Health and Media Blog

Gender equality course to be held in Nigeria

2009-07-10T10:47:00.007Z

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Gender equality course to be held in Nigeria

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 6/30/09

Journalists from across Africa who are interested in gender issues can attend the second Gender Institute Course (WGI), to be held from September 13 to 18 in Abuja, Nigeria. Deadline to apply is July 30.

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Journalists sought for online training on covering education

2009-07-10T10:47:00.005Z

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Journalists sought for online training on covering education

via IJNET: RSS by ymelnyk@icfj.org on 6/30/09

Journalists from Central and Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe and the former Soviet Union are invited to participate in an online course on covering the education beat, to be held July 13 to August 2. Deadline to apply: July 8.

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Contest seeks works for climate change photo contest

2009-07-10T10:47:00.003Z

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Contest seeks works for climate change photo contest

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 6/30/09

Amateur and professional photojournalists are invited to submit works to the photo contest which aims to raise awareness on environmental issues leading up to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December. Deadline for submissions: August 31.

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Human rights advocates can apply for fellowship

2009-07-10T10:47:00.001Z

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Human rights advocates can apply for fellowship

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 6/30/09

Human rights advocates from around the world are invited to apply for the Front Line Fellowship Program, which offers human rights defenders time out from their normal work to undertake a project which will further develop their capacities and contribute to the protection of human rights defenders internationally.

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Workshop aims to bridge gap between journalists, astronomers

2009-07-10T10:46:00.011Z

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Workshop aims to bridge gap between journalists, astronomers

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 6/30/09

Members of South African community media and astronomers can attend the "Stargazers & Scribblers Astronomy and Journalism Workshop," in Cape Town from July 13 to 14 and in Gauteng on July 16.

At the event, journalists will receive up-to-date developments in astronomy, while scientists will learn how to promote their message without compromising science.

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Climate change media Web site seeks partner organizations

2009-07-10T10:46:00.009Z

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Climate change media Web site seeks partner organizations

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 6/30/09

The Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) is seeking organizations and journalist networks to create profiles for networking purposes on its Web site, currently under construction for its launch on July 20.

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Young journalists aged 18-28 asked to enter Earth Journalism Awards

2009-07-10T10:46:00.007Z

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Young journalists aged 18-28 asked to enter Earth Journalism Awards

via creative-radio at Yahoo! Groups by George Lessard on 6/29/09

Young journalists invited to enter Earth Journalism Awards Competition Young and inspired writers, bloggers, journalists, musicians, and others who have a

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Fellowship available for researchers interested in Nepalese media

2009-07-10T10:46:00.005Z

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Fellowship available for researchers interested in Nepalese media

via creative-radio at Yahoo! Groups by George Lessard on 6/29/09

Fellowship available for researchers interested in Nepalese media Independent researchers interested in the media in Nepal are invited to submit proposals for

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Basics of writing for radio news broadcasts

2009-07-10T10:46:00.003Z

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Basics of writing for radio news broadcasts

via creative-radio at Yahoo! Groups by George Lessard on 6/29/09

Basics of writing for radio news broadcasts Posted on: 26/06/2009 Broadcast journalism Even though commercial radio broadcasting has been around for less than

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Workshop to train in investigative coverage of money laundering

2009-07-10T10:46:00.001Z

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Workshop to train in investigative coverage of money laundering

via IJNET: RSS by rjohnson@icfj.org on 6/29/09

Investigative journalists can participate in a seminar-workshop on money laundering and following the money trail, scheduled for June 16 and 17 in Panama City.

The workshop will offer basic strategies for financial reporting and coverage of money laundering, and participants will work on producing solid coverage of the issue.

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MENA Training for trainers on evaluating the social impact of commun

2009-07-10T10:45:00.003Z

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MENA Training for trainers on evaluating the social impact of commun

via creative-radio at Yahoo! Groups by George Lessard on 6/29/09

Training for trainers on evaluating the social impact of community ... Pr?sentation de la radio communautaire Nanto FM - Par Fatouma D'Almeida, .... Augmenter

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Writing tips, resources for journalists available online

2009-07-10T10:45:00.001Z

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Writing tips, resources for journalists available online

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 6/26/09

Journalists looking to better their writing skills can take advantage of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) journalism resource Web site online. The UIL is a non-profit leadership and guidance organization created by the University of Texas at Austin that supervises contests that assist students.

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Women radio broadcasters invited to India seminar

2009-07-10T10:44:00.001Z

from IJNet - Fellowships for global health reporting course at Harvard by spalmer@icfj.org
Women broadcasters in Asia-Pacific are invited to attend a radio seminar titled "Women Making Airwaves for Peace" (WMAP) on the role of community radio in peace building and disaster management. The seminar is being held October 10 to 13 in Bangalore, India; the deadline for applications is July 5.
read more

MENA International: Call for Applications: Women Making Airwaves for

2009-07-10T10:36:00.005Z

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MENA International: Call for Applications: Women Making Airwaves for

via creative-radio at Yahoo! Groups by George Lessard on 6/29/09

... Subject: Call for Applications: Women Making Airwaves for Peace From: "Bianca Miglioretto" Date: Sat, June 27, 2009 05:50 To:

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MENA Training for trainers on evaluating the social impact of commun

2009-07-10T10:36:00.003Z

Sent to you by Health and Media via Google Reader:

MENA Training for trainers on evaluating the social impact of commun

via creative-radio at Yahoo! Groups by George Lessard on 6/29/09

Training for trainers on evaluating the social impact of community ... Pr?sentation de la radio communautaire Nanto FM - Par Fatouma D'Almeida, .... Augmenter

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Writing tips, resources for journalists available online

2009-07-10T10:36:00.001Z

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Writing tips, resources for journalists available online

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 6/26/09

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Women radio broadcasters invited to India seminar

2009-07-10T10:35:00.001Z

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Women radio broadcasters invited to India seminar

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 6/29/09

Women broadcasters in Asia-Pacific are invited to attend a radio seminar titled "Women Making Airwaves for Peace" (WMAP) on the role of community radio in peace building and disaster management. The seminar is being held October 10 to 13 in Bangalore, India; the deadline for applications is July 5.

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Gender issues workshop open to TV journalists

2009-07-10T10:24:00.001Z

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Gender issues workshop open to TV journalists

via IJNET: RSS by maidyz@hotmail.com on 7/7/09

Heads of TV departments, producers and TV broadcast journalists who produce or write scripts on gender related issues can attending a Gender and Programming workshop from August 24 to 28, in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Ph.D. scholarships available for media studies in Kenya, Tanzania

2009-07-10T10:23:00.003Z

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Ph.D. scholarships available for media studies in Kenya, Tanzania

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 7/7/09

Two full-time Ph.D. scholarships are available to students for a research project on media, empowerment and democracy in East Africa. The deadline for applications is August 10.

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New media studies lab opens in Fiji

2009-07-10T10:23:00.001Z

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New media studies lab opens in Fiji

via IJNET: RSS by spalmer@icfj.org on 7/7/09

A new media studies lab is now open at the Fiji Institute of Technology (FIT) School of Media Studies, which aims to usher students into the electronic information network, the Web, Internet radio and electronic newspapers.

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Apply for fellowships

2009-07-06T03:41:00.001Z

Human rights advocates can apply for fellowship
...Front Line Fellowship Program, which offers human rights defenders time out from their normal work to undertake a project which will further develop their capacities and contribute to the protection of human rights defenders internationally. read more from IJNet - Fellowships for global health reporting course at Harvard - Jul 1, 2009

Young Israeli journalists sought for German exchange fellowships
...for a fellowship intended to enable young journalists to gain personal insight into German-Israeli relations, as well as the political and cultural issues in Germany at an early stage of their career. The deadline to apply is June 30. read more from IJNet - Fellowships for global health reporting course at Harvard - Jun 25, 2009 11:12 PM

Fellowship available for researchers interested in Nepalese media
...Martin Chautari Fellowship for 2009. Only researchers with prior research experience are eligible to apply. The deadline for submitting proposals is July 31. read more from IJNet - Fellowships for global health reporting course at Harvard - Jun 23, 2009 7:29 PM

Fellowship tailored for covering US, Japan issues
...the Abe Fellowship for Journalists. Deadline: September 15. read more

Poverty and ignorance are leading causes of obstetric fistula

2009-02-23T04:16:00.003Z

Rebecca Birungi, Journalist, Mama Radio, Kampala, Uganda

The joy of every mother on this planet is the birth of her baby. Like wise it is every mother’s wish and prayer to produce a bouncing baby. There are a number of women out there whose babies don’t live to their first birth, yet medical experts say that safe-motherhood means that no woman should die or be harmed by any pregnancy related complications. Statistics indicate that sharing one’s experience with others as a mother who lost a baby at birth is not all that easy.

Here is one who defeated all odds to tell what it means to lose a baby at birth and worst of all sustain damage on one’s bladder causing urine to flow [obstetric fistula] from the birth canal every now and then, for over a decade. In an exclusive interview with one Efrance Nalukwago of Nakasongola whom I met at Mulago ward 11 meant for women with “obstetric fistula”, she started on a sad note, I quote; “Unfortunately my baby did not even make a sound of crying as a sign to show that it was truly alive and I spent eleven years with a damaged bladder…,”Efrance wearing a pale face recalls her past as an expectant mother who experienced both a still birth and a damaged bladder due to teenage pregnancy.

Like any other child in her teen all they think of is playing, unfortunately Efrance Nalukwago became pregnant at the age of 16 years. Like any other expectant woman, she too became excited that she was finally going to be counted as one of the mothers irrespective of being a minor.

In October 1998 Nalukwago began experiencing labour pains straight away from her home which is situated in a distance of 10 kilometres to the nearest and only health center in Nakasongola. The labour pains continued to intensify but there were no signs of her delivering from home. On realizing this, the husband and relatives who were so expectant that she could deliver from home, changed their mind and decided to take her to a health center for further management.

Inspite of the distance from home to the health center, Efrance had spent two days with delivery pains. These pains were so long. She was finally transferred to the health center after eight hours of searching for emergency transport. For the car that transported her to the health center, the family was charged a sum of Uganda shillings 20,000 after pleading for assistance.

After spending two consecutive days at the center, the health workers in Nakasongola advised her relatives that Nalukwago’s pregnancy condition was an emergency case that required a modern surgical technique such as cesarean operation, recommending that she should be transferred to Kiwoko hospital, in Luwero district to enable doctors intervene.

God was on her side; fortunately Nalukwago reached the hospital on time knowingly that she was due for a cesarean birth following a prolonged obstructed labour, coupled with the delay at the community level. “Shortly after the cesarean operation the doctors informed me that my delivery was a still birth, and on hearing this, I pondered over the tribulation I had gone through all that long and hence my agony”, she recalls her experience.

While still in hospital after five days, she started to feel constant flows in her bladder and bad smell arising from uncontrollable urine that made her to feel uneasy; this compelled her to inform the doctors about her worsening condition. As a teenager, she was frightened and severely depressed every time she thought of her baby and her worrying situation.

Fortunately the doctors assured her that a tube will be inserted in her bladder to contain the urine. Efrance further narrates that despite the insertion of the tube, urine did not go through the tube-passage, instead it continued to leak constantly from reproductive organs. She adds that this was coupled with the smelling beddings that became too difficult for her to stand. However, the doctors did their best to rectify the situation but all in vain.

“On the sixth day, as the doctors were discharging me from the hospital, my health condition was described by the doctors as obstetric fistula, some thing I did not understand being a rural woman; but they advised me to go back for further medical check up on a weekly basis!” Efrance lamented.

According to head of Urogynecology Division in the directorate of Obstetrics and gynaecology, Mulago Hospital, Doctor. Justus Barageine, who has treated patients, obstetric fistula refers to the abnormal communication between two body cavities for example the bladder and Vagina. The doctor adds that the occurrence of obstetric fistula is a condition which results from a failure to deliver normally or an intervention to deliver a baby following a prolonged or neglected obstructed labour.

Nalukwago’s condition of leaking urine from her reproductive organs, became part and parcel of her new life. “Leaking urine 11 years down the road terrorized me, because buying cotton wool became a necessity other than a luxury. Instead I resorted to using old bed sheets and big skirts that were cut into four small pieces to accommodate urine. I felt so bad most of the time because I was depressed as some of my relatives never wanted to be near me while others referred to me as a cursed woman and I became a laughing stalk”. She explains.

In addition, the rainy season meant disaster for Nalukwago, as her wet pieces of cloth could not be hanged in the compound thus becoming a nightmare. This meant that, looking for more than enough firewood that will also be lit and used to dry her clothes. There were also times when she failed to get firewood; it frustrated her to stay indoors since some of her relatives often referred to her as a socially outlined and bewitched person who has declined to consult the gods on how her condition could be prevented, conscious Efrance gives details.

On the other hand, the dry season was the most favorite season for her, saying that she braved through the sun to look for water some times covering a distance of three kilometers away from home. First of all reused wet pieces of cloths could be hanged and dried easily which she says, was an assurance that all is well with her, as she smiles. “However, padding was uncomfortable especially during the very hot weather, since I had to endure the smelling urine, and the padded piece of cloth generated heat which she says increased the friction between her thighs as she walks, carrying water on her head from the spring well eventually the frequent rubbing of thighs against each other developed into wounds on either side”. She recalls.

With this kind of condition, Nalukwago had to mix salt and warm water to massage the wound, and in absence of salt, local herbs commonly known as “Kamunye” were gently squeezed and applied onto the wound to massage it taking two days to heal completely. Efrance said that, “Upon returning home, I was abandoned by my husband who told me to find my way back to my parents and worst of it he referred to me as a person who wets the beddings and a failure in marriage!” Visibly almost shading tears, she continued to narrate that her husband immediately decided to marry another woman, leaving her helpless with no one to run to except her mother who dedicated her time to looking after the daughter [Efrance].

