing and
marketing the generic drugs. With respect to the ‘reasonable royalty’ it creates
the problem of excessive demands from the patent holder and litigation. The
reasonable royalty rate should have been fixed at a particular percentage, the
norm being 4%.
For example in that in South Africa, Glaxo Smith Kline demanded a royalty of 25
% before the courts intervened.

Pre-grant Opposition:

The amendment has restored the ability for any member of the public to oppose
patent applications before its grant. The grounds for bringing an opposition
remain as before and provide recourse to challenging frivolous and legally
invalid patents.

However, the effectiveness of the opposition process depends upon the access to
information on the mailbox applications. The Patent Office in 2005 has issued a
notification in its official journal that inventions either filed or claiming
priority on 30 July 2003 have been deemed to have been published. However, there
no actual physical publications available. This lack of publication takes away
the possibility of accessing information relating to the patent application and
the ability to oppose the same.

Publication:

The Bill amends Section 11A of the Patents Act which prescribes the initial
publication requirement. After the publication the applicant shall have the
rights as if patent for the invention had been granted on the date of
publication of the application. However, no infringement proceeding is
permissible until the grant of patent. This means that one can get the privilege
of patent from the date of publication i.e. even before filing the request for
the examination of application.  Lastly the Bill refers to the publication of an
application, but fails make the publication of the complete specification
available to the public. This will greatly hamper opposition proceedings (see
above).

Compulsory Licences:

The effective and efficient issuance of compulsory licences is imperative to
curb the abuse of patent rights by the patentee. The amendment has only made
cosmetic changes to quicken the process of dealing with an application for a
compulsory licence in section 84(6) to the extent that where the applicant has
made efforts to obtain a licence from the patentee on reasonable terms and
conditions and such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period,
the Controller can now interpret ‘reasonable period’ to mean a period not
ordinarily exceeding 6 months.

However, the amendment does not remove the existing requirement that only after
three years after the grant of a patent, (unless there is a national emergency,
which has never been used) can a person make an application to the Controller
for the grant of a compulsory licence. Therefore, in total the request for a
compulsory licence does not have to be considered for at least 3 years and 6
months from the date of the grant of the patent. Furthermore, one also has to
take into the account that the Bill fails to provide a timeline within which the
Controller must deal with compulsory licence application once made. Therefore,
this could lead to a further delay before any licence can be issued as it is
well known that MNC pharmaceuticals often refuse to deal with requests for
compulsory licenses or demand high royalties.

With respect to exporting drugs to a country which makes a request for a generic
drug, the amendment no longer requires the importing country to issue a
compulsory licence. However, one question that arises is whether the procedure
for the grant of the compulsory licence for the domestic market (under section
84(6) discussed above) will also be the same for compulsory licenses for export.
It is quite possible to argue the procedure both ways, therefore, potentially
delaying urgent new drugs that a developing or least developing country may
require.

The Act further fails to provide the safeguard available within Article 44 of
TRIPS, which effectively allows Member States to limit remedies to remuneration
that would be available to the patent holder where third parties are authorised
by the Government, without the authorization of the right holder, to use the
patented good rather than issue an injunction.


Discretionary powers of the patent office:  The Ordinance took away the
limitations imposed by the Act, and made it discretionary of the Patent Office
by virtue of the Rules. As a result, the patent office can now tamper with the
various time lines by amending the Rules as and when they choose. Under the
amended ordinance, 7 types of time limits will be determined by the office
through the Rules and not by the statute.  The excessive and unbridled
delegation to the Patent Office is further increased by the following provision:
‘the central government may, if it is satisfied that circumstances exist, which
render it practically not possible to comply with such condition of previous
publication, dispenses with such compliance”. As a result, the public will not
be given an opportunity to offer its comments to the Rules before it being
amended.

Quick Examination:  As per the Ordinance the time frame for making the
examination report is left to the Rules. The new Rules provide a period 1-month
for the examination report to be issued following the application. This period
was previously 18 months period.

This is likely to create immense pressure on the Indian Patent Office as there
will not be enough examiners to deal thoroughly with the flood of applications
which is likely to occur, thus resulting in improperly examined and legally
invalid patents. Indeed, as the U.S Federal Trade Commission report mentioned in
its 2003 report “the increasing rate of 10% of patent applications each year is
causing examiners only having 8 to 25 hours to read, understand, search for
prior art and evaluate the patentability of the applications”. The Indian Patent
Office does not have the infrastructure for research, access to information and
capacity to face the challenge that the new Act will bring.

