Post Tagged with: "AIDS"

Growing support globally to end HIV medicine stockouts in India

Growing support globally to end HIV medicine stockouts in India

Several networks of people living with HIV are pouring in support to the ongoing indefinite sit-in (since 21st July 2022) outside offices of India’s AIDS programme, to demand an end of stockout of HIV medicines, and ensure minimum one-month dispensation of these medicines nationwide. The government of India’s guidelines of 2018 state that those persons stable on the HIV therapy[Read More…]

by 27/08/2022 Comments are Disabled India
HIV patients should have uninterrupted flow of life saving anti-retroviral drugs

HIV patients should have uninterrupted flow of life saving anti-retroviral drugs

Statement issued by HIV activists and civil society organisations Civil Society organisations and activists working on the HIV response in India are putting out this statement in utter distress and in strong solidarity with people living with and affected by HIV whose simple and basic demand for uninterrupted flow of life saving anti-retroviral drugs is being ignored by the Government[Read More…]

by 09/08/2022 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Regaining the Ground,Reclaiming the Network – A Bottom-up Response to HIV

Regaining the Ground,Reclaiming the Network – A Bottom-up Response to HIV

India’s responses to HIV/AIDS through the national AIDS Programme have been widely acclaimed as the most successful public health intervention in its history since the Independence. From 1992 onwards we have witnessed a concerted effort in all fronts to tackle the AIDS crisis in a radical manner by a participatory framing of health discourse and practice. An effective and active[Read More…]

by 30/11/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
 When people with HIV can live normal lives then why 680,000 AIDS deaths in 2020?

 When people with HIV can live normal lives then why 680,000 AIDS deaths in 2020?

When we know how to prevent HIV transmission, and how to keep every person living with HIV healthy, then how can one fathom deaths of at least 680,000 people due to AIDS-related illnesses in 2020 worldwide? And how can one explain, at least 1.5 million new HIV infections occurring globally in 2020? “Every new HIV infection is a reality check[Read More…]

by 30/11/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
What if TB, HIV medicines stop working? Experts unite against drug resistance

What if TB, HIV medicines stop working? Experts unite against drug resistance

A picture containing text, person, person, suit Description automatically generatedOne year and 10 months ago when first case of corona virus was reported in Wuhan, China, entire world was terrified because no one knew if we have any medicine that will work against it. Possibly our worst fears came true and we witnessed the horrendous impact of the pandemic. One[Read More…]

by 14/10/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
ABVA’s tryst with activists, lawyers & judges before, during and after its anti-sodomy law petition was filed

ABVA’s tryst with activists, lawyers & judges before, during and after its anti-sodomy law petition was filed

ABVA members wearing black T-shirts addressing the press at the Ashoka hotel, New Delhi during the Second Asia Pacific AIDS conference, November 1992 In April 1994 ABVA filed a Civil Writ Petition no. 1784 of 1994 titled AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan vs. Union of India and others in the Delhi High Court (DHC) asking for striking down inter alia entire[Read More…]

by 17/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Moving HIV prevention and treatment tools from the lab to all those in need

Moving HIV prevention and treatment tools from the lab to all those in need

Recent scientific advancements have brought to the fore the promise of more effective and long-term solutions to help people living with HIV to thrive and not just survive. Today we have a buffet of HIV prevention options (such as, oral daily PrEP, once-a-month vaginal dapivirine ring for women, 2-monthly long-acting injectable) along with a bouquet of improved treatment modalities (monthly[Read More…]

by 08/08/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
A bouquet of novel compounds: New treatment options for HIV

A bouquet of novel compounds: New treatment options for HIV

It was 40 years ago when the first case of HIV infection was diagnosed. Since then, 77.5 million people have been infected with the virus and 34 million people have died from AIDS-related causes. While a lot has been achieved in terms of providing lifesaving antiretroviral treatment to save lives, we still lost 690,000 people living with HIV to AIDS-related[Read More…]

by 31/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Expanding the buffet of choices for preventing HIV

Expanding the buffet of choices for preventing HIV

Great strides have been made in HIV prevention, treatment and care, since the first case of the viral infection was reported 40 years ago. Thanks to the untiring efforts of the HIV community, activists, and medical fraternity, 74% (27.5 million) of the 37.7 million people living with HIV are able to access the lifesaving antiretroviral therapy today. But the governments’[Read More…]

by 26/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Are we failing children in the HIV response?

