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#4792 From: Subhadip Roy <subhadip_roy_04@...>
Date: Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:12 am
Subject: Siddhartha Gautam Film Festival 2012 - First Announcement and Call for Entries subhadip_roy_04
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Siddhartha Gautam Film Festival 2012

Jalpaiguri (March 11), Siliguri (March 24),

Kolkata (March 25)

First Announcement and Call for Entries

Siddhartha Gautam Film Festival 2012 is opening its call for entries for the eighth edition to be held in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Kolkata in the month of March. Mobile film shows in health settings will also be organized in Asansol, Haldia and Howrah. The festival is being co-organized by Northern Black Rose, Siliguri; Jalpaiguri Uttarayan, Jalpaiguri; Koshish, Kolkata; PLUS, Kolkata; Astitva Dakshin, Baruipur and Solidarity and Action Against The HIV Infection in India (SAATHII), Kolkata Office on behalf of the Coalition of Rights Based Groups, a state level advocacy forum to advance the health and rights of sexual minorities and people living with HIV in West Bengal.

The festival is organized annually in memory of the pioneering activist Siddhartha Gautam and seeks to generate awareness and dialogue on gender, sexuality, HIV, sexual and reproductive health, and human rights issues. SAATHII and its partner organizations first organized the festival in Kolkata in 2003. It was inspired by a similar festival organized by the Friends of Siddhartha group in New Delhi each year from 1993 to 2003.

Over the years, the festival has become a multi-venue, week long event that reaches out to audiences in both urban and rural West Bengal. This is the third year that the festival is being organized as part of the Coalition of Rights Based Groups’ efforts. The festival is also organized along similar lines in Odisha by sister coalition Sampark. The coalitions have provided the festival with a much wider ambit and reach than in the earlier years. The festival includes both theatre-based and mobile film screenings. The festival will make its debut in Jalpaiguri this year.

Festival theme: In its eighth edition, the festival aims to highlight a diverse set of cross-cutting and interlinked issues that Siddhartha Gautam worked on:

· Struggle for survival with dignity of people living with HIV and those involved in same-sex romantic relationships

· Challenges faced by transgender people in social, legal and economic spheres

· Protection of child rights

· Concerns of mental health and disability

· Stories of untiring activism to fight corruption and justice

The films will be seen by a diverse audience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, Kothi, Hijra and other queer people; people infected or affected by HIV; social workers; health care providers; legal service providers; government officials; college and university students; and media persons. Families and friends of queer people and people living with HIV will be especially welcome.

Call for entries: Filmmakers interested in participating should send their films in DVD formats (compatible with Indian systems) together with the screening permission letter, synopsis (film title, genre, production/release year, duration, director and producers’ names, film summary and filmmaker profile summary), and full contact details. Please also submit one or two digital stills from the film, or computer soft copy of the film DVD cover.

Shorts, documentaries, docu-features and feature films of any length suitable to the festival themes will be welcome. We especially encourage films produced in India and those that focus on the Indian, Indian Diaspora and South Asian contexts. We will also be approaching a number of filmmakers whose productions are already available in SAATHII’s reference libraries in Kolkata and Bhubaneswar.

Please note that there is no entry fee for participation. All films will be subject to a selection process by the Film Festival Organizing Committee. SAATHII will be happy to include the films submitted in its reference libraries which together constitute a key resource in eastern India for material on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Last date for submission: February 29, 2012

Films need to be submitted / couriered to: Sarika Kar, Knowledge Resources and Documentation Officer, SAATHII, 229 Kalitala Main Road, Purbachal (N), Kolkata 700 078. Phone: 033 2484 4835, 2484 5002

The festival programming and schedules will be announced on the SAATHII website and Facebook page in the coming days. Please also look out for further announcements.

For enquiries: Phone: Pawan Dhall 0 98312 88023; Souvik Ghosal 0 91262 07148; Dipankar Datta 0 98325 62550; Agniva Lahiri 0 98305 10527; Sanjay Ram 0 98300 23153; Sanjay Mandal 0 98308 37440; Sarika Kar 033 2484 5002

E-mail: saathii@... with cc to crbgadmsubcom@... and crbg377@...

In solidarity: Pawan Dhall, Souvik Ghosal, Dipankar Dutta, Agniva Lahiri, Sanjay Ram, Sanjay Mandal, Kunal Chowdhury, Sarika Kar – Film Festival Organizing Committee – on behalf of the Coalition of Rights Based Groups

Courtesy: Interact Worldwide, London; Department for International Development – Civil Society Challenge Fund, Glasgow; Alliance India, New Delhi; Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

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#4793 From: "EMPOWER INDIA" <ttn_empower@...>
Date: Tue Feb 21, 2012 3:13 pm
Subject: ITPC Spotlight: Zero children dying from tuberculosis by 2015 is possible, if... ttn_empower@...
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Spotlight: Zero children dying from tuberculosis by 2015 is possible, if...

Hara Mihalea, PATH

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



[Mods note: To join the e-consultation on childhood TB, send an email to:
stop-TB-subscribe@yahoogroups.com . The below CNS article written by Hara
Mihalea, PATH, Thailand, is available online at:
http://www.citizen-news.org/2012/02/0-children-dying-from-tb-by-2015-is.html .
Comments are welcome. Thanks]

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



I like to start by sharing a real story which I experienced in one of my visits
in the field last year. I'm sure many of you working in the field have similar
stories to tell. During a monitoring visit for our PPM program I came across a
referral slip made out by a pharmacy staff referring a 36 year old woman to the
DOTS health center.



Looking at the symptoms circled on the slip one could tell that this was
certainly a pulmonary TB case; weight loss, fatigue, chest pain, fever, and
cough with blood. We traced the referral to one of the district health centers
where we found out that the woman had indeed gone for further evaluation, she
was checked, diagnosed, given medication and sent home. We were told by the
health center staff that since the first visit she came back twice, each time
sicker than before, and was again send home, no TB. We decided to visit her at
home where she lived with her husband, her in-laws, two small children and one
baby. We asked the district TB officer to join us so he could be able to
follow-up later on.



When we arrived in her small house we were taken up in her room, she was sitting
on a straw mat on the floor, baby on the breast, glassy eyes, face flushed with
fever. She repeated the same story that the health staff told us. She told us
how disappointed, sad, and scared she felt, she said she was getting worse by
the minute and no one could help her. She said she wanted to go back to the
health center but they didn't have any more money and no transportation. Each
time she coughed she hit on her chest to show us where it hurts. I will never
forget the pain on her face, the shortness of her breath when she tried to tell
us her story. I will never forget the fear I felt for the baby on her breast and
her other two children and thinking that this woman unless treated immediately
will soon die and leave these children orphans. The end of the story is that the
woman did have TB and the last we heard was that the district officer was trying
to get the children tested.



So what went wrong? why did this woman sought care three times and still was
send home with a bag of  antibiotics and vitamins? This is a very common story
and it's happening every day, many times a day around the world, especially in
high TB burden developing countries.



I shared this story with you because I truly believe that once again we might
not be able to reach our goal to Zero the numbers of children dying of TB in our
lifetime, left alone by the year 2015, if we don't take some drastic steps to
address the real problems that are preventing us from doing a good job. We can
have the guidelines and country operational plans for TB in children, we can
have the treatment algorithms however I strongly feel that these will not help
much, especially in limited resource setting where stories such as this are real
unless we start by:



(1) Holding governments accountable for the health and well-being of their
populations, especially the children; health is a right not a luxury and not
only for the few. Advocate governments for resource allocation that will
increase the salaries of the health staff and will motivate them to perform
their tasks in an appropriate manner; health staff in developing countries often
do not get their salary for 3-6 months.



(2) Strengthening the DOTS program. If we had a quality DOTS program the health
staff would have been able to accurately diagnose and successfully treat the mom
in the story.  They would have being able to prevent TB and the needless
suffering in her children.



(3) Integrating TB into the primary health care and sensitizing all health care
providers on TB.  Once sensitized health staff be able to screen children and
moms during immunization sessions, postnatal visits, reproductive health (RH)
visits or other consultations.



(4) Most importantly recognizing the symptoms of TB in children, creating
linkages and partnerships between communities, private providers and TB services



(5) Intensifying case finding and contact tracing when TB is suspected to all
family members, most importantly to children. The majority of the children get
TB from a family member.



(6) TB is a poverty disease, half of the children in the developing countries go
without meals, they are malnutrition which makes them even more vulnerable to
TB. Addressing the nutrition needs is of out-most importance.



(7) TB in a child that is already living with HIV is a double heartbreak and so
much more difficult to diagnose and treat.



I might sound to you pessimistic, I am a little bit because TB is very political
and things are moving very slowly; we cannot afford to move slowly anymore, we
should not allow it. We need to step up and step up very fast. What we should
all see at the end of 2015 is not just the numbers, the statistics showing fewer
deaths, we should see children, happy and smiley faces, children free of TB.
Where there is a will there is a way and collective voices will find the way.



Hara Mihalea CHE, MPH

PATH, Thailand



Online at:
http://www.citizen-news.org/2012/02/0-children-dying-from-tb-by-2015-is.html

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



[MODS NOTE: Join the e-consultation by sending an email to:
stop-tb-subscribe@yahoogroups.com . The guiding question (Theme 1) of the
time-limited online consultation on childhood tuberculosis (TB) in lead up to
the World TB Day is: "What can be done more (or less of) at the family,
community or your country level to prevent new TB infections in children?"



Have your say before 25th February 2012:
http://www.citizen-news.org/2012/02/theme-1-e-consultation-how-to-get-to.html .
Thanks]

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

   Forwarded by:
---------------------------
  Yours in Global Concern,
  A.SANKAR
Executive Director- EMPOWER  INDIA - Professional Civil Society Organisation
Founder and General Secretary - Confederation of Indian Civil Society
Organisation’s (CICSO)
National Convener- National Alliance for Health, Environment and Rights (
NAFHER)
107J / 133E, Millerpuram
TUTICORIN-628 008, TN, INDIA
Telefax: 91 461 2310151; Mobile:   91 94431 48599: www.empowerindia.org
•         You are invited to join an E FORUM AIDS-TN. To join this free E 
Forum kindly send an e  mail    to AIDS-TN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
•           This e Forum moderated by   EMPOWER, a Non-profit, Non-Political,
Voluntary and Professional Civil Society Organisation.

                Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
              S.v.p. ne pas imprimer ce courriel à moins d’en avoir vraiment
besoin.

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#4794 From: paramesh wari <Parameshware@...>
Date: Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:43 pm
Subject: Scientific Writing workshop Parameshware@...
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Dear
All,

Please register for the workshop. Kindly see the attachment. Registration is extended till 28th february,2012

The TN Dr.MGR Medical University

1 of 1 File(s)

brochure

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#4795 From: SAATHII <saathii@...>
Date: Mon Mar 5, 2012 11:37 am
Subject: Scientific Updates on HIV/AIDS saathii
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SAATHII Electronic Newsletter

HIV/AIDS Updates

SOURCE: www.medscape.com

POSTED ON: 05.03.2012

COMPILED BY: Dr. Sai Subhasree Raghavan and Manish Mudaliar

NOTE: This compilation contains news items about HIV/AIDS published in the International Electronic Newsletters. Articles in this and previous newsletters may also be accessed at http://www.saathii.org/orc/elibrary

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Race and CD4⁺ T-cell Count in HIV Prognosis and Treatment

From Future Virology

Amit C Achhra; Janaki Amin

Authors and Disclosures

Abstract and Introduction

Abstract

CD4⁺ T-cell count is known to vary by race in HIV-negative individuals. While people of certain races, such as blacks and Asians, continue to be disproportionately burdened by HIV/AIDS, they remain under-represented in most HIV clinical studies. Recent studies suggest that CD4⁺ count evolution in HIV, before and after therapy, may differ by race. In this review, we summarize the evidence from prospective cohorts comparing CD4⁺ count trajectories by race, and whether it is of any clinical significance. We find that although minor differences in CD4⁺ count trajectories exist between people of diverse races, socioeconomic, cultural and environmental differences are far more important in predicting clinical outcomes than racial differences in CD4⁺ count. Furthermore, current evidence does not support the need for any race or ethnicity-specific CD4⁺ thresholds for ART and prophylactic therapy initiation. Future long-term trials in racially diverse populations are required to substantiate these findings.

Introduction

In HIV infection, the CD4⁺ T-cell count (henceforth CD4⁺ count) is used for prognosis of HIV disease, making decisions on initiating prophylaxis for opportunistic infections, and initiating combination antiretroviral therapy (cART).^[1,2,101] Even after starting effective cART, CD4⁺ counts are known to be one of best predictors of mortality, AIDS and serious non-AIDS events,^[3,4] and are therefore an important part of HIV disease monitoring.

Total lymphocyte and CD4⁺ counts are reported to vary between people from diverse racial and geographical backgrounds.^[5–13] For example, several studies suggest that HIV-negative whites, on average, have higher CD4⁺ counts (~1000 [± 200] cells/µl),^[14] as compared with HIV-negative Asians (~800 [± 250] cells/µl).^{[6–8,13–15]} Reference range-finding studies on blacks from countries such as Kenya,^[9] Botswana^[5] and Ethiopia^[12] have reported lower CD4⁺ counts as compared with whites; while studies from other African countries reported higher or comparable CD4⁺ counts to whites.^[10] Furthermore, a few cross-sectional studies in HIV-infected individuals also suggested that CD4⁺ counts may vary by race/ethnicity at any given stage of HIV disease, especially at higher CD4⁺ strata.^[16,17] Although several prospective clinical studies have evaluated changes in CD4⁺ counts before and after treatment, and their relationship to clinical events and treatment initiation; most of these studies have included predominantly white (Caucasian) populations in developed countries. The validity of generalizing these results to more diverse populations is unknown.

Globally, people from certain races continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV. Sub-Saharan Africa carries 60% of the global HIV burden.^[102] South-east and east Asian countries contribute over 10% of HIV infections world-wide.^[103] In the USA, up to 45% of incident HIV occurs in African–American (black) populations, which are also reported to have a higher mortality rate due to AIDS, as compared with whites.^[18–20] It is therefore important, although difficult, to evaluate the contribution of race per se, rather than the more modifiable socioeconomic and environmental factors, to the course of HIV disease.

In this paper, we will provide a narrative of prospective clinical and epidemiological studies in adults evaluating the role of race/ethnicity in CD4⁺ count changes in HIV, as opposed to a systematic review on a defined risk factor and endpoint. Specifically, we will assess: the variations in CD4⁺ count evolution in untreated and treated HIV infection; evidence of variation by race in the relationship between CD4⁺ counts and clinical endpoints; and what these findings might mean for the design of future epidemiological studies and individual patient management of HIV-infected individuals from diverse races.

Race & Ethnicity in HIV Research

The terms 'race' and 'ethnicity' have been poorly defined, and are inconsistently used across studies.^[21–23] While 'race' implies an individual's geographic region of origin, physical characteristics and genetic make-up, 'ethnicity' is a broader construct and considers an individual's cultural traditions and practices.^[21,22] The classification scheme of race used in the 2000 US census, which is often used in biomedical research, includes blacks or African–Americans, whites, Asians, native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and American–Indian or Alaskan native.^[21,22] However, this is further complicated by the fact that the terms such as 'black' or 'Asian' do not capture the diversity within the groups and could be too simplistic.^[24] For example, the migration of African-descent populations (i.e., black populations) in Europe occurred relatively recently (after the 1950s) from former colonies (e.g., Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda or the West Indies); whereas in the USA, migration occurred from the West Indies, Haiti and other parts of Africa relatively much earlier than that in Europe.^[24] In France, African-descent populations came mainly from west Africa, which, especially in the case of recent migrants, may also have the higher prevalence of HIV subtype-2.^[25] Similarly, the term 'Asians' could include diverse groups such as those from Indian subcontinent (south Asians) and those from China and other parts of Asia.^[24] This also makes comparing studies from different countries problematic. In HIV clinical-epidemiological studies, blacks (mostly in the USA) have been the most common non-white people studied. For this study we will be referring to literature that has described research using the terms 'race' or 'ethnicity' as 'race'.