Rule Making Powers:

The Act takes away the limitations imposed by the Act, and makes it a matter of
discretion for the Patent Office by virtue of the Rules. As a result, the patent
office can now tamper with the various time lines by amending the Rules as and
when it requires. Under the amended ordinance, 7 types of time limit will be
determined by the office through the Rules and not by statute.  The excessive
and unbridled delegation to the Office is further increased by the following
provision:  ‘the central government may, if it is satisfied that circumstances
exist, which render it practically not possible to comply with such condition of
previous publication, dispenses with such compliance”. As a result, the public
will not be given an opportunity to offer its comments to the Rules before it
being amended.


Access to Medicine and Treatment Campaign (AMTC)
Alternative Law Forum
Lawyers Collective
__________________________

Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit
63/2, 1st Floor, Masjid Road
Jangpura
New Delhi 110 014
Phone - 2432 1101, 2432 1102, 2432 2237
Fax    - 2432 2236
e-mail - aidslaw1@...

India ignores plight of generation of Aids orphans

Randeep Ramesh in Vijayawada and Linda MacDonald
Wednesday March 23, 2005. The Guardian

An explosion of cases is forcing children out of school and on to the streets
or into work to support the very young and the very old

Samarajyam Dandam's eyes blink and fill slowly with tears as she gazes upon
the toothpick-thin form of her mother in the dim light of their palm-thatched
hut.

Coughing and too weak to speak, 25-year-old Naccharamma became HIV positive
while working as a prostitute in the industrial city of Vijayawada on the edge
of south India's tobacco and cotton belt in the state of Andhra Pradesh. A few
years ago she nursed her dying husband, who succumbed to Aids. Now
tuberculosis fills her lungs.

Once Naccharamma dies, her family say they will wash their hands of the two
girls, who are too young to marry off and too small for manual work.
At the entrance to their home Naccharamma's 65-year-old grandmother is telling
anyone who will listen that Samarajyam, nine, and her five-year-old sister,
Krupajyothi, are too big a burden and that they will have to leave the hut
once her granddaughter dies.

Already forced to cut classes and beg for food, Samarajyam is painfully aware
of what is to come. "I know my mother will die. My family are all cheaters and
we know they will send us out."

Like Africa during the last decade, where widespread migrant labour,
prostitution and a stigma about sexually transmitted diseases caused an
explosion in Aids cases, there are concerns that a generation of parentless
children are growing up in India in the wake of the disease.

Yet their plight goes virtually unnoticed in India, where aid agencies warn
that children affected by Aids are being ignored and increasingly left to fend
for themselves.

"We are seeing an exponential rise in the number of children who have no
mother and father because of Aids. Stigma of the disease means children from
families affected are sometimes denied an education, sometimes pushed on to
the street. Often they are just forced into child labour," says Mary Jones,
HIV project director for Andhra Pradesh with the charity World Vision.

"Even orphanages find reasons not to take them in."

There are no government figures in the country for the number of children
affected by Aids, but experts say that more than a million children under 15
have lost one or both parents to Aids.

India's HIV epidemic is at a critical stage. Officially about 700,000 Indians
already have Aids and 5 million are infected with HIV, the virus that causes
it. India ranks second only to South Africa in terms of infections.

But many believe that the disease is silently spreading through the country's
1 billion people. The CIA predicts 25 million Indians could be infected by
2010.

The reason, say experts, is a historic indifference to public health - India
spends less than 20 cents (11p) a head on HIV prevention and treatment, a
third of the spending in Thailand and a ninth of that in Uganda - and weak
political commitment to combating Aids.

Although the new government, controlled by Sonia Gandhi of the Congress party,
has increased public health spending by 25% and sports stars such as the
cricketer Rahul Dravid are beginning to front condom campaigns, many worry
that the country has passed a tipping point in infection rates.

Last year Richard Feachem, head of the UN-backed Global Fund to Fight Aids,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, said he believed official statistics underestimated
the prevalence of HIV. "The Indian epidemic is on an African trajectory," he
said. "Today we are not making a difference. The virus is winning."

The losers appear to be the country's youth. Children are first forced to
leave school to care for sick parents. Once orphaned they are then consigned
to work to replace their parents' income.

