KAISER DAILY HIV/AIDS REPORT
A service of kaisernetwork.org
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/hiv

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*** LIVE WEBCAST: GLOBAL FUND ***
View a live webcast of “An International Meeting to
Support the Global Fund” on Wednesday, July 16 at
8:30 a.m. local Paris time/2:30 a.m. ET/6:30 a.m. GMT.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/healthcast/globalfund/16jul03

*** WEBCAST: IAS CONFERENCE ***
A webcast of the opening session of the 2nd IAS
Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment is now
available. Daily coverage will continue throughout
the conference.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/paris2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
________________________________________



Tuesday, July 15, 2003

2ND IAS CONFERENCE ON HIV PATHOGENESIS AND TREATMENT
========================================
1. Mandela Calls on European Union To Match U.S. Contribution to HIV/AIDS
Fight; European Commission Says No New Funds

2. International AIDS Society, Kaiser Family Foundation Partner To Cover XV
International AIDS Conference in Bangkok

3. Infection With More Than One HIV Strain Becoming More Common; Could
Complicate Vaccine Development

4. Gallo Urges Caution in Antiretroviral Drug Programs in Developing Nations

5. Roche Able to Produce More Fuzeon Than Expected


DRUG ACCESS
========================================
6. Uganda, Botswana Only African Countries Participating in Boehringer
Ingelheim Free Antiretroviral Drug Program


GLOBAL CHALLENGES
========================================
7. Indian Officials Investigating Stoning Death of HIV-Positive Woman


IN THE COURTS
========================================
8. Justice Department Asks Supreme Court To Review Medical Marijuana Case

9. Former Postal Worker Files Lawsuit Claiming He Was Fired for
HIV-Positive Status


SCIENCE & MEDICINE
========================================
10. HHS Releases Updated Guidelines for Treatment of HIV-Positive Adults,
Adolescents


OPINION
========================================
11. Health Officials Should Respond to HIV/AIDS in Same Way They Responded
to SARS, Columnist Says

12. Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Summarizes Editorials, Opinion Pieces on
Bush's Trip to Africa, AIDS Initiative

****************************************

2ND IAS CONFERENCE ON HIV PATHOGENESIS AND TREATMENT


1. Mandela Calls on European Union To Match U.S. Contribution to HIV/AIDS
Fight; European Commission Says No New Funds

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18811

Speaking at the International AIDS Society's 2nd Conference on
Pathogenesis and Treatment yesterday in Paris, former South African
President Nelson Mandela called on Europe to "match Washington's commitment
to fighting AIDS," Reuters/Boston Globe reports. Mandela lauded President
Bush for his global AIDS initiative, adding that Bush has "move[d] the
debate from hundreds of millions of dollars to tens of billions." Mandela
said that, "[g]iven the size of its collective population and economy,
Europe should at least be matching if not exceeding the United States'
contribution" (Hirschler/Sithole, Reuters/Boston Globe, 7/15). Bush in May
signed into a law a five-year, $15 billion AIDS initiative (HR 1298). The
initiative seeks to prevent seven million new HIV infections, provide care
for 10 million people living with the disease and provide treatment to two
million HIV-positive people. The House so far has approved a little more
than $2 billion for international AIDS efforts for fiscal year 2004. The
Senate on Thursday approved 78-18 a nonbinding resolution calling for $3
billion in FY 2004 to fight AIDS overseas, even if the amount exceeds the
ceiling mandated in Congress' annual budget resolution (Kaiser Daily
HIV/AIDS Report, 7/14). Mandela said, "By all accounts we are dealing with
the greatest health crisis in human history. By all measures we have failed
in our quest to contain and treat this scourge" (Ross, AP/Philadelphia
Inquirer, 7/15). "[W]e have failed to translate our scientific progress
into action where it is most needed, in the developing world. This is the
global injustice which can't be tolerated. It is a travesty of human rights
on a global scale," Mandela said.

