SEPTEMBER NEWS

GHANA: GHANA NEEDS HOME-GROWN INITIATIVES FOR TACKLING HIV

• A stake-holders meeting in the Volta region on the 5th September called for action to stop advertisements on radio stations from claiming a cure to the HIV virus.
• The meeting highlighted that these advertisements are counter productive to efforts at tackling the virus through the use of Anti-Retroviral therapy medication.
• The meeting was organized by the NGO Future Generations International as part of the “Strengthen HIV/AIDS Partnership with Evidence Based Results (SHARPER) Project.”.
• The project aims at building the capacity of Most At Risk Populations, encouraging consistent use of condoms and strict adherence to ART treatment.
• Overall, the meeting said existing laws are strong enough to deal with the issue, but there is still a obstacle that needs to be faced as institutions which must enforce these rules are weak or reluctant to do so.



NEW YORK: BACHCHAN TAKES ON NEW ROLE

The United Nations appointed Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as a goodwill ambassador on the 24th September.

This position means she will contribute towards the mission of helping stop new HIV infections in children and promote increased access to Anti-Retroviral Treatment. 

She will work with UNAIDS, advocating the “Global plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive”.

The plan Bachchan will be promoting focuses on 22 countries, including India, which account for more than 90% of new HIV infections among children. Of these countries, 21 are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Rai herself  won the Miss World crown in 1994 and has gone on to build a successful Bollywood career.

USA: SCIENTISTS CONVERGE IN USA OVER EFFECTIVE HIV VACCINE

• Scientists from around the world gathered in Boston to present more than 400 new research studies updating global progress in the search for a safe and effective HIV vaccine. 
• The convention AIDS Vaccine 2012 is the world's only and biggest scientific meeting dedicated exclusively to HIV vaccine research.
• The annual meeting is hosted by the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, a unique collaboration of HIV vaccine research, funding, advocacy and stakeholder organizations.
• AIDS Vaccine 2012 will follow up with new research, present new data on the workings of the human immune system that can help towards future vaccine design, and share updates on new antibodies that protect against a wide range of HIV strains.
• The AIDS Vaccine 2012 will also showcase the work of young investigators, the generation of researchers who are emerging to carry research and development forward. 

ZIMBABWE: CHILDREN BEAR BRUNT OF HIV INFECTIONS

• The National AIDS Council has revealed that Mother to child transmission and heterosexual transmission remain the most significant sources of new HIV infections and the major mode of transmission.
• An average of 1 in 3 infants born to HIV positive mothers are infected with an estimated 7,695 children being newly infected with HIV in 2011.
• The report says the peak age for HIV infection in women is 35-39 years while for men it is the 45-49 years age group.
• It also revealed that interconnected factors that drive HIV risk among young women in Zimbabwe include low risk perception, lack of knowledge of HIV status and gender stereotypes related to masculinity, which encourages men to have more sexual partners.
• According to UNAIDS, in 2011, about 1.1 million adults and 190,000 children are living with the virus in Zimbabwe, making the country the 3rd most affected in Southern Africa.

CHURCH SCREENING 29th JULY

• After the main service at the Lord's Pentecostal Church International, medical personel from the International Health Care Clinic gave a comprehensive variety of medical tests to all members of the congregation.

• Fortunately, no positive cases were found, but the relevant numbers published are as follows, which shows the number of people tested:
• Hepatitis B= 22
• HIV= 35
• VDRC=3
• Malaria=11
• PSA=2
• Tuberculosis=3
• Prostate=1

• Other tests given were blood pressure, BMI, breast screenings and hearing checks.

• All ages were tested, from young children to the elderly and a cross-section of the population attended, happy and successfully encouraged to test for the above diseases and viruses.
• Overall, the day was very successful and ran smoothly. Relevant counselling was given to all members of the congregation and a large amount attended. Also, several contacts were made for future visits to different branches of the Lord's Pentecostal Church Internationl, which will be developed further.

COLLABORATION WITH CITY OF REFUGE MINISTRIES JUNE 14th-20th

• Medical personnel from both the City of Refuge Ministries and WAAF conducted HIV and Hepatitis B tests for members of deprived communities in the Volta and Greater Accra regions.

• General medical checks, wound dressings as well as in kind donations in the form of clothing supplements and spritual healing through prayers was also provided.