Sixteen-year-old Anjali Kolukapalla, whose mother, Rani, died last year of
Aids, wakes up at four in the morning to sweep the streets of Vijayawada so
that her nine-year-old sister, Kumari, can go to school. She earns 1,800
rupees a month (£22) and she and her sister cook, eat and sleep in one
room. "There is nobody to look after us. That is why I have to work."

The emotional strain caused by such trauma has left deep psychological scars
on teenagers forced to grow old long before their time. The only photograph on
the walls of Anjali's home is of her mother. "My father was a truck driver who
went with other women. He died and he gave my mother the disease. He killed
her."

On the surface Vijayawada is booming. Smooth, wide roads, flashy cars and new
hotels attest to its growth. Sited at the crossing of rail tracks and two
national highways, it has benefited from the country's bubbling economy.

But there are disturbing signs that Aids is silently killing off the supposed
labour force of the future. In India only 0.9% of the adult population is
registered as HIV-positive, but in this part of the country it is closer to
4%.

One worrying phenomenon that has emerged on India's demographic landscape is
the child-headed family, where HIV infects and kills the entire middle-aged
generation. The end result is that the very young end up looking after the
very old.

Venkatesh Konda, 15, lost his father, a rickshaw puller, and his mother, a
daily wage labourer, in the last 24 months to Aids. Venkatesh, who cannot read
or write, now works in a local cotton mill 30 miles from Vijayawada, starting
to haul sacks at 8pm and finishing 12 hours later. For this backbreaking
labour he earns 50 rupees (60p) a day. He is the only breadwinner in a family
that consists of himself and his elderly grandparents. "It is very tiring and
my back hurts but how else will we live? My grandparents are too old so they
cannot work. I come back from work in the morning and sleep. I am too tired to
do anything else."

The spread of HIV also threatens to shake two of India's most resilient
institutions: arranged marriage and the dowry. Abandoned by their extended
families, orphans find themselves without the money or social network to
marry. The stain of Aids also marks them out as a new class of untouchables.

Fifteen-year-old Suresh Desari had already been forced to leave school and
work on a construction site after his father died of Aids. It was when he
returned from work a year ago that he found his mother dead. After the grief
subsided, his first thoughts were for his elder sister, Sujata. "Without my
parents around I do not know how to get my sister married," he says as tears
roll down Sujata's cheeks.

Officials in Andhra Pradesh, a state of 80 million people which has the second
highest rates of infection in India, say that more cash is needed. Andhra
Pradesh gets 200m rupees (£2.5m) a year from central government for the fight
against Aids.

"We also get money from international agencies but we need more to scale up
the programmes to deal with all this," said K Damayanthi, director of the
Andhra Pradesh state Aids control society. "There's a big opportunity to
reverse the epidemic and if we do not do it now the chance will not be
available in the future."

· About 5.1 million people are infected with HIV in India, second only to
South Africa

· Infected people make up less than 1% of population

· The first case of HIV in India was diagnosed among sex workers in Chennai,
Tamil Nadu, in 1986

· Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Manipur states account for three-quarters of the
country's estimated HIV cases

· One sixth of all new Aids cases in the world occur in India, 30% of which
are women

· Last year the World Bank warned that India could have 5m new HIV infections
every year within 30 years if condom use does not increase

· Britain's international development department estimates that two adults
become infected with HIV every minute in India

http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,12559,1443611,00.html

Panos/Stop TB Media Fellowships

www.panosaids.org/tb_fellowships

The Panos Global AIDS Programme and Stop TB
Partnership invite print and photo journalists from
selected high burden countries in Asia, Africa and
Caribbean (India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan,
Philippines, Zambia, Ethiopia, Malawi and Haiti) to
apply for a fellowship to write/photograph issues
around TB, and TB & HIV/AIDS. Fellowships will run
from June to October 2005.

Each fellowship will involve working closely with the
Panos Global AIDS Programme, the Stop TB Partnership
and a panel of experts on TB and communication in TB
and/or HIV/AIDS in the countries specified.

The aim of the fellowships is to enable print and
photojournalists in selected high burden countries in
Asia, Africa and the Caribbean to better explore and
understand the linkages between TB, HIV/AIDS, poverty,
urbanisation and other socio economic vulnerabilities.
In particular, in Africa the project will focus on
highlighting the urgency for collaborative TB/HIV
actions at all levels to counter the dual epidemics.