Global Fund


Mandela also said that he had hoped more of the U.S. funds would be
channeled to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,
London's Guardian reports (Boseley, Guardian, 7/15). The global AIDS bill
authorizes $3 billion a year for five years to international HIV/AIDS
programs, with up to $1 billion in FY 2004 going to the Global Fund.
However, the amount of funding actually appropriated may be less than $1
billion and is contingent upon the contributions of other countries. Under
the measure, the United States can contribute up to $1 billion to the fund
only if that amount totals no more than one-third of the fund's total
contributions. Therefore, in order for the total $1 billion to be
appropriated, other nations must contribute more money (Kaiser Daily
HIV/AIDS Report, 7/14). However, European Union officials said that its 15
member countries are already "doing more" than the United States in
fighting the disease, Reuters/Globe reports. The E.U. said that its
members have pledged a total of $2.37 billion to the Global Fund. European
Commission spokesperson Jean-Charles Ellermann said, "We are not going to
be putting new money on the table" (Reuters/Boston Globe, 7/15). Mandela
said, "We, the people of Africa, will follow the delivery of this critical
commitment with great interest" (Ingham, Agence France-Presse, 7/14).
Global Fund donors are set to meet in Paris tomorrow, the Reuters/Globe
reports (Reuters/Boston Globe, 7/15).

'Grave Concerns'


Mandela also praised the efforts of Senegal, Uganda and Botswana to fight
AIDS, but he said that he had "grave concerns" about the growing HIV/AIDS
epidemics in India, China and Russia, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports
(AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/15). Bush on Saturday concluded a five-day
tour of Africa that included stops in Senegal, South Africa, Uganda,
Botswana and Nigeria. Bush praised Botswana's universal antiretroviral
drug program and Uganda's "ABC" HIV prevention model -- abstinence, be
faithful, use condoms (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/10). According to
the United Nations, China had between 800,000 and 1.5 million HIV-positive
people by December 2001, and that number could grow to 10 million by 2010.
In India, the government estimates that four million people are living with
HIV, but a U.S. study released last year predicted that there would be
between 20 million and 25 million HIV-positive Indians by 2010. CDC
Director Julie Gerberding said on July 3 that China and India, the world's
two most populous nations, are facing an AIDS "catastrophe" (Kaiser Daily
HIV/AIDS Report, 7/3). Currently, 1% of Russians ages 15 to 49 are
HIV-positive, but the World Bank estimates that the percentage could rise
to 6% by 2010, making Russia's AIDS epidemic one of the fastest growing in
the world (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/10). "If [these countries]
follow the trend of Africa, the result will be calamitous -- not only for
the countries concerned but for the whole world," Mandela said. He pointed
out that access to antiretroviral therapy is the "most striking inequality"
between the developed and the developing world, adding, "The single most
important step we must now take is to provide access to treatment
throughout the developing world. We must act now for the sake of the
world" (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/15).

* A kaisernetwork.org video feature on AIDS in India is available online.

Protestors


About one dozen protesters disrupted the conference during a standing
ovation after Mandela's speech, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. The demonstrators
held up a protest banner reading "AIDS donors' lies kill," and they
chanted, "Treat the six million -- where's the 10 billion?" referring to
the number of people with HIV who do not have access to antiretrovirals and
the estimated $10 billion needed annually to combat the pandemic
(AFP/Yahoo! News, 7/14). According to Agence France-Presse, Mandela "read
the banner, and a gigantic smile broke out on his face" (Agence
France-Presse, 7/14). Gaelle Krikorian, vice president of the AIDS
advocacy group ACT UP/Paris, went onto the stage to speak with Mandela
(AFP/Yahoo! News, 7/14). Mandela, clapping along with the protestors'
chants, beckoned her to join him, putting his arm around her (Agence
France-Presse, 7/14). Krikorian said, "I told [Mandela] we need your
backing, we need your help. We are at a critical moment," adding that
Mandela said he supported the advocates' efforts (AFP/Yahoo! News, 7/14).

* A webcast of Mandela's speech is available online from kaisernetwork.org.

