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Welcome to AF-AIDS! |
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AF-AIDS is an e-mail discussion forum (eForum) focused on HIV/AIDS and other health and development issues in Africa. Founded in March 1998, AF-AIDS is a moderated eForum with support from a virtual network of experts called the AF-AIDS eForum Resource Team.
AF-AIDS is coordinated by Health and Development Networks (HDN, www.hdnet.org) on behalf of the AF-AIDS Steering Committee [HDN, Health Systems Trust (HST) and the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS)], with the support of Irish Aid (www.irishaid.gov.ie).
AF-AIDS objectives
- promoting collaboration between non-governmental organisations and governments
- enhancing participation and debate around regional/national decision-making and policies
Core functions
- A platform for dialogue, discussion and debate;
- Supporting regional advocacy;
- Mapping regional developments and emerging issues; and
- Providing an overview of news, events, projects, resources and job-openings.
Themes for 2006
Themes discussed on AF-AIDS in 2006 include:
- TB/HIV
- Health systems; UNGASS Review
- Food Security
- New prevention techniques
- Vaccine Development
- Stigma
- Comprehensive AIDS care
- World AIDS Day
Members
People living with HIV/AIDS; those working with community based and local/national/regional/global non-governmental and civil society organizations; UN and other regional and global intergovernmental agencies; employees of national, provincial and district-level governments; corporate, multilateral and institutional donors; doctors and health workers; HIV/AIDS documentation/information centres; research institutes; academic establishments; journalist/media groups; faith-based organizations; pharmaceutical and other private sector organizations
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Focused discussion during the 16 Days of Activism campaign |
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Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) with technical support from Health & Development Networks (HDN) is pleased to announce a new focused discussion on AF-AIDS eForum to share information, experiences and perspectives during the 16 Days of Activism campaign (25 November – 10 December 2007). The theme of the campaign this year is “Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence Against Women!” We encourage you to join and participate in the discussion.
During the focused discussion, key documents on Violence Against Women (VAW) and other related issues will be available here:
The report is based on interviews with 24 000 women and covers 15 sites and 10 countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Peru, Namibia, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand and Tanzania. Report findings document the prevalence of intimate partner violence and its association with women's physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Data is included on non-partner violence, sexual abuse during childhood and forced first sexual experience. Information is also provided on women’s responses: Whom do women turn to and whom do they tell about the violence in their lives? Do they leave or fight back? Which services do they use and what response do they get? Read summary and download
This reader includes scholarly articles on issues of gender and peacebuilding in Africa. Its purpose is to provide a platform for debating current issues of gender in conflict situations, their destabilising consequences on the economic development of Africa, and the efforts being made to build bridges of peace with a gender-sensitive lens. Gender and Peace Building in Africa is a product of two Faculty and Staff Development Seminars in Zambia involving the University for Peace (UPEACE) Department for Gender and Peace Studies. Participants in these seminars were motivated by observations of the differential impact that conflict often has on women and girls, including contracting and living with HIV/AIDS - impacts which several of the contributors to this reader explore. Download PDF
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Publication |
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HIV and People on the Move: Risk and vulnerabilities of migrants and mobile populations in Southern Africa
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We are delighted to inform you of a new joint publication of Health and Development Networks (HDN) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Partnership on HIV/AIDS and Mobile Populations in Southern Africa (PHAMSA) that is now available: the summary report of the structured discussion on HIV/AIDS and mobile populations in Southern Africa, that took place from April–August 2005 on the AF-AIDS eForum. Special thanks go to the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) for the co-management of AF-AIDS.
The overall aim of this project was to share experiences and raise awareness about the issues of HIV, population mobility and migration in the Southern African region. The main themes of this discussion centered on how migration and population mobility leads to increased HIV vulnerability, how HIV affects migration and mobility patterns, and the impact of the brain drain of healthcare professionals from Southern Africa. This document contains the experiences and voices of over 2500 people working and affected by HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa.