Selected print journalists will be awarded a grant of
400 US dollars each, plus travel and data collection
expenses, and will be expected to produce three
1000-word articles on issues around TB and TB &
HIV/AIDS. Selected photojournalists will be awarded a
grant of 1000 US dollars each, plus travel and data
collection expenses, to produce one photo essay around
the issue of TB and/or TB & HIV/AIDS. All selected
fellows will be provided with editorial support in
terms of storyline and production of photos, as well
as information on medical and policy issues on TB.
They will also receive potential contacts and resource
material. Two fellowships will be awarded to print
journalists in each country, and three fellowships
will be awarded in India. A total of four photo
fellowships will be awarded from within the specified
countries.

Applicants must submit the following no later than 2nd
May 2005:

· Curriculum vitae
· Up to five samples of published work/ photographs on
health/development issues. Photojournalists can also
submit a portfolio of their work.
· A 500-word write-up explaining why you should be
considered for the fellowship. Please indicate briefly
the TB and communication issues that you would like to
research and report on, for which you might use the
award if you received it.
· Two references from persons who have known you
professionally.
· An undertaking to publish or print their photographs
in their respective publications.

Only journalists who are citizens of and resident in
Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malawi,
Zambia, Ethiopia and Haiti are eligible to apply.

Journalists writing in regional languages are
encouraged to apply. However, their CV and the
write-up should be in English and at least one sample
of their work must be translated into English.


To apply, please e-mail all relevant documentation to
  Panos.TBFellowship@....

Panos will auto-acknowledge email entry/ies from each
contestant. If you do not receive one within 48 hours,
please send your entries again.

Instructions for Submission


Please give the following information with your
submission:

Name
Sex
Employment (eg “Business reporter with the Zambia
Daily News/Health reporter with The Hindu”)
Postal address
e-mail address
Telephone number


About us:

The Panos Global AIDS Programme is a network of Panos
offices in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe,
working on participation, ownership and accountability
in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Panos works with the media and other information
actors to enable developing countries to shape and
communicate their own development agendas through
informed public debate.

The Stop TB Partnership is a global social movement
with 325 members that include donor institutions,
technical agencies, NGOs, universities, advocacy and
patient activist groups.   The Partnership aims to
mobilize the political, financial and technical
resources that are needed to meet the Millennium
Development Goals targets of reducing TB prevalence
and deaths by half by 2015, and eventually to
eliminate TB as a public health threat by 2050.
_________________

"Anushree Mishra"
E-mail: <anushreemishra@...>

The Global Fund To Fight Aids, Tuberculosis And Malaria (Gfatm)

Calls For Proposals For Fifth Round Of Funding

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM)
issued a call for a Fifth Round of grant funding on 17th March 2005.
The Fund seeks proposals of high quality including firm partnerships
that include the private sector and Non-Governmental Organizations.
The Country Coordinating Mechanism – India invites proposals on the
basis of identified national priorities through the States Societies
for aids, T.B. and Malaria. The State Societies would be responsible
for developing proposals involving all stakeholders including NGOs,
private sector and Panchayati Raj institutions.

The CCM - India will also consider stand-alone proposals recommended
by State Disease Control Societies from any organization/ agency.
The requirement for such proposals is that they should not duplicate
existing schemes/ initiatives.

The application format and guidelines may be downloaded from GFATM
website: www.theglobalfund.org. The application in prescribed format
along with supporting documents also in CDROM should be submitted
through the respective State Disease Control Societies to the CCM at
the following address:

Joint Secretary (RT),
Room No. 159-A,
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi.

The last date for submission of proposals to CCM by state Societies
is 25th April 2005.

http://www.nacoonline.org/events_callforprsl.htm

Correlates of HIV vaccine trial participation: an Indian perspective

Vaccine 2005 Feb 3;23(11):1351-8     (ISSN: 0264-410X)
Sahay S; Mehendale S; Sane S; Brahme R; Brown A; Charron K; Beyrer
C; Bollinger R; Paranjape R

National AIDS Research Institute, G-73, MIDC, Bhosari, P.O. Box
1895, Pune 411026, India.