Evaluating the role of race in HIV is difficult, as race is often associated with several factors that affect HIV disease management and progression such as education, access to healthcare, socioeconomic status, environmental differences, different HIV subtypes, adherence and cultural practices.^[22,26] Cohort studies that include patients of diverse racial origins with equal access to care are therefore a valuable source of information. However, equal access to care may not translate to equal uptake. For example, in a large clinical-trial cohort of mixed ethnicity in a US setting, with equal access to care, poorer outcomes after antiretroviral therapy were noted for black populations and were largely explained by lower adherence, baseline characteristics such as coinfections and advanced disease at therapy initiation.^[27] Furthermore, cohorts comparing migrants in western countries to the local populations may account for some environmental confounders, although these studies are subject to 'healthy migrant' biases, among others.^[23]

Thus, evaluating the role of race independent of socioeconomic factors and environmental factors in prospective cohorts of diverse populations is challenging. In this review, we will focus on findings from studies that have accounted for some of these confounders (see Box 1 for search strategy).

Race & CD4⁺ T-cell Count Evolution in HIV Infection

Untreated HIV Infection

Although several studies have evaluated CD4⁺ count decline after HIV infection in therapy-naive individuals, relatively fewer studies have compared diverse races within a single study using identical methodology. Recent large prospective studies evaluating the role of race are summarized in Table 1.^[28–37] Most studies have compared black and white populations (Table 1). These studies suggest that black individuals, on average, have a somewhat slower decline in CD4⁺ counts compared with the white population. Moreover, this difference was found to interact with current CD4⁺ count, meaning that at higher CD4⁺ counts (greater than 350 or 500 cells/µl), the difference in rate of decline is larger than that at lower CD4⁺ counts (less than 200 cells/µl). A large prospective cohort study comparing Swiss and Cape Town cohorts, suggested that irrespective of the geographical region, black individuals, compared with white individuals, had CD4⁺ decline ranging from 30 cells/µl/year slower at baseline CD4⁺ counts greater than 500 cells/µl to 5 cells/µl/year slower at baseline CD4⁺ count less than 200 cells/µl.^[31] Similarly, Mekonnen et al. comparing Ethiopian blacks to Dutch whites, found slower decline in blacks by approximately 30 cells/µl/year at baseline CD4⁺ count greater than 350 cells/µl to 10–20 cells/µl/year at baseline CD4⁺ count less than 200 cells/µl.^[30]

Seroconverter cohort data from the Eligibility for ART in Low-Income Countries (eART Linc) collaboration of African and Asian (Thai) cohorts shows faster progression to AIDS in a Thai blood donor cohort, although follow-up CD4⁺ counts were not available.^[38] This difference was attributed to the lower socioeconomic strata and lack of access to healthcare of the selected Thai cohort. A retrospective analysis from an Asian cohort suggests that rate of CD4⁺ decline could be similar to that in white populations.^[39] However, findings from this study are difficult to interpret as most patients had AIDS at baseline, and had only short follow-up commencing from the first available retrospective CD4⁺ count.^[39]

It is unclear if time to cART eligibility (as defined by CD4⁺ count) differs significantly by race. If estimates of rate of CD4⁺ count decline were available for diverse population groups, they could be used to model time to disease progression or time to cART eligibility, to get more accurate race-specific estimates.^[31,38,40] For example, Minga et al. used information about rate of CD4⁺ count decline from HIV seroconversion to estimate the number of people becoming eligible for ART as per standard guidelines, in a given time, in order to forecast the need for ART in a given geographical region.^[40]

Several possible explanations for racial variation in rate of CD4⁺ count decline have been offered. One possible explanation is that baseline immune activation may vary by race.^[30,31] It has been postulated that, due to a high prevalence of background infections in low-income countries such as many African nations or in lower socioeconomic strata of western societies, these populations may have been selected for their ability to survive despite chronic immune activation by maintaining a low immune-activation phenotype.^[30,31] This hypothesis, however, has not been tested.

Another explanation is that CD4⁺ count response may vary by HIV-1 subtype (clade).^[34,41] While HIV-1 clade B predominates in western countries, non-B clades are more common in other areas of the world. Clade C predominates in Asia, the Middle East, east–central and south Africa, while other clades, including circulating recombinant forms, are more prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.^[26,34,41] This hypothesis is not, however, supported by the Muller et al. study, which compared black and white populations infected with similar clades of HIV in the same geographical region and with equal access to care, and showed that HIV clade does not explain the slower decline of CD4⁺ counts in blacks.^[33] Lastly, genetic factors or the interaction between genetic and environmental factors could explain these differences.^[33,42]

It should be mentioned that comparing the results across studies is problematic, because most studies have the starting point of follow-up as first measured CD4⁺ count after enrollment, as opposed to a fixed time-point in HIV natural history, such as at HIV seroconversion (Table 1). The circumstances under which patients are enrolled and had CD4⁺ count measurement vary between patients and studies and this is difficult to measure and account for. In addition, such studies do not account for the duration of HIV infection, which is likely to be important in assessing the disease progression. However, seroconversion cohorts are especially rare in low–middle-income countries.^[38]

Treated HIV Infection

In response to potent cART and achieving durable virological suppression, CD4⁺ counts are known to increase rapidly in the first 6 months following cART initiation, and continue to increase for at least 7–8 years towards normalization.^[43–45] A recent review comparing long-term CD4⁺ count gain in populations with access to free cART from diverse populations including Asia, Africa and high-income countries, concluded that the rate of change in CD4⁺ counts was largely similar between high- and low–middle-income populations; and that any differences in CD4⁺ gain could be explained by lower CD4⁺ count at cART initiation.^[46] In a large North American cohort comparing whites, blacks and Hispanics with equal access to care and adherence to treatment, the rate of CD4⁺ count change was similar, as was the virological response, in all races.^[47] However, whites had higher CD4⁺ counts at cART initiation, and this difference was maintained, such that at the end of an 8-year follow-up, whites had a mean CD4⁺ count of 30 cells/µl higher than non-white individuals.^[47] Analyses from a large Asia–Pacific cohort found that Asians had lower CD4⁺ counts at cART initiation, but gained CD4⁺ count at equal or faster rates as compared with whites, and had a mean CD4⁺ count of approximately 25 cells/µl lesser than whites at the end of 6–7 year follow-up.^[48] Similarly, in a cohort from Denmark, which had minimal socioeconomic disparities, the rate of CD4⁺ count gain did not vary by race.^[49] Other studies have reached a similar conclusion.^[50,51] Conversely, two North American cohorts with identical access to care for black and white populations suggested that blacks had higher rate of virological failure, which was most likely explained by lower adherence to treatment as compared with white individuals.^[27,32] These observations suggest that race by itself is an unlikely determinant of immunological or virological response after therapy initiation, and that factors such as socioeconomic, environmental and cultural differences (including differences in adherence) and late initiation of cART are likely to explain any observed disparities between the races.

The CD4⁺ count evolution for whites and non-whites, from HIV infection to cART initiation and post-cART is illustrated in Figure 1. The disparity in CD4⁺ count responses (higher in whites than in non-whites) evident in this figure could be due to late initiation of cART in non-white groups.^[32,48] Alternatively, a recent study suggested that with long-term effective antiretroviral therapy, the immune system seeks to attain the previous equilibrium dictated by the earliest CD4⁺ count at or before seroconversion.^[52] This suggests that the maximum attainable CD4⁺ count by any group may be similar to their baseline (pre-therapy) CD4⁺ count (irrespective of the CD4⁺ count at therapy initiation), which might be slightly lower for non-whites (Figure 1). We will next discuss whether these differences translate into any clinical significance.

(Enlarge Image)

Figure 1.

CD4⁺ evolution in HIV infection before and after combination antiretroviral therapy, by race. A schematic representation of the CD4⁺ count trajectories after HIV seroconversion and after start of antiretroviral therapy in whites and non-whites (predominantly blacks). The figure assumes the rate of loss of CD4⁺ counts after HIV seroconversion at approximately 100 cells/µl/year in whites (and ~70–80 cells/µl/year in non-whites) at CD4⁺ counts above 500 cells/µl and approximately 50 cells/µl/year in whites at CD4⁺ counts less than 500 cells/µl (and ~30–40 cells/µl/year in non-whites) until the start of cART [30,31]. After the start of cART, the rate of gain in CD4⁺ count is similar between whites and non-whites (~100 cells/µl/year in the first year, 40–50 cells/µl/year up to 5–6 years after start of antiretroviral therapy and stabilizing thereafter) [45,46]. The figure shows: higher CD4⁺ counts at HIV seroconversion, and slightly faster initial decline in CD4⁺ counts in whites compared with non-whites, before cART; typical delayed initiation of cART in non-white groups; and similar rate of CD4⁺ gain after cART in whites and non-whites. Importantly, large variations at the individual and population level exist.
cART: Combination antiretroviral therapy.

Clinical Significance of the Differences in CD4⁺ Count Evolution by Race

The clinical significance of the differences in CD4⁺ count decline before cART, or CD4⁺ gain after cART, is not clear. Studies reporting slower CD4⁺ decline pre-cART in black individuals, did not find a difference in rate of AIDS or death by race, especially in populations with equal access to care.^[30,36,53] Mekonen et al. suggests that although blacks, compared with whites, have lower CD4⁺ counts at HIV seroconversion, their excess risk of AIDS or death may have been offset by a proportionately slower decline after seroconversion.^[30] In a large multicenter North American cohort following over 2000 seroconverters, white individuals had lower rates of AIDS as compared with non-whites only in southern regions, which are known to have greater health disparities between black and white populations; while the outcomes were similar in other regions.^[37] Similarly, migrants from Africa and Asia in a European seroconverter cohort with equal access to care, had identical rates of AIDS or death as compared with white individuals.^[36]

Several studies have also suggested that the risk of clinical events after effective cART is unlikely to vary by ethnicity. In a large population-based cohort study in Denmark where access to care is universal, people of non-white origin had similar risk of virological failure and AIDS as to those of white origin.^[49] Studies that have found increased rates of virological failure and AIDS in non-white populations have attributed this excess risk to late initiation of cART, socioeconomic disparities, background infections (e.g., TB), inconsistent coverage and adherence to ART, multiple comorbidities and lack of health insurance in non-white populations.^{[27,32,50,53–59]} For example, in the Women's Interagency HIV cohort in North America, white women overall had better immunological and virological outcomes after cART initiation. However, when the analysis was adjusted for socioeconomic and psychosocial factors such as lower income, current drug use, depression, and discontinuation of therapy after initiation; non-white women had similar outcomes as compared with white women.^[57]

These observations argue against the role of race in influencing outcomes in HIV, and instead emphasize the role of other modifiable factors such as universal access to healthcare (or lack thereof), socioeconomic disparities, psychosocial factors and comorbidities.^[58]

Implications for Therapy Initiation

Present HIV treatment guidelines are consistent in recommending cART initiation at CD4⁺ counts ≤350 cells/µl.^[101,104,] Furthermore, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) guidelines recommend treatment at 350–500 cells/µl and the consensus is divided about whether cART should be commenced at CD4⁺ counts more than 500 cells/µl.^[104] Evidence for commencement at CD4⁺ counts ≤500 cells/µl comes from three large cohort analyses, one observational analysis of a clinical trial, and one clinical trial in Haiti.^[60–64] All of the cohort studies were predominantly in North American and European populations of predominantly white and some black individuals.^[60,62–64] Although they did not assess for any interaction between CD4⁺ counts and race (i.e., assess whether starting at any CD4⁺ threshold confers a different amount of risk by race); these studies did not find race to be an important confounder in multivariable analyses.^[60,62–64] Moreover, a Haitian clinical trial, which predominantly recruited a black population, confirmed the CD4⁺ threshold of 350 cells/µl or less (compared with 200 cells/µl or less) to be an appropriate threshold for cART initiation, although it did not assess any benefit of starting at higher thresholds.^[61] Lastly, the spectrum of AIDS events, by CD4⁺ counts, was not found to be different between whites, blacks and Hispanics, in a large North American cohort with access to cART.^[65] Collectively, these observations suggest that the results from these studies are likely to be generalizable to black populations.

Fewer studies have included people of Asian or other races. As discussed in the previous section, the differences observed in CD4⁺ count decline pretherapy or gain after cART initiation by race, are only prominent at higher CD4⁺ counts, where clinical events are less likely to occur. Moreover, mortality rates in Asian populations are reported to approach those in white populations within a few months after cART initiation.^[66–69] Furthermore, a large prospective analysis from the Asia–Pacific HIV cohort suggested that the magnitude of risk of AIDS or death, at any given CD4⁺ count, was not different between Asians and whites (Figure 2).^[70] These observations suggest that the prognostic significance of CD4⁺ count is similar in Asians and whites and provide indirect evidence that the CD4⁺ thresholds for cART and prophylactic therapy initiation derived from white populations may be equally appropriate for Asian populations.^[70] Although two studies from Hong Kong suggested that lower CD4⁺ thresholds for cART initiation may be appropriate among Asian populations, these studies were limited by small sample size, especially at CD4⁺ counts above 200 cells/µl and a small number of clinical endpoints (<30 in both studies).^[71,72]

(Enlarge Image)

Figure 2.

Risk of AIDS or death, by latest CD4⁺ counts, in Asians and whites. Incidence-rate, per 100 person-years, of AIDS or death, in Asians and whites, taken from Achhra et al.. [70]. Figure shows similar rate of AIDS or death events in Asians and whites, at any given latest CD4⁺ count strata.

Conclusion & Future Perspective

The decline in CD4⁺ counts after HIV seroconversion may vary by race, especially at higher CD4⁺ counts. Non-white races appear to have lower CD4⁺ counts at HIV seroconversion, and somewhat slower decline by approximately 20 cells/µl/year at higher CD4⁺ counts (above 350 or 500 cells/µl), although the clinical significance of this difference is unclear. Nevertheless, the estimates of the rate of CD4⁺ count decline in different races/ethnicities could be used to obtain more accurate results about time to ART eligibility, needed in forecasting demand for ART. Seroconversion cohorts from diverse populations, including low–middle-income countries, are likely to provide this information in future.

After therapy initiation, the rate of CD4⁺ count gain does not appear to be different between people of diverse races. However, non-white people tend to start cART at lower CD4⁺ counts, which may explain the slightly lower CD4⁺ counts in non-whites, as compared with whites, throughout the follow-up. Also, the maximum CD4⁺ counts attained by non-whites could be slightly lower than whites, reflecting their lower pre-seroconversion CD4⁺ counts.

These differences in CD4⁺ counts, however, do not appear to translate into differential risk of AIDS or death in people from diverse races. Any excess morbidity and mortality in non-white races appear to be related to modifiable factors such as socioeconomic and psychosocial differences, environmental factors such as background infections (e.g., TB), access to healthcare (or lack thereof), and late initiation of cART. Future studies should therefore focus on better understanding these modifiable factors, to achieve equivalent health outcomes in diverse populations. Furthermore, current evidence does not support the need for any race- or ethnicity-specific CD4⁺ thresholds for ART and prophylactic therapy initiation, and suggests that conclusions drawn on white populations could be broadly appropriate for other groups. It should be noted, however, that data on Asian and other non-white groups are remarkably scarce. The ongoing large-scale trial, evaluating strategic timing of initiation of anti-retroviral therapy (START),^[105] is enrolling patients from diverse settings, including Asia and Africa. Results from such multinational trials, which can provide subgroup analyses by race, will be important in future to substantiate our conclusions.