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Accelerating the Search for an AIDS Vaccine |
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Translating Need into Reality – Accelerating the Search for an AIDS Vaccine
An on-line mini-series to help inform community advocacy
As a follow-up to May's World AIDS Vaccine Day (18 May), Health and Development Networks (HDN) announced a new project initiated by HDN in partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC).
HDN launched the project on 26th June 2006 with a series of short on-line ‘mini-briefings’, including:
- Why we need an AIDS vaccine
- Vaccine science and clinical trials basics
- Vaccines research as part of the comprehensive response to AIDS
- How communities are being involved in the process
- What can be done to support and accelerate research
HIV prevention is for life. And just as no single drug or medical approach is effective in treating a person living with HIV and AIDS, a combination approach and supportive environments are needed to prevent HIV transmission.
But the range of HIV prevention options we have available is not enough. The development of new preventive technologies such as vaccines and microbicides is an essential component of a comprehensive response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
A vaccine to prevent HIV is possible. The science is moving forward, research sites are active all over the world and there is a constant flow of new ideas in the field.
With global attention and political support visibly shifting to make AIDS programmes more inclusive of HIV prevention, it is critical that communities taking part in testing of potential vaccines – and ultimately using them – are aware of some of the science underlying how vaccine trials work, what is happening in the vaccine development field, how communities are involved, what the countries and sponsors are doing to ensure the highest ethical standards and many other issues. All of this is essential to inform the connections that are being made with the other components of the response to AIDS and to provide evidence to inform advocacy in this area. In much the same way that AIDS treatment literacy and awareness improved dramatically over the past ten years alongside related advocacy, the seemingly complex field of AIDS vaccines should also be demystified.
How to take part
Health & Development Networks, in conjunction with IAVI and AVAC, is delighted to make two regional eForums - AF-AIDS (a regional eForum on HIV and AIDS in Africa) and SEA-AIDS (a regional eForum on HIV/AIDS in Asia-Pacific) - available for this series.
As ever, there are also opportunities for forum members to follow this informal assessment review of the AIDS vaccine field and to raise issues or questions. If you are not yet a member of the forums and would like to follow or take part in the informal 'mini-briefings', you can join as follow:
We encourage you to engage in the eForum discussions that may arise in response to the online ‘mini-briefings’ and hope the series is of value to you. We look forward to hearing from you during the coming months.
About IAVI
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is a global not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for use throughout the world. Founded in 1996 and operational in 23 countries, IAVI and its network of collaborators research and develop vaccine candidates.
About AVAC
Founded in 1995, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition's (AVAC) mission is to speed the ethical development and global delivery of preventive HIV vaccines. AVAC is a watchdog, educator and advocate. We address ethical issues, critique the work of industry and government, provide education and mobilization services, and speak on behalf of affected communities with a credible, impartial, and objective voice. AVAC is a coalition of volunteer advocates and paid staff.
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Structured discussions |
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HIV/AIDS and Mobile populations in southern Africa
This structured discussion took place on AF-AIDS from mid-April until August 2005. To read related postings, go to the forum archives and search for the term "mobile populations".
Read the following contributions to the discussion:
2. The complete report on a mission in the Sahel region, The Great Crossroads (Les Grands Carrefours) by Dr Brooke G. Schoepf |
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Conferences |
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The HDN Key Corresponden (KC) Team covered the conference that took place in Kigali, Rwanda, 24-28 July 2005.
Key Correspondent (KC) On-site Reports
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Publication |
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Health and Developments Networks (HDN) is pleased to announce another most recent publication, Correspondent for the 13th International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa (ICASA) that took place in Nairobi, Kenya. | |
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Critique: Children at the IAC |
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2.3
million children living with HIV today
<5%
Child-related abstracts
5%
Elligible children with HIV on ARVs
9%
PMTCT service coverage for pregnant women with HIV
"After 25 years of AIDS, why are children still largely ignored?"
- Richard Horton, Editor,
The Lancet
"It is a bitter indictment that so few HIV-positive pregnant women have access to PMTCT"
- Stephen Lewis, UN Special
Envoy on AIDS in Africa
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