President Bingu wa Mutharika has pardoned gay couple Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga who were recently sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for violating Malawi’s anti-sodomy laws.
Such laws are still on the books in 33 African countries, while a new bill before the Ugandan parliament seeks to impose the death penalty for convictions for homosexual acts. There has been widespread condemnation of the legislation under which the couple were convicted by gay rights groups and human rights activists across the world. The heads of UNAIDs and the Global Fund met early last week with Mutharika to voice their concern at the effect the decision would have on efforts to address HIV/AIDS in the country.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in the country to meet Mutharika in his capacity as Chairman of the African Union, also addressed the Malawi Parliament and called on MPs to repeal discriminatory laws.

Read full story (the Guardian)

Photo: S. Lozowick

G7 on track to give only $13.7 bln of $22.6 bln aid promised
WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - The world’s seven industrialized nations have fallen short on their promises to double aid to Africa by 2010, according to a report on Tuesday by ONE Campaign against poverty.

ONE Campaign, supported by U2 singer Bono and rocker Bob Geldof, has provided an annual scorecard of the Group of Seven nations’ progress in meeting pledges they made at the 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

The G7 leaders’ summit promised to increase aid by up to $50 billion from $25 billion, write off the debts of 18 of the world’s poorest countries, and cut trade subsidies and tariffs under the Doha round of global trade negotiations.

A final verdict on the Gleneagles targets may only be forthcoming next year, but ONE Campaign said it had enough data to show that the G7 — Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Canada, Italy and Japan — fell short of its promises.

Read full article from Reuters
Download the full scorecard/DATA Report 2010

Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. Photo: South African Department of Health

(PlusNews) - Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, appointed South Africa’s Health Minister about a year ago, is in charge of the world’s largest antiretroviral (ARV) treatment programme. Many AIDS activists credit him with helping to usher in a new approach to HIV and AIDS, including changes to treatment guidelines announced by President Jacob Zuma on World AIDS Day 2009. Can the government deliver? IRIN/PlusNews spoke to the minister to find out.

QUESTION: Your target is to test about 15 million South Africans by 2011. What is the point of scaling up testing when the country’s treatment capacity is still lagging?

ANSWER: Our treatment capacity has been markedly boosted since the president’s announcement on World AIDS Day. We have increased our [health] budget from the previous financial year [March 2009 to February 2010] … there’s a difference of 33 percent, which is the biggest budgetary increase in any item in the budget.

When you are [HIV-]positive, you don’t only gain from treatment, you also gain from a change of lifestyle. Some may not need treatment but they will know through the HIV testing and counselling (HCT) campaign that they are positive, and may start attending sessions about how they should change their lifestyle and how they should live.

Read full interview (PlusNews)

May 17 marks International Day Against Homophobia

May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia. Homophobia is considered one of the main obstacles in implementing HIV prevention strategies. Of the 192 member states of the United Nations, 85 have laws that still criminalize homosexual behaviour and, in some of these countries, conviction can even result in the death penalty.

Atleast 5-10% of HIV infections worldwide are estimated to occur through sex between men, though this figure varies considerably between countries and regions. Yet men who have sex with men continue to face discrimination from healthcare workers, other service providers, employers and the police. Discrimination prevents men who have sex with men from disclosing their sexual orientation, or reporting for HIV services

Speaking on the occasion, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé said, “I urge all governments to take steps to eliminate stigma and discrimination faced by men who have sex with men, lesbians and transgender populations. They must also create social and legal environments that ensure respect for human rights and enable universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.”

Read full story from UNAIDS

Photo: Irin News

Uganda is the first and most obvious example of how the war on global AIDS is falling apart.

The last decade has been what some doctors call a “golden window” for treatment. Drugs that once cost $12,000 a year fell to less than $100, and the world was willing to pay. In Uganda, where fewer than 10,000 were on drugs a decade ago, nearly 200,000 now are, largely as a result of American generosity. But the golden window is closing.

Uganda is the first country where major clinics routinely turn people away, but it will not be the last. In Kenya next door, grants to keep 200,000 on drugs will expire soon. An American-run program in Mozambique has been told to stop opening clinics. There have been drug shortages in Nigeria and Swaziland. Tanzania and Botswana are trimming treatment slots, according to a report by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders.

The collapse was set off by the global recession’s effect on donors, and by a growing sense that more lives would be saved by fighting other, cheaper diseases. Even as the number of people infected by AIDS grows by a million a year, money for treatment has stopped growing.

Read full article in The New York Times

European Union

Summary: 10 May 2010, Brussels - Council of the European Union 3011th FOREIGN AFFAIRS Council meeting, conclusions on the EU role in Global Health

The Council adopted the following 19 conclusions:

1. The Council welcomes the Commission Communication on the EU Role in Global Health which highlights the need to take action to improve health, reduce inequalities and increase protection against global health threats. Health is central in people’s lives, including as a human right, and a key element for equitable and sustainable growth and development, including poverty reduction.

2. Economic and social conditions are crucial determinants of health. Efforts to address social exclusion, power structures that impede equity, and gender equality are of key importance, as well as a strong focus on policy coherence for development in particular the “Equity and Health in All Policies” approach.

3. The Council considers these conclusions also as part of the overall process of establishing the EU position for the MDG High Level Plenary Meeting to be held in New York, which will further define the EU response to the most off-track situations. Progress towards achieving the health-related MDGs has been uneven and insufficient, particularly for MDGs 4 and 5 and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Read all conclusions

After the first consultation this year, on the Sexual Diversity Scorecard, we are now running the AAI UNGASS Review Panel Consultation.

As you are aware, the year 2010 is the ‘deadline’ for the current UNGASS process, as defined by the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. For this reason, UNAIDS recently initiated a process that will allow stakeholders to review experiences and reflect on lessons learnt since 2001, as well as make recommendations on what should be the nature of a revised process to drive and monitor the global response to HIV and AIDS in the future. Final decisions will be taken at a meeting planned for 2011.

This consultation offers an opportunity to express your views and experiences of the UNGASS process, with the hope of influencing the UNGASS Review Process to develop in a positive and constructive direction.

In order for us to take your comments into consideration we ask you to email them (incorporated into the word doc above) to johanna@aidsaccountability.org by Monday 17 May at the latest.

For more information, please contact Johanna Löfgren at:johanna@aidsaccountability.org.