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Archive for December, 2009
UNITAID Seeks Experts To Serve on Review Panel
UNITAID is looking for experts to serve on its Proposal Review Committee, an independent panel that provides technical advice and analysis of proposals for UNITAID funding. UNITAID was created to help scale up treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis in resource-poor countries by leveraging lower prices for drugs and diagnostics and making those available items [...]
Proposed Rule on Prostitution Could Hinder Efforts to Reach Vulnerable Populations
In an effort to implement an “anti-prostitution” provision included in the Lantos-Hyde Act, the law that reauthorized PEPFAR, the Administration may do more harm than good. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, leading HIV/AIDS physician-scientists expressed serious concern that a proposed rule requiring PEPFAR-funded organizations to declare their opposition to [...]
Taking the Long View on HIV Treatment Sustainability
“Sustainability” is the catchphrase increasingly tossed around in discussions about fighting the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Now, a new opinion piece in the journal AIDS explores what it would take to achieve meaningful sustainability—outlining some key steps necessary to foster strong, enduring treatment programs in resource-poor settings. As a backdrop, the authors, including Edward J. Mills, [...]
Another Missive to the White House on Global AIDS Funding
There seems to be a significant–and hopefully growing–degree of displeasure on Capitol Hill about the Administration’s commitment to combating the AIDS epidemic. The latest signal is a letter from eight U.S. senators, including the Senate’s No. 2 leader, urging the president fully fund PEPFAR at the congressionally-authorized levels. “The success of our HIV/AIDS programs is [...]
Goosby: PEPFAR Examines Next Steps as Needle Exchange Ban Officially Nixed
The needle exchange ban never applied to US-funded international AIDS programs, but the previous administration essentially acted as if it did. Now that the ban has officially hit the legislative dustbin, Eric Goosby, MD, the U.S. global AIDS coordinator, has signaled an readiness to move forward in providing PEPFAR support for needle exchange programs in countries hard hit by the [...]
New Global Health Leadership Award for African Physician-Scientists
The Accordia Global Health Foundation unveiled a new award today in honor of its co-founder, Dr. Merle Sande, an infectious disease specialist who also helped create the Academic Alliance for AIDS Care and Prevention in Africa in 2001 to combat the HIV epidemic in Uganda and elsewhere. The Merle A. Sande Health Leadership Award will [...]
Key Lawmakers Express Concern about US Global AIDS Funding
Five key House lawmakers—including the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus—have called on the Obama Administration to step up its commitment to combating global AIDS. In a letter to the president, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and other House members expressed concerned that “continued rapid roll out of AIDS treatment is endangered in Africa” and said [...]
Pressure Against Anti-Gay Ugandan Bill Ramps Up
For anyone following the situation in Uganda, where the Parliament is considering an anti-gay bill that would criminalize homosexuality, this story in the Advocate is a must-read detailing the growing international pressure on Uganda to reverse course, including yesterday’s statement from the White House. The story and other posts, including this one, suggests the international [...]
Fauci, Other HIV Experts Discuss Way Forward in HIV Prevention & Treatment
Leave it to Anthony Fauci to cut right to the chase when it comes to delineating the right path forward at this critical juncture in HIV treatment and prevention. At a forum today on “The Future of Global HIV Treatment and Prevention,” Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, summed up the [...]
Time to Seize the Momentum on TB Vaccine Development
Extensive groundwork is being laid out for a new TB vaccine in clinical sites and research institutions across Africa—lab capacity and field sites are being set up, health professionals are being trained, epidemiological studies are underway. David Bryden discussed the impressive work underway in South Africa in an earlier blog posting. But all these efforts [...]
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