Successful conduct of HIV vaccine trials in a population of great
cultural diversity like India could be a challenge. Concerns,
knowledge gaps and willingness to participate in future HIV vaccine
trials were studied among 349 patients attending three sexually
transmitted infections clinics and one reproductive tract infections
clinic. Overall willingness to volunteer for HIV vaccine trials was
48%. Women and men at risk of HIV infection were willing to
participate in the HIV vaccine trials.

Factors associated with increased willingness to participate in
these trials were awareness of current HIV vaccine efforts,
realization of importance of vaccine for self, concern about adverse
events and altruism.

A combined-formulation tablet of lamivudine/nevirapine/stavudine:
bioequivalence compared with concurrent administration of
Lamivudine, nevirapine, and Stavudine in healthy Indian subjects

J Clin Pharmacol 2005 Mar;45(3):265-74     (ISSN: 0091-2700)
Narang VS; Lulla A; Malhotra G; Purandare S
Cipla Ltd, Mumbai Central 400008, Mumbai, India.

Generic fixed-dose combinations of antiretrovirals are frequently
prescribed for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus
infection. A randomized, 2-way study was conducted in 24 fasting,
healthy, Indian male subjects to assess bioequivalence between a
single combination tablet containing lamivudine, stavudine, and
nevirapine (treatment A) with respect to separate marketed tablets
administered simultaneously (treatment B). Each subject received
treatments A and B separated by 19 days of a drug-free washout
period.

Plasma concentrations of antiretrovirals, determined by a validated
liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay, were used to
assess pharmacokinetic parameters such as maximum observed plasma
concentration and area under the plasma concentration curve.

Pharmacokinetic parameters were comparable for either treatment. As
geometric mean ratios (% treatment A/treatment B) of log-transformed
parameters of area under the plasma concentration curve and plasma
concentration, as well as their resultant 90% confidence intervals,
were within 80% to 125% and 75% to 133%, respectively, 2 treatments
were considered bioequivalent in the extent and rate of absorption.
Both treatments exhibited similar tolerability under fasting
conditions.

India HIV/AIDS Alliance invites talented professionals to join our team in
Andhra Pradesh

Technical Officer: Clinical Services. Salary:  From Rs.354,588   pa

The Technical Officer: Clinical Services will provide technical support in areas
of STI treatment and management, HIV care, treatment and support to the
implementing NGOs.  S/he shall also  assess and monitor the STI Clinics at 20
sites in Andhra Pradesh,  conduct on-site training on STI treatment and
management for the NGO staff and provide support for drug supply management at
clinic sites.

We seek qualified doctors with MBBS, MD (Community Medicine or Skin &  V.D) with
at least 3 years experience in management of STI and HIV.

Experience of working with NGOs and programme implementation of HIV projects is
desirable.

Fluency in English and excellent computer and inter-personal skills are
essential for the post. Should be willing to travel upto 30% of time.
Knowledge of Telugu is an added advantage.

Salary package commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Interested candidates should apply by 31 March  2005.

For details of the posts and the application procedure contact :

India HIV/AIDS Alliance
6-3-1238/18-19 Asif Avenue, Somajiguda
Hyderabad 500082
Tel: 55781161, 55686261
Fax: 55686262


We are not able to notify all applicants.  Shortlisted candidates will be
notified within 3 weeks of the closing date.

Qualified and experienced people living with HIV/AIDS are encouraged to
apply.

Jessinda P Mathew
E-mail: <jmathew@...>

Futures Group Avahan Advocacy Program

Futures Group has received funding for 3 years to facilitate a comprehensive
advocacy program as a part of the Avahan-India AIDS Initiative of Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation. The Avahan Advocacy Program (AAP) will strengthen the
advocacy and policy capacity of leaders, representatives of affected communities
and vulnerable populations to tackle HIV-related stigma and discrimination. The
program will be operational in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland.

Futures Group is recruiting for the following posts.

Project Director (Hyderabad)

The Project Director (PD) will have overall responsibility for directing AAP
including technical, program, personnel, operations, and financial management in
all six states. This includes overall responsibility for assessing state policy
and advocacy conditions, designing state programs, and ensuring state and
national programmes are carried out and monitored successfully, working in
partnership and coordinating with other members of the Avahan Initiative.