One day she was listening to radio back home this year, when she heard announcements calling upon women with this condition to visit Old Mulago hospital ward 11,where doctors do a cross examination for women with obstetric fistula. Efrance further told me that in the announcements it was described that the purpose of the medical check up was to assess the depth of the condition and the date for admission of patients was given. She went for the examination and after that she returned home and started working tooth and nail to raise money for the upkeep once admitted.

“Indeed God is a God of miracles!” She screamed due to excessive joy that she felt during the interviewing process. “Here I am today as a living testimony for other women to know that operation of repairing my bladder is one of the greatest miracles that has happened to me bringing relief, tears of joy, and celebration as I no longer smell urine hence my road to recovery this month, because I will have the freedom to move freely and associate with the society” She rejoiced.

Nalukwago was told to come back in September this year for another thorough examination. As we were chatting before the operation end of August 2008, she said that, she cannot wait for the d-day which was on Wednesday 3rd September 2008. “I was exceedingly grateful to the specialized doctors for restoring my life because urine was now a thing of the past”. She exclaims.

This calm lady observes that she will follow the doctors’ advice of not being involved in any relation with a man for a couple of months, something which she says is a short period, because this will damage her birth canal.

The Urogynecologist Dr. Barageine says that, one of the commonest cause of this condition is obstructed labour which accounts for more than 90%. When obstructed labour is neglected and prolonged, the woman reaches a time to push the baby and the baby is stuck for one reason or another, either the mother’s pelvic bones are small or the baby is big or the baby is positioned badly (breech) and it gets stuck in the birth canal.

“Once this condition happens for more than three hours, health experts say the obstruction is prolonged. While on the other hand it is neglected in a sense that no body intervenes, because if a doctor realizes that a woman’s labour is not progressing, then it becomes necessary to deliver her by a cesarean section, in order to prevent complications like obstetric fistula from forming”. Barageine argues.

However, the doctor reiterates that there are cases when the neglect is either on the part of the community, the service provider or it can be on the part of an individual. Just like the case of Nalukwago when the community especially the relatives did not effectively respond by taking her to the near by health center in time. Barageine cited an example of a pregnant woman in Katanga a slum area in Wandegeya, a Kampala city suburb, where a woman who had been in labour for three days without walking to the hospital, then such a scenario develops into neglect on the part of an individual who is a pregnant woman. This is partly attributed to beliefs, or cultural practices and poverty of not seeing the importance of going to a health facility or the held perceptions by some women that midwives are rude.

In Uganda, since the inception of medical practice during Albert Cook in 1897, cases of fistula have been reported and treated. The medical expert notes that, for the Ministry of Health to adequately respond to the problem, they did a survey for 15 years by reviewing hospital records from 1990-2005, in an effort to understand the magnitude of this problem.

“The health ministry found out that 8,000 cases had been recorded in all hospitals. Mulago reported 1,201 cases out of which 22% of the fistula cases had been operated on translating to 230 cases in fifteen years” he explains. He however, observes that there is still a big backlog of cases and even those who were operated on their fate were not known.

In addition, in 2004, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Engender health among others spearheaded the global campaigns of ending fistula as well as using it as a catalyst for improving maternity services saying once you have fistula it means this is an indication that the maternity services were poor, saying this impacts on the country’s performance of addressing the millennium goal of reducing maternal mortality.

Further more, the doctor continues to say that this year alone, Mulago and its outreach hospitals registered 380 cases out of which 210 cases have been operated on. However, of the 380 cases, there is a short fall of more than 150 cases of fistula which he said are pending and waiting for a surgical operation. Thanks to the generosity of the development partners together with the health ministry who have made it possible to operate women with this condition.

Dr. Barageine pointed out that currently Mulago has three trained doctors, ten nurses who have been oriented and work in three shifts, external doctors who offer support to the hospital as well as young doctors who are rotating with in the department of Obstetric and Gynecology.

He observes, among the challenges faced by the department is the lack of the anesthetists (an expert who makes a patient sleep before the operation begins) and space. The latter is not enough for the patients; initially the department was given 6 beds and gradually upgraded to 14 beds saying they have always had occupancy of more than 200%. “We have a patient on the bed, some of them are under and then sometimes patients share both the bed and under the bed, therefore few patients are operated on but each time there is space the doctors end up operating 8 patients a week” he narrates. These patients spend a minimum of 17 days and an average of 20 days after the operation has been performed. The operation has a success rate of 90% in mulago

Dr. Barageine emphasizes that the department is under staffed and that they cannot increase on the number of health workers due to the structural problems and this increases the workload at the hospital. He says that most of the doctors who have been doing this kind of work have been frustrated due to the fact that they are not in position to follow their patients. In the first instance it is a time consuming operation which requires specialized nursing. The generosity of the development partners Engender Health and UNFPA have trained nurses in Kitovu Hospital in Masaka district and giving them written instructions such that they are able to follow up patients.

About vulnerability, the doctor says that young girls who have get married so early, it is an indication they have not been in school and are most likely to be children of peasants. When poor people get fistula, now a man does not want to associate himself with such a person who wets beddings. These women tend to be isolated and when they come for medical check up, they are depressed, have not attended any function. They fear to drink for fear of leaking urine which smells.

He further maintains that women who have had this problem and also lost their babies, it is most likely to be a double tragedy and stigmatization, because everybody in society does not want to associate with a woman who smells. These women have not attended any social event like a wedding and even going to church becomes a problem even though they desire to pray. So it is a big problem for them because they are socially outlined and want to be on their own.

Some of these women have been with this problem for as long as 50 years, leaking urine so they have not heard time to enjoy their sexual rights, and you find 80% of them don’t have babies because they have been divorced and can not remarry. Therefore, they have lived with fistula for more than 40 years and have reached menopauses and are old women who have produced one baby who has even died. Then you find them depressed, poor and even when they come, they fail to get transport back home.

The advent of mobile phones has improved communication in the country, with the advent of telephone, communication, some body call doctors and a Samaritan offers transport to enable the woman reach Kampala, but reaching the relatives home, the relatives abandon them. Therefore it is not a question of being young but poverty, poor people are poor and unable to access medical services saying they are poor both in the mind and financially, so it’s very difficult to decide when they come to hospital.

He continued to explain that additionally patients come with anticipation they will be healed and when they doctors tell them to come back after one month; they get angry, depressed and helpless. Those patients who will be operated on and succeed will want to go out and start mixing with society and sometimes it is a challenge restricting them. There are some patients who sneak out of the hospital and have sex prematurely which damages the birth canal. “Some of them when they are told to wait for three months before resuming sexual intercourse, even if they completely recover from the condition saying they cannot afford to remain poor so they resort to sex. In addition some of them have sexual intercourse and the following morning the women narrate their experiences to the doctors’ of how the men ‘supposed husband’ forced them to have sex” he explains.

There are also girls who are prostitutes whose livelihood is derived from selling their bodies for sexual favours in order to earn some money. These girls work in bars and find themselves completely healed and get some one who has offered to buy soap and in return of sex, therefore she indulges in sex and eventually breaks down resulting in depression which becomes a cycle.

How to prevent obstetric fistula? For the country to minimize this condition Dr.Baragaine advises that having a functioning health system which is blessed by political will, coupled with effective community mobilisers such that people get confidence in health system and the community will be able to use it.

The doctor stresses it with much concern that it is important for Ugandans to embrace Universal Primary Education (UPE) Programme such that girls are empowered and are able to stay in school for a long time saying this will help reducing teenage pregnancies. He estimates about 80% of patients with this problem have stopped schooling before completing primary seven, while 20% are senior one and two drop-outs. It is very rare to get senior four leavers, unless they have been injured but the department has not received any person from a tertiary institution. Therefore, he reiterates that educating girls up to senior four is another way of preventing fistula as well as fighting poverty of the mind and contributing to the millennium development goals of reducing maternal mortality. The Uganda Demographic health shows that, the number of women dying reduced from 506 per 100,000 live births in 2001 to 435 per 100,000 live births.

Campaign to end fistula UNFPA
Approximately 2 million women in Africa, Asia and the Arab region are living with the condition, and some 500,000 to 100,000 new cases develop annually. Just like Dr. Barageine said, the Technical Manager Acquire Project/Engender Health, Doctor Henry Kakande adds that, fistula is a signal that health systems are not meeting the needs of women.

Kakande says that Engender health is working with other development partners such as USAID and the Ministry of health as part of the collaborative campaigns in Africa, Asia and some Arab states and Uganda inclusive to prevent fistula and restore the health and dignity of the women. The campaign includes treatment, prevention and support to women who have been repaired to return to their communities.

Further reference check: Information contains the information for further reading http://www.endfistual.org/res/offc/mac/obs-fis/

GBC journalist picks up health reporting award

2008-10-27T17:17:00.002Z

Clare Banoeng Yakubu, of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, won the Health Reporting award at the Ghanaian Journalists Association's awards ceremony on Saturday. The event, sponsored by telecoms operator, MTN and Unilever Ghana, among others, was tarnished by the lack of deserving applicants for the prestigious Journalist of the Year Award prize.

http://news.myjoyonline.com/international/200810/22024.asp

Journalists invited to 'Meet the Press' in South Africa

2008-10-24T20:45:00.008Z

Journalists are invited to a public debate on November 12 at the University
of Johannesburg, Kingsway Campus, to discuss the media tribunal being
created by the African National Congress (ANC). Deadline to RSVP is November 11.

Source: http://healthandmedia.blogspot.com/2008/10/journalists-invited-to-meet-press.html

Online tool allows journalists to practice 'link journalism'

2008-10-24T20:45:00.005Z

Journalists and newsrooms can now access a platform called "Publish2" that allows users to bookmark Web pages andvorganize and share these links on their Web sites for free - a trend knownvas "link journalism."

Source link

Caribbean Needs To Increase Efforts Against HIV

2008-10-24T20:45:00.004Z

Increased efforts are needed to bolster HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment and education in the Caribbean, Karen Sealy, head of the UNAIDS Caribbean office, said recently at the seventh annual United States Chiefs of Mission Conference on HIV/AIDS, the Caribbean Media Corporation reports. Sealy said that 38 people in the region die from AIDS-related causes daily and that 55 new HIV cases occur each day in the Caribbean, adding that high-risk groups include commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men. An increase in HIV/AIDS cases also is being recorded among drug users, Sealy said, adding that "perhaps the category that we have not identified is that of prisoners." In addition, she said, "We know that the spread of HIV in the Caribbean is in fact being fueled by serious gaps in gender equality," adding, "All the countries of the Americas which have homosexuality as a crime are now located in the Caribbean region."

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning said that "one of the true successes" of the country's efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS is the decrease in mother-to-child transmissions because of the no-cost antiretroviral drugs provided to all pregnant women who receive treatment at government clinics. Manning said that many of the people living with HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago are able to live "a high quality of life" because of the country's health care program but added that more work needs to be done to address the spread of HIV.

According to the Caribbean Media Corporation, the Caribbean has the second highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate worldwide after sub-Saharan Africa (Caribbean Media Corporation, 10/22). UNAIDS figures show that an estimated 230,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in the region and that 14,000 AIDS-related deaths were recorded last year Kaiser Family Foundation fact sheet

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55177

HIV/AIDS Training for Teachers in Papua New Guinea

2008-10-24T20:39:00.002Z

Primary public school teachers in Papua New Guinea's capital of Port Moresby recently completed a two-week workshop aimed at providing them with the skills to teach young people about HIV/AIDS prevention, Papua New Guinea's Post-Courier reports. The program was run by the country's Education Department and UNAIDS and focused on a life-skills approach to HIV prevention. During the sessions, teachers were trained on providing students with the skills and behaviors that will enable them to avoid contracting HIV, Joe Anang of UNAIDS said. According to Anang, this approach is based on the fact that many young people find decisions about sexual relationships difficult to make despite having knowledge about how to live healthy lifestyles, the Post-Courier reports. This makes youth vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, Anang said.

Seventy-six teachers from three areas -- the Autonomous Region of Bouganville, Madang and Eastern Highlands -- attended the workshop and have returned to teach in these provinces. Teacher Emleen Sioni said that the training was valuable because many educators feel uncomfortable teaching about HIV/AIDS at the primary-school level. Participants of the program also were provided a newly published HIV/AIDS life skills resource book from UNAIDS (Post-Courier, 10/22).

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Workshop:media convergence skills in New Delhi

2008-10-24T20:36:00.002Z

Journalism convergence -- enhancing content through a mix of technology,including the web, broadcast, radio, or a newspaper or magazine, or all of the above -- is the focus of a workshop scheduled for November 17 to 21 in New Delhi, India. Registration is ongoing.

Link to source

Vaccine Reduces TB Incidence by 37% Among HIV+ People

2008-10-23T21:57:00.002Z

A new tuberculosis vaccine reduced the incidence of the disease by 37% among HIV-positive people during a clinical trial in Tanzania, according to a study presented by lead researcher Ford von Reyn at the 39th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Paris, This Day reports.

For the study, researchers from Dartmouth Medical School and Dar es Salaam's Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences examined the efficacy of a vaccine created from a whole inactivated mycobacterium called M. vaccae, which previously had been tested for safety and immunogenicity during human studies conducted in Europe, North America and Africa. Beginning in 2001, the researchers recruited 2,000 HIV-positive people with an average CD4+ T cell count of 400 to participate in the study. All of the study participants previously received the Bacille-Calmette Guerin TB vaccine, and 70% of the study participants were women. The investigators randomly assigned the participants to receive five immunizations with the active vaccine or a placebo over a period of 12 months. Eighty-five percent of the participants received all doses of the vaccine.