Are we failing children in the HIV response?

The promise was that by 2020, no child will be born with HIV or newly infected with HIV during breastfeeding across the world. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge to health systems, the progress towards the HIV-related 2020 goalpost, despite some commendable gains, was not very encouraging. Despite global efforts to prevent HIV transmission, 150,000 children were[Read More…]

by 25/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
 HIV science has advanced but policies-programmes have been slow to #endAIDS

 HIV science has advanced but policies-programmes have been slow to #endAIDS

HIV science has advanced but policies and programmes have been slow to respond towards ending AIDS, said Mitchell Warren, co-chair of the global conference on HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) and Executive Director of AVAC (Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention). Scientific advances have seen huge gains on HIV prevention and treatment fronts. Sadly, what has not changed is the lack[Read More…]

by 07/02/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
 Expanding range of options to prevent HIV is key as no one size fits all

 Expanding range of options to prevent HIV is key as no one size fits all

While the currently available HIV prevention and treatment tools have helped reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths by 23% and 39% respectively since 2010, we still have a long way to go before ending this epidemic. With 1.7 million new HIV infections and 690,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2019, one cannot but over emphasise the urgent need to have more[Read More…]

by 02/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
The ring has finally arrived!

The ring has finally arrived!

You guessed it right. I am talking about the dapivirine vaginal ring (DPV-VR), which is one of the top advances happening in the field of microbicides. It is the first long acting prevention product whose Phase-3 randomised controlled studies have shown that using the dapivirine vaginal ring reduced the risk of HIV infection in women and long-term use was well-tolerated.[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Is Universal Health Coverage an opportunity to end AIDS and TB?

Is Universal Health Coverage an opportunity to end AIDS and TB?

At the United Nations General Assembly in September 2019, a special United Nations High Level Meeting (UNHLM) will be held on Universal Health Coverage (UHC). 193 countries have promised to deliver on UHC by 2030 by committing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But will push on UHC alone deliver on the promise of health for all where ‘no one is[Read More…]

by 31/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
A tale of two positives attracting each other

A tale of two positives attracting each other

I met the two of them at the Clinica Condesa Iztapalapa, in Mexico City, where I had gone to attend the 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2019). Was it a mere coincidence that they had many things in common – they share the same surname; they speak fluent English; they neither drink nor smoke nor are on drugs;[Read More…]

by 29/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Writing’s on the wall: No #endAIDS without #endTB

Writing’s on the wall: No #endAIDS without #endTB

TB and HIV both are preventable, but cutting the chain of transmission of HIV and TB is proving to be a daunting task. Treatment exists for both TB and HIV but disease-burden and deaths every year are indeed alarming. With countdown on towards TB and AIDS elimination targets for 2030, the writing on the wall is clear: business as usual[Read More…]

by 27/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Achieving 100:100:100 + zero HIV transmission is must to #endAIDS

Achieving 100:100:100 + zero HIV transmission is must to #endAIDS

It has been 38 years and 1 month since the first case of HIV infection was detected in 1981, reminded Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science (#IAS2019) taking place in Mexico City. Dr Fauci is a recipient of Robert Koch Award and US Presidential[Read More…]

by 24/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Complacency kills: Prevention cannot take a backseat while we scale up treatment coverage to #endAIDS

Complacency kills: Prevention cannot take a backseat while we scale up treatment coverage to #endAIDS