Qualifications: Senior level position requiring 10 yrs minimum, demonstrated
experience, successfully managing HIV/AIDS or similar health activities.
Knowledge and experience with standard contracting, management systems,
operational procedures, budgeting and financial reporting required. Documented
experience on policy and advocacy activities. Technical expertise in HIV/AIDS
working with vulnerable populations, treatment access, or policy issues
essential. Excellent oral and written skills required in English and knowledge
of other regional languages besides Hindi is advantageous.

State Coordinators (Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Guwahati)

The State Coordinator will be responsible for directing the AAP at State level
including technical, programmatic, operations, and financial management. This
includes ensuing that all State and District level activities including
monitoring and evaluation activities are implemented according to work plans,
liaison with the PD and maintenance of stakeholder relationships at State and
District level.

Qualifications: Senior level position requiring 7 yrs minimum, demonstrated
experience, successfully managing HIV/AIDS or similar health activities.
Knowledge and experience with standard contracting, management systems,
operational procedures, budgeting and financial reporting required. Documented
experience leading policy and advocacy activities in the field. Technical
expertise in HIV/AIDS working with vulnerable populations, treatment access, or
policy issues essential. Excellent oral and written skills required in English
and knowledge of local languages.

People with HIV are encouraged to apply.

Sent CVs to araheja@... within 7 days
www.futuresgroup.com
____________________

"Joseph,Sherry
E-mail:  <sjoseph@...>

Press Release Issued by the Affordable Medicines and Treatment Campaign
(India), Medicins Sans Frontieres, Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit,
Alternative Law Forum. Delhi, India, 22nd March 2005, 8:45 p.m.

The Beginning of the End of Affordable Generics

Under a new Bill approved today, India will start granting product patents
for medicines – something they have not done since 1970 - without the
necessary procedures in place to safeguard against wholesale hiking of
medicine prices. India amended its 1970 Patent Act in order to be compliant
with the requirements of the World Trade Organisation.

A key safeguard to assure availability of affordable medicines is the
procedure of compulsory licenses – government grants patents but allows
generic companies to make their versions of the patented medicines against a
payment of a royalty to the patent holder. However, in the Bill that passed
the Lower House (Lok Sabha) today procedures are still extremely complex and
there is no control on levels of royalties to be paid, which will lead to
endless litigation and delays.

The new Bill “grandfathers” products that are already on the market by
allowing for automatic right to produce. The generic companies in such cases
will pay royalties to be set by the government to the patent holder.
International norms for royalties are in the range of 3-4%. This new law
however does not set a fixed royalty rate. In South Africa, GlaxoSmithKline
attempted to charge 40% royalty until activists and the courts intervened.

The worst-case scenario for people living with life-threatening diseases has
been averted, but only in the short-term.

People who rely on low-cost medicines will have to wait three years before a
generic company can even make an application for a right to produce the
drug. Whereas people in wealthy countries will have access to new medicines
immediately when they are proved safe and effective, people in poor
countries will have to wait years.

In addition, with this Bill the government has crippled the critical right
of the members of the public to oppose patent applications on medicines, the
so-called “pre-grant opposition”. It is has been rendered ineffective
because the essential information on which to base the opposition will be
withheld from the public.

The Bill will go before the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) for a final vote. It
is expected that the Upper House will approve the Bill in its current form.

Contacts: Leena Menghaney  (Delhi)  98 11365412, Daniel Berman +33 677535317
__________________________________________________
Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit
63/2, 1st Floor, Masjid Road
Jangpura
New Delhi 110 014
Phone - 2432 1101, 2432 1102, 2432 2237
Fax    - 2432 2236
e-mail - aidslaw1@...

Getting Research Into Policy and Practice: Case studies from Sexual and
Reproductive Health, Safe Motherhood and HIV.

Researchers are increasingly required to maximise the impact of their research
beyond the academic evidence base into policy and practice.  In order to support
researchers in this, John Snow International Research and Training (UK) is
compiling an evidence base of activities that researchers have undertaken to
maximise the impact of their research.  This evidence base is in the form of
case studies.

Case studies previously collected are on the Getting Research Into Policy and
Practice (GRIPP) website (www.jsiuk-gripp-resources.net), which includes a
searchable database of case studies; the following are some lessons learned from
these in the area of:

Implementation and Scale up

The involvement of the stakeholders in the design of interventions, for example
the social marketing campaign (Nepal), training materials (Ghana) or
interventions (Bangladesh, Senegal and Burkina Faso), meant that these
interventions were more easy to scale up since the materials or methods had
already been sanctioned.