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#4796 From: "Dr. Nabeel M. K." <drnabeelmk@...>
Date: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:02 pm
Subject: Oslo Declaration on HIV Criminalisation drnabeelmk
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Oslo Declaration on HIV Criminalisation

Prepared by international civil society in Oslo, Norway on 13th February 2012

The declaration is available at http://www.hivjustice.net/oslo/oslo-declaration/

You can sign the declaration at http://www.hivjustice.net/oslo/oslo-supporters/

A growing body of evidence suggests that the criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure, potential exposure and non-intentional transmission is doing more harm than good in terms of its impact on public health and human rights.[1]
A better alternative to the use of the criminal law are measures that create an environment that enables people to seek testing, support and timely treatment, and to safely disclose their HIV status.[2]
Although there may be a limited role for criminal law in rare cases in which people transmit HIV with malicious intent, we prefer to see people living with HIV supported and empowered from the moment of diagnosis, so that even these rare cases may be prevented. This requires a non-punitive, non-criminal HIV prevention approach centred within communities, where expertise about, and understanding of, HIV issues is best found.[3]
Existing HIV-specific criminal laws should be repealed, in accordance with UNAIDS recommendations.[4] If, following a thorough evidence-informed national review, HIV-related prosecutions are still deemed to be necessary they should be based on principles of proportionality, foreseeability, intent, causality and non-discrimination; informed by the most-up-to-date HIV-related science and medical information; harm-based, rather than risk-of-harm based; and be consistent with both public health goals and international human rights obligations.[5]
Where the general law can be, or is being, used for HIV-related prosecutions, the exact nature of the rights and responsibilities of people living with HIV under the law should be clarified, ideally through prosecutorial and police guidelines, produced in consultation with all key stakeholders, to ensure that police investigations are appropriate and to ensure that people with HIV have adequate access to justice. We respectfully ask Ministries of Health and Justice and other relevant policymakers and criminal justice system actors to also take into account the following in any consideration about whether or not to use criminal law in HIV-related cases:
HIV epidemics are driven by undiagnosed HIV infections, not by people who know their HIV-positive status.[6] Unprotected sex includes risking many possible eventualities – positive and negative – including the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections such as HIV. Due to the high number of undiagnosed infections, relying on disclosure to protect oneself – and prosecuting people for non-disclosure – can and does lead to a false sense of security.
HIV is just one of many sexually transmitted or communicable diseases that can cause long-term harm.[7] Singling out HIV with specific laws or prosecutions further stigmatises people living with and affected by HIV. HIV-related stigma is the greatest barrier to testing, treatment uptake, disclosure and a country’s success in “getting to zero new infections, AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination”.[8]
Criminal laws do not change behaviour rooted in complex social issues, especially behaviour that is based on desire and impacted by HIV-related stigma.[9] Such behaviour is changed by counselling and support for people living with HIV that aims to achieve health, dignity and empowerment.[10]
Neither the criminal justice system nor the media are currently well-equipped to deal with HIV-related criminal cases.[11] Relevant authorities should ensure adequate HIV-related training for police, prosecutors, defence lawyers, judges, juries and the media.
Once a person’s HIV status has been involuntarily disclosed in the media, it will always be available through an internet search. People accused of HIV-related ‘crimes’ for which they are not (or should not be found) guilty have a right to privacy. There is no public health benefit in identifying such individuals in the media; if previous partners need to be informed for public health purposes, ethical and confidential partner notification protocols should be followed.[12]

References

[1] UNAIDS. Report of the Expert Meeting on the Scientific, Medical, Legal and Human Rights Aspects of Criminalisation of HIV Non-disclosure, Exposure and Transmission, 31 August- 2 September 2011. Geneva, February 2012.

[2] UNAIDS/UNDP. Policy Brief: Criminalization of HIV Transmission. Geneva, July 2008; Open Society Institute. Ten Reasons to Oppose the Criminalization of HIV Exposure or Transmission. 2008; IPPF,GNP+ and ICW. Verdict on a Virus. 2008. See also: IPPF. Verdict on a Virus (documentary) 2011.

[3] GNP+/UNAIDS. Positive Health Dignity and Prevention: A Policy Framework. Amsterdam/Geneva, January 2011.

[4] UNAIDS/UNDP. Policy Brief: Criminalization of HIV Transmission. Geneva, July 2008.

[5] UNAIDS. (2012) Op. cit.

[6] Marks G et al. Estimating sexual transmission of HIV from persons aware and unaware that they are infected with the virus in the USA. AIDS 20(10):1447-50, 2006; Hall HI et al. HIV transmissions from persons with HIV who are aware and unaware of their infection, United States. AIDS 26, online edition. DOI: 10.1097/QAD013e328351f73f, 2012.

[7] Bernard EJ, Hanssens C et al. Criminalisation of HIV Non-disclosure, Exposure and Transmission: Scientific, Medical, Legal and Human Rights Issues. UNAIDS, Geneva, February 2012; Carter M. Hepatitis C surpasses HIV as a cause of death in the US. Aidsmap.com, 21 February 2012.

[8] UNAIDS. Getting to Zero: 2011-2015 Strategy. Geneva, December 2010.

[9] Bernard EJ and Bennett-Carlson R. Criminalisation of HIV Non-disclosure, Exposure and Transmission: Background and Current Landscape. UNAIDS, Geneva, February 2012.

[10] GNP+/UNAIDS (2011) Op. cit.

[11] Bernard EJ and Bennett-Carlson R (2012) Op. cit.

[12] UNAIDS. Opening up the HIV/AIDS epidemic: Guidance on encouraging beneficial disclosure, ethical partner counselling & appropriate use of HIV case-reporting. Geneva, 2000.

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#4797 From: souvik ghosh <souvik_6789@...>
Date: Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:21 am
Subject: NACO Tenchinal Report of HIV Estimate in India souvik_6789
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Dear friends,

PLease see the Tenchinal Report of HIV estimate in India for 2010 to 2012 published by NACO.

Regrads

Souvik Ghosh
Project Officer: Training
Project Pehchan
SAATHII, Kolkata

1 of 1 File(s)

naco-hiv-prev-2010-data-ftr-feb12.pdf

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#4798 From: Muhammad Sughis <sughism@...>
Date: Sun Mar 18, 2012 3:52 pm
Subject: Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2012 - Published sughism
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Dear Professionals,

Volume 3, Issue 1, 2012 of theHealth journal is available online (ahead of print). To access the full text articles, visit www.thehealthj.com and follow the link of current issue and for information about subscription, follow the menu of "general".

Call for articles for June 2012 Issue

We would like to invite you to submit your scholarly work for June issue of theHealth journal. theHealth entertains manuscripts from all domains of health sciences from pilot studies to review articles, from public health to health economics. You are invited to submit your scholarly work for upcoming issue(s).

Deadline for article submission for June issue is 30 March, 2012. For more information, please visit: www.thehealthj.com

*If you would like to be considered as a reviewer, send your updated CV to the editorial board at: editor(at)thehealthj(dot)com

Regards,

_______________
Muhammad Sughis
Skype: sughis
________________________________________
For social and professional interaction,
Join Pakistani Students Abroad (PSA)
http://groups.google.com/group/psabroad

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#4799 From: "Avnish Jolly" <avnishjolly@...>
Date: Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:56 pm
Subject: Views | Rights of men avnishjolly
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Views | Rights of men
http://www.livemint.com/2012/03/20125553/Views--Rights-of-men.html?h=A1

The Delhi High Court had in 2009 decriminalized gay sex as provided in Section
377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and had ruled that sex between two consenting
adults of the same sex in private would not be an offence
Sunil B.S

The Centre recently informed the Supreme Court that there were around 25 lakh
homosexuals in the country of which 7% or 1.75 lakh were HIV-infected. The court
is hearing petitions by anti-gay rights activists as well as political, social
and religious outfits, which have appealed against a July 2009 Delhi High Court
verdict decriminalizing homosexuality. The Delhi High Court had in 2009
decriminalized gay sex as provided in Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
and had ruled that sex between two consenting adults of the same sex in private
would not be an offence. Religious organizations like All India Muslim Personal
Law Board, Utkal Christian Council and Apostolic Churches Alliance have
challenged the high court's order.


An affidavit filed in the court by the Department of AIDS Control of the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare says that incidence of HIV among female
sex workers is 4.60-4.94% and among men who have sex with men (MSM) is
6.54-7.23%. A study released in 2010 by the Government's national AIDS control
organization also finds that 1.5% of HIV infections in India are transmitted by
MSM.
This highlights the need to direct the efforts of the Government to create AIDS
awareness among gays and lesbians in India. Efforts by the Government and other
non-governmental organizations' so far have been mostly directed towards sex
workers. Even if they wish to work with gays and lesbians, existing laws prove
to be an impediment. It also makes it difficult to collect data which then
raises question about the authenticity of the data presented to the court, which
might be grossly underestimated.

India's health ministry had argued that Section 377 of the IPC makes it
difficult to educate homosexuals about the risks of HIV/AIDS and hence infringes
upon the constitutional right to health. Supporting this argument the Delhi High
court had decriminalized homosexuality in 2009. But now the Government makes it
clear in the affidavit it has filed that the Cabinet had decided against taking
any stand on the issue and had decided to await the decision of the apex court.

Indian political parties are known for not taking any stand which might offend
any section of society or any religious group. For instance Senior BJP leader B
P Singhal, who had opposed in the high court the plea for legalization of gay
sex, has challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, saying such acts are
illegal, immoral and against the ethos of Indian culture.

If our existing political parties don't wake up to the reality then somebody
else will. Recently, a transgender named Rose Venkatesan launched a political
party which is called "Sexual Liberation Party of India" with an agenda aimed at
sensitizing people towards the plight of women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender community. Our society which is used to looking down upon these
groups, has begun to accept them and this will bring about a change in the
political landscape which our present day politicians otherwise would not. The
trend is already visible.

Kinnar Gulshan Bindu, who is an eunuch, had stood for election for the Ayodhya
seat as an independent candidate and had given other contestants a run for their
money. Bindu came in fourth after the counting was done with 22,023 votes, which
many believe is the main reason for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) losing in the
Ayodhya assembly constituency for the first time since the Babri Masjid was
demolished on December 6, 1992.

So it is only a matter of time before our democracy takes cognizance of the
concerns of minorities and makes life easier for them by providing them their
basic rights.

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)

#4800 From: "EMPOWER INDIA" <ttn_empower@...>
Date: Fri Mar 23, 2012 2:57 pm
Subject: Global Fund Observer - Issue 179 ttn_empower@...
Send Email

GLOBAL FUND OBSERVER (GFO), an independent newsletter about the Global Fund provided by Aidspan to nearly 10,000 subscribers in 170 countries.

Issue 179: 23 March 2012. (For formatted web, Word and PDF versions of this and other issues, see www.aidspan.org/gfo.)

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CONTENTS
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1. NEWS: Jaramillo Urged to Find the Right Balance Between Risk Management and Providing Services

A letter to General Manager Gabriel Jaramillo from the Global Fund Advocates Network states that the Global Fund needs to find an appropriate balance between risk management and the urgent need to provide services to people.

2. NEWS: The First SSF Grants Pass Through Periodic Review

Two malaria grants from Bangladesh have become the first single-stream-of-funding grants to go through the periodic review process.

3. COMMENTARY: The Global Fund Doesn't Need to Stretch the Truth

When the Global Fund publishes statistics such as the number of lives saved and the number of people on treatment, it usually includes the caveat that these numbers are the results of programmes supported by the Global Fund. Unfortunately, writes David Garmaise, "this distinction often gets lost when the numbers are reported by the media and by other organisations working in development. And it often gets lost in the Global Fund's own publicity."

4. NEWS: Global Fund Board Needs to Explain How Transformation Will Produce Better Results, Outgoing Executive Director Says

If the Global Fund is to continue making a major contribution to achieving global health goals, it will need to explain how the current focus on transformation will lead to better results and increased impact. This is one of the messages in a letter published by former Executive Director Michael Kazatchkine.

5. NEWS: Swaziland PR Reports a Case of Embezzlement

The National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS, principal recipient for Global Fund grants in Swaziland, has uncovered an incident of embezzlement by one of its employees. NERCHA has taken disciplinary action against the employee and has taken measures to strengthen its financial controls.

6. EDITOR'S NOTE: Mauritania

On 19 March, an updated version of the audit report on Mauritania, prepared by the Office of the Inspector General, was posted on the Global Fund website.

7. ANNOUNCEMENT: Backgrounder on Funding Crisis at the Global Fund Released

RESULTS, a U.S.-based international anti-poverty advocacy organisation, has produced a backgrounder on the funding crisis at the Global Fund.

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1. NEWS: Jaramillo Urged to Find the Right Balance Between Risk Management and Providing Services

There is a critical need to cut down on bureaucracy at the Global Fund and to improve the speed of disbursements. This is one of the key messages contained in a letter to General Manager Gabriel Jaramillo sent on 5 March 2012 by more than 50 member organisations of the Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN).

"We urge you to move away from the risk-averse approach that has slowed down action at the Secretariat in recent years," GFAN said in the letter. GFAN called on Jaramillo to find an appropriate balance between risk management and the urgent need to provide services to people.

The letter welcomed Mr Jaramillo to the Global Fund and expressed a desire to work with him during what GFAN described as "a critical time" in the Fund's history. GFAN said that it strongly supports Mr Jamarillo's focus on resource mobilisation. It said that the most urgent priority is to ensure that there is an opportunity in 2012 for donors to pledge additional funding, and to ensure that work starts on designing a new funding opportunity for applicants.

GFAN said that the Global Fund must remain committed to being a demand-driven, results-focused, and people-centred entity, "rather than an organization at the mercy of donor country politics."

In its letter, GFAN also called for:

a full assessment of the impact of the cancellation of Round 11;
a more aggressive communications and media strategy; and
a stronger working relationship between the Global Fund Secretariat and stakeholders at country-level.

GFAN told Mr Jaramillo that efforts to strengthen the Fund "should be inspired and guided by new evidence that shows we can end the three epidemics with the right investments and the necessary political will." When the Global Fund implements the Consolidated Transformation Plan, GFAN said, it should "go beyond a narrow focus on systems and fiduciary control. With bold vision and the right changes, you will help chart a course for this accomplished institution to become the Global Fund to End AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria."

The full text of the letter is available here. The text includes the list of the organisations that signed the letter.

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2. NEWS: The First SSF Grants Pass Through Periodic Review

Two malaria grants from Bangladesh have become the first grants to go through the periodic review process. The grants are both single-stream-of-funding (SSF) grants. Under the SSF procedures, periodic reviews replace the "old" Phase 2 reviews.

The concept of SSF is that there is a single stream of funding per principal recipient (PR) per disease in a given country, and that all grants for the same disease are reviewed at the same time.

The PRs for these two grants are the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and BRAC.

Following the periodic review, both grants were recommended for renewal for the next three-year implementation period. The Global Fund Board approved the renewals (in the amount of $14.2 million for NMCP and $11.2 million for BRAC). Consistent with the new rules for grant renewals, however, the Global Fund will commit funding only for one year at a time (and only if the Fund has enough money on hand).