* Channel Africa's "Dateline Africa," a daily news broadcast from
Johannesburg and London, today reported on the conference and Mandela's
address. The segment includes comments from Mandela, a partnership official
from the Global Fund and a Ugandan HIV activist ("Dateline Africa," Channel
Africa, 7/15). The full segment is available online in RealPlayer. The
report on the conference is approximately 11 minutes into the audio clip
and may only be available for one day after the broadcast.

Additional Sessions To Be Webcast


As the official IAS conference webcaster, kaisernetwork.org will provide
webcasts and other resources for all six of the conference plenary
sessions, as well as other selected sessions. More information on the
conference webcasts is available online at
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/paris2003.

2. International AIDS Society, Kaiser Family Foundation Partner To Cover XV
International AIDS Conference in Bangkok

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18812

The International AIDS Society and the Kaiser Family Foundation today
announced that they will partner to provide online access to the XV
International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, which is scheduled for
July 11 - July 16, 2004, according to an IAS/Kaiser Family Foundation
release. The conference is being organized by the IAS, the Thai Ministry
of Public Health and other international AIDS organizations. The goals of
the IAS/Kaiser Family Foundation partnership are to raise international
awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and successful efforts to address it;
expand the reach of the International AIDS Conference by providing
communities in developed and developing countries virtual access to the
conference proceedings; and extend the content and advances generated at
the conference by providing easy access to the information during and
following the conference. The foundation operates kaisernetwork.org, a
free online health news and information service, which will offer free
worldwide access of the conference proceedings, including webcasts of all
conference plenary sessions and selected additional sessions; additional
video coverage of the conference, including interviews with newsmakers;
daily edited highlights of conference activities; and preparation of a DVD
package summarizing conference materials to be distributed worldwide after
the conference. IAS President Joep Lange said the group "seeks to
distribute the latest, most accurate information about HIV and AIDS to the
people who need it most, our fellow researchers and doctors, opinion
leaders, the HIV/AIDS community and the general public. Kaisernetwork gets
the most accurate, most current information out to the people who make
policy and move opinion around the world. We are delighted to partner with
them to open the Bangkok conference to the world." Kaiser Family
Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman said, "We look forward to working
with the IAS and others to bring the important developments coming out of
Bangkok to those in offices, clinics and villages around the world who
cannot be in Thailand" (IAS/Kaiser Family Foundation release, 7/15).

* Webcasts and other coverage of the XV International AIDS Conference will
be available online at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2004. Special
coverage of the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, from
kaisernetwork.org is also available online at
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2002.

3. Infection With More Than One HIV Strain Becoming More Common; Could
Complicate Vaccine Development

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18813

New research presented yesterday at the International AIDS Society's 2nd
Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment in Paris suggests that HIV
"superinfection" -- infection with more than one HIV strain in a single
person -- may be more common than once believed, a finding that could
complicate HIV/AIDS vaccine development, the AP/Newark Star-Ledger reports.
Researchers reported three new cases of HIV-positive people who were not
receiving antiretroviral drugs who initially did well but who became sick
years later after contracting a second strain of HIV. Luc Perrin, a
professor of clinical virology at the University of Geneva, followed 136
HIV-positive drug users and found that the amount of HIV in the blood of
five patients jumped up suddenly after years of suppression without
treatment. Tests of the five patients confirmed that two of them had
superinfection, Perrin said. Harold Burger of Albany Medical College in
Albany, N.Y., presented data on genetic tests from an HIV-positive woman
whose two HIV strains combined to produce a hybrid that took over from the
original virus. Although the development of a hybrid virus was not
surprising -- researchers estimate that there are 14 hybrid HIV strains --
the report is the first documented cases of two HIV subtypes combining in
one person to form a single new virus, according to the AP/Star-Ledger.

