| The commemoration of World AIDS Day today is being premised on the notion of promising prospects and political will, according to a statement issued by the National AIDS Committee (NAC).According to the body, World AIDS Day 2011 is seeking to highlight good news and bad news with the good news being that for the first time since the epidemic was identified 30 years ago, there is a sense that the end is in sight.The statement adds that “a combination of better protected sexual activity and better access to anti-retroviral drugs has produced a sharp downturn in the past five years in numbers of new infections.”However the bad news, according to the NAC, is that for the first time since the epidemic was identified, global resources committed to the epidemic have been reduced in what is seen as a long-term shift by major donor governments to other priorities.A new study produced by UNAIDS, the statement said, reports a dramatic increase of 20 per cent availability of ARVs over the past two years,Adidas Factory Outlet Online Store, resulting in decreasing deaths, down from 2.2 million to 1.8 million, since 2005.Moreover, in poor countries better access to ARV is identified as being responsible for the significant drop in infection rates thereby averting a further 2.5 million deaths.In the Caribbean, an estimated 25 per cent reduction rate has been identified in new infections since 2001 in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic and a steep decline in the number of newly infected children infected with HIV and in AIDS-related deaths among children, the statement added.As in the rest of the world,China NBA Jerseys, it was noted that access to antiretroviral therapy in the Caribbean has led to a considerable drop in mortality associated with HIV and AIDS.“Getting to Zero”, that is Zero New HIV Infections, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths, the UNAIDS slogan for World AIDS Day 2011 which is backed by the UN, is a realistic possibility in the Caribbean. This, according to the statement involves a combination of behaviour changes, scientific progress and legal changes,Discount Air Max, largely in the areas of hetero-sexual activity, which remains the main means of transmission of the virus.It was further highlighted that the falling transmission rates in the context of hetero-sexual activity are a combination of fewer sexual partners and more protected sex. However on the scientific side such behaviours have been complemented by a sharp reduction in mother-to-child transmission, universal or high levels of access to drugs in Caribbean territories and male circumcision.In the area of legal and policy changes, violence against women and girls and lack of female control over sexual activities contribute significantly to hetero-sexual transmission. Gains made in areas of stigma and discrimination remain fragile and vulnerable to being wiped out by bouts of homophobia and the effects of economic austerity, the statement outlined.Nonetheless evidence produces a welcome glimpse that the fight against HIV appears winnable with that reality being on the horizon and not merely around the corner.“Whether ‘Getting to Zero’ will be achieved depends crucially on sustained application of substantial funding. At the present time such funding is in serious jeopardy,” the stated added,Cheap Jerseys From China, It noted that at the moment the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFTAM) is reportedly under-funded to the tune of US$8.3bn.Despite commitments made at the HIV High-Level Meeting (HIV-HLM) of Heads of Governments in June this year, following unprecedented pressure from activists around the globe on securing universal access to drugs, major donor countries, faced with international financial turmoil, are losing sight of HIV priorities.Even without the more recent financial upheavals, signs of donor fatigue have been evident for some time,Discount Football Jerseys, NAC underscored with “one clear message delivered by donors to the HLM being that sustained universal success in the fight against HIV will depend on national governments assuming greater responsibility for funding access to drugs.Universal access is being seen as the key, not only to reducing AIDS deaths but also to making people less infectious, the statement said.“For countries like Guyana, which as reported, enjoy 80 per cent access to ARVs, thereby achieving the technical definition of ‘universal access’, this is entirely due to international financial support, posing an alarming challenge.”As such replacing the full financial burden of providing ARV is an unrealistic proposition in such circumstances, NAC stated adding that “what is within reach of countries in a similar position to Guyana is that they re-double their efforts to support initiatives at the local and international level which could off-set the apparently inevitable financial short-falls.”However, it was noted that a major area of attention in this regard is production of generic drugs.An agenda of activities within the grasp of such countries include challenging the regulation of international commerce known as TRIPS with respect to production of generic drugs.However, crafting artificially-inflated prices of anti-retroviral drugs and sustaining patents long after they have originally expired are techniques regularly employed by pharmaceutical companies.These techniques, according to the NAC, need to be challenged in order to allow generic drugs to be more widely and readily available.“A topical example of the actions which affect countries like ours is the case being played out in the Indian High Court at the very time WAD 2011 is being commemorated. The Swiss pharmaceutical company, MNC Novartis, is challenging the constitutionality of a clause introduced into the relevant legislation by the Indian government in order to stop the practice of ‘evergreening’, whereby companies such as Novartis extend expired patents by introducing minor modifications to the drugs in question, NAC said.Moreover,Jerseys From China, broad coalitions of affected countries are needed to challenge the global character of the pharmaceutical companies, NAC added noting that it is neither morally acceptable nor politically astute for dependent countries simply to treat such matters as a national concern of producers of generic drugs.Some measure of informed solidarity, rather than simply begging, would increase the validity of claims made for assistance on the international community, it was noted.NAC is of the view that within the area of activities identified earlier such as contributing to “Getting to Zero” renewed efforts are required to reduce the incidence of violence against women, exploitation of female poverty and to remove discriminatory practices based on homophobia.And while access to ARV drugs has made a significant – although unexpected – contribution to reducing infection, NAC noted that maintaining low rates of infection is within the grasp of societies which adhere faithfully to protective measures and inculcating habits of respecting and protecting the rights and dignity of all of its population.“Getting to Zero,Cheap Jerseys, in other words, is not solely dependent on the good will of other nations: a combination of the right values, the right behavior and political will can make a big difference.”” |