Periodic reviews are broader in scope than Phase 2 reviews. For one thing, the periodic review process includes a more systematic analysis of impact and outcome information and a more thorough assessment of programme-level risk. For another, new templates have been introduced for the CCM request for additional financial commitment and for the grant score card. Further, as mentioned above, all grants for the same disease are reviewed at the same time, which allows for a more holistic assessment.

The decision of the Global Fund Board was taken by electronic vote in the second week of March 2012.

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3. COMMENTARY: The Global Fund Doesn't Need to Stretch the Truth

by David Garmaise

The Global Fund regularly publishes statistics on the impact that programmes supported by the Fund are having in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria. These statistics are very important because they demonstrate the value of the Global Fund, not only to donors and potential donors but also to the "general public," a term that includes the taxpayers of donor countries as well as the people delivering and receiving services.

The key word in my opening paragraph was "supported." The statistics that the Fund publishes refer to programmes that received support from the Global Fund. Most of these programmes also receive funding from sources other than the Global Fund. These sources include national governments, foundations, other international donors and bilateral donors.

Thus, when the Global Fund says that at the end of 2011 there were an estimated 3.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS receiving antiretroviral medicines thanks to programmes supported by the Global Fund, the Global Fund is not taking credit for all 3.3 million. Similarly, when the Global Fund says that 7.7 million lives were saved because of Global Fund-supported programmes, the Global Fund is not taking credit for all 7.7 million.

The problem is that this distinction often gets lost when the numbers are reported by the media and by other organisations working in development. And it often gets lost in the Global Fund's own publicity.

Each time the Global Fund issues a press release, it includes a tagline that mentions some of the impact numbers, but it is always careful to include the all-important caveat: "Programmes supported by the Global Fund."

And yet, if you went to the Global Fund home page on 23 March 2012 and clicked on "About Us," this is what you would have seen:

Image removed by sender.

There was nothing on this page about "programmes supported by the Global Fund." If you had clicked on "Learn More" and had read all of the text on the page you were taken to, you would have seen the "programmes supported" caveat. But, at the top of that page, in big print, were the same three numbers and the same three texts as shown above, with no caveat.

On one particular page on the Global Fund's website, where the Fund is asking people to co-sign a letter of support for the Fund, the text at the top of the page says: "The Global Fund has saved more than 7.7 million lives by funding treatment and preventative care programs across the planet. But these programs are at risk." There is no caveat.

At One.org, a grassroots advocacy organisation that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, there is a page promoting a Global Fund video that was created for the Fund's tenth anniversary earlier this year. The heading on the page reads: "Watch: 10 years of the Global Fund, 7.7 million lives saved." No caveat.

If you watch the video, you will hear one celebrity saying "7.7 million people are alive today because of the Global Fund." And throughout the video, you will see a graphic that says:

7.7 million lives

10 years

I checked the websites of two bilateral funding agencies, also on 23 March 2012, and this is what I found:

(U.K.) Department for International Development (DFID): "Since 2002, the GFATM has saved 7.7 million lives."
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA): " An estimated 7.7 million lives have been saved so far through Global Fund support."

On that same day, I looked up "Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria" at www.wikipedia.com and found this:

"According to the [Global Fund], it has financed the distribution of 160 million insecticide-treated nets to combat malaria, provided anti-tuberculosis treatment for 7.7 million people, and provided AIDS treatment for some three million people, saving 6.5 million lives."

(These were the numbers at the end of 2010.)

There are numerous instances of the media reporting the numbers without any caveat. For example, on 27 January 2011, when it reported that Germany had suspended contributions to the Global Fund because of concerns about fraud, Aljazeera wrote that the Global Fund "claims to have saved 6.5 million lives by delivering AIDS and TB treatment and handing out millions of insecticide-treated malaria bed nets."

Without the caveat, the statements about how many lives have been saved by the Global Fund are wrong. Leaving out the caveat is like you or me saying "I have saved countless lives because I pay taxes in the U.S." [or France, or Kenya, or Japan] "and some of my taxes are used to save these lives."

The Global Fund has accomplished many wonderful things. But it does not need to stretch the truth in order to make this point.

David Garmaise (david.garmaise@...) is Aidspan's Senior Analyst. GFO has written about this issue twice before, in 2005 and 2008.

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4. NEWS: Global Fund Board Needs to Explain How Transformation Will Produce Better Results, Outgoing Executive Director Says

"Zero tolerance for fraud should not become zero tolerance for risk or error"

"If the Global Fund is to continue making a major contribution to achieving global health goals in the coming years," former Global Fund Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine says, "it will be important for the Board to clearly communicate how the current focus on 'transformation' at the Fund will lead to better results and increased impact. Failure to do so could jeopardize the confidence of implementing countries in the Fund as an institution that has their interests primarily in mind."

Dr Kazatchkine made these comments in an open letter published on 16 March 2012, his last day as Executive Director. The open letter is available on Dr Kazatchkine's website here.

A large part of Dr Kazatchkine's letter is devoted to listing the accomplishment of the Global Fund during his five years as chief executive. But Dr Kazatchkine also discussed some of the challenges facing the Fund.

Dr Kazatchkine urged Global Fund leaders not to abandon the ambitious approach "that has brought us to where we are today." The agenda for change at the Global Fund, Dr Kazatchkine stated, needs to find the right balance between the notions of austerity, efficiency and risk management, which are prevalent today, and the core principles "that have distinguished the Fund from other funding bodies and that have been so instrumental in its decade of success."

Dr Kazatchkine added that the new risk management approach should enhance confidence in the Global Fund rather than simply adding another layer of compliance requirements for implementers. Reflecting on the crisis in 2011, he said: "Fraud at any level is, of course, unacceptable and the Fund has an appropriate zero tolerance of fraud policy. But great care must be exercised to prevent zero tolerance of fraud from becoming zero tolerance for risk and zero tolerance of error."

Dr Kazatchkine said that the Global Fund's efforts in building partnership have had mixed results. While there have been successes in engaging multiple stakeholders, he said, the very senior level political leadership level from both implementing and donor countries "has decreased markedly" from the early years of the Fund, and implementing countries have often remained "relatively too passive" on the Board.

"Partnerships require work, time, attention and regular communication," Dr Kazatchkine said. "They involve finding consensus among different points of view. Sometimes they are frustrating."

Dr Kazatchkine said that the leadership of the Global Fund needs to carefully assess and strike a balance between competing tensions that are inherent to the Fund's model. These include the tension between a Fund that decides "from the top down" what should be funded in countries and the Global Fund's core principle of country ownership; and the tension between the need to strengthen national procurement systems and the need for parallel systems to ensure that commodities are delivered in a timely and efficient manner.

Despite the media and political furore that surrounded misappropriation of Global Fund resources last year, Dr Kazatchkine said, the reality is that the Global Fund has a strong track record of appropriately targeting and efficiently managing its resources that should provide a sound basis for continued donor confidence and support. "My hope is that the Fund will emerge from this period of change," Dr Kazatchkine said, "having retained and strengthened its unique qualities of inclusive governance, dynamic partnership, unparalleled transparency, commitment to be truly global and firm commitment to country ownership."

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5. NEWS: Swaziland PR Reports a Case of Embezzlement

The National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS (NERCHA), which is the principal recipient (PR) for all Global Fund grants in Swaziland, has uncovered an incident of embezzlement by one of its employees.

NERCHA has taken disciplinary action against the employee, has reported the incident to the Swaziland Country Coordinating Mechanism and to the Global Fund, and has taken measures to strengthen its financial controls.

NERCHA discovered that something was amiss during a routine verification of accounts, and it asked its internal auditors to launch a forensic audit. The employee is alleged to have stolen about 117,000 lilangenis (about $16,000), of which 50,000 lilangenis (about $7,000) was Global Fund money.

The theft occurred after the audit of Swaziland grants conducted by the Office of the Inspector General was completed in 2010, and is unrelated to the audit.

Information for this article was obtained from an article in the Swazi Observer, and from direct communications with NERCHA.

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6. EDITOR'S NOTE: Mauritania

In GFO 166, on 21 November 2011, we reported that the UNDP had protested both the content of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report on Mauritania and the reporting process. Two days later, the report in question was removed from the Global Fund's website. On 19 March 2012, an updated report was posted at the website. It includes slightly amended text, plus an Annex 2 (showing the UNDP's comments on the report) and an Annex 3 (showing the OIG's response to those comments).

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7. ANNOUNCEMENT: Backgrounder on Funding Crisis at the Global Fund Released

RESULTS, a U.S.-based international anti-poverty advocacy organisation, has produced a "Global Fund Backgrounder" for World TB Day 2012, which falls on 24 March. The backgrounder is intended to help supporters of the Global Fund draw attention to the funding crisis at the Fund and explain how the crisis affects TB programming.

A copy of the backgrounder is available by sending an email to Kolleen Bouchane (kbouchane@...) or Mandy Slutsker (mslutsker@...) at RESULTS.

"Reproduced from the Global Fund Observer Newsletter (www.aidspan.org/gfo), a service of Aidspan."

Forwarded by:

---------------------------

Yours in Global Concern,

A.SANKAR

Executive Director- EMPOWER INDIA - Professional Civil Society Organisation

Founder and General Secretary - Confederation of Indian Civil Society Organisation’s (CICSO)

National Convener- National Alliance for Health, Environment and Rights ( NAFHER)

107J / 133E, Millerpuram

TUTICORIN-628 008, TN, INDIA

Telefax: 91 461 2310151; Mobile: 91 94431 48599: www.empowerindia.org

· You are invited to join an E FORUM AIDS-TN. To join this free E Forum kindly send an e mail to AIDS-TN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

· This e Forum moderated by EMPOWER, a Non-profit, Non-Political, Voluntary and Professional Civil Society Organisation.

Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.

S.v.p. ne pas imprimer ce courriel à moins d’en avoir vraiment besoin.

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)

#4801 From: Santanu Pyne <santanu_pyne@...>
Date: Sun Mar 25, 2012 7:31 am
Subject: Applications are invited for the post of Finance and Grant Management Officer, Project Pehchan santanu_pyne
Send Email

Job title: Finance and Grant Management Officer, Project Pehchan (Job code BBSR-PEH-FGMO-0312)

Employing organization: Solidarity and Action Against The HIV Infection in India (SAATHII), India

Location: Bhubaneswar, India

Date of Issue: March 22, 2012

Closing Date: March 30, 2012

About SAATHII:

SAATHII, a non-government organization founded in 2000, works to strengthen the capacities of individuals and organizations working on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV in India through information dissemination, networking, advocacy, research and technical assistance services.

It is known for innovative and multi-sectoral initiatives in the SRH, HIV and associated fields. SAATHII is registered as a tax-exempt charitable trust with offices in Chennai (Head Office), Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Imphal and Nagpur.

Job Descriptions:

SAATHII is implementing a long term project titled “Project Pehchan: MSM, Hijra and TG Community Systems Strengthening”, in partnership with emerging and existing CBOs in the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Manipur, with funding support from the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), and technical assistance from India HIV/AIDS Alliance, New Delhi. Main objectives of this intervention are: a) To strengthen community systems that reach MSM, Hijra and transgender (TG) communities; b) To increase the number of beneficiaries reached by such systems; c) To strengthen the relevant health system resources and d) To increase knowledge and advocacy for MSM, Hijra and TG concerns. The overall project entails development and strengthening of 200 CBOs across 17 states in India to reach almost 453,750 targeted individuals with SRH and HIV messages and services over a period of five years. SAATHII will be partnering 38 of these CBOs in four states.

SAATHII is looking for a suitable individual for the post of Finance and Grant Management Officer, Project Pehchan.

Job Description:

The Finance and Grant Management Officer, Project Pehchan, will be responsible for providing necessary technical assistance for financial management as well as financial and administrative monitoring of the partner CBOs of MSM, TG and Hijra communities and other vulnerable populations SAATHII is working with through this project in the abovementioned states. Additionally s/he will be responsible for preparing necessary contracts, MoUs, reports and letters for relevant partners, funding agencies, staff and other parties, maintaining accounts and preparing financial reports, making short term and long term financial budgets and planning, and periodic auditing (both funding agency and organization’s statutory auditing).

Reporting: The Finance and Grant Management Officer, Project Pehchan will report to the Administration and Finance Manager, Kolkata Office, as well as Bhubaneswar Office In-charge and Senior Administration and Finance Officer, Bhubaneswar office.

Skills and Qualifications Required:

At least five years of experience in financial management, accounting and administrative work in the social development sector.
Ability to prepare financial plans, forecasts, reports and mentor individuals and organizations on financial and administrative issues.
Experience of providing financial capacity building support to other organizations, especially those working at the community or grassroots level
Graduation or higher degree from a recognized university in commerce or financial management.
Sound skills in computer usage - including use of ERP version of Tally and Microsoft Office softwares and the Internet.
Excellent command over English, particularly in writing technical reports, contracts and correspondence.
Fluency in spoken English and Hindi languages.
Basic knowledge of current health and development sector issues, particularly HIV/AIDS, gender, sexuality, human rights and reproductive health issues.
Ability to work independently and as a team player in a complex, multicultural environment, with demonstrated leadership, communication, networking and presentation capabilities.
Willingness to travel extensively in different states and toDelhiand Chennai for planning and implementation of the project activities.

Monthly pay amount: Rs.22,000/- per month as CTC.An initial contract up to September 30, 2012 will be offered, with renewable option.

People living with HIV, women candidates and candidates from gender or sexuality minority sections are encouraged to apply.

To apply:

Please submit a comprehensive CV in English with a supporting cover letter, including the names of three referees (preferably one should be a current or previous employer), as well as last salary earned, and whether able to join immediately or not.

Applications should be sent by courier or e-mail to the following contact address, and be clearly marked: “Application for the post of Finance and Grant Management Officer, Project Pehchan”

Contact address:

Director, Kolkata Office

Solidarity and Action Against The HIV Infection in India (SAATHII)

229, Kalitala Main Road, Purbachal (North), Kolkata 700 078

E-mail: saathii.jobs@... (CVs sent to any other e-mail ID will not be entertained)

Website: www.saathii.org

Closing date for applications: March 30, 2012

Likely interview and written examination date and venue for short listed candidates will be intimated over phone.

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)

#4802 From: Anant Bhan <dranantbhan@...>
Date: Wed Mar 28, 2012 5:04 am
Subject: Our New Article in PLoS Med: Improving Ethical Review of Research Involving Incentives for Health Promotion dranantbhan
Send Email

Dear friends,

We have just published a new article on the ethical review of research involving incentives for health promotion. This is a relevant topic in global health where conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are being used widely in various programs ranging from health especially HIV prevention and treatment, education to nutrition. CCTs are increasinly being used in India as well, an example being JSY. This paper emerged from work done in the HIV Prevention Trials Network where two current trials involve the use of cash incentives. See www.hptn.org for details

We offer guidance on the moral/ethical considerations in evaluating such proposals.

We look forward to feedback on this paper.

Best,
Anant

Full article available for download open access at
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001193

Improving Ethical Review of Research Involving Incentives for Health Promotion

Alex John London1*, David A. Borasky Jr2, Anant Bhan3, for the Ethics Working Group of the HIV Prevention Trials Network
1 Philosophy Department and Center for Ethics and Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America, 2 Office of Research Protection, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States of America, 3 Researcher, Bioethics and Global Health, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Summary Points
Advances in behavioral economics are driving efforts to use material or financial incentives to promote health-related behavior in international development, public health, and clinical medicine.
Current ethical frameworks for human research assume that material or financial incentives are provided to participants either as compensation for their time and expenses, or as an inducement to participate in research.
We argue that some common concerns about using incentives to increase participation in research, such as that attractive incentives will undermine participant autonomy, are misplaced when incentives are used to overcome economic obstacles or a lack of effective motivation, and when recipients are incentivized to engage in health-related behaviors or practices with which they are already familiar and which they regard as beneficial or worthwhile.
We offer additional guidance to research ethics committees aimed at improving the evaluation of research in which incentives are used as an intervention intended to promote healthy behavior.

