Global companies, US launch partnership for an HIV-Free generation

In a new partnership coordinated by the U.S. Government through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), leaders from the private sector are joining forces with the public sector and non-governmental organizations to revolutionize HIV prevention for youth through the Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation (HIV-Free Generation).
“A key challenge in the fight against global AIDS is the ongoing need for innovation in HIV prevention. Over 7,000 people a day are newly infected with HIV worldwide,” said Ambassador Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
“The Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation brings together an unprecedented coalition to address HIV prevention for youth. Initially in Kenya, this alliance combines PEPFAR’s technical and programmatic capacity with the expertise of the private sector in messaging, branding, new technologies, and real-time market research to promote and maintain behavior change.”
PEPFAR has engaged with the following industry leaders from the private sector and well-established non-governmental organizations to comprehensively address youth prevention: Accenture, The Africa Media Broadcast Partnerships Against HIV/AIDS/ Global Media AIDS Initiative, APCO Worldwide, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, The Draper Richards Foundation, Girl Scouts of the USA, Grassroot Soccer, The Global Business Coalition, Hasbro, Intel, Junior Achievement, AmericaShare/Micato Safaris, Microsoft, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, The MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Nike Foundation, Rotarians for Fighting AIDS, TechnoServe, and Warner Bros.
Advanced Media Services Inc. Youth are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection because they lack information, education, and skills; generally have a low perception of risk; and lack access to, and utilization of, health care services.
Young women and girls are extremely vulnerable to infection due to biological and social vulnerabilities, such as having older partners, the inability to negotiate condom use, sexual violence, and other psychosocial and cultural factors.
HIV-Free Generation will combine current evidence-based HIV prevention approaches with the private sector’s 21st century capabilities to promote and maintain healthy behaviors among 10-24 year old youth.

SA healthcare receives a huge cash injection

Tamar Kahn

Science and Health Editor

CAPE TOWN — Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has allocated extra money for the immediate crisis posed by SA’s HIV/AIDS epidemic while not forgetting the long-term challenge of improving health infrastructure and retaining skilled staff in the public sector, the medium-term budget policy statement shows.

An extra R300m is allocated to the HIV/AIDS conditional grants this year. The money provides for the increased cost of the new AZT-nevirapine regimen for preventing mother to child transmission of HIV, which replaces a regimen based solely on nevirapine.

Extra funds were also needed to accommodate more patients than had been anticipated on the government’s free treatment programme, said the treasury’s director for health policy Mark Bletcher.

More than 500000 HIV patients had started treatment since the programme’s inception in 2004, 200000 of them in the past year, he said. The budget for HIV/AIDS conditional grants has been revised up R932m over the medium term, taking the total to R12,4bn.

The budget increases the provincial equitable share by R1bn in 2008-09 to pay for higher than anticipated implementation of new occupation-specific wage dispensation for nurses. The 10,5% increase in salaries negotiated in the bargaining chamber was significantly higher than the 7,5% increase provinces had budgeted for this year, said Bletcher.