During a three-year follow-up period, the researchers observed 207 cases of active TB and 20 cases of disseminated TB, which occurs when the disease spreads from the lungs to other areas of the body. The researchers also identified 33 cases of confirmed TB among the group receiving the vaccine and 52 cases of confirmed TB among the placebo group, indicating a vaccine efficacy of 37%. Von Reyn said that if 50% of HIV-positive people in Tanzania received the vaccine, TB incidence in the country could decline by about 3,300 new cases annually.

According to von Reyn, the low incidence of disseminated TB can be attributed to the aggressive efforts of trial physicians to diagnose TB before it spread from the lungs. A lack of trial follow-up also could account for the low incidence, as 16% of participants failed to continue the trial, possibly because of sickness. Although the study found no significant reduction in the rates of probable TB, the vaccine appeared to maintain its protective effects for one year when the researchers plotted the event rate in a Kaplan-Meier graph, This Day reports.

According to the study investigators, reducing the TB incidence by 37% demonstrates that the new vaccine provides significant protection against TB, because "anything more than 20% is very favorable in the context of a very common complication of AIDS," von Reyn said. He added that Tanzania's Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is interested in implementing a vaccination program, which would require licensing the vaccine and identifying a manufacturer capable of producing sufficient amounts for large-scale immunizations. According to von Reyn, a remaining challenge for the vaccine will be to examine its effects among HIV-positive people with CD4 counts fewer than 200 (This Day, 10/22).

Kaisernetwork.org is the official webcaster of the Union TB conference. Webcasts of select sessions, interviews and other resources are available online.

http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55156

Fellowship to study politics, public policy at Harvard

2008-10-23T21:54:00.002Z

Journalists who want to learn more about the interaction between the press, politics and public policy can compete for the Joan Shorenstein Fellowship. Deadline: February 1, 2009.

The fellowship, offered by the Joan Shorenstein Center, enables journalists to study for one semester at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. The program is open to U.S. or international journalists, scholars and policymakers.

Fellows receive a stipend of $30,000 disbursed in four installments over the semester.Candidates must send a statement of interest, a project proposal, a resume and three letters of recommendation, along with the application form to the Fellowship Program Director Joan Shorenstein at Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

For more information, contact Edith Holway at edith_holway@harvard.edu, or visit http://www.shorensteincenter.org.

George Polk Awards accepting nominations

2008-10-23T21:48:00.003Z

Print and broadcast journalists from all over the world can be nominated for the George Polk Awards, which honor journalists that show resourcefulness and courage in gathering information, and skill in relating the story.

Named after CBS correspondent George Polk, who was killed while covering a Greek civil war, the competition is organized by New York's Long Island University. www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_opportunities george_polk_awards_accepting_nominations

FIAVI Announces Funding for Taiwan HIV/AIDS Research

2008-10-23T21:45:00.003Z

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative has awarded a $612,923, three-year grant to an HIV/AIDS research team in Taiwan, the Central News Agency reports. The research team is led by Academia Sinica President Chi-Huey Wong and was awarded the grant for its work to develop a defense against HIV/AIDS, according to the Central News Agency. Wong and colleagues developed a new compound, called glycodendron, that has proven effective at stopping HIV from infecting rodents by preventing the virus from attaching to dendritic cells and prompting the immune system to produce antibodies to attack HIV. According to the Central News Agency, the researchers hope the compound can be used in new HIV/AIDS treatments and to develop a safe and effective vaccine. Wong said that the IAVI grant will help foster increased attention to and engagement in the development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine (Wu, Central News Agency, 10/20).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55130

Advocates Call for New Approaches To Preventing HIV

2008-10-23T21:45:00.002Z

Citing concerns that the ABC prevention method -- which stands for Abstinence, Be faithful and use Condoms -- does not provide women with sufficient protection against HIV/AIDS because of issues such as rape, early marriage and low condom use, advocates for women's reproductive health recently called for new approaches to reducing the disease among women, Ghana's Public Agenda reports. According to the Public Agenda, the ABC method is not considered a pragmatic option for millions of women and girls in Africa who often are taught to obey men

Bernice Heloo, president of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa who spoke at a workshop aimed at providing the media and women with skills to address HIV/AIDS, said that more women are contracting HIV because of several factors, including gender inequality. "Women are already marginalized, and HIV and AIDS have worsened their plight," Heloo said, adding, "It is very difficult for them to negotiate condom use." She also said that although the emergence of antiretroviral drugs has made significant gains in HIV/AIDS prevention, many people living with the disease, particularly women, do not have access to the drugs or cannot buy them.

In terms of the media, Heloo said that because HIV now can be managed by antiretrovirals, the media have "a great responsibility to project this to reduce stigmatization and discrimination." In addition, she stressed the need to present HIV/AIDS as a disease that can affect anyone, rather than just low-income people. Tim Quashigah of the Ghana Institute of Journalism added that because reporting on HIV/AIDS is a political issue, journalists need to understand the political climate and educate themselves on the dynamics of the disease (Amankwah, Public Agenda, 10/20).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55127

The Spread of HIV in African Border Towns

2008-10-21T22:59:00.002Z

IRIN/PlusNews recently examined how some long-distance truck drivers in parts of East Africa -- including Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda -- will have relationships with women in border towns and typically not use condoms during sex, putting them at an increased risk of HIV/AIDS. Brian Atuhire -- site coordinator for a Family Health International HIV program in Katuna, Uganda -- said truckers do not view these women as commercial sex workers, making it difficult to encourage condom use. "If it is a sex worker who they meet in a bar and pay for sex once, then the truckers know they should use a condom -- to them that's obvious," Atuhire said, adding that the "challenge comes with these so-called 'wives' or 'girlfriends,'" who usually are supported financially by the truck drivers. The men "feel more of a connection" and "believe [the women] are cleaner, so they don't bother with condoms for these women," Atuhire said.

According to voluntary counseling and testing records at the largest health center in the Ugandan border town of Katuna, the town has an HIV/AIDS prevalence of 11% -- higher than the national average of 6.4%. According to a prenatal clinic survey conducted in 2007, the town of Gatuna on the Rwandan side of the border has an HIV/AIDS prevalence of more than 6%, which almost is double the national average, according to IRIN/PlusNews. In an effort to address the issue, FHI is reaching out to low-income commercial sex workers, providing them with skills training in agriculture, commerce and information technology. Atuhire said that competing with the truck drivers -- who give the women as much as $100 per visit -- is a challenge, as is providing information on safer-sex practices to the truck drivers. "After a while the message is routine -- the truckers have heard it all before and know everything they need to know," Atuhire said, adding that the organization "emphasize[s] that they must always use condoms with all their sexual partners, and hopefully the messages will eventually get through.

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55045

Resident Radio Advisor to be based in Chad

2008-10-21T21:36:00.010Z

Internews® Network is an international media development organization based in Arcata, CA and Washington, D.C. whose mission is to empower people worldwide with the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard.

Closing date: 30 Nov 2008
Location: Chad

GENERAL FUNCTION:
Internews is seeking a Resident Advisor to be based in Abeche, Chad. Theobjective of the project is to create a stream of radio programs onrelevant human rights issues and peace processes that will be directed atdisplaced Darfuris.

More information

Key Components Of A Health Systems Response

2008-10-21T21:36:00.007Z

TB-HIV Community Activism: Key Components Of A Health Systems Response

In partnership with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), kaisernetwork.org is pleased to be the official webcaster of the 39th Union World Conference on Lung Health, providing access to daily conference developments.

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=3054

Online tool for editing TV news

2008-10-21T21:36:00.006Z

The U.S.-based Link TV channel recently released an online learning tool focused on creating international television news.

Source: http://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_materials/online_tool_lets_students_practice_editing_tv_news

Fellowship invites African journalists to work in Germany

2008-10-21T21:33:00.005Z

Southern African journalists have the chance to compete for the Southern African-German Journalists’ Bursary to work for two months in a media outlet in Germany. Applications will be accepted from December 1, 2008 to January 31, 2009.

Source: http://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_opportunities/fellowship_invites_african_journalists_to_work_in_germany

Comment: http://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_opportunities/fellowship_invites_african_journalists_to_work_in_germany#comments

Contest to honor best healthcare reporting

2008-10-21T21:33:00.004Z

Journalists who cover health issues are invited to compete for the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, organized by the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ). Early bird deadline: December 17.

Source: http://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_opportunities/contest_to_honor_best_healthcare_reporting

Comment: http://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_opportunities/contest_to_honor_best_healthcare_reporting#comments

Global TB Control Progress

2008-10-21T21:28:00.007Z

Stop TB Symposium: Part 1 - Global TB Control Progress

The Stop TB Symposium reviews global progress in TB control while identifying health systems challenges and opportunities for further scale-up and progress towards the Global TB control targets. The symposium provides an overview of global coordinated efforts to strengthen health systems, as well as national experiences in advancing TB control and system strengthening objectives.

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=3035

Stop TB Symposium: Part 2 - Global Health System Strengthening Initiatives

The Stop TB Symposium reviews global progress in TB control while identifying health systems challenges and opportunities for further scale-up and progress towards the Global TB control targets. The symposium provides an overview of global coordinated efforts to strengthen health systems, as well as national experiences in advancing TB control and system strengthening objectives.

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=3035

Singapore Releases Results From HIV/AIDS Survey

2008-10-21T21:28:00.006Z

Singapore's Health Promotion Board recently released the results of an HIV/AIDS survey conducted last year, AsiaOne reports. The survey was conducted among 1,768 people ages 18 to 69 and asked participants about their awareness of HIV prevention, primarily concerning abstinence, fidelity and condom use. According to the survey, 80.4% of participants were aware of at least two of the three ways to prevent HIV, and 36.6% were aware of all three (AsiaOne, 10/16). The level of awareness was lowest among people ages 18 to 29, according to Channel NewsAsia (Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia, 10/16).

The survey also found that one in two participants did not know that using condoms can prevent HIV transmission, the Straits Times reports (Chong, Straits Times, 10/16). "Condom use is still very much a taboo subject in Singapore, and most of the general population would relate the use of condoms as a form of contraception, as opposed to preventing HIV/AIDS or even sexually transmitted infections," Lionel Lee, executive director of Action for AIDS, said (Channel NewsAsia, 10/16). In addition, one in five respondents at high risk of the virus -- including men who have sex with men and people with multiple sex partners -- reported consistent condom use during sex (Straits Times, 10/16).

The survey also found that one in three respondents was not aware that an HIV-positive person still can appear healthy. According to Channel NewsAsia, this misconception can prevent people from getting regular HIV screenings or practicing safer sex if their partners look healthy.

Although 68% of survey participants said that HIV cannot be transmitted by sharing a meal with an HIV-positive person, 22.4% said that they would do so. In addition, 18.2% of respondents said that they would buy food from a person living with the virus. Fifty-four percent of participants said that they would provide care for a family member living with HIV (Channel NewsAsia, 10/16).

To address the situation, the health board plans to implement various HIV/AIDS education campaigns to combat stigma and curb the spread of the virus (Straits Times, 10/16). It also plans to emphasize early HIV testing and detecting in addition to the ABC approach (Chai Chin, Today, 10/17).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55044

International Center for Journalists Photo Exhibition

2008-10-21T21:28:00.005Z

The International Center for Journalists is now auctioning signed photographs by award-winning photojournalists such as David Burnett, Arthur Grace and David Hume Kennerly.

Source: http://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/advertisements/international_center_for_journalists_photo_exhibition

Malaysia to train journalists in media leadership

2008-10-21T21:23:00.002Z

MBA program in Malaysia to train journalists in media leadership

A limited number of scholarships are available to journalists worldwide for an MBA degree in media and communication, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the 2009-2010 academic year. Deadline: November 15.

Source: http://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_opportunities/mba_program_in_malaysia_to_train_journalists_in_media_leadership

Advocates Oppose Bill Criminalizing Deliberate Spread of HIV

2008-10-21T21:17:00.003Z

Advocates for people living with HIV/AIDS recently criticized a proposed law
in Uganda that would criminalize the deliberate spread of the virus, the New
Vision/AllAfrica.com reports. According to the advocates, lawmakers should
drop the bill, which currently is being considered by the Parliamentary
Committee on HIV/AIDS.

According to Flavia Kyomukama of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, the law would contribute to the spread of HIV and increase stigma against people living with the virus. The government "must protect the citizens in a way that does not put to risk the lives of an already marginalized group,"
Kyomukama said. Kihumuro Apuuli, director-general of the Uganda AIDS
Commission, said the bill is directed at men who are aware of their
HIV-positive status and still engage in unprotected sex with multiple
partners. According to Apuuli, this population is the biggest driver of
HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

Irish Ambassador to Uganda Kevin Kelly -- who represented donors at a meeting to launch a five-year strategic plan issued by the Uganda AIDS
Commission -- expressed concerns about how the bill would affect people
living with HIV/AIDS but did not condemn the measure, according to the New
Vision/AllAfrica.com. He said the proposed legislation should include
provisions to protect people living with the virus. Richard Nduhuura, state
minister of health, said the intent of the bill is to punish people living
with HIV/AIDS who knowingly spread the virus and not to criminalize those
simply living with HIV (Mugisa, New Vision/AllAfrica.com, 10/20).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55100

'Long Way To Go' in Fighting HIV/AIDS'

2008-10-21T18:59:00.001Z

Despite the progress made in the fight against HIV since it was discovered
in 1983, there is "still a long way to go," Luc Montagnier, who recently
shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine for his work in the discovery of
HIV, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. HIV/AIDS is "spreading
in many countries," and even "developed countries like the U.S. have many
new infections," he writes, adding, "There is also the danger of a new
epidemic caused by viral strains resistant to treatment. Moreover, despite
the effort of thousands of researchers, we still have no cure and no
vaccine."