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)

#4803 From: Manohar Elavarthi <manoharban@...>
Date: Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:09 am
Subject: ELECT your (Sexual Minorities) REPRESENTATIVE on INDA-CCM manoharban
Send Email

ELECT your (Sexual Minorities) REPRESENTATIVE on INDA-CCM

This is for all organizations working on issues of (HIV/AIDS-2 seats, TB-2 seats, MALARIA-1 seat, GENDER-1 seat, CHILD DEVELOPMENT & RIGHTS-1 seat, SEXUAL MINORITIES - 1 seat; TOTAL - 8 seats)

Make your voice heard in the election of Sexual Minorities representative on the India CCM, registering before 30th March at: http://www.indiaccm-elections.org/registration/

--
http://manoharban.wordpress.com/

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)

#4804 From: subhasree raghavan <subhasree.raghavan@...>
Date: Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:23 am
Subject: Please participate in I-CCM elections subhasree_ra...
Send Email

Dear Civil Society Colleagues (NGOs, CBOs FBOs, Networks of People living with HIV, TB and Malaria)

�

The GFATM (The Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB and Malaria) currently funds 15 grants in India �on HIV, TB and Malaria for a total amount of 1.1 billion dollars (5,500 Crores). These grants reached more than 500,000 PLHIV with life saving ART,� 840,000 with DOTS and much more. You can obtain complete information at http://portfolio.theglobalfund.org/en/Country/Index/IDA

�

The GFATM works through Country Coordinating Mechanism in India comprising of 40 members representing government, private sector, civil society, people living with diseases, academic and research institutions and multilateral and bilateral agencies.

�

The representatives of the civil society (HIV 2, TB 2, Malaria 1, Gender 1, Children 1, Sexual Minorities 1) are elected through the following election process. �Today is the deadline for registering your organization for participating in India-CCM Election (31 March, Midnight)

�

Registration: It is very important that all NGOs, CBOs, FBOs working on HIV, TB and Malaria and Network of People Living with HIV, TB and Malaria register at: http://www.indiaccm-elections.org/registration/

Why it is important for you to register:� Only through your participation we will be to elect strong civil society organizations for the CCM. You will be able to vote for the candidate of your choice only if you register. �This is a good opportunity to democratically elect the candidates.

Run for elections: it is very important that we also have diverse set of candidates standing for election. However to make meaningful contribution, it is important that the potential candidates are well versed with the National Program (atleast one disease- HIV, TB or Malaria), should be willing to attend quarterly meetings at short notice, devote some dedicated time to review and provide feed back on long documents, pro-actively participate in the sub-committees, advocate for the interest of the country without conflict of interest, willing to work in collaboration with other civil society representatives and CCM members and able to articulate well.�

You can get further details on election at: http://www.indiaccm-elections.org/election-schedule.php

In addition you can call the election secretariat at �011-46017373 or� 0-9818995564 for further help.

�

Personal Note: Being part of the CCM is a great learning process and you will be able to influence the decisions regarding GFATM funded grants and programs. You will also be able to work with 40+ experienced members from different constituencies. CCM is one of the few platforms in India that will enable the civil society to work in equal partnership with all other sectors.

Please register today and help elect strong civil society representatives to the India CCM

�

Best Regards

�

Dr. Sai Subhasree Raghavan,

Outgoing Civil Society Representative on I-CCM

�

President

Solidarity and Action Against the HIV Infection in India�

E-mail: subhasree_raghavan@...

Mobile: +91 9840033302, Landline: +91 44 28173948

Skype: subhasree

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)

#4805 From: SAATHII News <saathii.news@...>
Date: Tue Apr 3, 2012 8:45 pm
Subject: Indian Journal of Psychiatry: editorial on homosexuality and India saathii.news@...
Send Email

Drs. Rao and Jacob, in their editorial �Homosexuality and India� in
the current issue of Indian Journal of Psychiatry (2012), question
unethical and unwarranted attempts at conversion therapy and call for
physicians to provide medical service with compassion and respect for
human dignity for all people irrespective of their sexual orientation.

http://orinam.net/indian-journal-of-psychiatry-takes-a-stand-on-homosexuality/

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)

#4806 From: HIV Accountability Circle HAC <hivwatch@...>
Date: Sat Apr 7, 2012 4:40 am
Subject: Open appeal to PRs and SRs of Global Fund grants, to withdraw from contesting in the IndiaCCM elections hivwatch2012
Send Email

Dear Friends,

This is an appeal to following organizations that are receiving funds from the Global Fund (http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/) to implement projects on issues of HIV, TB and Malaria as Principle Recipients (PRs) and Sub Recipients (SRs):

1. Caritas India (PR)

2. India HIV/AIDS Alliance (PR)

3. Population Foundation of India (PR)

4. World Vision India (PR)

5. Catholic Health Association of India (SR)

6. LEPRA Society (SR)

7. TB Alert India (SR)

8. The Humsafar Trust (SR)

One of the main purposes of the IndiaCCM (http://www.india-ccm.org/) is to play an oversight on the grant implementation. This is also one of the six key requirements of the Global Fund.

Given this, our concern is that if PRs and SRs get elected, they will not be able to serve the purpose of "oversight". If there is a conflict between the needs of the community and that of Global Fund grant implementers, whose side will you take? Won't there be a conflict of interest?

India has a vibrant civil society. Don't you think that the 8 civil society seats on the IndiaCCM be filled by civil society organizations that have no conflict of interest? Isn't it ethical that Global Fund grant implementers leave these seats to others, so that community needs and interests are represented properly?

You are contesting for seats in all categories except 'gender'. This means that there is a possibility that 7 (out of 8) civil society seats may be occupied by Global Fund grant implementers. Is it in the interests of people of this country? Isn't it an unhealthy practice?

Addressing conflict of interest is one of the 6 key requirements of the global fund. The Global Fund recognizes that there is an inherent conflict of interest when SRs and PRs are CCM members with decision-making authority and recommends a non-voting role for SRs and PRs. Does this mean that 7 out of the 8 civil society representatives will have a non-voting role? Does this indicate that we will have a IndiaCCM where 7 of the 8 civil society representatives can't represent the people's interests due to conflict of interest. Will this at some point in the future make India be ineligible for receiving Global Fund grants in future, due to conflict of interest issues?

Under these circumstances in the interests of people affected by HIV, TB and Malaria and in the larger national interest, we appeal to you to withdraw from contesting for IndiaCCM seats.

With Regards,

Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Chennai, TN

Asma, Chennai, TN

Dr. Jayasree AK, Kerala

Gnani Sankaran, Chennai, TN

Meera R, Tirupati, AP

Narayanamurthy K, Guntur, AP

Padmavathy AS, Chennai, TN

Ramana KV, Tirupati, AP

Siva K, Hyderabad, AP

for HIV Accountability Circle

HIV Accountability Circle is a small collective of activists from different parts of India, who want to bring in accountability on HIV related issues. Accountability from all, including: donors, implementers, governments, multilateral organizations, media, INGOs, NGOs, CBOs, networks etc.

PS: Here is the relevant information from the Global Fund's 'Guidelines and Requirements for Country Coordinating Mechanisms' (http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/ccm/guidelines/ , Last approved by the Global Fund Board: 12 May 2011)

3. Where applicable, these Guidelines define:

i. Requirements that represent the minimum criteria that all CCMs must meet in order to be eligible for funding by the Global Fund.

4. The Global Fund Secretariat monitors compliance of CCMs with requirements on an ongoing basis and with every new CCM application for funding. Continued compliance with all requirements throughout program implementation is a condition for access to Global Fund financing.

6. The Global Fund defines six requirements for CCM funding eligibility:

Requirement 6: To ensure adequate management of conflict of interest, the Global Fund requires all CCMs to:

i. Develop and publish a policy to manage conflict of interest that applies to all CCM members, across all CCM functions. The policy must state that CCM members will periodically declare conflicts of interest affecting themselves or other CCM members. The policy must state and CCMs must document that members will not take part in decisions where there is an obvious conflict of interest, including decisions related to oversight and selection or financing PRs or SRs.

ii. Apply their conflict of interest policy throughout the life of Global Fund grants, and present documented evidence of its application to the Global Fund on request.

58. The Global Fund recognizes that there is an inherent conflict of interest when SRs and PRs are CCM members with decision-making authority, particularly in the Chair and Vice-Chair positions.

59. The Global Fund understands that CCMs must consider the role of PRs and SRs according to their national context and recommends a non-voting role for these actors.

61. All CCM stakeholders should note that through article 21 (c) of the Global Fund‟s grant agreement, PRs are legally obligated to disclose actual, apparent or potential conflicts of interest affecting any persons affiliated with the PR(s) or with SRs, the LFA or the CCM.

Reply | Messages in this Topic (5)

#4807 From: advocacysangama <advocacysangama@...>
Date: Sun Apr 8, 2012 9:36 am
Subject: Re: [lgbt-india] Open appeal to PRs and SRs of Global Fund grants, to withdraw from contesting in the IndiaCCM elections advocacysangama@...
Send Email

Dear Pallav

I would like to clarify on some the issues raised by you in your email.

-------------------
You said: I am surprised that this issue is being raised now by you guys now. Sangama
was an SR and was on the CCM,
has this issue been raised by HAC? If not, then why not?

-------------------

My response: Sangama is not a CCM member. Manohar Elavarthi got elected as a representative of 'Suraksha WRHCP' to the CCM in April 2009, for a period of 2 years. First CCM meeting with newly elected members was held in July 2009. Manohar was neither a staff member nor a board member of Sangama at this point.

Sangama started receiving funds as a SR for a global fund grant (IDA-910-G20-H) from October 2010, i.e. 18 months after Manohar getting elected as a CCM member (originally for a period of 2 years and his term would have ended in June 2011, but the term of CCM was extended by one more year through an amendment to the CCM ToR). The proposal for this grant was originally submitted to the Global Fund as part of Round 8 in July 2008 and later re-submitted with some changes in May 2009 as part of Round 9. Manohar didn't play a role in the preparation of this proposal. Sangama's Directors and senior staff members played the central role in the proposal preparation process. Manohar joined in the present position as the Sangama's Executive Director in April 2011.

I agree that there is a conflict of interest for Manohar from October 2010 as he is a CCM member and is closely connected with decision making in Sangama (as Executive Director/ Interim Director).

-------------------

You said: Currently Samara claims not to be an SR, PR , SSR in Global Fund, however
how many board members of Sangama are on Samara's board??� Isnt' that a
conflict of interest? I hope you exhibit your accountability in the same
spirit irrespective of your affiliations.
-------------------

My response: Samara is not a SR, PR or SSR for any Global Fund grants. None of the Sangama board members are on Samara board. Sangama never had any of its board members on the Samara board (since the registration of Samara, 7 years ago).

-------------------

You said: While your arguments and logic on an ideological level are completely valid
, you must then raise this issue with CCM , since the current stipulations
for contesting elections will practically leave most community based
organisations out.
-------------------

My response:

I completely agree with you that current stipulations for contesting elections are leaving most community based organisations out, which is not in the interest of democracy and community participation.

In Solidarity

Akkai

Program Manager

Sangama

On Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 2:37 PM, Pallav <pallavongroups@...> wrote:

�

Dear HAC

This is not the first time that someone involved in Global Fund will be a
part of the CCM.

I am surprised that this issue is being raised now by you guys now. Sangama
was an SR and was on the CCM,
has this issue been raised by HAC? If not , then why not?

Currently Samara claims not to be an SR, PR , SSR in Global Fund, however
how many board members of Sangama are on Samara's board?? Isnt' that a
conflict of interest? I hope you exhibit your accountability in the same
spirit irrespective of your affiliations.

I would also like to ask why Female Sex Workers are being included amongst
Sexual Minorities, is that accepted by the LGBT community? OR is this a
Karnataka angle that is being increasingly used to confuse the boundaries
between definitions of sexual minorities and sex workers.

I hope you give me acceptable answers because your mail seems too self
righteous and lacking in logic.

While your arguments and logic on an ideological level are completely valid
, you must then raise this issue with CCM , since the current stipulations
for contesting elections will practically leave most community based
organisations out.

I feel your activism is misplaced .

Regards
Pallav

On Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 10:10 AM, HIV Accountability Circle HAC <
hivwatch@...> wrote:

> **

>
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> This is an appeal to following organizations that are receiving funds from
> the Global Fund (*http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/*) to implement projects
> on issues of HIV, TB and Malaria as Principle Recipients (PRs) and Sub
> Recipients (SRs):
>
> 1. Caritas India (PR)
>
> 2. India HIV/AIDS Alliance (PR)
>
> 3. Population Foundation of India (PR)
>
> 4. World Vision India (PR)
>
> 5. Catholic Health Association of India (SR)
>
> 6. LEPRA Society (SR)
>
> 7. TB Alert India (SR)
>
> 8. The Humsafar Trust (SR)
>
> One of the main purposes of the IndiaCCM (*http://www.india-ccm.org/*) is
> to play an oversight on the grant implementation. This is also one of the
> six key requirements of the Global Fund.
>
> Given this, our concern is that if PRs and SRs get elected, they will not
> be able to serve the purpose of "oversight". If there is a conflict between
> the needs of the community and that of Global Fund grant implementers,
> whose side will you take? Won't there be a conflict of interest?
>
> India has a vibrant civil society. Don't you think that the 8 civil society
> seats on the IndiaCCM be filled by civil society organizations that have no
> conflict of interest? Isn't it ethical that Global Fund grant implementers
> leave these seats to others, so that community needs and interests are
> represented properly?
>
> You are contesting for seats in all categories except 'gender'. This means
> that there is a possibility that 7 (out of 8) civil society seats may be
> occupied by Global Fund grant implementers. Is it in the interests of
> people of this country? Isn't it an unhealthy practice?
>
> Addressing conflict of interest is one of the 6 key requirements of the
> global fund. The Global Fund recognizes that there is an inherent conflict
> of interest when SRs and PRs are CCM members with decision-making authority
> and recommends a non-voting role for SRs and PRs. Does this mean that 7
> out of the 8 civil society representatives will have a non-voting role?
> Does this indicate that we will have a IndiaCCM where 7 of the 8 civil
> society representatives can't represent the people's interests due to
> conflict of interest. Will this at some point in the future make India be
> ineligible for receiving Global Fund grants in future, due to conflict of
> interest issues?
>
> Under these circumstances in the interests of people affected by HIV, TB
> and Malaria and in the larger national interest, we appeal to you to
> withdraw from contesting for IndiaCCM seats.
>
> With Regards,
>
> Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Chennai, TN
>
> Asma, Chennai, TN
>
> Dr. Jayasree AK, Kerala
>
> Gnani Sankaran, Chennai, TN
>
> Meera R, Tirupati, AP
>
> Narayanamurthy K, Guntur, AP
>
> Padmavathy AS, Chennai, TN
>
> Ramana KV, Tirupati, AP
>
> Siva K, Hyderabad, AP
>
> *for HIV Accountability Circle*
>
> HIV Accountability Circle is a small collective of activists from different
> parts of India, who want to bring in accountability on HIV related issues.
> Accountability from all, including: donors, implementers, governments,
> multilateral organizations, media, INGOs, NGOs, CBOs, networks etc.
>
> *PS: *Here is the relevant information from the Global Fund's 'Guidelines
> and Requirements for Country Coordinating Mechanisms' (*
> http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/ccm/guidelines/* , Last approved by the
> Global Fund Board: 12 May 2011)
>
> 3. Where applicable, these Guidelines define:
>
> i. *Requirements* that represent the minimum criteria that all CCMs must
> meet in order to be eligible for funding by the Global Fund.
>
> 4. The Global Fund Secretariat monitors compliance of CCMs with
> requirements on an ongoing basis and with every new CCM application for
> funding. Continued compliance with all requirements throughout program
> implementation is a condition for access to Global Fund financing.
>
> 6. The Global Fund defines six requirements for CCM funding eligibility:
>
> *Requirement 6:* To ensure adequate *management of conflict of interest*,
> the Global Fund requires all CCMs to:
>
> i. Develop and publish a policy to *manage conflict of interest that
> applies to all CCM members, across all CCM functions*. The policy must
> state that CCM members will periodically declare conflicts of interest
> affecting themselves or other CCM members. The policy must state and CCMs
> must document that members will not take part in decisions where there is
> an obvious conflict of interest, including decisions related to oversight
> and selection or financing PRs or SRs.
>
> ii. *Apply their conflict of interest policy throughout the life of Global
> Fund grants*, and present documented evidence of its application to the
> Global Fund on request.
>
> 58. The Global Fund recognizes that there is an* inherent conflict of
> interest when SRs and PRs are CCM members with decision-making authority,
> particularly in the Chair and Vice-Chair positions*.
>
> 59. The Global Fund understands that *CCMs must consider the role of PRs
> and SRs* according to their national context and *recommends **a non-voting
> role for these actors*.
>
> 61. All CCM stakeholders should note that through article 21 (c) of the
> Global Fund"s grant agreement, PRs are legally obligated to disclose
> actual, apparent or potential conflicts of interest affecting any persons
> affiliated with the PR(s) or with SRs, the LFA or the CCM.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--
� � �Sangama�
Plot No. 41, KEB Extension Road
�RMV 2nd Stage, Ashwathnagar
�1st Cross, Bangalore � 560 094.
� Phone No - 08023416940.
� � � � � � � � �� www.sangama.org