• Total number of 720 people were tested for HIV and 108 for Hepatitis B across the areas:
• Adult (18-90 years old) male tested=149
• Adult male negative=142
• Adult male positive=7

• Children (0-17 years old) male tested=200
• Children male negative=193
• Children male positive=7

•  Adult female tested=322
• Adult female negative= 306
• Adult female positive=16

• Children female tested=157
• Children female negative=154
• Children female positive= 3

• It was a good collaboration as we were able to reach groups of persons who otherwise would never have access to such programs.

• A continuous partnership looks encouraging and something we, as an organisation can look forward to developing.

DONATIONS MAY-JUNE 2012

• 3rd May 2012
• QWAAF Canada 
• Condoms

• 30th May 2012
• Base Camp Canada Students 
• Gloves, First Aid Kit and tape, digital thermometer, bandages, forceps, dressing tray, sterile pad, nose and surgical masks, medication, hydrogen peroxide, sterile sodium chloride

• 12th June 2012
• Save A Million Lives (Andrew Bailey) from England
• Clothes, gloves, hand sanitizing gel, plastic aprons, tooth paste

• 14th June 2012
• Mama Lu from the U.S.A
• 3 different type of medication 

• NOT RECORDED
• DONOR NOT RECORDED from the U.S.A
• Mask, apron, dressing tray, giving set, syringes and needles, alcohol swabs, medication

• 25th June 2012
• DONOR NOT RECORDED
• 100 condoms were given to our Takoradi office

• 25th June 2012
• DONOR NOT RECORDED from London
• Gloves

• 27th June 2012
• City of Refuge
• Gloves, baby food, bandages, surgical instruments

• 28th June 2012
• Denise Davison from the U.S.A
• Plasters, wound wipes, water bottles, t-shirts, bags, medication

WE EXTREMELY APPRECIATE ALL YOUR GENEROSITY AND SUPPORT. THANK YOU. 

JULY-AUGUST NEWS

GENEVA: JULY 2012- HIV TREATMENT NOW REACHING MORE THAN 6 MILLION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

•  More than 100 fold increase  in access to HIV treatment in less than a decade.
• An additional 1.1million people received anti-retroviral therapy in 2011, making it a total of 6.2million.
• 56% of those eligible for treatment were able to access it.
• This is partly due to the drop in cost of first-line HIV treatment, from $10,000 per person in 2000 to less than $100 today.
• Now plans are being discussed by Africa's Head of State's and Governments to accelerate AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria responses by 2015.  

WASHINGTON DC: JULY 2012- A DECADE OF PROGRESS AND SUSTAINED FUNDING FOR HIV PREVENTION RESEARCH PROVIDES A PATHWAY FOR ENDING AIDS

• Although breakthroughs in vaccines and treatment as prevention for example, sustained financing will be needed to capitalize on these breakthroughs and to deliver new options that can eventually end the AIDS pandemic. 
• While the level of funding has grown a lot, capitalizing on breakthroughs and ensuring the development of new products will require continuous and flexible investments from a range of donors.
• Funders invested a total of $1.24billion in 2011.
• The HIV prevention research field is developing fast with many new options becoming available such as female condoms. But additional funding will be needed to effectively roll out all new options. 
• In the future, research to develop new options is a vital element for success and must be appropriately funded.

US: AUGUST 2012- US RENOWNED RESEARCHER WINS GRANT TO DEVELOP HIV VACCINE

• Professor David Watkins, the Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Pathology at the University of Miami, has been awarded a $9.9million 5 year grant to develop an HIV Vaccine.
• The grant will investigate the possibility of creating such a vaccine using the current Yellow Fever Vaccine and inserting fragments of the HIV virus.
• This experiment may be key in ending the pandemic of HIV and AIDS, which directly affects 30million people worldwide.
• This announcement was part of the World AIDS Conference held in Washington, which aimed to expose journalists to the HIV status in the US and tour some health facilities rendering services to HIV patients.
• Also, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in New York and the Scripps Institute in California as well as groups from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio Janerio Brazil will be collaborating with Professor Watkins' and his team in the future.

US: JULY 2012- CDC MENTORS 75 NATIONS TO TREAT HIV AND AIDS

• US Health Officials collaborating to train and mentor 75 countries to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS.
• The CDC (Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention) helped implement the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through their scientific expertise and with the aid of additional organizations such as Ministries of Health and the World Health Organization.
• Hopefully, this training will allow countries to increase their capacity to plan, implement, and evaluate effective services to reduce and eventually end the impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
  These programs have already been successful in Thailand, a country whose population is especially at risk to HIV due to increasing mobility, tourism, urbanization and migration.
  With programs in 2011, improvements are already noticeable in areas such as quality of care, treatment and prevention of mother to child HIV transmission, and in the quality of laboratory.
   