According to Montagnier, "many potential preventive vaccines have been
experimented with" since 1985. "A few of them made it up to efficacy trials
but then failed," he writes, adding that this is "no surprise" to him for
"two main, related reasons." The first is that HIV has "evolved to present
its most variable parts to the immune system, and it hides its crucial parts
in internal pockets," he writes, adding, "Second, the variability potential
of the HIV genetic material is enormous, although its origin is not fully
understood."

This "complexity means it is very difficult to elicit an immune response
that would protect against the many different HIV variants that infect the
human population," according to Montagnier. He adds, "In addition to its
very high level of variability, HIV has evolved several other strategies to
evade the response of the immune system, making it difficult to design an
effective vaccine." However, he writes that researchers "know that
protection against HIV is possible in natural conditions" -- including in
some people who are exposed to HIV but do not contract the virus, as well as
in "some rare individuals" who contract HIV "but do not progress toward
immunodeficiency and AIDS." He adds, "It is possible that the mechanisms
that provide resistance to infection, and those that provide resistance to
disease progression, are the same. If this is the case, accines capable of
eliciting protective immunity could be first tested in HIV-infected
individuals for the capacity to delay progression to disease and reduce
viral replication."

According to Montagnier, more than 10 years ago he "proposed using
vaccination against HIV antigens not for prophylaxis but as an additional
therapy following a short antiviral treatment." The goal in this
circumstance is to make HIV-positive people's immune systems "fully
competent, after only partial restoration by an antiretroviral treatment
reducing the viral load in the blood to undetectable levels," he writes.

According to Montagnier, in "developing countries, many infected patients
refuse to be tested and are not treated because of the stigma attached to
AIDS." He writes that the "availability of treatment able to eradicate the
infection will change their attitudes," concluding that the "epidemic will
thus gradually decrease, perhaps helped by a preventive vaccine derived from
a successful therapeutic vaccine" (Montagnier, Wall Street Journal, 10/21).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55103

Stop TB Symposium: Working with the Health System

2008-10-16T21:01:00.001Z

The Stop TB Symposium reviews global progress in TB control while identifying health systems challenges and opportunities for further scale-up and progress towards the Global TB control targets. The symposium provides an overview of global coordinated efforts to strengthen health systems, as well as national experiences in advancing TB control and system strengthening objectives.

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=3035

Researchers Express Concerns About Funding Levels

2008-10-16T13:43:00.007Z

Experts at the AIDS Vaccine 2008 conference in Cape Town, South Africa, on Tuesday expressed concerns that the current global economic situation could damage funding for AIDS research and vaccine development, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports.

The economic situation has "added to the gloom among experts deeply frustrated by setbacks" in HIV/AIDS vaccine research, according to the AP/Times.

There also are concerns that some groups that are large contributors to health and international development initiatives could reduce funding in light of the economic situation, the AP/Times reports. Anthony Fauci, director of NIH 's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , said this year's NIH budget for HIV/AIDS vaccine research is $491 million out of a total HIV/AIDS budget of $1.5 billion. This compares with a $115 million vaccine budget in 1998 out of a total budget of $703 million. Although Fauci said that he does not expect the U.S. government to reduce its funding for HIV/AIDS, he added that the "increases in the budget that we had hoped for will not be forthcoming" because of the current financial crisis in the U.S.

The conference follows a year of several setbacks in HIV vaccine research. Merck in September 2007 announced it had halted a large-scale clinical trial of its experimental HIV vaccine after the drug failed to prevent HIV infection in participants or prove effective in delaying the virus' progression to AIDS. The vaccine candidate also might have put some trial participants at an increased risk of HIV. Following news of the Merck vaccine, trials of NIH's Vaccine Research Center 's HIV vaccine candidate were scaled back
Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55016

Uganda: New $2 Billion, Five-Year HIV/AIDS Plan

2008-10-16T13:43:00.006Z

he Uganda AIDS Commission on Tuesday launched a five-year strategic plan aimed at decreasing Uganda's annual HIV incidence by 40%, the New Vision/AllAfrica.com reports. The plan is worth an estimated $2 billion and also aims to increase access to HIV/AIDS services in the country. David Kihumuro, director-general of the commission, said that under the plan, the number of annual new HIV cases is expected to decrease from 163,000 to 100,000 by 2012 through the ABC method -- which stands for Abstinence, Be faithful and use Condoms -- and a focus on cost-effective prevention programs. "We also intend to develop and implement strategies for HIV prevention targeting key population groups at higher risk and the general population, and also ensuring that all youth access life skills for HIV prevention," Kihumuro said, adding that Uganda's HIV epidemic is "mature but also continuously evolving and different groups are now more vulnerable than in the past."

The plan also aims to increase the number of people with access to antiretroviral treatment to 240,000 from 91,500 over the next four years, Kihumuro said. He added that he is concerned that challenges in designing, implementing and supporting a response to HIV/AIDS in Uganda could lead to an increase in the number of people living with the disease from 1.1 million in 2006 to 1.3 million in 2012 (Karugaba, New Vision/AllAfrica.com, 10/15).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55018

Dominica Begins Plan To Improve Response to HIV/AIDS

2008-10-16T13:43:00.005Z

Health officials and stakeholders in Dominica met Monday to begin work on developing an improved national strategic plan against HIV/AIDS for 2008 through 2013, the Dominica News reports. According to the News, the plan aims to serve as a guide to strengthen the island's health care systems and integrate HIV/AIDS awareness into its primary health care system.

Health Ministry Chief Medical Officer David Johnson said the meeting on Monday was "just part of the process of developing the plan. ... In order for us to get a better understanding of what are the things that's driving the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, we need to have facts; we need to develop our programs; we need to identify the resources that are necessary to improve a response; we need to develop what are the correct activities and strategies to address HIV/AIDS. ... From where I sit from the Ministry of Health, it is something that's going to assist us (and) improve Dominica." He added that the national plan will provide the country with the tools and "the foresight in terms of what are the things we really need to do to address the epidemic in Dominica."

According to the News, the Dominica Red Cross, Dominica Planned Parenthood Association, Dominica Evangelical Association, Christian Council, Dominica Association of Disabled People, National Council of Women, nongovernmental organizations, medical practitioners and HIV/AIDS support groups were represented at the consultation (Baptiste, Dominica News, 10/14).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=55019

Scientists decode genome of parasite behind malaria relapse

2008-10-16T06:51:00.001Z

Entertainment and Showbiz!, India - 30 minutes ago
Scientists at a New York University have decoded the complete genetic
sequence of the parasite Plasmodium vivax - the leading cause of relapsing
malaria ...Source:
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se-200810163327&cid=0&ei=LIz2SMuYNqCQ6AOKyOyMCQ&usg=AFQjCNFDUJBelWeJ4Zw1KAR4
e3lDNdnPXQ

HIV Drug Resistance Spreading in China

2008-10-16T05:14:00.000Z

HIV Drug Resistance Spreading in China, Researcher Says

As HIV spreads beyond high-risk groups into China's general population, drug-resistant strains of the virus also are appearing in parts of the country, Chen Zhiwei of the AIDS Institute in Hong Kong said recently, Reuters reports. According to Chen, the two trends are "alarming" and people living with HIV in China could face treatment obstacles because relatively few antiretroviral drugs are available in the country. "All these drug-resistant mutations are in China now, they are emerging in Chinese patients," he said, adding, "The major worry is whether the drug-resistant virus will spread. We are studying whether that is happening, but that will be the case if you don't provide proper treatment. If drug-resistant virus (strains) spread in China, we don't have enough selection of (drugs) that are made available."

According to Reuters, about seven of the more than 20 different antiretrovirals are available in China, meaning that HIV-positive people might be left with limited options if they develop resistance to certain drugs. In addition, treatment adherence can be low in rural parts of China because of a lack of knowledge among patients, low access to health care and inadequate numbers of health care workers to explain the importance of adherence.

Chen's comments follow a study published last week in the journal Nature that found how HIV cases are increasing among women and men who have sex with men in the country. "The virus is moving into the general population," Chen said, adding, "Signs are prevalent among women and" in mother-to-child transmission. Chen also said if "there is no good prevention, transmissions will suddenly explode." According to Chen, China's open southern border is a concern, and an HIV strain recorded in Yunnan province also has been detected in Thailand and Myanmar. He added that this could be explained by women working as commercial sex workers in other countries and returning to China. In addition, travelers crossing China's southern border could be contributing to the situation, Chen said (Ee Lyn, Reuters, 10/10).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=54931

Global Financial Crisis Puts MDGs At Risk

2008-10-15T23:50:00.002Z

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said he is concerned about the effects that the current global financial crisis will have on impoverished nations and efforts to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals -- which include targets to curb the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria -- AFP/The International News reports. Ban said he is "deeply concerned" about the impact of the financial crisis on the developing world, "particularly on the poorest of the poor and the serious setback this is likely to have on efforts to meet major goals." He also said there is a need to "consider urgent multilateral action to alleviate the impact of recent events on the development agenda" of the United Nations.

According to Ban, next month's Financing for Development Conference -- organized by the World Trade Organization in Doha, Qatar -- "provides us an important opportunity to review developments and the ensure that the current financial difficulties do not undermine commitments already undertaken to provide more aid and other financial resources for the achievement" of the MDGs. In addition, because the global financial crisis could add pressure to donor organizations, the World Bank estimates that as many as 100 million people are at risk of poverty because of higher food and energy prices (AFP/The International News, 10/14).

In related news, the Group of 24 developing nations -- which includes developing and emerging countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East -- on Friday said that they could be affected by the current financial situation, adding that wealthy nations are not meeting aid pledges. "Developed countries have the means to deal with the problem, but we who are developing countries, or emerging countries, could collapse under the weight of such a crisis," G24 chair Jean-Claude Masangu Mulongo, governor of the central bank of the Democratic Republic of Congo, said, adding, "Our banking systems could come really crashing down." According to Mulongo, the U.S. developed a $700 billion financial rescue package in one week but could not meet pledges made in 2005 to increase aid. "We heard promises being made for development and to help countries in trouble," he said, adding, "These promises have not been respected in the face of an international crisis, which may spread very quickly, become systemic, with the risk of the international, whole world economy falling apart, or collapsing."

The G24 includes Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Gabon, India, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. China is a G24 observer (Wroughton, Reuters, 10/10).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=54957

Decreased TB Funding Could Hinder HIV/AIDS Efforts

2008-10-15T23:44:00.000Z

A decline in global funding to control tuberculosis could compromise gains made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi -- recent recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine for her contribution to the discovery of HIV -- said Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reports. Barre-Sinoussi spoke during a teleconference from the Institut Pasteur in Paris about the current global financial crisis.

Of the approximately 33 million HIV-positive people worldwide, about 11 million also have TB, according to Barre-Sinoussi. She added that HIV/AIDS efforts have reached "the period of success with antiretroviral treatment," but an "alarming" epidemic of multi-drug resistant TB is on the rise. Although international donors generally direct funds toward antibiotic research and drug distribution in developing nations, HIV and TB advocates "are even more worried than before" because of the worsening global economic situation, Barre-Sinoussi said.

According to Richard Chaisson -- director of TB research at Johns Hopkins University and head of a consortium to combat HIV/TB -- TB incidence has quadrupled over the past 15 years in sub-Saharan Africa, where 22 million people are HIV-positive. Chaisson added that "TB is what kills most patients" in regions of the world with the highest rates of HIV. In addition, the prevalence of MDR-TB is increasing, with such strains accounting for 5% of new TB cases worldwide and 15% to 22% of new cases in China and parts of the former Soviet Union. Although drug-sensitive TB and MDR-TB generally are treatable with appropriate antibiotic regimens, the World Health Organization reports that the majority of Africans do not receive TB drugs. In addition, about half of people with extensively drug-resistant TB -- which is resistant to two of the most potent first-line treatments and at least two of the classes of second-line drugs -- die from the strain, Chaisson said (Engel, Los Angeles Times, 10/14).

Source: http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=54990

Top US malaria envoy visits Malawi

2008-10-10T23:14:00.006Z

Top US malaria envoy visits Malawi
A statement from the US embassy in the Malawi capital capital, Lilongwe, says Rear Admiral Ziemer, who is the US Malaria Coordinator and leads the ...

230 die of malaria in a UP district

2008-10-10T23:14:00.005Z

230 die of malaria in a UP district: reports - Hindu
More than 230 people have died of malaria and viral fever in last 90 days in the district, media reports here claimed. ..

New Approach to malaria prevention

2008-10-10T23:13:00.002Z

Ministry of Public Health: New Approach to malaria prevention
Cameroon Radio Television, Cameroon
Their mission is to administer first aid treatment to malaria patients at home. Justifying this latest action, the Minister of Public Health, ...

IAJ offer advanced feature writing course

2008-10-10T23:12:00.001Z

Experienced journalists and senior writers with an interest in writing are being invited by the Institute for Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) to attend an advanced feature writing course from November 3 to 5.

The techniques taught in the course will enhance reportage, personality sketches and profile writing, and political and travel pieces. read more

South Africa: Fear over killer disease

2008-10-10T23:11:00.002Z

Pambazuka News :Health & HIV/AIDS
More than 100 people in South Africa are under medical observation after coming into contact with people who died from suspected haemorrhagic fever. Doctors have tried to calm fears that the disease could spread throughout the wider population in Joh...

Ten Kenyans hold Key to an HIV Vaccine

2008-10-10T23:09:00.002Z

The individuals, who the scientists say have powerful antibodies that neutralise the virus, stopping it from infecting new cells, have neither used any antiretroviral drugs nor been attacked by opportunistic infections despite living with the virus for over nine years.