Reply | Messages in this Topic (3)

#4808 From: advocacysangama <advocacysangama@...>
Date: Sun Apr 8, 2012 9:36 am
Subject: Re: [lgbt-india] Open appeal to PRs and SRs of Global Fund grants, to withdraw from contesting in the IndiaCCM elections advocacysangama@...
Send Email

Dear Aditya

I would like to clarify on some the issues raised by you in your email.

-------------------

You said: Were these 'HIVwatch' watchdogs sleeping for the last 3 years when Manohar
Elvarathi from Sangama held the CCM post? Sangama is a SR under GFATM and
if one now engages in the semantics of how Manohar is not from Sangama,
they would only be damaging their own 'accountability' by not being
accountable to basic credibility.

-------------------

I agree that there is a conflict of interest for Manohar from October 2010 as he is a CCM member and is closely connected with decision making in Sangama (as Executive Director/ Interim Director).

In Solidarity

Akkai

Program Manager

Sangama

On Sun, Apr 8, 2012 at 8:40 AM, Aditya Bondyopadhyay <adit.bond@...> wrote:

�

HIV Accountability is certainly a desirable end in itself. But the issue of
accountability suffers when those seeking it are on the face of
it blatantly short sighted, if not not outright biased.

One of the things about so-called champions of accountability that bothers
me no end, is when the accountibility bug bites them at very convenient and
opportune moments, while they remain oblivious at other times.

Were these 'HIVwatch' watchdogs sleeping for the last 3 years when Manohar
Elvarathi from Sangama held the CCM post? Sangama is a SR under GFATM and
if one now engages in the semantics of how Manohar is not from Sangama,
they would only be damaging their own 'accountability' by not being
accountable to basic credibility.

Moreover, what is this selective list of SRs and PRs? Did the
accountability watchdogs not do their homework well, or do they for reasons
very 'unaccountable', not see some in the same light as others. Do they NOT
know, when they are in the watchdogging business, that Sangama and SIAAP
and SAATHII are also SRs under the GFATM.

Anyone who claims a 'morally superior' position by claiming to be a
watchdog, must first ensure that their own house is in order, else they
just render themselves into a very bad joke.

With regards to all and a bit concerned at the multiple standards of public
life in the HIV world,

Aditya Bondyopadhyay

On 7 April 2012 13:40, HIV Accountability Circle HAC <hivwatch@...>wrote:

> **
>
>

> Dear Friends,
>
> This is an appeal to following organizations that are receiving funds from
> the Global Fund (*http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/*) to implement projects
> on issues of HIV, TB and Malaria as Principle Recipients (PRs) and Sub
> Recipients (SRs):
>
> 1. Caritas India (PR)
>
> 2. India HIV/AIDS Alliance (PR)
>
> 3. Population Foundation of India (PR)
>
> 4. World Vision India (PR)
>
> 5. Catholic Health Association of India (SR)
>
> 6. LEPRA Society (SR)
>
> 7. TB Alert India (SR)
>
> 8. The Humsafar Trust (SR)
>
> One of the main purposes of the IndiaCCM (*http://www.india-ccm.org/*) is
> to play an oversight on the grant implementation. This is also one of the
> six key requirements of the Global Fund.
>
> Given this, our concern is that if PRs and SRs get elected, they will not
> be able to serve the purpose of "oversight". If there is a conflict between
> the needs of the community and that of Global Fund grant implementers,
> whose side will you take? Won't there be a conflict of interest?
>
> India has a vibrant civil society. Don't you think that the 8 civil society
> seats on the IndiaCCM be filled by civil society organizations that have no
> conflict of interest? Isn't it ethical that Global Fund grant implementers
> leave these seats to others, so that community needs and interests are
> represented properly?
>
> You are contesting for seats in all categories except 'gender'. This means
> that there is a possibility that 7 (out of 8) civil society seats may be
> occupied by Global Fund grant implementers. Is it in the interests of
> people of this country? Isn't it an unhealthy practice?
>
> Addressing conflict of interest is one of the 6 key requirements of the
> global fund. The Global Fund recognizes that there is an inherent conflict
> of interest when SRs and PRs are CCM members with decision-making authority
> and recommends a non-voting role for SRs and PRs. Does this mean that 7
> out of the 8 civil society representatives will have a non-voting role?
> Does this indicate that we will have a IndiaCCM where 7 of the 8 civil
> society representatives can't represent the people's interests due to
> conflict of interest. Will this at some point in the future make India be
> ineligible for receiving Global Fund grants in future, due to conflict of
> interest issues?
>
> Under these circumstances in the interests of people affected by HIV, TB
> and Malaria and in the larger national interest, we appeal to you to
> withdraw from contesting for IndiaCCM seats.
>
> With Regards,
>
> Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Chennai, TN
>
> Asma, Chennai, TN
>
> Dr. Jayasree AK, Kerala
>
> Gnani Sankaran, Chennai, TN
>
> Meera R, Tirupati, AP
>
> Narayanamurthy K, Guntur, AP
>
> Padmavathy AS, Chennai, TN
>
> Ramana KV, Tirupati, AP
>
> Siva K, Hyderabad, AP
>
> *for HIV Accountability Circle*
>
> HIV Accountability Circle is a small collective of activists from different
> parts of India, who want to bring in accountability on HIV related issues.
> Accountability from all, including: donors, implementers, governments,
> multilateral organizations, media, INGOs, NGOs, CBOs, networks etc.
>
> *PS: *Here is the relevant information from the Global Fund's 'Guidelines
> and Requirements for Country Coordinating Mechanisms' (*
> http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/ccm/guidelines/* , Last approved by the
> Global Fund Board: 12 May 2011)
>
> 3. Where applicable, these Guidelines define:
>
> i. *Requirements* that represent the minimum criteria that all CCMs must
> meet in order to be eligible for funding by the Global Fund.
>
> 4. The Global Fund Secretariat monitors compliance of CCMs with
> requirements on an ongoing basis and with every new CCM application for
> funding. Continued compliance with all requirements throughout program
> implementation is a condition for access to Global Fund financing.
>
> 6. The Global Fund defines six requirements for CCM funding eligibility:
>
> *Requirement 6:* To ensure adequate *management of conflict of interest*,
> the Global Fund requires all CCMs to:
>
> i. Develop and publish a policy to *manage conflict of interest that
> applies to all CCM members, across all CCM functions*. The policy must
> state that CCM members will periodically declare conflicts of interest
> affecting themselves or other CCM members. The policy must state and CCMs
> must document that members will not take part in decisions where there is
> an obvious conflict of interest, including decisions related to oversight
> and selection or financing PRs or SRs.
>
> ii. *Apply their conflict of interest policy throughout the life of Global
> Fund grants*, and present documented evidence of its application to the
> Global Fund on request.
>
> 58. The Global Fund recognizes that there is an* inherent conflict of
> interest when SRs and PRs are CCM members with decision-making authority,
> particularly in the Chair and Vice-Chair positions*.
>
> 59. The Global Fund understands that *CCMs must consider the role of PRs
> and SRs* according to their national context and *recommends **a non-voting
> role for these actors*.
>
> 61. All CCM stakeholders should note that through article 21 (c) of the
> Global Fund"s grant agreement, PRs are legally obligated to disclose
> actual, apparent or potential conflicts of interest affecting any persons
> affiliated with the PR(s) or with SRs, the LFA or the CCM.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>

--
--
ADITYA BONDYOPADHYAY
Development Sector Consultant
Advocate (Regd. No. F-218/192 of 1997, Bar Council of W.Bengal, India)

Website: http://adityabondyopadhyay.webs.com/
================================
Notice to all recipients:
Communication not intended for you but reaching you inadvertently needs to
be treated as confidential and destroyed or deleted immediately. Use of
such communication in a manner prejudicial to the interest of Aditya
Bondyopadhyay and/or his principals, and/or his clients, and/or his agents
respectively, may attract legal proceedings which may be of a civil or
criminal nature.

Aditya Bondyopadhyay and/or his principals, and/or his clients, and/or his
agents respectively cannot be held liable or accountable for any and every
communication reaching out through this email account that is an unaltered
forward of another communication received by this email account, or a
referred source available on the internet and accessible to the public.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Reply | Messages in this Topic (3)

#4809 From: Aditya Bondyopadhyay <adit.bond@...>
Date: Sun Apr 8, 2012 11:55 am
Subject: Re: [lgbt-india] Open appeal to PRs and SRs of Global Fund grants, to withdraw from contesting in the IndiaCCM elections adit_bond_2
Send Email

In any event, at least for this CCM Election it is to late to effect these proposed changes...may be if and when there is a CCM election again in the future, and if GFATM is still functional and relevant, one can think of affecting these then, after consulting all�concerned�well in advance...

Aditya B

On 8 April 2012 18:36, advocacysangama <advocacysangama@...> wrote:

Dear Aditya

�*I would like to clarify on some the issues raised by you in your email.*

�-------------------

*You said: **Were these 'HIVwatch' watchdogs sleeping for the last 3 years

when Manohar
Elvarathi from Sangama held the CCM post? Sangama is a SR under GFATM and
if one now engages in the semantics of how Manohar is not from Sangama,
they would only be damaging their own 'accountability' by not being

accountable to basic credibility.*

-------------------

�*My response: *Sangama is not a CCM member. Manohar Elavarthi got elected
as a representative of 'Suraksha WRHCP' to the CCM in *April 2009*, for a
period of 2 years. First CCM meeting with newly elected members was held in
July 2009. *Manohar was neither a staff member nor a board member of
Sangama at this point.*

�Sangama started receiving funds as a SR for a global fund grant
(IDA-910-G20-H) from October 2010, i.e. 18 months after Manohar getting
elected as a CCM member (originally for a period of 2 years and his term
would have ended in June 2011, but the term of CCM was extended by one more
year through an amendment to the CCM ToR). The proposal for this grant was
originally submitted to the Global Fund as part of Round 8 in *July
2008*and later re-submitted with some changes in
*May 2009* as part of Round 9. *Manohar didn't play a role in the
preparation of this proposal.* Sangama's Directors and senior staff members
played the central role in the proposal preparation process. Manohar joined
in the present position as the Sangama's Executive Director in April 2011.

�I agree that *there is a conflict of interest for Manohar from October 2010

* as he is a CCM member and is closely connected with decision making in
Sangama (as Executive Director/ Interim Director).

�In Solidarity

�Akkai

Program Manager

Sangama

On Sun, Apr 8, 2012 at 8:40 AM, Aditya Bondyopadhyay <adit.bond@...>wrote:

> **

>
>
> HIV Accountability is certainly a desirable end in itself. But the issue of
> accountability suffers when those seeking it are on the face of
> it blatantly short sighted, if not not outright biased.
>
> One of the things about so-called champions of accountability that bothers
> me no end, is when the accountibility bug bites them at very convenient and
> opportune moments, while they remain oblivious at other times.
>
> Were these 'HIVwatch' watchdogs sleeping for the last 3 years when Manohar
> Elvarathi from Sangama held the CCM post? Sangama is a SR under GFATM and
> if one now engages in the semantics of how Manohar is not from Sangama,
> they would only be damaging their own 'accountability' by not being
> accountable to basic credibility.
>
> Moreover, what is this selective list of SRs and PRs? Did the
> accountability watchdogs not do their homework well, or do they for reasons
> very 'unaccountable', not see some in the same light as others. Do they NOT
> know, when they are in the watchdogging business, that Sangama and SIAAP
> and SAATHII are also SRs under the GFATM.
>
> Anyone who claims a 'morally superior' position by claiming to be a
> watchdog, must first ensure that their own house is in order, else they
> just render themselves into a very bad joke.
>
> With regards to all and a bit concerned at the multiple standards of public
> life in the HIV world,
>
> Aditya Bondyopadhyay
>
> On 7 April 2012 13:40, HIV Accountability Circle HAC <hivwatch@...
> >wrote:
>

