{UAH} Fw: The real story? The global HIV/AIDS response is in crisis

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From: Devex @ AIDS 2018 <info@devex.com>
Sent: 30 July 2018 09:48
To: georgeokello_8@hotmail.com
Subject: The real story? The global HIV/AIDS response is in crisis

 

What you need to know from the 22nd International AIDS Conference. Problems reading this email? Try opening the web version Hallo from the mayhem of Schiphol Airport, where some 16,000 people from 160 countries are boarding flights now that the International AIDS Conference — AIDS 2018 for short — has come to a close. AIDS 2018 was a flashy and star-studded affair. It was also one of contrasts. Charlize Theron was there. Elton John presented several new commitments, including, alongside the Duke of Sussex, co-launching a new $1.2 billion coalition to expand services for men living with HIV. After a few days of Twitter-reported sightings around Amsterdam, Bill Clinton made the final keynote, tying together the conference's major themes and looking ahead to the high-level meeting on tuberculosis (happening during the U.N. General Assembly in September). The conference center housed a Global Village, which included a silent DJ, dozens of exhibitors and side events, activists, representatives from underserved HIV positive communities, operas, and a Youth Village — dovetailing with the conference's mandate to highlight youth voices in the fight against HIV/AIDS. But against this backdrop, health experts, policymakers, activists, and media acknowledged a harsh reality: The HIV/AIDS response is in crisis, and funding is falling. Just a train ride away from the charming canals of the Dutch capital, which has been praised for its progressive AIDS response, Eastern European and Central Asian countries are grappling with an HIV epidemic that, without action, is in danger of spiraling out of control. Read on to get the story behind the story from AIDS 2018. Ever onward, — Team Devex (Sophie Edwards, Kate Midden, and Sumedha Deshmukh) 6 big stories Devex Reporter Sophie Edwards broke down the six biggest stories from AIDS 2018. Here are the key takeaways (and read the full piece here). Reaching key populations. Peter Piot, founding director of UNAIDS, reminded the audience that the 90-90-90 targets set by UNAIDS in 2014 will miss 27 percent of HIV patients. He said the remaining 10-10-10 — people who will determine the future of the epidemic — are likely to be key populations less likely to access services because of barriers such as stigma and criminalization, including LGBT individuals, people who use drugs, sex workers, and young people. The prevention crisis. Prevention has traditionally received little HIV funding, but there was new buzz around the prevention agenda, in part driven by excitement around oral pre-exposure prophylaxis. The youth bulge. Adolescents face a disproportionately high risk of becoming infected with HIV, especially in Africa, where the population is set to rapidly increase and new infection rates are on the rise among adolescents. Integration. While HIV programming has traditionally been siloed due to having its own funding streams, the conversation has turned toward integrating HIV programming into broader health care. This was a key point in a The Lancet Commission report, in the message delivered by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and alluded to by former President Bill Clinton. Concerns remain for vaccines. Concerns about the so-called "wonder drug" dolutegravir sparked debate among conference goers about whether women of childbearing age should be prescribed the drug; we also saw new data from the APPROACH study, which is evaluating the safety of several different HIV vaccines currently undergoing clinical trials. The Trump effect. The shadow of U.S. President Donald Trump's beefed-up "global gag rule," also known as the Mexico City Policy, loomed large. Unlike previous iterations of the policy, Trump's version is applied to almost all U.S. global health assistance, including PEPFAR. HIV funding in flux In 2017, most donor governments gave less money to HIV/AIDS relief than years prior, leaving a funding gap of $6 billion between what's needed to reach fast-track goals for 2020 and what has been pledged so far. Here's the full report. Credit: Donor Government Funding for HIV in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in 2017 By the numbers: Tuberculosis and HIV 10,400,000 Number of cases of TB globally. 1,200,000 Number of TB cases among people living with HIV. 57 Percentage of TB cases among people living with HIV that go undiagnosed or untreated. 16-27 People living with HIV are at 16-27 times greater risk of developing TB. Data courtesy of the World Health Organization. Sponsor content by PACT Pact is at the forefront of strengthening the role of civil society and communities in translating tools and approaches in HIV prevention, care, and treatment into practice for all people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Learn more. 4 major commitments 1 big controversy: Sexual harassment and UNAIDS Here are the top lines: Campaigners hijacked the opening of the 22nd International AIDS Conference to protest the presence of UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibé. Sidibé has been under pressure to resign over his alleged handling of sexual harassment accusations against his former deputy, Luiz Loures, who is alleged to have assaulted or harassed female colleagues, including Martina Brostrom in 2015. Brostrom claims Sidibé offered her a promotion in exchange for dropping the allegations. Sidibé denies this and has so far resisted calls for his resignation. Get the full story from Devex journalist Sophie Edwards here. How to engage youth, as told by youth ICYMI: 5 big conversations We teamed up with the International AIDS Society and FHI 360 to bring you key conversations happening at #AIDS2018. Addressing stigma in health care settings for key populations Guest: Nesrine Rizk, American University of Beirut HIV is not a crime: Reaching consensus to drive action Guests: Sarai Chisala-Tempelhoff, Women Lawyers Association of Malawi Ken Pinkela, The Sero Project Kenneth Mayer, Journal of the International AIDS Society More than #MeToo: Gender justice and health equity with the Prudence Mabele Prize recipient Guests: Dudu Dlamini, Mothers for the Future and Prudence Mabele Prize recipient Patrick Gaspard, Open Society Foundations Long Story Short: Inside the global HIV/AIDS response Guests: Sophie Edwards, Devex Mercy Ngulube, youth advocate and trustee, Sophia Forum Where are we on the HIV vaccine? Guest: Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Looking ahead: AIDS 2020 in San Francisco The decision to host AIDS 2020 in San Francisco has been met with fierce opposition by activists who say many groups affected by HIV will be unable to attend due to the strict U.S. immigration policies. Sex worker rights activists marched into former President Bill Clinton's keynote address on Friday, in part demanding that he dissent the decision. Media roundtable The real story of AIDS 2018: Backsliding in the fight to control the epidemic Sophie Edwards, Devex "The 22nd International AIDS Conference gathered last week under the theme of 'Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges,' but the real story was a growing realization that the fight against HIV/AIDS is in crisis, with 1.8 million new infections in 2017 and falling funding." The global HIV response is neglecting people who use drugs Naomi Burke-Shyne, deputy director of Harm Reduction International, Devex "People who inject drugs are more than 20 times more likely to contract the virus than the general public — they are also one of the most marginalized groups." The 'end of AIDS' is not even nearly in sight, experts warn Sophie Edwards, Devex "Leading experts warn against complacency in the fight against HIV and AIDS, as new data published ahead of the 22nd International AIDS Conference next week shows minimal progress." 'It's sobering:' A once-exciting HIV cure strategy fails its test in people Jon Cohen, Science Magazine "A treatment that worked brilliantly in monkeys infected with the simian AIDS virus did nothing to stop HIV from making copies of itself in humans." Launch of $1.2B coalition to expand HIV services for men Sophie Edwards, Devex "A new partnership of major donors, NGOs, and pharmaceuticals launched at the 22nd International AIDS Conference aims to overcome the barriers that prevent men from accessing help." Thank you for reading. If you have thoughts, feedback, story ideas, or questions you would like to share, please tweet us @devex or reach out to kate.midden@devex.com. ©Devex is the media platform for the global development community. 1341 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 USA +1.202.249.9222 info@devex.com | www.devex.com Manage my Devex newsletter subscriptions. Not interested? Unsubscribe from Devex email notifications here.

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