Reaction


"Superinfection is sobering," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. "That means
that, although you can mount an adequate response against one virus, the
body still does not have the capability to protect you against new
infection, which tells you that the development of a vaccine is going to be
even more of a challenge," he added. Anton Pozniak, an AIDS specialist at
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, said, "The issue is can you get
a vaccine that will cover all subtypes?" He added, "Say you do. Imagine
somebody [infected] with a subtype 'C' has sex with someone with subtype
'A' and the two viruses ... combine in some way and suddenly some vaccine,
because the infection is an 'A/C,' won't work. Or perhaps and 'A/C' is
more virulent and will attack the immune system in a much more aggressive
way than either the 'A' or the 'C' -- these are all theoretical
possibilities." Pozniak said that researchers know that superinfection is
rare but "[w]e just don't know how common it is." Perrin said, "I think
superinfection most of the time is transient and is not detected. It may
be that you are more frequently infected than you think but that,
frequently, you are able to take care of it." However, Pozniak warned that
superinfection "reinforces the message that we've got to stop HIV today, so
that we can deal with what we have now and not generate a whole load of new
mutants that wouldn't have been there otherwise" (Ross, AP/Newark
Star-Ledger, 7/15).

* A webcast of Fauci's presentation on "20 Years of HIV Science" made
yesterday at the conference is available online.

4. Gallo Urges Caution in Antiretroviral Drug Programs in Developing Nations

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18814

Robert Gallo, codiscoverer of HIV and director of the Institute of Human
Virology, yesterday at the International AIDS Society's 2nd Conference on
Pathogenesis and Treatment warned that proper medical infrastructure must
be developed before embarking on widespread antiretroviral treatment
programs in developing nations, Reuters reports. "Obviously it is critical
to get available drugs to developing nations as quickly as possible, but
not just to throw this at them," Gallo said in an interview with Reuters,
adding, "We've got to have infrastructure created at the same time because
we are going to create multi-drug resistant mutants if we don't." The
issue of antiretroviral drug programs has dominated discussions at the
conference in light of President Bush's recent commitment of $15 billion
over five years to the AIDS epidemic. Gallo, who is considered "something
of a dissenting voice in the chorus of support for widespread treatment,"
predicted that drug-resistant HIV strains could develop within two to five
years of instituting such programs if they are not done correctly,
according to Reuters (Hirschler, Reuters, 7/14).

5. Roche Able to Produce More Fuzeon Than Expected

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18815

David Reddy, head of drug maker Roche's HIV division, today at the
International AIDS Society's 2nd Conference on Pathogenesis and Treatment
announced that the company expects to be able to supply 50% more of its new
antiretroviral drug Fuzeon by the end of 2003 than originally expected,
Reuters reports (Reuters, 7/15). The FDA on March 13 approved the drug,
which is designed for HIV/AIDS patients who have failed to respond to other
medications and is the first drug in seven years that uses a new method to
fight the virus. Fuzeon is in a new class of drugs called fusion
inhibitors, which prevent the virus from entering cells by prohibiting the
virus from attaching to cell membranes. Roche and pharmaceutical company
Trimeris had projected that they would be able to supply the drug worldwide
to between 12,000 and 15,000 patients in 2003 and to approximately 32,000
by the end of 2004 (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 3/21). Roche now expects
to be able to produce the drug for 18,000 patients by the end of the year
and to make further manufacturing improvements by removing "production
bottlenecks" at its Colorado plant, according to Reuters (Reuters, 7/15).

DRUG ACCESS


6. Uganda, Botswana Only African Countries Participating in Boehringer
Ingelheim Free Antiretroviral Drug Program

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18816

Only two African countries have accepted German drug company Boehringer
Ingelheim's three-year-old offer to provide free-of-charge its
antiretroviral drug nevirapine to developing countries, an indication that
"an effective response to the AIDS epidemic also requires strong political
will from African countries," the Financial Times reports. According to
Boehringer Ingelheim officials, Uganda and Botswana are the only countries
in Africa to have received free shipments of nevirapine, which HIV-positive
pregnant women can take to prevent vertical HIV transmission. Many doctors
say that the drug is the most cost-effective way to reduce the risk of
mother-to-child HIV transmission because HIV-positive pregnant women must
take only a single dose of the drug during labor, according to the Times.
Rolf Krebs, chair of Boehringer Ingelheim, said, "We are not at all
satisfied with how [the nevirapine program] is running. It is very
frustrating." Officials for Boehringer Ingelheim said that 44 countries
were involved in the nevirapine program through a number of nongovernmental
organizations and four South African provinces had applied for free
nevirapine. Krebs said that substantial customs charges, poor logistics
and a lack of necessary health care infrastructure were some of the reasons
why many African nations are not participating in the program. However,
Daniel Berman of Medecins Sans Frontieres said that the "high level of
administrative burdens" of the program caused some African countries to
"prefer to just buy the drugs," according to the Times. Berman added, "My
advice would be to sell the drug at a cheap price (through normal business
channels) and then you will see the orders skyrocket." Krebs said that
Boehringer Ingelheim was in the process of simplifying the application
process (Dyer, Financial Times, 7/14).