> > **

> >
> >
>
> > Dear Friends,
> >
> > This is an appeal to following organizations that are receiving funds
> from
> > the Global Fund (*http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/*) to implement
> projects
> > on issues of HIV, TB and Malaria as Principle Recipients (PRs) and Sub
> > Recipients (SRs):
> >
> > 1. Caritas India (PR)
> >
> > 2. India HIV/AIDS Alliance (PR)
> >
> > 3. Population Foundation of India (PR)
> >
> > 4. World Vision India (PR)
> >
> > 5. Catholic Health Association of India (SR)
> >
> > 6. LEPRA Society (SR)
> >
> > 7. TB Alert India (SR)
> >
> > 8. The Humsafar Trust (SR)
> >
> > One of the main purposes of the IndiaCCM (*http://www.india-ccm.org/*)
> is
> > to play an oversight on the grant implementation. This is also one of the
> > six key requirements of the Global Fund.
> >
> > Given this, our concern is that if PRs and SRs get elected, they will not
> > be able to serve the purpose of "oversight". If there is a conflict
> between
> > the needs of the community and that of Global Fund grant implementers,
> > whose side will you take? Won't there be a conflict of interest?
> >
> > India has a vibrant civil society. Don't you think that the 8 civil
> society
> > seats on the IndiaCCM be filled by civil society organizations that have
> no
> > conflict of interest? Isn't it ethical that Global Fund grant
> implementers
> > leave these seats to others, so that community needs and interests are
> > represented properly?
> >
> > You are contesting for seats in all categories except 'gender'. This
> means
> > that there is a possibility that 7 (out of 8) civil society seats may be
> > occupied by Global Fund grant implementers. Is it in the interests of
> > people of this country? Isn't it an unhealthy practice?
> >
> > Addressing conflict of interest is one of the 6 key requirements of the
> > global fund. The Global Fund recognizes that there is an inherent
> conflict
> > of interest when SRs and PRs are CCM members with decision-making
> authority
> > and recommends a non-voting role for SRs and PRs. Does this mean that 7
> > out of the 8 civil society representatives will have a non-voting role?
> > Does this indicate that we will have a IndiaCCM where 7 of the 8 civil
> > society representatives can't represent the people's interests due to
> > conflict of interest. Will this at some point in the future make India be
> > ineligible for receiving Global Fund grants in future, due to conflict of
> > interest issues?
> >
> > Under these circumstances in the interests of people affected by HIV, TB
> > and Malaria and in the larger national interest, we appeal to you to
> > withdraw from contesting for IndiaCCM seats.
> >
> > With Regards,
> >
> > Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Chennai, TN
> >
> > Asma, Chennai, TN
> >
> > Dr. Jayasree AK, Kerala
> >
> > Gnani Sankaran, Chennai, TN
> >
> > Meera R, Tirupati, AP
> >
> > Narayanamurthy K, Guntur, AP
> >
> > Padmavathy AS, Chennai, TN
> >
> > Ramana KV, Tirupati, AP
> >
> > Siva K, Hyderabad, AP
> >
> > *for HIV Accountability Circle*
> >
> > HIV Accountability Circle is a small collective of activists from
> different
> > parts of India, who want to bring in accountability on HIV related
> issues.
> > Accountability from all, including: donors, implementers, governments,
> > multilateral organizations, media, INGOs, NGOs, CBOs, networks etc.
> >
> > *PS: *Here is the relevant information from the Global Fund's 'Guidelines
> > and Requirements for Country Coordinating Mechanisms' (*
> > http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/ccm/guidelines/* , Last approved by the
> > Global Fund Board: 12 May 2011)
> >
> > 3. Where applicable, these Guidelines define:
> >
> > i. *Requirements* that represent the minimum criteria that all CCMs must
> > meet in order to be eligible for funding by the Global Fund.
> >
> > 4. The Global Fund Secretariat monitors compliance of CCMs with
> > requirements on an ongoing basis and with every new CCM application for
> > funding. Continued compliance with all requirements throughout program
> > implementation is a condition for access to Global Fund financing.
> >
> > 6. The Global Fund defines six requirements for CCM funding eligibility:
> >
> > *Requirement 6:* To ensure adequate *management of conflict of interest*,
> > the Global Fund requires all CCMs to:
> >
> > i. Develop and publish a policy to *manage conflict of interest that
> > applies to all CCM members, across all CCM functions*. The policy must
> > state that CCM members will periodically declare conflicts of interest
> > affecting themselves or other CCM members. The policy must state and CCMs
> > must document that members will not take part in decisions where there is
> > an obvious conflict of interest, including decisions related to oversight
> > and selection or financing PRs or SRs.
> >
> > ii. *Apply their conflict of interest policy throughout the life of
> Global
> > Fund grants*, and present documented evidence of its application to the
> > Global Fund on request.
> >
> > 58. The Global Fund recognizes that there is an* inherent conflict of
> > interest when SRs and PRs are CCM members with decision-making authority,
> > particularly in the Chair and Vice-Chair positions*.
> >
> > 59. The Global Fund understands that *CCMs must consider the role of PRs
> > and SRs* according to their national context and *recommends **a
> non-voting
> > role for these actors*.
> >
> > 61. All CCM stakeholders should note that through article 21 (c) of the
> > Global Fund"s grant agreement, PRs are legally obligated to disclose
> > actual, apparent or potential conflicts of interest affecting any persons
> > affiliated with the PR(s) or with SRs, the LFA or the CCM.
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
>

> --
> --
> ADITYA BONDYOPADHYAY
> Development Sector Consultant
> Advocate (Regd. No. F-218/192 of 1997, Bar Council of W.Bengal, India)
>
> Website: http://adityabondyopadhyay.webs.com/
> ================================
> Notice to all recipients:
> Communication not intended for you but reaching you inadvertently needs to
> be treated as confidential and destroyed or deleted immediately. Use of
> such communication in a manner prejudicial to the interest of Aditya
> Bondyopadhyay and/or his principals, and/or his clients, and/or his agents
> respectively, may attract legal proceedings which may be of a civil or
> criminal nature.
>
> Aditya Bondyopadhyay and/or his principals, and/or his clients, and/or his
> agents respectively cannot be held liable or accountable for any and every
> communication reaching out through this email account that is an unaltered
> forward of another communication received by this email account, or a
> referred source available on the internet and accessible to the public.
>
>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>

--
� ��Sangama�
Plot No. 41, KEB Extension Road
�RMV 2nd Stage, Ashwathnagar
�1st Cross, Bangalore � 560 094.
�Phone No - 08023416940.
� � � � � � � � � www.sangama.org

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

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--
--
ADITYA BONDYOPADHYAY
Development Sector Consultant
Advocate (Regd. No. F-218/192 of 1997, Bar Council of W.Bengal, India)

Website: http://adityabondyopadhyay.webs.com/
================================
Notice to all recipients:
Communication not intended for you but reaching you inadvertently needs to be treated as confidential and destroyed or deleted immediately. Use of such communication in a manner prejudicial to the interest of Aditya Bondyopadhyay and/or his principals, and/or his clients, and/or his agents respectively, may attract legal proceedings which may be of a civil or criminal nature.

Aditya Bondyopadhyay and/or his�principals, and/or his clients, and/or his agents respectively cannot be held liable or accountable for any and every communication reaching out through this email account that is an unaltered forward of another communication received by this email account, or a referred source available on the internet and accessible to the public.

Reply | Messages in this Topic (3)

#4810 From: James Robertson <jrobertson@...>
Date: Sun Apr 8, 2012 4:09 pm
Subject: RE: Open appeal to PRs and SRs of Global Fund grants, to withdraw from contesting in the IndiaCCM elections jrobertsonmph
Send Email

To the HIV Accountability Circle,

Thank you for your messages and for promoting the discussion of such an important issue to the India-CCM.

During the more than two-and-a-half years that India HIV/AIDS Alliance has served on the CCM as a civil society representative for HIV, concerns about effective governance and transparency have been discussed frequently. Notably, an oversight committee was established—a move which we supported—to ensure that the India-CCM was fully in compliance with Global Fund standards.

India HIV/AIDS Alliance is proud of our involvement on the CCM. During our tenure, we have been bound by its conflict-of-interest rules and have not been involved in any decision in which we have an interest. (To be clear, these have not been many.)

More broadly, our role on the CCM is to represent the interests of civil society, and I believe we have done so well. If we are re-elected, we will continue to be a constant advocate for the needs of communities, and in particular those most vulnerable and affected by the epidemic.

The next few years are critical for the Global Fund and for India. We continue to need strong advocacy in India to ensure that resources address priorities, and importantly, we need to engage in advocacy at the global level to ensure that funding continues to flow into the Global Fund and to India.

We think that India HIV/AIDS Alliance’s experience on the CCM, as a PR, and as a strong national advocate for civil society in the response to AIDS makes us particularly well suited to continue in this role. Whether we are re-elected or not, I have confidence that the civil society constituency who have chosen to take part in this election will elect a capable representative to advocate for their needs.

Thanks again for raising this concern.

Best regards,

James

_______________________________________________

Supporting Community Action on HIV/AIDS in India

James Robertson

Country Director

India HIV/AIDS Alliance
Kushal House, Third Floor
39 Nehru Place
New Delhi 110 019

India

Direct:                   +91-11-4163-3091
Mobile:                 +91-99-7101-9598
Switchboard:         +91-11-4163-3081 Ext. 111
Fax:                      +91-11-4163-3085
Email:                   jrobertson@...
Website:               www.allianceindia.org

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Please don't print this e-mail unless really necessary.

_______________________________________________

E-mail disclaimer

From: HIV Accountability Circle HAC [mailto:hivwatch@...]
Sent: 07 April 2012 10:10
To: AIDS-INDIA list; SAATHII list; LGBT-INDIA list
Cc: rody@...; Fr. Varghese Mattamana; James Robertson; pmuttreja@...; subodh_kumar@...; jayakumar_christian@...; directorgeneral@...; Dr.P.V.Ranganadh Rao's; info@...; Ashok Rowkavi; humsafar@...; swamy@...; info@...
Subject: Open appeal to PRs and SRs of Global Fund grants, to withdraw from contesting in the IndiaCCM elections

Dear Friends,

1. Caritas India (PR)

2. India HIV/AIDS Alliance (PR)

3. Population Foundation of India (PR)

4. World Vision India (PR)

5. Catholic Health Association of India (SR)

6. LEPRA Society (SR)

7. TB Alert India (SR)

8. The Humsafar Trust (SR)

One of the main purposes of the IndiaCCM (http://www.india-ccm.org/) is to play an oversight on the grant implementation. This is also one of the six key requirements of the Global Fund.

Under these circumstances in the interests of people affected by HIV, TB and Malaria and in the larger national interest, we appeal to you to withdraw from contesting for IndiaCCM seats.

With Regards,

Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Chennai, TN

Asma, Chennai, TN

Dr. Jayasree AK, Kerala

Gnani Sankaran, Chennai, TN

Meera R, Tirupati, AP

Narayanamurthy K, Guntur, AP

Padmavathy AS, Chennai, TN

Ramana KV, Tirupati, AP

Siva K, Hyderabad, AP

for HIV Accountability Circle

3. Where applicable, these Guidelines define:

i. Requirements that represent the minimum criteria that all CCMs must meet in order to be eligible for funding by the Global Fund.

6. The Global Fund defines six requirements for CCM funding eligibility:

Requirement 6: To ensure adequate management of conflict of interest, the Global Fund requires all CCMs to:

ii. Apply their conflict of interest policy throughout the life of Global Fund grants, and present documented evidence of its application to the Global Fund on request.

58. The Global Fund recognizes that there is an inherent conflict of interest when SRs and PRs are CCM members with decision-making authority, particularly in the Chair and Vice-Chair positions.

59. The Global Fund understands that CCMs must consider the role of PRs and SRs according to their national context and recommends a non-voting role for these actors.

Reply | Messages in this Topic (5)

#4811 From: HIV Accountability Circle HAC <hivwatch@...>
Date: Sun Apr 8, 2012 1:12 pm
Subject: Re: Open appeal to PRs and SRs of Global Fund grants, to withdraw from contesting in the IndiaCCM elections hivwatch2012
Send Email

Dear Ms. Poonam Muttreja

HAC appreciates the step taken by PFI to withdraw from the India CCM election in the interest of fair play and larger democratic principles.

We hope others who have a conflict of interest will follow PFI's lead and withdraw from the India CCM elections.

In Solidarity

Siva K, Hyderabad, AP

Ramana KV, Tirupati, AP

Padmavathy AS, Chennai, TN

Narayanamurthy K, Guntur, AP

Meera R, Tirupati, AP

Gnani Sankaran, Chennai, TN

Dr. Jayasree AK, Kerala
Asma, Chennai, TN

Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Chennai, TN

for HAC (HIV Accountability Circle)

On Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 6:31 PM, Poonam Muttreja <pmuttreja@...> wrote:

Dear Mr. Vasudevan and friends,

I agree with the appeal to withdraw from the India CCM elections on behalf of PFI. However, each organization should make their independent assessment on what they should do.
PFI would not like our withdrawal to be seen as a reflection on those who wish to stay the course and we truly respect the judgment of those PRs and SRs who do not withdraw.
Best regards to all.
Poonam
��

Reply | Messages in this Topic (5)

#4812 From: Aditya Bondyopadhyay <adit.bond@...>
Date: Mon Apr 9, 2012 9:21 am
Subject: Re: Open appeal to PRs and SRs of Global Fund grants, to withdraw from contesting in the IndiaCCM elections adit_bond_2
Send Email

FYI all, attached is the COI and Core-Ethics policy of GFATM. Took the trouble of reading it up. In sum, it does not apply to Community Reps on CCM, and here's why:

Covered Individuals, on whom the COI clauses apply, are either board members, TRP members, or employees of the fund, or its subsidiary bodies.

The CCM is not a subsidiary body of the fund...proven among other things, by the fact that Covered Individuals have been saddled with the responsibility of NOT ACTING in a manner that causes THEM to have a COI with the CCM.

The Community Rep on the CCM is neither a Board member, nor an employee, nor an agent, nor an associate of GFATM as per the attached policy.

On another score, NGOs and BIG-ASS PRs like Alliance and PSI, cannot and should not be conflated with puny-ass community SRs or SSRs like Humsafar or Sangama or SAATHII...

For community SRs/SSRs, there is no conflict of interest, only a conflation of interest in ensuring that an adversarial state that does not care about the community and controls the CCM with a HUGELY majority vote, does not completely disregard the interest of the community.

The pittance of 1 seat in the CCM for a MSM/TG community rep was made in the first place due to this very reason. No right thinking person can say that just because the community has been allowed a vote in a CCM overwhelmingly ruled by the government/state, they should be deprived of the benefit of support from GFATM grant... that is dangerous logic ...�

The Accountability Wallas should have a serious re-think of their appeal. I do not think destroying and disempowering communities was their intent...

Best,

Aditya B

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Core_EthicsAndConflictOfInterest_Policy_en.pdf

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#4813 From: Joy Ganguly <gangulyliani@...>
Date: Mon Apr 9, 2012 10:59 am
Subject: Re: [SAATHII] Re: Open appeal to PRs and SRs of Global Fund grants, to withdraw from contesting in the IndiaCCM elections [1 Attachment] gangulyliani@...
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Thanks Aditya. Technically, those already on board CCM or PRs/SRs should not represent as CCM members. In case they are already receiving GF money, in fact should pull out of CCM. There must be a fair representation from the CSGs as well.

Thanks.

On Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 2:51 PM, Aditya Bondyopadhyay <adit.bond@...> wrote:

�

[Attachment(s) from Aditya Bondyopadhyay included below]
FYI all, attached is the COI and Core-Ethics policy of GFATM. Took the trouble of reading it up. In sum, it does not apply to Community Reps on CCM, and here's why:

Covered Individuals, on whom the COI clauses apply, are either board members, TRP members, or employees of the fund, or its subsidiary bodies.

The CCM is not a subsidiary body of the fund...proven among other things, by the fact that Covered Individuals have been saddled with the responsibility of NOT ACTING in a manner that causes THEM to have a COI with the CCM.

The Community Rep on the CCM is neither a Board member, nor an employee, nor an agent, nor an associate of GFATM as per the attached policy.

On another score, NGOs and BIG-ASS PRs like Alliance and PSI, cannot and should not be conflated with puny-ass community SRs or SSRs like Humsafar or Sangama or SAATHII...

For community SRs/SSRs, there is no conflict of interest, only a conflation of interest in ensuring that an adversarial state that does not care about the community and controls the CCM with a HUGELY majority vote, does not completely disregard the interest of the community.

The pittance of 1 seat in the CCM for a MSM/TG community rep was made in the first place due to this very reason. No right thinking person can say that just because the community has been allowed a vote in a CCM overwhelmingly ruled by the government/state, they should be deprived of the benefit of support from GFATM grant... that is dangerous logic ...�

The Accountability Wallas should have a serious re-think of their appeal. I do not think destroying and disempowering communities was their intent...