“The global health system is only as strong as its weakest parts” had said UNDP’s Mandeep Dhaliwal in her article around last year’s World AIDS Day. The context has only deepened over the year, not only for ending AIDS but also for health security in general. With Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) on 12th December this year, time is[Read More…]

by 11/12/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
We want the ring…

We want the ring…

That seemed to be the resonating refrain of women at the HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P2018) held recently in Madrid, Spain. And no, they were not talking about the engagement ring. Their focus of interest was the intra-vaginal dapivirine vaginal ring – a long acting female-initiated, self-administered product that has been found to be highly effective in reducing the[Read More…]

by 07/11/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
HIV prevention: Bridging the gap between research and impact

HIV prevention: Bridging the gap between research and impact

   We are at an incredible moment in the history of the HIV/AIDS response, which reflected in the vibrancy of the HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P 2018) – the only global scientific conference focused on the fast-growing field of biomedical HIV prevention research. Today, the latest research in different areas of biomedical HIV prevention, including vaccines, rings, microbicides and other[Read More…]

by 29/10/2018 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Where are the nurses in the HIV response?

Where are the nurses in the HIV response?

(CNS): Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, nurses have been at the forefront of the response to this once fatal infection. The nurse is involved at every stage of the trajectory of a person living with HIV—from usually being the first to counsel the newly diagnosed person, to one of the last to be with him/her at the point[Read More…]

by 31/07/2018 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Ending AIDS, the Dutch way

Ending AIDS, the Dutch way

Photograph of Alphonsus Stoelinga, Netherlands Ambassador to India (CNS): We are all very familiar with the phrase ‘going Dutch’ (meaning each person of a group pays one’s own expenses in an outing), but are we also aware of dealing with HIV/AIDS the Dutch way? Perhaps very few of us know that “Amsterdam, which is currently hosting the 22nd International AIDS[Read More…]

by 24/07/2018 Comments are Disabled World
Integrated TB-HIV Responses Are A Must To Meet Sustainable Development Goals

Integrated TB-HIV Responses Are A Must To Meet Sustainable Development Goals

(CNS): At the 2015 United Nations General Assembly, governments committed to achieve SDGs by 2030, one of which is to end AIDS and TB by 2030. If people living with HIV continue to die of TB, we will not only fail to achieve SDGs but also lose gains made in the fights against HIV and TB. Keeping in mind the[Read More…]

by 27/07/2016 1 comment Life/Philosophy
 Self-Stigma: Let Us Do More Than Just ‘Talk About It’

 Self-Stigma: Let Us Do More Than Just ‘Talk About It’

Senior HIV activists who have not only helped shape HIV responses on the ground over the years, but also have been living with the virus for several years, shared their personal battle against self-stigma at a press conference session hosted by The Work For Change (www.theworkforchange.org) and partners at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) held in Durban, South[Read More…]

by 25/07/2016 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Battling With Three Diseases And Still Going Strong

Battling With Three Diseases And Still Going Strong

(Based on an exclusive interview given by Nqobile Zungu, and her doctor Dr Samele Madela to CNS – Citizen News Service) I met 37 years old Nqobile Zungu, at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) that is being held in Durban. And yes, her looks were deceptive in the sense that one could never guess that her outwardly healthy[Read More…]

by 23/07/2016 1 comment Life/Philosophy
International AIDS Conferences: From Durban To Durban – Has Anything Changed In 16 Years?

International AIDS Conferences: From Durban To Durban – Has Anything Changed In 16 Years?

  AIDS 2016, the XXI International AIDS Conference – (with the theme of ‘Access Equity Rights Now’) which will be held in Durban, South Africa, from 18 to 22 July 2016, marks a dramatic change in the country’s AIDS response in the 16 years since XIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2000), which was also held in Durban “When Nelson Mandela[Read More…]

by 14/07/2016 1 comment Life/Philosophy