GLOBAL CHALLENGES


7. Indian Officials Investigating Stoning Death of HIV-Positive Woman

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18817

Officials in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh have begun an
investigation into the stoning death of a 30-year-old HIV-positive woman,
the Washington Times reports. According to the private organization
Women's Initiative (WINS), which works with sex workers and HIV-positive
people, Munnuswamy Pavanamma was stoned to death by her relatives and
neighbors on July 3 in Kuppam. Setlur Varadadesikan Sreeram, a senior
executive at WINS, said that Pavanamma was "hit on the head [by stones],
started bleeding from her injury and collapsed to death instantly."
According to WINS, Pavanamma's neighbors wanted to have her thrown out of
the village after they learned she was HIV-positive. Her family moved her
from their house to a small mud house at the edge of the community, where
the attack occurred, the Times reports. Following the attack, neighbors
burned Munnuswamy's body, the bench on which she was lying and a mango tree
beneath which she had rested, according to Pinakapani Manorama, president
of the private Community Health Education Society. He said, "It
exemplifies the level of ignorance of the people and the ostracism the
woman faced," adding, "The government should take severe action against
those who erred. It should not be shooed away as a stray incident." Naveen
Chand, the district police chief, said that the reports of the stoning were
"totally false," adding that Pavanamma died from complications of AIDS.
However, advocates said that Chand was trying to "hush up the case to avoid
embarrassment," according to the Times (Azizur Rahman, Washington Times,
7/14).

* A kaisernetwork.org video feature on AIDS in India is available online.

IN THE COURTS


8. Justice Department Asks Supreme Court To Review Medical Marijuana Case

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18818

Justice Department attorneys last week in hopes of allowing federal
authorities to revoke the federal prescription licenses of physicians who
recommend marijuana to patients asked the Supreme Court to review a medical
marijuana case that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco
decided in October 2002, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Egelko, San
Francisco Chronicle, 7/11). In the appeals court decision, a three-judge
panel unanimously voted that the federal government could neither
investigate nor revoke the licenses of physicians who recommend marijuana
use to ill patients, such as people with AIDS. Chief Judge Mary Schroeder,
who wrote the court's opinion, rejected the government's argument that
Proposition 215 -- the California state law that allows patients to use
marijuana with a doctor's recommendation -- subverts federal illegal drug
use prevention efforts. She said that punishing doctors who recommend
medical marijuana "effectively prohibited candid discussions between
doctors and patients, in violation of the First Amendment" (Kaiser Daily
HIV/AIDS Report, 10/30/02). Schroeder also said that the federal policy
violated states' traditional authority over the practice of medicine (San
Francisco Chronicle, 7/11). However, the court panel maintained that
prescribing marijuana, as opposed to recommending it, is illegal (Kaiser
Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/30/02). If the Supreme Court accepts the case and
reverses the appellate court's decision, "it would make all of the states'
marijuana laws a dead letter," Graham Boyd, an American Civil Liberties
Union lawyer for physicians, patients and AIDS support groups, said (San
Francisco Chronicle, 7/11).