  
  US: JULY 2012- AIDS CONFERENCE MESSAGE: MORE TREATMENT NEEDED

• The International AIDS Conference ended with the message that getting treatment to more of the 34million people with HIV is key to ending the epidemic until a cure in found.
• New US data shows how hard it is to provide effective treatment around the globe. In developed countries, most people have access to treatment right after their diagnosis. Yet, just one in four living around the world have their infections under control, especially with young people.
• Recommendations made after the conference were that More HIV Testing is needed. This was proposed after studies found that in the US, nearly 20% of people with HIV don't know they're infected and in some other countries, less than half do.
• Also, proposals were made for specialists to focus more on overcoming stigma that is blocking the HIV prevention message from reaching many of the people most at risk.
• A bigger push is also needed for women controlled preventions when their partners won't use condoms. Activists asked the US government to send more female condoms to more developing countries, and research is beginning in Africa on a vaginal ring soaked with a potentially HIV-blocking drug.

GHANA: JULY 2012- GHANA AIDS COMMISSION RECEIVES GHC17.6MILLION FROM THE GOVERNMENT

• The first portion of the governments matching funds has been released in fulfillment of Ghana's High level commitment to the fight against HIV and AIDS.
• In total, the government has pledged GHC150million over a five year period.
• This commitment has brought the country closer to the establishment of an HIV and AIDS Fund due to the government’s effort.   
• This Fund would help in the reduction of new infections by 50% and the impact of HIV on the infected, as well as making sure that the affected were significantly mitigated by the end of 2015.
• At present, Ghana is among 29 African countries reported by the World Health Organization to have reduced the prevalence of HIV by 25% over the past decade, and has been named a high priority country by UNAIDS and the Global Fund.

STAR-Ghana supported Programs

Besides providing testing and treatments to patients, WAAF also strives to improve the quality of life of persons living with HIV and AIDS. WAAF currently runs two programs to help meet this goal:
1) Stigma reduction program via education and media mobilization
2) Skills training for persons living with HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable groups

Stigma reduction

HIV-related stigma can be a serious barrier to seeking counseling, testing, and treatment for many patients. WAAF hopes to eliminate stigma against persons living with HIV/AIDS by increasing dialogue about the issue at various levels of society. WAAF held informational sessions on stigma and discrimination in a multitude of communities and schools, including those in Ga South, Ga East, Ayawaso East Districts, Takoradi, and Keta township. Over 3,000 people attended these sessions.
In order to reach more people with the anti-stigma message, WAAF hopes to mobilize media sources such as TV, radio, and internet. Therefore, WAAF is holding a series of workshops for key media actors under the theme, “The Media as Partners in Stigma Reduction.” The workshop provides a platform for discussions and suggestions on mass media’s potential to make positive strides in addressing the serious issue of HIV-related stigma. Over 50 media personnel attended the first workshop.
The media workshop has spurred many positive results. Many newspapers, including the Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Trust, have published articles on HIV-related stigma. There have also been three radio shows on this topic on Healthline, Unique FM, Woman to Woman on GBC and live interviews on radio Gold.



Skills training

WAAF runs a series of vocational workshops throughout the year to equip most at risk populations (MARPs) and vulnerable groups with skills that can support entrepreneurial ventures. So far, over 60 individuals have been trained in bead making and Batik tie-and-dye; this has allowed HIV-positive persons to sell beautiful jewelry and cloth to maintain economic stability while receiving ARV treatments.

DONATIONS OF 1st half of 2011

All donations with regards to the flood (see story on flood recovery)

• Rags Sustainable Fashion: 400 Ghana cedis
  
• SUNY Geneses: Calenders and 200 Ghana cedis
  
• Beekdal Lyceum, Netherlands 4200 Euro
  
• Ans Kuusman, the Netherlands, 1600 euro
  
• Save a million lives, UK: 1000 pounds sterling towards OVC, 2000 ghana cedis towards HM=HB project and 500 cedis towards crisis fund
  
• Guro Lundby and family: 1700 Ghana cedis
  
• Dr. Cassoff (Brooke Cassoff’s father): various medical supplies and medical equipment
  
• Glad Star Ministries: Medical equipment, medical supplies, clothing and more
  BYU, USA – Visit