On being screened, the individuals were found to possess high CD4 count- immune cells used to fight infections- and very low viral loads-amount of HIV in the body-, which were uncharacteristic of an infected person.

The individuals, who the scientists say have powerful antibodies that neutralise the virus, stopping it from infecting new cells, have neither used any antiretroviral drugs nor been attacked by opportunistic infections despite living with the virus for over nine years. On being screened, the individuals were found to possess high CD4 count- immune cells used to fight infections- and very low viral loads-amount of HIV in the body-, which were uncharacteristic of an infected person.
Read more

Scientists map more malaria strains

2008-10-10T06:48:00.002Z

An international team of scientists have mapped the genes of two species of malaria, opening the way to more research into one of the world's most deadly ...
Malaria genomes: and then there were three Nature.com (subscription)
Genome Of Parasite That Causes Relapsing Malaria Decoded Science Daily (press release)
Decoding of malaria parasite's genome could lead to vaccine USA Today
The Press Association - CBC.ca
all 83 news articles

Researchers in malaria breakthrough

2008-10-10T06:47:00.002Z

Euro Weekly News, Spain -
... dedicated to the development of small-molecule drugs to combat inflammation-related diseases, have revealed a new strategy to prevent malaria infection. ...Read more

Killing Malarial Mosquitoes Now

2008-10-10T06:46:00.001Z

23:07 2008/10/09, Malaria - Google News

Killing Malarial Mosquitoes Now!
WEBCommentary - 4 hours ago
Not long ago, most Americans thought malaria had disappeared from Planet Earth. Few remembered that it had killed thousands every year in the United States, ...

2008 report on the global AIDS epidemic

2008-10-10T06:44:00.001Z

02:37 2008/10/10, Pambazuka News :Health & HIV/AIDS

According to a new report by UNAIDS, significant gains in preventing new HIV infections are being seen in a number of countries most affected by the AIDS epidemic though it is not over in any part of the world....

4th Int Conference on HIV Treatment

2008-10-07T00:23:00.001Z

The goal of this conference is to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of state-of-the-science HIV treatment adherence research, as well as current behavioral and clinical perspectives in practicum. Our ultimate hope is ... Read more

Global: 7th Annual Global Linking & Learning Programme

2008-10-07T00:18:00.000Z

01:49 2008/10/07, Pambazuka News :Courses, seminars, & workshops

For the seventh consecutive year, Dignity is proud to invite applications to the Annual Global Linking and Learning Programme. The Programme will take selected participants on a ten day intensive – enjoyable - learning journey that will equip them wi...

New Media and Development » home

2008-10-03T00:39:00.000Z

New Media and Development » home: "This website is a survey of new projects and ideas from around the world. They share a common interest in using new media technology to help people in developing countries face the challenges in their lives.

The majority of the world's inhabitants live in poverty, and we are all familiar with various forms of assistance to help the hungry and the homeless. But the field of communications can offer a unique avenue to dignity and self-sufficiency. On this website you will find an array of inspiring stories, that include how:
-- cell phones are helping farmers in Kenya market their crops
-- the Internet is helping slumdwellers in India find jobs
-- radio soap opera is educating tribal communities in Afghanistan
-- online social networking is supporting a student drive to distribute school supplies in rural China"

Access coverage of '08 AIDS Conference

2008-07-28T23:11:00.002Z

SAHAR NEYAZI, Communications Associate,
Online Activities,Kaiser Family Foundation

You may be familiar with the Kaiser Family Foundation's coverage of pastInternational AIDS conferences. As the XVII International AIDS Conference(AIDS 2008) approaches, kaisernetwork.org is pleased once again to be the official webcaster of its proceedings, providing viewers with access to thedaily developments from the conference in Mexico City, August 3-8.

I'm writing today to let you know about the free content-sharing andsyndication options Kaiser is offering to allow organizations to displayonline coverage of the conference on their Web sites. We encourage yourorganization to take advantage of this opportunity to provide your Web sitevisitors with daily coverage of this important event.

Kaisernetwork.org's Extensive Coverage of AIDS 2008 will include:

Live and tape-delayed webcasts and transcripts of each day's sessions,including the opening and closing sessions, all plenary sessions, as well asselected other sessions and press conferences;English and Spanish-language audio podcasts of select sessions;Slide presentations from select conference sessions;Daily narrated video highlights of major conference developments;Extended news coverage available in the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report,including summaries of coverage from international news sources andnewly-released studies; andInterviews with newsmakers and journalists for analysis and summaries ofconference developments.

How to Partner with Kaisernetwork.org to Share the Coverage

To help extend the reach of the conference, you can make coverage availableto your constituency by forwarding kaisernetwork.org's daily email updatesand/or becoming a syndication partner.

Forward the Daily Update email to your listserv or email subscribers: TheDaily Update email, sent each day of the conference, will include a summaryof and access to each day's online coverage. Sign up for the email athttp://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2008.

Feature the conference coverage on your Web site through our freesyndication service: Syndication options allow you to match the content tothe look and feel of your Web site in order to provide the optimalcontent-sharing experience. You have options that include featuring the fullcoverage or embedding a small widget that is easily adaptable to your blog,Web site or social networking page. For more information and to see examplesof partners' sites that syndicated content from the 2006 International AIDSConference, visit http://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2008/syndication.cfm.

Costs hindering Cervical Cancer campaign

2008-07-28T21:16:00.001Z

Birungi Rebecca, Journalist, Mama Radio, Kampala, Uganda

The first Global Cervical Cancer conference was held in London In December, 2006, and Africa was represented by five countries, namely: South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda among others.

The following year, the conference was held in Nigeria and it was the first of its kind on the African continent. The event was supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and it ran from 24th to 25th of July 2007.

Uganda this year 2008 has hosted the second annual 2nd Stop Cervical Cancer International Conference held in Kampala on the 21st -22nd July 2008, with the theme: “Accelerating access to HPV vaccines to prevent Cervical cancer”, whose aim was to highlight the burden of cervical cancer on the African continent.

While presenting a paper on “Current experience of the introduction of HPV Vaccines in Uganda” The Country Director of PATH an International Non Governmental health Organization, Doctor Emmanuel Mugisha, said that cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted virus known as human papilloma virus (HPV). The doctor added that the virus is responsible for cervical cancer which is the second cause of mortality among women globally. There are different types of HPV, and many do not cause problems but strains of HPV of 16 and 18 cause 70% of cervical cancer cases.

He further said that PATH is leading the way in the fight against cervical cancer in Uganda by using HPV vaccines. Doctor, Emmanuel Mugisha went ahead to reveal that PATH is carrying out a demonstration project to test Cervarix® vaccine delivery in Ibanda and Nakasongola districts.

Statistical data from the World Health Organization [WHO] indicate that cervical cancer affects 500,000 women with 270,000 of deaths recorded annually on all continents.

Records indicate that 85% of women with the burden of cancer are living in poor resource countries, Uganda inclusive, where access to health care is still inadequate particularly in the rural areas. In Uganda, over 80% of women with cancer of the cervix are diagnosed with advanced disease, thereby making it complicated to treat the cancer.

According to the State Minister for Health Doctor Richard Nduhuura, 30% of the gynecological beds are occupied by women in Mulago National Hospital. “Many more women suffer from cervical problem, but don’t go to the health centers, while others try but fail to access treatment and die painfully at home” He adds.

Further more, Doctor Mugisha says cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the Uganda. 40% of radiotherapy patients in Mulago hospital are women presenting with cervical cancer.

The development of cervical cancer is very slow and takes up to 20 years from infection with HPV to become cervical cancer. It starts as precancerous condition called dysplasia. The latter describes the appearance of abnormal cells of the cervix. In advanced stages the disease presents with heavy vaginal bleeding after sexual intercourse, vaginal discomfort which may be pale, watery, brown or bloody, and pelvic pain among others. However, severe symptoms may rise in very advanced stages include severe anaemia, fistulae.

Despite the lingering ugly picture, Mugisha says that cervical cancer is preventable by the use of HPV vaccine for girls who are not sexually active, or by screening sexually active women. Given the poor resource settings in Africa, Doctor Hannah Simonds a Consultant with Tygerberg Hospital, Western Cape, South Africa, says,” screening is still one of the cheapest options for detecting cervical cancer among women annually”. However, the ideal situation for the governments would have been vaccination along side screening that will reduce the risk of cervical cancer. Additionally Simonds says Pap smear is one of the oldest methods of cervical screening that has been used to screen pre-cancers and cancer. The “Pap smear technique” collects cells that are shedding off the cervix using a brush. The cells are then put on a glass slide, fixed with alcohol processed and read by a trained person.

In Uganda, Kawempe Health Center IV, Naguru Teenage and Mulago National Hospital are providing free screening services which are apparently located in Kampala and unfortunately the screening services are still in the city centre, leaving rural women at a disadvantage. Doctor Mugisha adds that, “inadequate health services with so many competing health needs, coupled with the high disease burden and high costs are daunting challenges to cervical cancer treatment”.

The screening procedure can costs between 5000, to 20,000 Uganda shillings which is between 3 and 13 United States Dollars. This amount of money is not easy to get due to the fact that a number of women in the country are not bread earners, they depend on their husbands’ income for survival and health services. A few women who are income earners have a big dependency burden that includes taking children to school, looking after relatives and paying rent, etc.

The partnership between PATH cervical cancer project and the government of Uganda has enabled this developing country to engage pharmaceutical companies by signing a deal that has seen the buying of vaccines at 89,000 shillings ($50) at a significant affordable rate, though prices need to be reduced further.

In Uganda, PATH in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health is targeting only girls between the ages of 10-12 years because they have not been exposed to sexual activities. Fortunately the on going the HPV-vaccines are a donation in the country’s two districts, namely Nakasongola and Ibanda. “Vaccination of young girls is the best alternative of protecting them from acquiring cervical cancer.” Path’s country director, adds.

In addition the Commissioner in charge of Immunization with the Ministry of Health Doctor Issa Makumbi says the vaccination of 4,000 girls in the Nakasongola and Ibanda districts is given free of charge. “There are vaccines that can prevent up to 70% of cervical cancer among women. Uganda is using Cervarix® that was found to be effective and safe in preventing cancer”. He argues.

Mugisha adds that a doze for cervical cancer treatment would cost 160,000 shillings ($100), saying a woman with cervical cancer requires three doses which adds up to 500,000 shillings ($323). The good news is that World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccine will be meeting in the next one or two years to discuss about the price reduction for the vaccines, to enable African countries provide the vaccines to the women at a subsidized price, doctor Mugisha noted.

Ritah not her real name is a prominent business woman and a survivor of cervical cancer. After the birth of her second a child, doctors did a screening test and the test was found to be positive, a clear sign for cervical cancer. Ritah recalls that in 1999,the treatment cost her 200,000 Uganda shillings which was too expensive for her. She appealed to the Ugandan government to set up a cervical cancer clinic that specifically caters for women.

However, Kenya’s Health Minister, Beth Mugo who attended the conference, says that, prohibitive costs are hindrance to cervical cancer treatment, adding that there is a need for a conscious African Union involvement for advocacy and ownership of the problem.

Uganda women Parliamentarians present at the conference assert that, the cost of cervical cancer treatment is a challenge to achieving of the milestones of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),in particular goal number five of reducing maternal mortality, given the poverty levels in the country.

The next cervical cancer conference is slated for 21st to 22nd of July 2009 in Cape town South Africa, said Princess Onyeri the founder of the Breast Cancer Foundation of Nigeria.

Médecins Sans Frontières invites you...

2008-07-25T01:57:00.003Z

MIND THE GAPS: AIDS TREATMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF HEALTH CARE WORKER SHORTAGES

A Médecins Sans Frontières Satellite Meeting at the XVII International AIDS Conference, Mexico City 2008

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) invites you to attend a satellite meeting on the impact of the health care worker shortage on access to HIV/AIDS treatment and lessons learned from clinicians and advocates working on the ground to overcome this gap.

August 3, 2008, 9:00am-1:00pm,

Melia Reforma Hotel,
Paseo de la Reforma
Mexico City, Mexico

Introduction: An estimated 70 percent of people who need antiretroviral treatment are still not getting it. One barrier to access to treatment is the critical shortage of health care workers. This shortage contributes to unnecessary illness and death, yet acknowledgement of the human resource crisis has not yet translated into strategies and funding to stimulate needed change.

MIND THE GAPS is a half-day satellite meeting preceding the opening ceremonies of the International AIDS Conference organized by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)‹will include reports on efforts to expand and uphold quality of AIDS treatment in the context of severe shortage of health care workers and critical discussions among experts and AIDS activists about possible policy shifts needed to confront one of the largest barriers to scale-up and quality AIDS treatment.

Speakers include:

* Dr Mphu Ramatlapeng, Honourable Minister of Health & Social Welfare,
* Lesotho
* Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World
* Rachel Cohen, Head of Mission, MSF South Africa and Lesotho
* Wim Van Damme, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
* Vuyiseka Dubula, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), South Africa
* Paul Kasonkomona, Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC)
* Dr Jennifer Kavuma, Health Workforce Advocacy Forum (HWAF), Uganda
* Dr Moses Massaquoi, MSF Malawi
* Gorik Ooms, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
* Asia Russell, Health GAP

To register, please go to:
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/events/symposiums/2008/aids/

MSF launches new research information site

2008-05-22T21:43:00.003Z

Jean-Marc Jacobs, Communications officer, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - Brussels

Brussels/London, 15 May 2008. The international medical humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) today launched a website on which it makes available, for free, published research based on its medical work. This research has frequently demonstrated pioneering approaches for tackling a broad range of diseases in many countries and, often, has influenced clinical practice. Well-known examples are MSF's pioneering work in treating populations with HIV using antiretroviral medications and malaria with artemisinin-containing treatment. MSF hopes that health professionals, policy makers and researchers, especially those in developing countries, will now have easier access to the results of MSF's field research.

