| National News | International News  | African Leaders Restate Pledge to Tackle HIV, TB, Malaria AFRICA :: HIV/AIDS,TB
Guardian-Nigeria (07.16.2013) :: By Mohammed Abubakar, Chukwuma Muanya, Emeka Anuforo, John Okeke | | | African leaders attending the 2013 Special Summit of the African Union on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in Abuja, Nigeria, reaffirmed a 2001 declaration that called for additional donor support and a 15-percent increase in government spending to eliminate the three diseases in African Union (AU) countries. The World Health Organization reported that only one AU country had achieved the 2011 target funding goal originally set in 2001.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, AU Chairperson Dr. Hailemariam Dessalegn, and AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Zuma promised that AU nations would mobilize domestic resources to strengthen member countries’ health systems. The 2013 reaffirmation specified that AU countries would develop strategic health investment plans that were “diversified, balanced, and sustainable.” Participants stipulated that the plans would include private sector funding and innovative financing tactics.
The 2013 plan’s key target populations includes youth, young girls, and women. Strategies prioritized in the 2013 plan included poverty elimination; evidence-based, integrated HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria programming; and policy changes to strengthen the rights of vulnerable populations. The 2013 plan places special emphasis on eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission, keeping mothers alive, and addressing the disproportionate impact of HIV, TB, and malaria on children, girls, and women.
The 2013 Summit participants set a goal of zero new HIV infections by 2030 and committed to developing national, regional, and continental monitoring and evaluation systems to establish accountability and track progress. |  Read Full Article | Share this Article     | | Back to Top  |  | | Medical News  | Ex-Offenders at High Risk of Contracting Sexually Transmitted Infection After Release INDIANA :: HIV/AIDS,STDs
News Medical (07.17.2013) | | | Researchers at Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute investigated the relationship between individuals released from the justice system and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), using existing justice system and public health data. The researchers presented the findings at the STI & AIDS World Congress in Vienna, Austria, July 14–17.
Sarah E. Wiehe, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at IU School of Medicine and an affiliated scientist at the Regenstrief Institute, and colleagues worked with Indiana’s Marion County Court, the Marion County Health Department, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and the Indiana Department of Corrections. The researchers tracked 260,000 youths and adults who had been involved with the justice system for arrest, jail, juvenile detention, and juvenile or adult prison from 2000 to 2008.
According to Wiehe, of the individuals who tested positive for STIs from 2000–2008, 16 percent contracted the infection during the first year of release from the justice system. Wiehe noted the risk was especially high for those released from the juvenile system. Wiehe posited that the one-year period after release from the justice system provided a great opportunity to reduce STI rates and that moderately successful efforts to reduce post-incarceration STI and STI risk could have positive effects on the community STI burden.
| | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Local and Community News  | Planned Parenthood Rolls Out New "SmartWheels" Mobile Health Clinic NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. :: HIV/AIDS, STDs
Harrison Patch (07.17.2013) :: By Leslie Yager | | | New York-based Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic (PPHP) introduced a new $200,000 mobile van that will travel to area women's shelters, schools, and health fairs in four counties: Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and Suffolk. The new "SmartWheels" van, a 27-foot-long converted Winnebago, offers a separate room for a clinician to perform HIV tests and urine-based tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea, the two most common STDs according to Carol Lemus, PPHP’s director of education and training. "Now, instead of pulling closed a curtain, we can shut the door, which is important because we promise privacy and confidentiality," said Lemus. The mobile clinic also provides pregnancy testing, emergency contraceptives, oral contraceptives, and free condoms.
The van’s onboard computer system is connected to PPHP’s main system, allowing staff to access patient records. “It’s basically a health center on wheels," said Lemus, who added that they also would be able to accept insurance in the van. Jill Scheuer, chair of PPHP’s board of directors, said "the van enables us to reach those who need us most: those who would not walk into one of our health centers, call us on the phone, or even visit one of our Web sites." PPHP has served the community for 80 years.
| | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | News Briefs | | | | | Report Points at Dual Threat of HIV, TB NEPAL :: HIV/AIDS,TB
Himalayan Times (07.15.2013) | | | The National TB Centre (NTC) in Nepal recently revealed the results of a one-year survey of 400 HIV-infected people taking antiretrovirals and 1,000 individuals being treated for TB at its 12 treatment centers. Results showed that 45 percent of the total population was infected with TB, approximately 40,000 people per year contracted TB, 20,000 new sputum positive cases were reported, and 5,000–7,000 people died from TB. Also, 12 of every 100 individuals with HIV were coinfected with TB. The country established treatment centers in many areas and the National TB and National AIDS programs provided free treatment to individuals coinfected with HIV and TB. Sujit Kumar Shah, NTC’s TB and HIV coordinator, noted that the center detected TB and HIV coinfection mostly in migrant workers and their wives, housewives, and female sex workers ages 20–39 years.
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7/18/2013
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