In the Bangladesh case study, the involvement of strategic partners in the
research process meant that the results were scaled up within NGOs, which were
not the sites of the original research, as well as the Ministry of Health.

The format of the case studies has been further developed, and therefore now
differs from the case studies on the website, but the website and lessons
learned do illustrate the contribution that your case study would make to the
GRIPP evidence base.

Please let your experience contribute to this emerging evidence base.  For
additional information and the case study guidelines please email Jean-Marc
Jacobs  (jjacobs@...). Many thanks and apologies for cross posting.

Jean-Marc Jacobs

Information and Communications Officer
JohnSnowInternational Research and Training (UK)
Studio 325, Highgate Studios
53-79 Highgate Road, London  NW5 1TL
UK
Tel:  +44 (0)20 7241 8599
Fax: +44 (0)20 7482 4395
www.jsiuk.com
E mail: <jjacobs@...>

Priority to improve health care in rural areas: Ramadoss
by Vibha Sharma

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Anbumani Ramadoss is
the young face of Indian politics who believes in reforms to
streamline the system. A member of the regional Pattali Makkal Katchi
(PMK), he was elected to the Rajya Sabha last year. He is now trying
to revise the curricula of medical colleges to make it more modern
besides holding examinations for medical practitioners after every
five years for re-registration as in many developed countries.

The 38-year-old minister is an alumnus of Madras Medical College. "A
doctor can understand the problems at both ends and serve patients
better", he tells The Sunday Tribune in an exclusive interview.
Excerpts:

Q: Are you satisfied with the total allocation for your ministry from
Rs 8,420 crore to Rs 10,280 crore in the next year?

A: I am happy but we need more funds to address many areas in health.

Q: How will the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) help the rural areas?

A: The NRHM will provide comprehensive preventive, promotive and
curative healthcare services to people, especially the poor in rural
areas and urban slums in 17 states. The budgetary increase will
finance training of health volunteers, provide more medicines and
strengthen the primary and community health centre system.

Q: How is the NRHM different from the earlier schemes?

A: It envisages people's involvement at the grassroot level. What is
unique is enlisting the Accredited Social Health (ASHA) workers,
trained and paid by the Centre. An ASHA worker, at least a
matriculate, will be trained to tackle health problems in her village
like post-delivery check-ups, post-immunisation etc. She will be in
touch with the nearest private practitioner in the area, whom she can
approach for complicated cases. The NRHM's aim is to bring down the
infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate. The ASHA worker
will link up with the nearest primary health centre and have funds for
exigencies like transportation of the patient etc. To deal with
emergencies, 1,700 block hospitals have been identified, to be
operational round the clock.

Q: How is the response from the states?

A: Good. My Ministry has been working on the project for seven to
eight months now. Lot of coordination and hard work has gone into it.
Taking health to rural areas is a big challenge.

Q: How will the scheme reach the people?

A: I plan to visit all states. We plan to involve private
practitioners, to be paid by the Centre for their services. The
process of grading the cost of services, like delivery, sterilisation
etc, for private practitioners is being worked out. We plan to involve
chartered accountants too. I want complete accountability of how and
where the money is being spent. Besides, basic drugs for common
ailments like cold and cough, fever, diarrhoea etc will be provided to
ANMs at the sub-centre level.

Q: What about shortage of doctors and health workers in rural areas?

A: We are short of male health workers by 40 per cent. We need trained
manpower in villages. In some countries it is compulsory for medical
students to work in rural areas for two to three years before they
graduate. Such a condition is necessary in India also. Students must
work in rural areas for at least a year before they graduate and again
after they apply for post-graduation. We plan to make the curricula of
medical education in the country more modern with minimal invasive
surgery its essential part.

Q: What about internship in medical colleges and hospitals?

A: It is only when there is a shortage that interns become a part of
the system. In most institutions, work is assigned according to the
hierarchy and interns are relegated to odd jobs like performing blood
test. They need practical experience and the best way is through
hands-on experience by working in rural areas. Indian doctors are the
best but their practical knowledge is not sufficient when they
graduate from medical colleges.

Q: What about quackery?