MSF is archiving all its peer-reviewed research and commentary articles on the site. At its launch, there are over 350 articles on HIV care, malaria, tuberculosis, leishmaniasis and other diseases, as well as more general topics such as medical care in emergencies, refugee health and health politics. As new articles are published, they will be archived on the site.

The articles have been published in journals such as BMJ, New England Journal of Medicine, PloS Medicine, The Lancet, and Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The publishers of these, and many other peer-reviewed journals, have responded positively to MSF's request to make their articles available free of charge; as a rule, articles from many of these publications are available only for a fee.

"We were concerned that health professionals in developing countries would not be able to pay for access to our medical research and would miss information that could be highly relevant to their work," says Tony Reid, medical editor at the office of MSF in Brussels. "The vast majority of our medical activities, and by extension our research initiatives, take place in poorer countries. We therefore applaud the willingness of medical publishers to allow us to archive the articles free of charge for the global medical community.

The new website, at www.fieldresearch.msf.org, requires no password or sign-up and full-text articles are available for free. The articles are easily accessed through the site's search function, and also through search engines such as Google or Yahoo. And through an RSS feed users can choose to be notified of new publications on the site.

www.fieldresearch.msf.org

Paediatric satellite clinics in Lesotho

2008-05-05T04:44:00.001Z

Teboho Senthebane, Series Producer, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

Lesotho will soon be the first country in Africa offering state-of-the-art HIV/AIDS facilities, care and treatment to children and families living in every district. Through a partnership with the government of Lesotho, construction began this week on the first of 10 satellite clinics in remote areas of the country, as part of the Baylor International Paediatric AIDS Initiative.

The government of Lesotho has designated land for 10 satellite clinics, one in each district of the country, and will also help with operating costs. Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation will build the clinics and provide medical expertise to serve the young patients and their families.

Did you recognise World Malaria Day?

2008-04-26T19:55:00.002Z

Nayyer Rubab, HUM TV, Eye television network, Pakistan

I am Health and Media listserv member, Nayyer Rubab, now the producer of morning with HUM, the 2 1/2 hour feature-based live television programme. For first World Malaria Day, we had a discussion on malaria prevention and treatment in our segment "Expert's Talk".

[What did your radio or tv station broadcast for the first World Malaria Day - April 25, 2008? - Did your newspaper or magazine recognise this event in any way? Let us know: click here to tell us about it. -- Colin Lloyd, Health and Media Listserv moderator]

Job: technical advisor

2008-04-23T03:02:00.002Z

Resident Technical Advisor
Internews Network
Location: Afghanistan
Last Date: May 9, 2008

Email: 876-in@internews.org (Reference: DevNetJobs.org) Background:
Internews® Network is an international non-profit organization based in Arcata, CA and Washington, D.C. with a mandate to support open media worldwide. The organization fosters independent media in emerging democracies, produces innovative television and radio programming as well as print and Internet content, and uses the media to reduce conflict within and between countries. Internews programs are based on the conviction that vigorous and diverse mass media form an essential cornerstone of a free and open society.

General Function:
This is an exciting opportunity to join an International NGO working to develop media in Afghanistan. Since 2003 Internews Afghanistan has built 28 community radio stations across Afghanistan, and is in the process of building and renovating 12 more. Under the supervision of the Country Director, the Resident Technical Advisor provides training, professional advice and guidance in media infrastructure planning and installation, with expertise in provincial radio station establishment and technical repairs. In addition the RTA will plan and manage Internews Information Technology infrastructure.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
• Manage all technical aspects of set up of new radio stations, including technical design, procurement and installation.
• Manage and build capacity of national technical and IT staff
• Advise on curriculum development in all areas technical.
• Oversee production of technical handbook
• Support technical development and maintenance of Salam Watandar National radio satellite service.
• Oversee design and implementation of professional IT infrastructure, management an policies.
• Assist with review of local stations for equipment grant awards and liaison with donors.
• Prepare and assemble materials for monthly and quarterly reports, in compliance with donor guidelines.
• Report to and strategize with Country Director on new directions to help independent media in region.

Qualifications:
• Masters degree in engineering and/or Information Technology
• Bachelors degree in electronics and/or communications engineering
• Bachelors degree in Information Technology
• Previous experience in design or installation of AM or FM radio stations
• Previous experience in technical project management
• Previous experience in project budget management
• Previous experience developing and/or delivering technical and production training in a development context
• Experience designing and managing Information Technology systems and infrastructure
• Experience working with community or independent radio stations
• Experience living and working in a hostile environment an advantage
• Ability to handle multi-faceted programs
• Ability to adjust to shifting political circumstances and re-design technical and implementation activities accordingly.
• Sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics in the work place.

To Apply:
Interested candidates meeting the qualifications should forward a cover letter and resume to 876-in (at) internews (dot) org (re-write in standard format), placing “Resident Technical Advisor - AF - dnj” in the subject line. EOE M/F/D/V

Job: Radio Project Chief

2008-04-23T02:55:00.001Z

Chief of Project, IRIN Afghanistan Radio
Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
Location: Kabul, Afghanistan
Last Date: May 17, 2008
Email: <mailto:> (Reference: DevNetJobs.org) OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
INTEGRATED REGIONAL INFORMATION NETWORKS (IRIN)

JOB DESCRIPTION
POSITION TITLE: Chief of Project, IRIN Afghanistan Radio
GRADE: L-3
DUTY STATION: Kabul, Afghanistan
DURATION: 12 months
SUPERVISOR: IRIN Radio Coordinator, Nairobi, Kenya

I. Background

Part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) is an editorially independent humanitarian news and analysis service reporting on more than 70 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Middle East. IRIN aims to provide comprehensive and impartial coverage of humanitarian and related issues in the regions where it operates. Intended for the benefit of a global readership, an emphasis is made on assisting governments and aid organizations to implement their humanitarian and post-disaster recovery work in developing countries.
Over the years, IRIN has built a reputation for providing relevant, timely information to the humanitarian community. However, experience pointed to a need to provide vital information to the victims of crisis as well. In most parts of the developing world, grassroots communities get little access to media because of poverty, illiteracy and a lack of basic infrastructure. The one exception is radio, which reaches a mass audience in many countries. Responding to this need, in 2001 IRIN began a radio initiative, which has developed unique expertise in using radio as a tool for promoting humanitarian priorities and action, as well as bringing communities closer to each other and to the outside world.

II. General Responsibilities

Based in Kabul, Afghanistan and under the general supervision of the Nairobi-based IRIN Radio Coordinator, the Chief of the Project supervises the IRIN-Afghanistan Radio project, overseeing the radio and online production of the office, overseeing and managing the training and capacity building of staff, stringers and local partners, liaising with national and international partners and contributing to formulating strategies for the future development of IRIN Radio in the country. Under guidance from IRIN headquarters, the Chief will support the identification of funding to sustain the existing project and will provide timely reporting to donors.

III. Specific Duties

He/she is responsible specifically for the following duties:

1. In conjunction with the Radio Coordinator, develop a clearly defined work plan and implementation strategy for the IRIN radio project in Afghanistan, and contribute to the development of future plans for the project.

2. Coordinate and supervise the implementation of the IRIN Radio project in Afghanistan, in accordance with the work plan approved by the Radio Coordinator, and ensure the efficient and cost effective use of project funds, assets and personnel in accordance with UN rules and regulations.

3. Report regularly to the Radio Coordinator on activities and progress made in relation to the work plan.

4. Initiate ideas, plan and produce original multimedia products on humanitarian issues for the target audiences, including radio programming in local languages for Afghanistan, and online products for a local and/or wider international audience.

5. Set in place procedures to ensure editorial standards are met and maintain control over the quality of the project’s output.

6. Liaise with IRIN’s Kabul-based text reporters, and consult regularly with IRIN’s Dubai-based senior editor, to ensure maximum coordination and collaboration between text and radio, and to seek creative synergies where possible.

7. Supervise the work of local IRIN radio producers, consultants and freelance radio journalists including setting goals, appraisals and mentoring. Provide editorial and technical support as necessary,

8. Build relations with local and international broadcasters to ensure dissemination of the project’s programming and products, and ensure that all audio is uploaded to the IRIN website in a timely manner.

9. Develop and implement a programme of training aimed at enhancing the capacity of local radio journalists and radio reporters.

10. Liaise closely with other UN agencies, NGOs, information partner organizations, the media, government authorities and other relevant entities to enhance information gathering and dissemination.

11. Contribute to plans for the further development of the project, preparing in consultation with the Head of Office, IRIN Middle East and IRIN management, project proposals for submission and follow-up with prospective donors.

12. In collaboration with the Radio Coordinator, prepare and submit progress reports to donors and OCHA HQ.

13. Travel when required to the field to undertake information gathering and training initiatives. Attend meetings, conferences etc outside the country when required.

14. Any other duties as requested by the Radio Coordinator, IRIN.

IV. Competencies

Professionalism – Advanced knowledge of the use of information management to improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance; ability to analyze and articulate the information management requirements of complex situations requiring a coordinated UN response; demonstrated problem-solving skills and ability to use sound judgment to ensure the effective and timely completion of complex tasks; ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural disasters and human misery); very good knowledge of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines pertaining to humanitarian affairs and sound knowledge of the institutions of the UN system; Excellent inter-personal and supervisory skills; Excellent analytical and organizational skills.

Empowering others – Delegates responsibility, clarifies expectations and gives staff autonomy in important areas of their work; Encourages others to set challenging goals; Holds others accountable for achieving results related to their area of responsibility.

Client orientation – Considers all those to whom services are provided to be 'clients' and seeks to see things from clients' point of view; Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; Identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients; environments to keep informed and anticipate problems; Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to clients.

Commitment to continuous learning – Willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the field.

Communications – Excellent communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations to staff at senior levels, both orally and in writing, in a clear, concise style.

Planning & organizing – Ability to coordinate the work of others, work to tight deadlines and handle multiple concurrent projects/activities.

Technology awareness – Fully proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications, e.g. word processing, spreadsheets, internal databases, Internet, etc.

Teamwork – Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

V. Qualifications:

a) Education:
• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in journalism, international relations, development studies or another relevant subject. A first university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience is accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

b) Work Experience:
• At least five years experience in media.
• Proven experience in project management.
• Familiarity with the developmental and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and/or the Asia region.
• Familiarity with humanitarian issues and organizations, including the United Nations.
c) Languages:
• Fluency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of Dari, Pashto and/or Arabic would be an advantage.

d) Other Desirable Skills:
• Proficient in computer and information management systems

http://www.irinnews.org

Job: Radio/Broadcast Training Director

2008-04-16T05:22:00.002Z

Internews Network is currently seeking a Radio/Broadcast Training Director to be based in Rumbek, southern Sudan to provide leadership, training and strategic direction to local journalists and managers of four FM community radio stations located in various locations within southern Sudan and the Three Areas. The position is funded through September 2008, with possibility of renewal.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES · Oversee and manage all aspects of the community broadcast training program, including supervision of small training team and four radio station managers.

· Organize workshops and train community radio reporters and managers with limited broadcast, journalism or station management experience on a variety of topics, with special emphasis on radio station management and radio production.

· Develop community radio station policies, structures, and general operating procedures to ensure smooth and professional running of the stations. Train station management staff in these procedures and ensure adherence to same.

· Travel to community radio station locations in remote regions of southern Sudan and the Three Areas on a regular basis to provide necessary guidance and oversee daily operations and programming schedules of the radio stations.

· Develop station identity/branding including jingles, promos, etc.

· Develop and oversee Internews Sudan mentoring program.

· Assist COP with overall project coordination including partner relationships, and recruitment of journalism trainees and radio station staff.

Oversee and report on Monitoring & Evaluation (data based on station program logs).

Coordinate with Internews partner organizations and other NGOs to facilitate creative program sharing and collaboration.

Work with COP to develop work plans in accordance with donor requirements, and report against progress as required.

Facilitate discussions with local authorities and local and international organizations.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

5 years relevant experience

Experience conducting journalism training, workshops, etc in non-traditional environments and with limited support. Mentoring or coaching experience a plus.

Extensive radio broadcasting experience, preferably in community radio.

Experience living and working in Africa and/or conflict/post-conflict environments Ability to adjust to shifting political circumstances and create programming accordingly Sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics in the work place and experience supervising staff Must be self-reliant, resourceful, good problem-solver, good humoured, and flexible.

Experience managing projects funded by US and/or European agencies or international organizations

Ability to travel within Southern Sudan and the Three Areas. Willingness to spend extended time in the field, with limited facilities, often under harsh conditions.

Relevant university degree.

Must be computer literate and fluent on Adobe Audition.

TO APPLY Interested qualified candidates should forward a cover letter and CV to tthielen@internews.org <mailto:tthielen%40internews.org> , placing Training Director-Sudan in the subject line.

Listserv members fight Sickle Cell

2008-02-13T00:09:00.001Z

Lukiah L. Nakabembe Mulumba, RN, BSN, Chair, Uganda-American Sickle Cell Rescue Fund, USA

Dear Colin (listserv moderator),

I would like to Thank you and the Commonwealth Health and Media Partnership, for connecting me to the right people. My efforts to assist those suffering the affects of Sickle Cell Disease all started with our initial contact via your website almost three years ago, now.

I was able to visit Uganda earlier on this year, I met with Pius, the journalist you connected me with. I also met with Ruth, Uganda's Sickle Cell Association's Chairperson. It was a positive week here in the fight against sickle cell Anaemia in Uganda. Please fell free to read the articles below and see some of the activities that happened.