Best,
Aditya B

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#4814 From: "EMPOWER INDIA" <ttn_empower@...>
Date: Mon Apr 9, 2012 12:03 pm
Subject: India CCM Election - Kindly cast your first vote or Second vote to Dr.Rajesh Kumar,SPYM,Delhi ttn_empower@...
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Dear ALL,

Greetings from EMPOWER INDIA.Kindly cast your First Vote or Second vote to Dr.Rajesh Kumar,SPYM,Delhi.

Contesting Organisation:

Society For The Promotion Of Youth And Masses

Name of the Representative: Dr. Rajesh Kumar
Brief profile of the Representative:
Dr. Rajesh Kumar has over 25 years experience working on Drug abuse Prevention, Treatment, Rehabilitation and HIV/AIDS. He has long experience in policy advocacy, networking and participatory approaches to development.

He is working as the Executive Director of SPYM, A national organization working in the area of health and socio-economic development.
Dr. Kumar has served as member CCM from 2007 till 2009. He is member of several TRGs of NACO and Secretary of two national networks of NGOs i.e. Indian Harm Reduction Network (IHRN) and Federation of Indian NGOS on Drug Abuse Prevention (FINGODAP).

He completed his M. Phil and Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Addiction Behavior and Social Situations.

He has been conferred with awards i.e. National Youth Award, given by the Prime Minister of India, in 1989 for contribution in the field of drug abuse prevention and National Leadership Award, given by the Finance Minister of India, in 2006

About the organisation:
SPYM was founded in 1984 by students of JNU in response to the growing problem of drug abuse. It is a national organization with a countrywide network working in the area of HIV prevention and Drug Abuse prevention, treatment & rehabilitation since the last 25 years. Its struggle for a National Drug policy and better resource mobilization for projects related to Drug, dates back to 1985 where SPYM stirred a movement to bring the rampant prevalence of drug abuse to the fore.

SPYM is the Secretary for two leading National networks of NGOs: Indian Harm Reduction Network (IHRN) and Federation for Indian NGOs working in the area of Drug Abuse Prevention (FINGODAP). It strongly advocates Convergence amongst various Ministries for addressing Drug and HIV concerns. It has constantly advocated at the highest level for the cause of community and NGO sector.

SPYM has been running Targeted Intervention Projects for IDUs, Sex workers and Truckers in different parts of Northern India. Further, it has been running NACO’s Link Worker Scheme in rural districts of North Eastern states. As a Technical Support Unit for the state of Punjab, it is providing guidance and handholding state TI NGOs. It has set up many de-addiction centres for vulnerable adults and children in key high prevalence states.

It is running Homeless Resource Centres in Delhi and 20 shelters for homeless population in Delhi itself, many of whom are alcohol & drug users, an extremely vulnerable population. It has established model shelters which are providing various services also to drug users, sex workers and their children on a priority basis such as:

Bunker beds and laundry facilities
Linkage with UIDAI for Aadhaar number & Opening of Bank Accounts
Food arrangement
Clean Toilets & bathing rooms
Health check-up support including Counseling for drug and alcohol dependents
Lockers for valuables
TV, Radio and Indoor games for recreation

Thanks & Regards

Sankar

EMPOWER INDIA

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#4815 From: Goa HIV/AIDS Forum <goahaf@...>
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2012 3:56 pm
Subject: Non transparency and accountability of GOA-SACS reported towards not releasing of grant to PLHA organisation goahaf
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Dear NACO, Friends and Funding Agencies,

Positive Lives Foundation (PLF-GOA) is not-for-profit, leading Community Based Organization working for the well being and benefit of People Living with and Personally Affected by HIV/AIDS in Goa, since 2000.

The letter of grievances addressed recently to the higher authority including honorable chief minister of Goa and DG-NACO, seeking for attention and action on difficulties / plights faced by the organization and complain on process of its ill-functioning of Goa State AIDS Control Society (GSACS.

However, grant for care and support project (DIC) has been stopped without official notice of NACO by the corrupt former project director Dr. Pradeep Padwal, deputed from Department of Directorate of Health for not fulfilling his demands of bribe, in order to continue the (DIC) project before he retired misusing power and position at his personal level.

Thereafter, complaint made to higher authority locally including NACO in this regards earlier, as well reported in e-forum delayed in release of grant, but action has not been initiated against and matters remain un-resolved till the date and continued harassment from designated officers over there without considering facts of suffering of community.

Moreover, we feel distress and claim GOASACS un-wanted harassment towards release of grant for (DIC) project, grant-in-aid (funding) received from NACO and GOASACS functioning with personal issues.

Although, despite numerous request made and maximum submission of necessary documents fulfilling basic criteria as per NACO guidelines, since last 11 months and organization striving hard to continue its day to day activities and outreach program for its beneficiaries, in spite of good support from GOASACS, some documents are not necessary and not in the list of guidelines only keep asking repeatedly as well not an funding issues. Just a troublesome and personal issue of GOASACS.

Furthermore, not happy with decision making process of GOASACS, the members engaged are in-sensitive towards issues and self selected without change since many year. This practice has not been followed as per Society Registration Act, 1860 (Central Act 21 of 1860)...! And their representatives continue to manipulate with local power.

Subsequently, our sensitive issues have not been represented; nevertheless there is any competitive representative to represent the issues of community as whole as well facilitate good justice system in place on behalf of community.

Henceforth, further demands community representation and inclusive development in all decision making body of GOASACS for transparency and accountability as per interest of community in order to acknowledge their basic human rights to live with dignity.

However, will decide by the organization following appropriate process as per society act by calling upon open meeting of community members than accordingly make official recommendation to GOASACS. Further direction upon received from health secretary as chair person of GOASACS, considering facts / issues of community.

Therefore, we seek Honorable Chief Minister interventions locally and DG-NACO on the subject matter and necessary action.

On behalf of PLHA community and Goa HIV/AIDS Forum, kindly humble request to DG-NACO to look into the above cited matter and accordingly do the needful betterment of PLHA community.

However, we expect positive response from NACO within stipulated time as on priority, further organization delegate will be meeting chief ministers for community dialogue. Failing response may force community to approach appropriate court of law for seeking justice threatened by the

In Solidarity

For PLHA Community

Sunil Gawas

Co-Convenor – Goa HIV/AIDS Forum

President - United Group for Advocacy on Rights

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#4816 From: "Africa Youth Ministries" <stopaids@...>
Date: Mon Apr 2, 2012 1:24 pm
Subject: 2012 SUMMER HIV/AIDS VOLUNTEER PLACEMENTS IN AFRICA aidsuganda
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Kindly Circulate Widely!

Dear All,

For Volunteer/Internship Placements in Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Service Delivery Projects in Uganda, kindly follow the links below. We currently & Urgently Need VOLUNTEERS & INTERNS in HIV/AIDS Voluntary Counseling & Testing, HIV/AIDS Education in Uganda, this call is for School, Colleges and University Outreaches.

VIEW OUR Hundreds of Project Photos On HIV/AIDS Intervention by following the link below

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TO APPLY ONLINE, FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW:- http://is.gd/5u79lM

You can also make a safe and secure online donation to support our projects at www.aymu.org

Yours,

Albert KUNIHIRA
CEO/Peace & AIDS Activist
Africa Youth Ministries
AG. Director Living Hope Health Care
P.O. BOX 20029, Kampala-Uganda
Plot 002 Jerusalem Avenue, Off Airport Road
P: +256-776-200002/753-200002/793-200002
F: +256-414-287151
E: albert@... or admin@... or volunteers@...
I: www.aymu.org
Skype: miracleug

"Before you can think of printing this mail, think about the environment"

Africa Youth Ministries is a registered Charity in Uganda No 5914/6068

"Investment in AIDS will be repaid a thousand-fold in lives saved and communities held together."Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS"

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#4817 From: subhasree raghavan <subhasree.raghavan@...>
Date: Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:28 am
Subject: Information on upcoming IAS and ICAAP conference subhasree_ra...
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Dear Colleagues�

I would like to take this opportunity to share with you about the upcoming conferences in the region in the next three years, so that you can plan your participation accordingly. It is important that we leverage these conferences to sustain HIV/AIDS response and funding in the region and globally. These conferences also provide opportunities for us to showcase, advance and stimulate science in our region�

We (Asia Pacific Governing Council Members of IAS) are very excited to share with you that both 2013 Pathogenesis and 2014 International AIDS Conference will be held in Asia Pacific region. In addition �The 11th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific�will be hosted in Bangkok in 2013 also. The conference details are provided below.�

1. 22-27 July 2012 | Washington D.C., USA, XIX International AIDS Conference�

The biennial International AIDS Conference is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policymakers, people living with HIV and others committed to ending the epidemic. AIDS 2012 is expected to convene more than 20,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, including more than 2,000 journalists. The conference will be held from 22 to 27 July 2012 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The International AIDS Society, the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with 14,000 members in 190 countries, will organize AIDS 2012 in collaboration with its international and local partners.�

Website:�http://www.aids2012.org/

2. 30 June - 3 July 2013,�Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,�7TH IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention,�

The 7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013), will be held from 30 June� 3 July 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and will be dedicated to the exploration and implementation of HIV science.�Held every two years, the conference attracts about 5,000 delegates from all over the world. It is a unique opportunity for the world�s leading scientists, clinicians, public health experts and community leaders to examine the latest developments in HIV-related research, and to explore how scientific advances can � in very practical ways � inform the global response to HIV/AIDS.

Website:�http://www.ias2013.org/

3. 2013, Bangkok,�The�11th�International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific�(ICAAP)

4. July 2014 | Melbourne Australia, XX International AIDS Conference�

Dr. Sai Subhasree Raghavan�President, SAATHII �

Governing�Council�Member Representing Asia Pacific , IAS�

India Mobile: 919840033302
Skype: Subhasree
http://www.saathii.org/orc
SAATHII-Chennai: 044 28173948
SAATHII-Calcutta: 033 23347329
SAATHII-Hyderabad:040 27674757

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#4818 From: Elavarthi Manohar <manoharban@...>
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:52 am
Subject: GEETHA (Karnataka Sex Workers Union) IS NO MORE manoharban
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GEETHA - leader of Karnataka Sex Workers Union (http://sexworkersunion.in/) and secretary of Samara IS NO MORE. She passed away today at 5:30AM after suffering from the side effects of Anti-Retroviral Treatment at Snehadaan, Bangalore. Her funeral service will be held around 1 PM today at Hebbal Electric Crematorium, Bangalore.

With great sadness I am informing that we lost our beloved Geetha, very brave and the tallest sexworker leader I have known in my life.

RIP Geetha

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#4819 From: Meera Raghavendra <rmeera102@...>
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:28 am
Subject: Re: [SAATHII] GEETHA (Karnataka Sex Workers Union) IS NO MORE rmeera102@...
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Dear Manohar,

I am grieved to know the demise of Geetha. pl.give strength to her children and your colleagues. Geetha has been working consistently for the cause, may her soul rest in peace.

�

R.Meera, WINS, Tirupati.,

�

On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 8:22 AM, Elavarthi Manohar <manoharban@...> wrote:

�

GEETHA - leader of Karnataka Sex Workers Union (http://sexworkersunion.in/) and secretary of Samara IS NO MORE. She passed away today at 5:30AM after suffering from the side effects of Anti-Retroviral Treatment at Snehadaan, Bangalore. Her funeral service will be held around 1 PM today at Hebbal Electric Crematorium, Bangalore.

With great sadness I am informing that we lost our beloved Geetha, very brave and the tallest sexworker leader I have known in my life.

RIP Geetha

--
Regards,

R.Meera
Secretary,
Women's Initiatives (WINS)
6-8-938, NGO's Colony, K.T. Road, Tirupati. Chittoor (Dist), A.P. India.
CELL: 9849204711
Phone: 0877-2230607

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#4820 From: payanalists@...
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:40 am
Subject: Re: [lgbt-india] GEETHA (Karnataka Sex Workers Union) IS NO MORE payanalists
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Dear All
We have lost one more great person. An individual who faught with great courage for sex workers and PLHIV. Her contribution to the struggle will always be an inspiration for others. May her soul rest in peace. In this time of sorrow let us remember her for what she stood for. Our condolences to all those who knew her and love her.
For and on behalf of Payana.
Rex

Sent from BlackBerry� on Airtel

From: Elavarthi Manohar <manoharban@...>

Sender: lgbt-india@yahoogroups.com

Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:52:36 -0700 (PDT)

To: goodasyoublr@yahoogroups.com<goodasyoublr@yahoogroups.com>; gaybangalore@yahoogroups.com<gaybangalore@yahoogroups.com>; fkbk@googlegroups.com<fkbk@googlegroups.com>; lgbt-india@yahoogroups.com<lgbt-india@yahoogroups.com>; AIDS-INDIA<AIDS-INDIA@yahoogroups.com>; saathii<SAATHII@yahoogroups.com>

ReplyTo: lgbt-india@yahoogroups.com

Subject: [lgbt-india] GEETHA (Karnataka Sex Workers Union) IS NO MORE

GEETHA - leader of Karnataka Sex Workers Union (http://sexworkersunion.in/) and secretary of Samara IS NO MORE. She passed away today at 5:30AM after suffering from the
side effects of Anti-Retroviral Treatment at Snehadaan, Bangalore. Her
funeral service will be held around 1 PM today at Hebbal Electric Crematorium, Bangalore.

With great sadness I am informing that we lost our beloved Geetha, very
brave and the tallest sexworker leader I have known in my life.

RIP Geetha

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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#4821 From: james veliath <jamesveliath@...>
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:59 am
Subject: Re: [SAATHII] Re: [lgbt-india] GEETHA (Karnataka Sex Workers Union) IS NO MORE jamesveliath@...
Send Email

My heartfelt Condolence! Let her fighting spirit contune to inspire all of us in our struggles.

On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 9:10 AM, <payanalists@...> wrote:

�

Dear All
We have lost one more great person. An individual who faught with great courage for sex workers and PLHIV. Her contribution to the struggle will always be an inspiration for others. May her soul rest in peace. In this time of sorrow let us remember her for what she stood for. Our condolences to all those who knew her and love her.
For and on behalf of Payana.
Rex
Sent from BlackBerry� on Airtel
From: Elavarthi Manohar <manoharban@...>
Sender: lgbt-india@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:52:36 -0700 (PDT)
To: goodasyoublr@yahoogroups.com<goodasyoublr@yahoogroups.com>; gaybangalore@yahoogroups.com<gaybangalore@yahoogroups.com>; fkbk@googlegroups.com<fkbk@googlegroups.com>; lgbt-india@yahoogroups.com<lgbt-india@yahoogroups.com>; AIDS-INDIA<AIDS-INDIA@yahoogroups.com>; saathii<SAATHII@yahoogroups.com>

ReplyTo: lgbt-india@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [lgbt-india] GEETHA (Karnataka Sex Workers Union) IS NO MORE

�

GEETHA - leader of Karnataka Sex Workers Union (http://sexworkersunion.in/) and secretary of Samara IS NO MORE. She passed away today at 5:30AM after suffering from the
side effects of Anti-Retroviral Treatment at Snehadaan, Bangalore. Her
funeral service will be held around 1 PM today at Hebbal Electric Crematorium, Bangalore.

With great sadness I am informing that we lost our beloved Geetha, very
brave and the tallest sexworker leader I have known in my life.

RIP Geetha

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

James Veliath

Coordinator

Naz-AIF Project

Naz Foundation (India) Trust

A-86, East of Kailash

New Delhi-110065

�

Cell No: �09810103599 Phone No: 91 11 26910499;�41325042�� Web: www.nazindia.org

�

"Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something"

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Race and CD4⁺ T-cell Count in HIV Prognosis and Treatment