9. Former Postal Worker Files Lawsuit Claiming He Was Fired for
HIV-Positive Status

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18819

A former postal worker on Friday in federal court filed a lawsuit claiming
that he was fired in January after his supervisors found out that he is
HIV-positive, the Honolulu Advertiser reports. Honolulu attorney Clayton
Ikei filed suit against U.S. Postmaster General John Potter on behalf of
former Makiki Post Office worker Matthew Walker. Walker is seeking
$300,000 in damages and reinstatement in his former position (Waite,
Honolulu Advertiser, 7/12). Ikei said that he believes the suit is the
first to be filed in Hawaii on behalf of an HIV-positive employee who
claims to have been fired because of his HIV status (Associated Press,
7/12). The lawsuit cites an earlier informal racial discrimination
complaint Walker filed against a female supervisor in August 2001, which
was settled in September 2001. The lawsuit states that the same supervisor
later notified Walker that she intended to have him fired after Walker sent
a letter to a female customer whom he believed to be HIV-positive after he
noticed that the woman had addressed an envelope to his treating physician.
Walker fought the dismissal in a union grievance procedure, during which he
disclosed his HIV status. The firing was "reduced to a suspension," which
was waived, the Advertiser reports. The suit claims that after Walker's
supervisors learned his HIV-positive status, he was subjected to closer
scrutiny and received a 14-day suspension for leaving his cash and stamp
stock drawers out on the counter at the end of his shift, according to the
Advertiser. The lawsuit states that Walker was then notified on Jan. 15
that he would be fired effective Feb. 8. The U.S. Postal Service made no
specific comment on the suit, saying in a statement that it "considers
personnel-related matters to be private and confidential." Ikei said,
"Despite federal laws, administrative regulations and even a U.S. Supreme
Court decision, once the Postal Service learned of Mr. Walker's
HIV-positive status, he became a target of discrimination" (Honolulu
Advertiser, 7/12).

SCIENCE & MEDICINE


10. HHS Releases Updated Guidelines for Treatment of HIV-Positive Adults,
Adolescents

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18820

HHS yesterday released revised guidelines for the treatment of HIV
infection in adults and adolescents, which will make it easier for people
with HIV/AIDS and their doctors to choose an appropriate drug regimen from
the growing number of antiretroviral medicines, according to an NIH
release. Previous versions of the guidelines grouped commonly used
antiretroviral drugs into columns and asked doctors to combine drugs from
different columns; however, as the number of medications increased, using
the column format became increasingly complex. The revised guidelines
provide physicians with a list of suggested drug combinations for the
initiation of antiretroviral therapy. The combinations are listed as
"preferred" or "alternative" based on clinical trial results and expert
opinions. "With 22 FDA-approved formulations of antiretroviral agents,
selecting the right multi-drug combination can be a challenge for even
experienced clinicians," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH National
Instititute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, adding, "These
revised guidelines help simplify the process by which caregivers and
patients chart a course of therapy, whether they are receiving
antiretroviral treatment for the first time or are treatment-experienced
and contemplating a change in drug regimen." The updated "Guidelines for
the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents" is
available online at http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov (NIH release, 7/14).

OPINION


11. Health Officials Should Respond to HIV/AIDS in Same Way They Responded
to SARS, Columnist Says

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18821

It is time that health officials respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic
in the same way they responded to severe acute respiratory syndrome, or
SARS, or with the "same earnestness" applied to combating HIV/AIDS in
Africa and the Caribbean, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel columnist Howard
Goodman writes. While addressing SARS, health officials imposed
quarantines and isolated patients, which effectively "stopped [the spread
of SARS] in its tracks," according to Goodman. Palm Beach County, Fla.,
commissioners have suggested mandatory HIV testing for incoming jail
inmates, which some advocates say "is wrong," he says (Goodman, Fort
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 7/13). Palm Beach County commissioners last week
agreed to ask state legislators to change state law to allow for mandatory
HIV testing of every county jail inmate. Under a plan discussed at the
meeting, inmates would be required to undergo testing regardless of whether
they had been convicted of a crime (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/11).
Goodman says that public health authorities should see HIV/AIDS as a
"public health problem without being paralyzed by patient privacy or
fretting about the cost." He says, "Officials at every level ought to be
rounding up all the money they can to screen and treat likely carriers,"
concluding that testing inmates -- even if the testing is voluntary -- is
"a logical start" (Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 7/13).

12. Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Summarizes Editorials, Opinion Pieces on
Bush's Trip to Africa, AIDS Initiative

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18822

Several editorials and opinion pieces this week have focused on President
Bush's trip to Africa and the global AIDS initiative. Bush last week
visited Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria. During the
trip, Bush promoted several initiatives that focus on Africa, including the
five-year, $15 billion AIDS initiative (HR 1298), which he signed into law
in May. The global AIDS initiative seeks to prevent seven million new HIV
infections, provide care for 10 million people living with the disease and
provide treatment to two million HIV-positive people (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS
Report, 7/14). Summaries of some of the editorials and opinion pieces
follow:

Editorials


* Omaha World-Herald: The fact that the House was cutting AIDS funding
while Bush was expressing his commitment to the epidemic should not
"detract from the good the president did" on his trip through Africa, a
World-Herald editorial says. The trip succeeded in showing the strength of
Bush's commitment to the epidemic, the global humanitarian concerns of the
United States and the "appalling epidemic ravaging Africa," the editorial
concludes (Omaha World-Herald, 7/14).

* Philadelphia Inquirer: Bush "convincingly expressed concern" for those
suffering from AIDS in Africa during his tour of the continent, an Inquirer
editorial says. however, if Bush "truly believes" his statement that "the
AIDS threat requires speedy action," he should ask lawmakers "to spend a
full $3 billion a year" on his global AIDS initiative, "with a bigger
chunk" given to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
instead of the U.S. office he established, the editorial concludes
(Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/15).

* Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Bush needs to "smack [Congress] down" as it
"edges towards eking out $2 billion rather than $3 billion for the first
year" of his global AIDS initiative, a Post-Gazette editorial says. Bush
has returned from his trip to Africa "with a full plate, if the trip is to
become a serious step in a U.S. policy toward Africa," and "if he is
serious, his agenda should now include full funding of the AIDS
commitment," the editorial concludes (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/15).

Opinion Pieces


* Stephen Buckley, St. Petersburg Times: Bush's trip to Africa "marks a
real opportunity for the United States ... to shed the reductive policies
of the past ... in favor of a long-term approach" to the problems of the
continent, including the continuing AIDS epidemic, Buckley, editor of world
news for the Times, says in an opinion piece. While many observers have
debated whether Bush's interest in Africa is "permanent or passing," it is
important to note that it is rare for a current U.S. president to visit
Africa and even more rare to do so with specific proposals, such as his
global AIDS initiative. Although Congress has "slashed" funding for the
first year of the AIDS initiative, "it's at least something tangible" and
those affected by AIDS "are surely not going to turn their backs on the
help," Buckley concludes (Buckley, St. Petersburg Times, 7/13).

* Craig Calhoun, Akron Beacon Journal: The AIDS epidemic cannot be stopped
without "effective health care delivery," comprehensive sex education, the
empowerment of women and an effort to "sustain rural communities and
cultures," Calhoun, president of the Social Science Research Council, says
in a Beacon Journal opinion piece. While Bush should be "congratulated for
seeing the importance of the African AIDS Crisis ... he also needs to see
that funds, earmarked for medical research and drugs, must be complemented
by an effort to understand the social causes of the disease and the social
conditions that enable medical treatments to be effective," such as
democratic government and strong local communities and families, Calhoun
concludes (Calhoun, Akron Beacon Journal, 7/13).

* Jesse Jackson, Chicago Sun-Times: It is "laudable that the president
went to Africa" because presidential trips "put countries on the map of
media consciousness" and serve to "emphasiz[e] the importance of [the
continent] economically and strategically," Jackson, a Democratic party
advocate, writes in a Sun-Times opinion piece. However, the "well-scripted
scenes of the White House public relations operation are increasingly
marred by the ever more apparent gulf between word and deed, image and
reality," Jackson says. He concludes that Bush's "much-publicized AIDS
initiative is now stained by inaction that mocks his commitment" (Jackson,
Chicago Sun-Times, 7/15).