Peace, Lukiah.

http://www.connectuganda.com/content/view/237/204/ http://allafrica.com/stories/200801210747.html
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/coffee-break/Daring_to_dream_different.shtml http://allafrica.com/stories/200801210747.html http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/health-and-living/Sickle_cell_patients_still_in_need_of_help.shtml http://www.zibb.com/article/2533608/The+Trauma+of+a+Sickle+Cell+Baby+Pushed+Her+to+Help+Others http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/19/570294

Health Journalism Fellowship Program Leader

2008-02-10T10:44:00.001Z

Knight International seeks an experienced journalist with a background in
health journalism to lead a high-impact, results-driven Fellowship in
Sub-Saharan Africa.
http://knight.icfj.org/GetInvolved/FellowshipOpenings/tabid/73/Default.aspx

Job: CEO needed for NGO in SA

2008-02-10T10:41:00.000Z

The Gender and Media Southern Africa
The (GEMSA) Network is a Southern African NGO based in Johannesburg that
has chapters in 13 southern African countries. The successful candidate
will come from Southern Africa.
http://www.gemsa.org.za/page.php?p_id=366

DDT or other solutions to Malaria Control

2008-01-22T23:47:00.001Z

Pius Sawa Murefu, Kampala, Uganda

18th. Jan. 2008 - Malaria is still the number one killer disease in Sub-Saharan Africa despite tireless efforts to develop a vaccine that will stay the test of time. Uganda is one of the worst affected countries.

The use of chemicals like DDT to control mosquitoes is still a big battle between environmentalists and governments. In Uganda government says DDT is cheap and safe when applied in minimal amounts, but critics say the dangers of DDT are longtime and cannot be ruled out in whichever amount applied.

The Stockholm convention to which Uganda is a member was founded for the sole purpose of eliminating the use of DDT and related persistent organic pollutants.

In accordance with the convention, DDT can only be used at controllable levels when locally safe effective and affordable alternatives cannot be accessed. But it seems government of Uganda is determined to go ahead with the use of DDT in malaria control.

On January 14th 2008, Dr. Mayers Lugemwa from Malaria control program in the ministry of health announced that residual DDT spray in people’s houses would begin in February in Apac district in Northern Uganda. (The New Vision Jan. 14th 2008)

But a group of environmental activists under their umbrella, Crusade For Environmental Awareness is up in arms and has filed a suit through two law firms, Birungi and co. Advocates and Kakuru and Co. Advocates to oppose this move. The leader of the crusade John Ken Lukyamuzi, a Wangari Maathai of Uganda, says the spray of DDT in people’s houses cannot commence till Uganda national implementation plans have met the standards of the Stockholm convention, which Uganda has ratified.

“Uganda is one of the countries richly endowed with environmentally friendly solutions to the scourge of malaria, and Uganda’s economy is environment based.” Says Lukyamuzi.

The Crusade is warning of the effect of DDT on the agricultural produce, the horticultural industry, the flower industry and the animal husbandry. Uganda’s fish industry, one of the main sources of foreign earnings, suffered a blow a few months ago when major importers rejected fish from Uganda after reported cases of deaths around Kampala due to fish poison.

The use of treated bed-nets has not yet been utilised fully in Uganda despite their affordability. The challenge remains as to whether government will achieve its goal of kicking malaria out through use of DDT.

New HIV guidlines for Seychelles

2007-12-11T22:42:00.001Z

Anna Ah-wan, Producer, Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation

The Seychelles (population 80,000), may be able to set an example for other nations. On the 7th of December, 2007, the Seychelles Government introduced a set of guidelines relating to HIV/AIDS Policy in the Workplace.

It is another way forward in the fight against stigmatisation and discrimination visavis HIV/AIDS.

On this note, I wish to thank you for all those updates on health which has helped me in my production for radio. Via your listserv, I have also had the chance to attend a workshop in Uganda on bird flu earlier this year which has also been very rewarding.

Merry x mas and Happy New year 2008!

Download "Seychelles HIV/AIDS Policy in the Workplace" pdf file (56 Kb)

"Journalists need training here too"

2007-12-04T23:50:00.001Z

Email from: Steven Chongo Mpuku, Journalist, Zambia

I am a journalist at a local Community radio station right here in Zambia. I am involved in reporting on and making radio programmes on health health issues. I came across your website, www.healthandmedia.org, this morning and, what surprised me is that, among the African countries that you have provided in-country training for, Zambia is not one of them. I feel Zambia should be included given the high prevalence of HIV over here.

Zambia has a 16% HIV+ rate. More than 1million people are infected.

With this, I think Journalists here should be better equipped with more Knowledge and better skills so that they can contribute positively to the fight against this pandemic.

I hope you give it a thought.

Malaria Advocacy Innovation Grants

2007-12-04T18:15:00.001Z

Malaria Advocacy Innovation Grants 2007 Round Two - Africa
Deadline Date: December 10, 2007

The Innovation Grants for Malaria Advocacy is an initiative of the Malaria Consortium’s Mobilising for Malaria (M4M) programme which is supported by GlaxoSmithKline’s African Malaria Partnership.

The aim of the Innovation Grants for Malaria Advocacy is to promote and support new and original initiatives from civil society organisations (non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academic institutions, media), and community leaders.

The grants support ideas and partnerships that aim to reach new audiences in creative ways and to tackle issues such as equity, transparency, and accountability in Africa. The grants also aim to encourage the engagement of artists to amplify advocacy messages in African countries.

The grants are awarded annually to new initiatives in Africa. Five grants, ranging from US$5,000 to US$25,000, will be awarded in 2007:

* large grant up to US $25,000: only one possible award;
* medium grant up to US$10,000: two possible awards; and
* small grant up to US $5,000: five possible awards

Applicants from French speaking countries are encouraged to submit proposals.

The grants will not support:

* service delivery activities ;
* purchase of drugs, diagnostic test kits, health equipment, nets;
* purchase of information technology and photo equipment which are not central to the implementation of the project;
* projects outside Africa ;
* projects that are not run by African organisations;
* organisations/institutions already receiving funding for malaria advocacy from any source, or;
* individuals who are not working in partnership with an organisation or are not sponsored and based in an institution or organisation.

Application Information

Application deadline is December 10 2007. Applications will be accepted from established non-governmental organisations and institutions and from individuals associated with an organisation or institution, who meet the following criteria:

* evidence of experience in carrying out communications/media/advocacy activities;
* demonstrated involvement or interest in malaria related advocacy activities;
* capacity and necessary resources to implement and carry out the project and
* proof of legal status and accountability.

Applicants must identify clearly in their application the geographic area and groups they propose to reach through their project.

The application process has four stages:

* applications;
* shortlisting;
* final selection and
* grant awards.

The final selection will include a visit to each organisation/institution which has been short listed if appropriate with the aim of meeting project staff and reviewing the application in details.

Click here to download the application forms and more information:

Malaria Consortium

info@malariaconsortium.org

Job: News Media Coordinator, Washington, DC

2007-12-04T18:08:00.001Z

Job Description:

The News Media Coordinator will work with the manager of media programs and others at PRB to develop training programs for journalists as part of efforts to raise awareness of family planning and other reproductive health issues in developing countries. These activities will focus on strengthening local capacities to understand the latest data and their policy and program implications, forming in-country networks of journalists who report on health issues and, through workshops and seminars, providing them with up-to-date data and other information that can help them to improve their reporting on reproductive health issues. The News Media Coordinator will work with editors and other top employees of media houses to identify appropriate journalists to participate in educational workshops and seminars that the candidate will help to develop and implement.

Qualifications:
Applicants must have at least 5 years of experience as a journalist, demonstrated experience in training and giving workshops, experience working in developing countries, and some familiarity with sexual and reproductive health issues. Excellent English writing and oral communication skills are essential. An ability to work in French or Spanish would be desirable.

Salary and Benefits:
Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. PRB has an excellent benefits package, including generous health, leave, and retirement plans.

To Apply:
Please send cover letter noting the job for which you are applying, plus a resume with salary requirements to HR Specialist, Population Reference Bureau, 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 520, Washington, DC 20009, USA; fax to 202-328-3937; or email your resume to jjackson@prb.org.

Latest awards, grants, prizes

2007-12-04T18:03:00.000Z

Grant to raise awareness about malaria
Media organizations may apply.
More

Bangladesh AIDS reporting contest deadline
A contest for HIV/AIDS reporting in Bangladesh has extended its deadline to December 11.
More

Photo contest raises awareness of disabled people
The theme of the contest is "Decent work for persons with disabilities."
Entry deadline: November 21.
More: http://asiamediaforum.org/node/757

Contest honours best reporting on health care
Reporters who have covered health issues can submit their best work for the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. Deadline: January 16.
More

Journalism Prize for TB Reporting
The award will recognize reporting and commentary in print and on the web.
More details

Award for Global Health & Human Rights
Nomination Deadline: Jan. 15, 2008.

Job: BBC World Service Trust, Bangladesh

2007-11-21T18:22:00.001Z

Reporting to: Director, Asia
Grade: 11
Duration: 12 months initially, extending to 3 years

Position: Country Director

The BBC World Service Trust uses media and communications to reduce poverty and promote human rights in developing countries. In Bangladesh, the Trust is about to launch a major television-based English project, building on its successful governance initiative of national radio and television debates with the BBC Bangla Service.
The Trust is looking for a Country Director to manage its expanding operations in Bangladesh. By the end of 2008, it is expected the Trust will be employing up to 60 full- and part-time staff across two offices. Based in Dhaka, the Country Director will lead these staff and be responsible for implementing and further developing the Trust’s strategy for Bangladesh.

This is a demanding role in a challenging working environment. The BBC has strong brand recognition in country, through the BBC Bangla Service and Bangladesh Sanglap, the Trust’s governance project. The proposed English language project is one of the most innovative and ambitious cross-platform media interventions anywhere in the world.

Educated to degree-level or equivalent, with relevant experience working at a strategic level, you will ideally currently be in a senior management position in the media and/or international development setting. You will have significant experience managing large budgets, and diverse teams. You will be a highly effective negotiator with excellent interpersonal and presentational with a strong understanding of, and commitment to international development. Ideally you will have experience of using media to achieve development goals and will be experienced in managing relationships with a range of local and international partners and stakeholders.
The ability to speak Bangla would be desirable.

http://www.comminit.com/en/node/265663

Female condom back in Uganda

2007-11-11T19:34:00.000Z

by Rebecca Birungi

The World Health Organization (WHO) suspended the use of microbicides over safety concerns. Dangers that may put women at risk of acquiring infections.

In addition, the Ministry of Health and its donor partners are to re-introduce the "Femidom" (female) condom in April, 2008. The female condom was originally pulled from the market by the Ministry of Health after many were found on sale that had expired.

According to Doctor Henry Kakande, the Technical Manager of the "Acquire Project", this new improved version of the Femidom, is part of a greater effort to to underline the importance and encourage "Family Planning" in Uganda.

Dr. Kakande also stated that over 100,000 female condoms will be distributed via health centres and hospitals, free of charge, in the first quarter of 2008, by the health Ministry and the National Drug Authority (NDA).

According to professionals, the female condom can be inserted up eight hours, before intercourse, so that it does not interfere with the moment. Some of the youths in higher institutions we interacted with, are excited and agree that the female condom will protect them against Sexually Transmitted Diseases once used correctly. This female condom is about 6.5 inches in length. The woman wears it during the sexual engagement process. It has an inner and outer ring. The condom entirely limes the virginal and helps to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases especially HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Kakande further explained that Uganda will join other countries like Kenya, Tanzania, United States of America and South Africa in using the female condom giving women options to choose.

Women activitists say these condoms give women more power and responsibility relating to safer sex and contraception. They did point out however, that prevailing culture and society still makes it difficult for women to negotiate for safer sex even in this instance. They also added that the cost of the female condom will also be a barrier.

Mozambique: hope for malaria vaccine

2007-10-20T23:54:00.001Z

Alfredo Libombo, National Director, Media Institute of Southern Africa, Mozambique

The Health Investigation Center in Manhica, also known as CSIM, published, on Wednesday 17 October 2007, results of a product that could lead to a vaccine against malaria.

Results reveal a 65% reduction of new infections in newborn babies aged between 10 to 18 weeks for a period of 3 months following treatment.

In addition, these children had a 35% reduction in "cyclic episodes of malaria" 6 months after starting treatment.

Dr. Pedro Luis Alonso, Scientific Director of the Manhiça Health Research Center (pictured left) says that if results continue to be positive, "Phase III" will start in the second half of next year". Successful results in "Phase III" could lead to the submission of the vaccine to the regulatory authorities in 2011.

Funding for journalists to AIDS conference

2007-10-20T23:49:00.001Z

Dave Agbenu, Accra, Ghana

"I am the Organizing Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association...

This is to inform members of the Health and Media listserv that from November 28 to November 30, there is going to be an AIDS conference in Ghana. The return airfare, accommodation, meals, local transport will be taken care of by sponsors.

The conference starts from 28th and ends on 30th November 2007.

Interested journalists should send their e-mails/contacts to etsey25@yahoo.com as soon as possible so that bookings for their flights from their respective countries can commence.

Thanks..."

Media Advisory: Malaria

2007-10-16T21:17:00.001Z

New report cites progress on malaria

Who:
Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director, UNICEF
Dr. Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Executive Director, Roll Back Malaria Partnership
Dr. Tedros Adhanon Ghebreysus, Minister of Health, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer, President's Malaria Initiative

When:
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
07.00 (Pacific time)
10.00 (Eastern time)
15.00 (London time)
16.00 (Johannesburg time)

What:
Media briefing, embargoed for 00.01 GMT, Wednesday 17 October

Where:
By telephone

Why: A new report, Malaria and Children, Progress in Intervention Coverage, finds significant gains in the fight against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Providing a comprehensive assessment of the progress that has been made in malaria control, the r eport finds a rapid increase in the supply of insecticide-treated bed nets between 2004 and 2006.