A: I want to eliminate quackery. Quacks operate because most doctors
are reluctant to work in rural areas. In India, quacks treat 75 to 80
per cent of the population despite over six lakh doctors of modern
system and an equal number of Indian systems of medicine. Quackery
gets highlighted only when a patient dies. Most quacks generally
prescribe basic drugs and at times steroids like doctors of modern
medicine.

Q: Why is there a lot of hype on HIV/AIDS at the cost of equally
deadly diseases like cancer and malaria?

A: The media is ignoring the good work being done. The National TB
programme is one of the best programmes covering 85 per cent of the
country. By April end, the coverage under DOTS will be 100 per cent.
Our focus is on preventive health. As regards AIDS/HIV, the National
Aids Control Organisation (NACO) will be re-structured, defining the
basic functions of the state governments. We will survey the HIV/AIDS
scenario in six months. I want to know the exact situation in Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the North-east. I do not want India to become
another South Africa.

Q: What are your other priority areas?

A: There are no enough trauma facilities in the country. This is also
a major flaw in the golden quadrilateral project. I have requested the
Transport Minister to build trauma centres with the cess on petrol. A
Rs 20-crore pilot project for setting up trauma centres in all the
states is on anvil. Stem cell research is equally important.

As for cancer, 7 to 8 lakh new patients are added to the figure every
year. I admit the government machinery is not working efficiently to
deal with the situation. There is no cancer screening system though
the treatment is costly.

We plan to launch a cancer control programme in every district. The
ministry plans to identify and fund NGOs to screen patients and refer
them to regional cancer centres.

Punjab will be one of the nodal points for cancer control and research
in the country. We also need to buck up the national vector-borne
disease programme and eradicate Kala azar by 2015. Besides, we need
better programmes for management of senior citizen-specific diseases.

Indians are predisposed to cardio-vascular problems. Diabetes is
increasing rapidly and about 8 per cent of the population is suffering
from one mental disorder or another, of which 1.5 to 2 per cent needs
hospitalisation. Though two crore people should be hospitalised, there
is woeful lack of facilities. These areas need urgent attention.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050320/edit.htm#1

Excerpts from the US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in
India.(Moderator)

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Section 377 of the Penal Code punishes acts of sodomy, buggery and bestiality;
however, the law is commonly used to target, harass, and punish lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender persons. Human rights groups stated that gay and
lesbian rights were not viewed as human rights in the country.

Gays and lesbians faced discrimination in all areas of society, including
family, work, and education. Activists reported that in most cases, homosexuals
who do not hide their orientation were fired from their jobs. Homosexuals also
faced physical attacks, rape, and  blackmail. Police have committed these crimes
and used the threat of  Section 377 to ensure the victim did not report the
incidents. The  overarching nature of Section 377 allowed police to arrest gays
and  lesbians virtually at will, and officers used the threat of arrest  to
ensure no charges would be filed against them.

On September 2, the Delhi High Court dismissed a legal challenge to Section 377
of the Indian Penal Code. Plaintiffs filed the case in June 2001 after police
arrested four gay and lesbian rights workers at the NAZ Foundation International
and National Aids Control Office premises in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, for
conspiring to commit "unnatural sexual acts" and possessing "obscene material"
which was reportedly safer-sex educational materials construed as pornography.
The AIDS workers were kept in captivity for more than 45 days and were refused
bail twice before it was granted by the
High Court. The Court ruled that the validity of the law could not be challenged
by anyone "not affected by it," as the defendants had not been charged with a
sex act prohibited by law.

Homosexuals have been detained in clinics for months and subjected to treatment
against their will. The NAZ Foundation filed a petition with the NHRC regarding
a case in which a man was subjected to shock therapy. The NHRC declined to take
the case, as gay and lesbian rights were not under its purview.

Authorities estimated that HIV/AIDS had infected approximately 4½ million
persons, and there was significant societal discrimination against persons with
the disease. According to the ILO, 70 percent of persons suffering from HIV/AIDS
faced discrimination.

In Ahmedabad in April, an HIV positive woman committed suicide at her home after
allegedly being harassed by her co-workers. HRW said that many doctors refused
to treat HIV-positive children, and that some schools expelled or segregated
children because they or their parents were HIV-positive. Many orphanages and
other residential institutions rejected HIV-positive children or denied them
housing.

In January, a Mumbai High Court ruling determined that HIV-positive persons
could not be fired. There was no information available on the implications of
this ruling at year's end.

India

U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices  - 2004
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
February 28, 2005