* Tony Lang, Cincinnati Enquirer: Bush has "powerful strategic reasons"
for visiting Africa aside from showing the United States' "compassionate
side" and gaining more votes from African Americans for the 2004 elections;
he also used the trip as a "shrewd maneuver to apply domestic pressure ...
on congressional committees debating whether to fully appropriate" his AIDS
initiative, Lang, an editorial writer, says in an Enquirer opinion piece.
Bush's trip also shows the interest in Africa engendered by the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. Bush's AIDS initiative seeks to avoid a scenario in
which AIDS orphans are forced to raise each other, a national security
concern in light of the fact that child soldiers have become common in
African guerilla armies, Lang concludes (Lang, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7/13).

* Robert Rotberg, Boston Globe: "Even if Congress claims that the
president is not campaigning hard enough to fund his AIDS initiative on
Capitol Hill, the president does aim squarely to help prevent and fight the
dreadful disease," Rotberg, director of Harvard University's Kennedy School
of Government Program on Intrastate Conflict and president of the World
Peace Foundation, writes in a Globe opinion piece. However, Bush's "swift
leapfrog from capital to capital [in Africa] was heavy on photo
opportunities and platitudes but light on accomplishments and policy
articulations," including a "key [missed] opportunity to push [South
African President Thabo] Mbeki hard on providing antiretroviral drugs to
AIDS patients" in South Africa, Rotberg concludes (Rotberg, Boston Globe,
7/15).

* Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Mbeki's "refusal to use
the tools at hand" to "rescue his people" from the AIDS epidemic is
"tantamount to genocide," and it is "time for black American activists to
say so," Tucker, editorial page editor, says in a Journal-Constitution
opinion piece. By African standards, South Africa has a "relatively
well-developed infrastructure" that is capable of delivering antiretroviral
drugs and of transmitting a "broad public health campaign," Tucker says.
While some AIDS advocates were disappointed that Bush did not publicly
criticize Mbeki for his stance on the issue during his trip to the country,
the lobbying effort would be "more appropriately taken up" by the
African-American activists who played a large role in the battle to end
apartheid and therefore have "credibility on issues affecting South
Africa," Tucker concludes (Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/13).

________________________________________

-------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT DAILY REPORTS EDITORIAL STAFF
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/contact/contact.cfm
EDITORIAL PHONE: 202-672-5952 FAX: 202-672-5767
EDITORIAL E-MAIL: dailyreports@...
E-MAIL REGISTRATION: www.kaisernetwork.org/email

The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a
service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board
Company. (c) 2003 by The Advisory Board and Kaiser Family Foundation. All
rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------
kaisernetwork.org Editorial Contacts:
For editorial questions about kaisernetwork or the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS
Report, please contact Larry Levitt, Kaiser Family Foundation vice
president, editor-in-chief, kaisernetwork.org; Jill Braden Balderas,
Editor, kaisernetwork.org; Regina Davis, Senior Web Producer, HealthCast;
Tina Murrow, Online Production Manager, HealthCast; Joshua Perin,
editor-in-chief, Daily Reports; Alyson Browett, editor, Kaiser Daily
HIV/AIDS Report; or Susannah Hunter, associate editor, at
dailyreports@....
-------------------------------------------------------
kaisernetwork.org Contacts:
Marla Bolotsky, Vice President; Director, Online Communications and
Publishing
Robin Sidel, Manager, Online Communications
Dana Greil, Coordinator
For questions and further information about kaisernetwork.org, please
contact us at info@... or at 202-347-5270.
--------------------------------------------------------
Manage Your Email Subscription at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/email .
SUBSCRIBE by choosing "Create a new subscription."
CHANGE your subscription by logging in and choosing "Update your Report
Preferences."
UNSUBSCRIBE by logging in and choosing "Please delete my profile."
-------------------------------------------------------
kaisernetwork.org is a free service of the Kaiser Family Foundation. For
access to the Foundation's policy research, analyses, reports and fact
sheets, and media partnerships, visit the Foundation's main website at
www.kff.org.