The report, prepared by UNICEF on behalf of the Roll Back Malaria initiative, is being launched in Seattle, Washington State, to coincide with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Malaria Forum, 16-18 October.

TO JOIN THE CALL AND FOR MORE INFORMATION: send your contact information to "HALIL, Katya

halilk@who.int sothat Katyacanconnect youto the call at the set time

Unsafe sex drives HIV infection

2007-10-04T13:49:00.001Z

Maruf Mallick, bdnews24.com, staff correspondent, Bangladesh

Dhaka, Sept 27 (bdnews24.com)—Increasing risky extramarital sex practices among the Bangladeshi males is likely to exacerbate the rate of HIV-AIDS infection countrywide, says a recent ICDDR, B study.

“We have to be extra careful about handling our sex life, as we’re highly vulnerable now because most people care very little about using condoms and choosing sex partners,” said ICDDR, B researcher Dr Mahbub Elahi to bdnews24.com Wednesday.

The study found efforts to raise awareness and to take protection against HIV infection was not seeing much success because of the high incidence of extramarital sex with sex-workers and chance acquaintances coupled with general nonchalance about using condoms.

These trends point to the possibilities of huge explosion in the rate of HIV infection in the near future, the study warned.

The study showed that females were less prone to having extramarital sex compared with males. Only about 11 percent of females with their husbands living abroad tended to be promiscuous.

It also revealed that habitually more promiscuous males tended to be more aggressively so when they were separated from their wives or regular sex partners.

The 2005 study conducted in Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazaar, Bogra, Rajshahi and Faridpur districts on the sexual behaviours of 7,122 males observed that 18 percent of the survey respondents had experienced extramarital sex and 56 percent had sex with more than one partners.

Of the respondents, 52 percent were townspeople and 59 percent earned less than Tk 5,000 a month. Three-fourths of them were in services, the rest being farmers or labourers.

Males aged below 30 years were found to be most promiscuous among the different age groups; of them, 27 percent were bachelors.

“In case the current rate of extramarital sexual aberrations aggravates, it should be quite dangerous,” said BSMMU virology professor M Nazrul Islam to bdnews24.com.

He said the ICDDR, B study is a scientific one and reiterated, ”We’ve to seriously consider ways of curbing unsafe sex everywhere.”

The study found that more and more of the low-income people tended to have sex with risky partners. Again, it was them who did not care about using condoms while going for risky sex.

Promiscuity leads to HIV infection in increasing number of cases also.

The study highlighted the need for effectively changing the male sexual behaviour generally through cutting down on changing sex partners and using condoms regularly.

bdnews24.com/mrf/ac/gna/wz/bd/1534hours

NGO condemns Cross Generational Sex

2007-09-30T22:14:00.003Z

Blasius Charles NJI, Bamenda, Cameroon

Ten traditional rulers, ten Muslims rulers, over a dozen journalists, principals of secondary schools and parents, in Bamenda, capital of the North west province of Cameroon have condemned what they called Cross Generational Sex (CGS) and have called on parents and opinion leaders to educate their daughters on responsible behaviour in the society and practice abstinence as the best way to fights the killer disease called HIV/AIDS. Most of the causes were identified as immoral dressing by young girls, heavy alcohol by men that leads them to be tipsy, nagging housewives, and poverty.

Cross Generational Sex (CGS) is a sexual relationship between an old man of more than fifty years who is dating a young girl of less than twenty years or when an old woman of more than fifty years is dating a young boy of less than 20 years. This last for a short period of about one year and there is no element of love in such relationships. Most young girls in Cameroon do this because they want to obtain sexual gratification, regain youth vigour, seek comfort, gain social recognition from peers. Other reasons include the need for money and gifts, social status, pressure from peers and parents, sexual pleasure, desire to marry, social norms and male dominance, lack of self esteem, unemployment opportunities

The risks include unwanted pregnancies, abandonment by older partners, brutality from older partners, disintegration of families, too many economic demands, lose of dignity, and public embarrassment by younger partners

The one day phase II of the campaign workshop was organised by the regional coordinator the Cameroon Association of Social Marketing (ACMS), led by Tanteh Vitalis under the auspices of the assistant director of ACMS, Hyndricks Bille from Yaounde, capital of Cameroon, and with the assistance of the coordinator of the North west Provincial Technical Group (PTG) of the National Aids Control Committee (NACC), Dr Madeleine Mayer.

Cross Generational Sex is practiced and promoted by men who are above fifty years dating young girls of less than 20 years. According to the Cameroon 2004 Demographic and Health Survey, the national HIV prevalence in Cameroon was 5.5% compared to only 0.5% in 1987. Out of ten cases of HIV in Cameroon are acquired through heterosexual transmission, and the highest rate is between the 30-39 age range with 8.6% in women and 7.8% in men. Young girls of 15-19 years are 2.2% and boys are 0.6%

Former newspaper editor, NJI Blasius Charles, is the executive coordinator of Charmers Media and Communication Consults (CHAMECC) and the managing editor of a weekly 12 page newspaper called The Pilot, based in Bamenda. CHAMECC is a non governmental organisation (NGO) working in the area of media and communication, and focussing on HIV/AIDS awarness.

UK politician talks malaria in Mozambique

2007-09-30T22:14:00.001Z

Maputo, 24 Sep (AIM) - British parliamentarian Stephen O'Brien, chairperson of the Malaria Consortium, an international NGO that provides delivery programmes to combat malaria, arrived in Maputo on Monday to see the work of the Consortium on the ground.

O'Brien is a member of the British Conservative Party, and is Shadow Minister of Health. He has been campaigning against malaria for 30 years, and told AIM that, as a member of parliament, he has "a platform for speaking out on a disease that kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds".

O'Brien, who also heads the all-party parliamentary group on malaria in the British House of Commons, said it was "very important to cement the political will to use donor taxpayer money on things that work and make a difference".

He regarded malaria control as falling into that category. Tackling malaria, he said, was "one of the best ways of bringing down child and maternal mortality rates".

On Monday morning, O'Brien met with Mouzinho Saide, the National Director for the Promotion of Health and Disease Control, the Health Ministry department responsible for the malaria control programme. He was "pleased that the Ministry recognises malaria as a major priority".

Of all the diseases that strike the Mozambican population, malaria remains the largest single killer. About six million cases of malaria are diagnosed in Mozambique a year, and 4,000 people a month are known to die of the disease. These figures are likely to be underestimates, since they do not include people suffering from malaria who are unable to reach a health unit.

Asked his views on treatment and prevention, O'Brien stressed that, given the highly adaptive nature of the anopheles mosquito and the plasmodium, the single celled malaria parasite it carries, there could never be just one treatment.

There were no "magic bullets", said O'Brien, and in order to lessen the risks of the mosquito and the plasmodium developing resistance, "you have to use all the weapons in the arsenal".

Representatives of the Swiss-based drug company Novartis have been in discussions with the Health Ministry to supply its anti-malarial drug, Coartem. This drug is an artemisinin compound, made from sweet wormwood, a plant grown in China. Coartem was described in a study published in 2005 in the respected medical journal "The Lancet" as "the most effective treatment for malaria in children in Africa where resistance to conventional drugs is high".

Mozambique is committed to switching to Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT), and phasing out the previous drugs such as fansidar. However, O'Brien argued against the Health Ministry putting all its eggs in one basket.

"Coartem is proving to be a great success", he said. Nonetheless, reliance on any one drug risked the reappearance of drug resistance. O'Brien believed a case could still be made for quinine-based drugs to treat intermittent malaria among pregnant women.

Similarly the spraying programmes to eliminate mosquitoes should not rely on just one type of insecticide. O'Brien believed that programmes were likely to be more effective using a variety of drugs and insecticides.

O'Brien also met on Monday with the country's First Lady, Maria da Luz Guebuza, and discussed the "Malaria-Free Children" campaign run by her office. On Tuesday he will look at the Malaria Consortium's work in the northern province of Nampula. (AIM) pf/

National Aids Commission: AIDS could "wipe-out" Lesotho

2007-09-24T21:30:00.000Z

Teboho Senthebane, South Africa

The Chief Executive of the National Aids Commission, Keketso Sefeane, speaking at a local workshop in Lesotho recently, declared HIV/AIDS has the potential to "wipe-out" the whole country. According to Sefeane, the disease's impact on Lesotho's work force, including the loss of skills and experience, decreases economic productivity and hinders the sustainable delivery of goods and services to the country's population.

Also the lack of physicians in Lesotho are adding to the problem - children are particularily affected. With mother to child transmission rates still at a high of 37%, the estimated 18,000 HIV+ children are served by a mere six pedatricians. In addition, the shortage of medical workers has complicated efforts to administer antiretroviral drugs under the project led by the Clinton foundation and Lesotho's Baylor clinic.

Two weeks ago former UN envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, was invested as a "Knight Commander of the Most Dignified Order of Moshoeshoe", the country's highest honour, for his work in Lesotho during his five-year stay. When Lewis first arrived, less than 3000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Lesotho had access to antiretroviral drugs. Now, 24,000 HIV+ citizens have access to antiretrovirals. It is expected that this will rise to over 300,000 by the end of this year. Lewis is credited for making this possible by persuading international organisations to work in Lesotho.

The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report (7/13), says an estimated 29,000 new HIV cases occured in Lesotho in 2007, bringing the total number of cases to more than 270,000.

Articles on Health and Medical Journalism

2007-09-24T06:48:00.000Z

Visit website and download articles on Health reporting

1. Criteria for excellence in health journalism
2. Commercialism in TV health news
3. Statement of principles for health care journalists
4. Beyond cures, breakthroughs and news releases
5. Ten Troublesome Trends in TV Health News
6. Time to put miracle on ice
7. 7 Words You Shouldn't Use in Medical News
8. Meteorology & Medical Reporting
9. Doctoring the News

Four new listserv members

2007-09-24T06:46:00.005Z

Robert Mukondiwa, Features Journalist, Sunday Mail, Harare, Zimbabwe
Robert studied Journalism and Professional writing and completed a production internship in The UK before joining The Sunday Mail in Harare in 2003.

Yewande Iwuoha, Senior Reporter, Raypower FM (DAAR Communications), Lagos, Nigeria
Yewande has worked for the Republic Newspaper, The Punch Newspaper, This Day Newspaper, and in 1996 she joined DAAR Communications as a senior reporter.

Amanda Steane, Bedworth, UK
I am a speaker for the Hydration of patients. For the next twelve months, I am doing a "road show" with the RCN , for student nurses all around the UK. I am also the author of "Who Cares" a distressing story about care within the NHS.

Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye, Journalist, Kampala, Uganda
"I have been a radio journalist for six years, and endeavour to give a voice to the poor, the affected, and the infected. I am out-going, inquisitive, and self-motivated."

Join the health and media listserv

Job: Communications Specialist - Washington, DC

2007-09-24T06:46:00.004Z

Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH), Georgetown University School of Medicine
The incumbent will support the Institute's efforts to strengthen the productivity and technical quality of written communications. S/he must have a Bachelor's degree in communications, English or journalism and five years of experience in communications.
http://www.comminit.com/vacancy3213.html
Contact irhresumes@gmail.com

Distance training program teaches Web site production

2007-09-24T06:46:00.003Z

Free Website production training
The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) is hosting a 12-week, online course on the basics of producing Web sites.
Application deadline: October 1. http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=162896962&u=1606944

Apply for Health reporting fellowships

2007-09-24T06:46:00.001Z

Fellowship on HIV/AIDS reporting
Panos South Asia is offering two fellowships to research and produce television features about AIDS and HIV in India. The last day to apply for the fellowship is September 30.
http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=161573377&u=1590387

Mini-fellowships on Global Health issues
Starting September 2007, the Kaiser Media Fellowships Program is launching a new program for reporting on global health issues. The program will award up to ten mini-fellowships to print, radio, television, and online journalists (including freelancers) to research and report on global health issues, with a particular focus on issues related to HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria.
http://www.kff.org/mediafellows/minifellows.cfm

Job: Resident Journalism Advisor Needed

2007-09-24T00:40:00.000Z

Internews Network is currently seeking a Resident Journalism Advisor to be based in Chad. The Resident Advisor would set-up a training centre and provide training to local journalists and managers from community radio stations from various locations in the country.

Required: Minimum of 6 years of journalism experience, of which at least 4 years must be in radio; experience training/mentoring working with journalists or journalism students; extensive experience packaging radio reports with natural sound using digital editing programs (Adobe Edition/Cool Edit Pro); Fluency in French or Arabic; Experience living and working in Africa; Experience supervising staff; Strong interpersonal skills and sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics in the workplace; Budget management and financial oversight experience; Ability to travel extensively within Chad; Must be computer literate; Relevant University Degree Please submit your Development Executive Group profile by clicking on the green button entitled ?Apply for this Job?. If you do not have a profile on our site, you may send your CV via email to Ms. Marion Grossmann at marion.grossmann@developmentex.com.

Please reference the job title in the subject of your email. The closing date for applications is Thursday September 27, 2007.

Job: Director of Programs and Administration

2007-08-23T11:14:00.004Z

Developing Radio Partners (DRP) Washington, DC.
The post holder will plan and prepare both competitive bids and unsolicited proposals for global radio projects. S/he will have 2 plus years experience with project design, grant management, proposal development, and budgeting.
http://www.comminit.com/vacancy3204.html