Mission & Justice

15/6/08
See: http://www.ucanews.com/category/special-topics/hiv-aids-in-asia/

Sean Parnell; 10/6/08

Health and community workers are pleading with the Rudd Government to take seriously the increase in HIV infections, warning that Australia faces “significant financial and social consequences” if it does not act. With the three-year National HIV/AIDS strategy due to end in weeks, and data showing new infections could climb by nearly 75 per cent, The Australian has obtained documents detailing concerns that the Government will mishandle the issue. In March, apparently at the request of Health Minister Nicola Roxon’s then chief of staff Mick Reid, the Government was given a 16-page document titled Actions to Restore Leadership and Revitalise Australia’s HIV response.

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James Apa Gumuno; 4/6/08

Representatives from the Australian Government will be inspecting various HIV/AIDS programmes in the country that are funded by AusAID. The purpose of the visit is to check how the funds are used to carry out HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in different provinces. Three representatives from the Sanap Wantaim programme funded by AusAID and in partnership with the National AIDS Council Secretariat (NACS), visited the Lumusa/Baiyer district in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands province, early this week to inspect various programmes undertaken by the Baptist Union of PNG (BUPNG) from the funds they had allocated last year. Peter Izzard, Stephen Deklin and Dr Ninkama Moiya made it a must to check the different programmes undertaken by the BUPNG.

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2/6/08

Despite a comprehensive campaign on HIV, talking about sex in Papua New Guinea homes is still a difficult subject which the National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop says must change. When giving a keynote address at the NCD Stakeholders’ HIV/AIDS Network forum at Crowne Plaza on Friday, Mr Parkop called on married couples and sex partners to talk about the issue in order to prevent their partners from seeking other partners. He also called on parents to talk to their children about sex because the majority of those infected with the virus were young people.

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28/5/08

Ten women and children, wearing white masks and dressed as skeletons, danced waving a silver cloth with the words “AIDS,” “prostitution” and “child abuse.” This dance presentation opened the AIDS Candlelight Memorial program at the Good Shepherd Convent in Quezon City, northeast of Manila, on May 18. Sister Mary Soledad Perpinan organized the event. She works with the Third World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women (TW-MAE-W), an NGO that runs shelters and drop-in centers for prostituted women and their children. Now in its 25th year, the Candlelight Memorial held annually on the third Sunday of May is a program of the Global Health Council, which describes itself as an international alliance “dedicated to saving lives by improving health throughout the world.” About 100 Good Shepherd nuns, residents of TW-MAE-W shelters, staff of that and other NGOs, and members of a local Christian community attended the Quezon City commemoration.

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26/5/08

Sero-discordant couples are increasing in Papua New Guinea with at least two known to have children while an-other two are expecting their first babies, it has been revealed. These are couples where one spouse is HIV positive while the other is negative. There is also a number of children who are born HIV negative from HIV positive parents. These facts were revealed by Maura Mea from Igat Hope Inc., an association of people living with HIV/AIDS, during a meeting with private company workers in Port Moresby last week. The meeting was organised by the Business Coalition Against HIV/AIDS (BAHA). Ms Mea said the couples were members of Igat Hope Inc.

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Linda Sataro; 22/5/08

Papua New Guinea has the highest rate of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in the Asia Pacific region, acting director of National AIDS Council Secretariat Romanus Pakure has said. He said PNG also has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the Pacific region. The country used to be the fourth in the Asia Pacific after Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. PNG’s generalised HIV/AIDS epidemic prevalence rate is 1%. Mr Pakure said this to participants of the Pacific Countries Ports Association (PCPA), who came from different Pacific island Sates, including Australia and New Zealand to attend the PCPA annual conference held in Port Moresby. He said in the Pacific region there are 1.3 million reported cases of people infected with the HIV virus.

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20/5/08

Students and staff living with HIV/AIDS will be free to study and work at the University of Goroka as long as they are physically fit. The administration will not use the HIV/AIDS status of an individual to terminate or refuse entry of students and employment opportunities for staff at the university. The Goroka university becomes one of the first universities to teach HIV/AIDS as one of the compulsory subjects. These are outlined in the university’s new policy on HIV/AIDS, which states that the university will not discriminate against people living with the virus who are studying and working at the Goroka campus. The policy was launched last Friday by the Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Michael Ogio.

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19/5/08

A Five-year research project by the Institute of Medical Research (MIRA) will play a major role in understanding sexually transmitted infections and HIV in Papua New Guinea. The Australian Government has awarded the K8 million research grant to the IMR to strengthen the PNG-Australia Sexual Health Improvement Program (PASHIP). “This grant builds on previous and existing Australian Government support for the IMR which is regarded as the country’s premier medical research institution,” head of AusAID in PNG Margaret Thomas, who accompanied Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to the Goroka-based institute in March, said. “As the research arm of the national Department of Health the institute is also in a unique position to provide a link for evidence-based policy making and develop and evaluate interventions.”

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Junita Sol; 16/5/08

Papua New Guinea’s biggest problem in the campaign against HIV/AIDS is the lack of treatment for the disease. The UN HIV/AIDS commission for Asia Pacific region visited the country last week to assess the epidemic and its prevention campaign. The group stayed in Port Moresby and visited Goroka before announcing their assessment on areas that needed improvements. Chairman Dr Langi Kavaliku said more money was spent for the campaign against the disease but not much had been done to provide full treatment. “HIV/AIDS patients really need to be given full treatment for them to stay alive; prevention is just one aspect of the campaign,” Dr Kavaliku said.

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