Videos from Mexico

Our own Georgina Caswell engaging with youth, talking about microbicides and highlighting the importance of involving men in the discussions on sexualhealth and reproductive rights.

Africa still ignores the needs of men who have sex with men

Attending the International AIDS conference in Mexico was a wonderful opportunity to witness progress on the fight against HIV in Latin America.

It is particularly useful to see how various Latin American countries invest in targeted work with men who have sex with men. The conference is also an opportunity to compare world regions and their responses on the issue of vulnerability of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM).

Unfortunately, this year again (and two years) after Toronto it is clear that Africa - the region most hardest hit by HIV- is still lagging far behind other UN regions when it comes to addressing HIV within its MSM populations.

The notable difference with Toronto 2006 is that this year, there were more discussions and visible presence of several African gay activists.

Several research studies on the vulnerability of MSM in Zambia, Togo and Senegal were presented. All these studies revealed that men who have sex with men in Africa have the highest prevalence rates compared to the general populations. Mexico was also a good platform for many human rights campaigners and African gay activists from the African continent to highlight human rights abuses in their countries. Uganda in particular was singled out by several speakers including the UNAIDS Director Dr Peter Piot - for arresting young men who were requesting attention to their health needs at a recent international meeting with international funders.

The highlight of day 4 (Friday 7th) was the press conference by a French NGO (AIDES) and a newly formed partnership - AfricaGay - formed by gay activists working across francophone Africa. Two reps from Burundi and Cameroun were particularly inspiring. Mexico has provided a platform for young and upcoming health workers dedicated to challenge the status quo and the injustices which are often generated by policy makers in the HIV sector.

Cheikh

Paper, people and policy

The conference is huge! It seems to get bigger everyday. There are so many sessions, exhibitions, people and, above all, lots and lots of paper! It feels like we all brought along some materials to share with other delegates and I wonder what will happen to all the reports, flyers, leaflets and cards that have been placed and left on the many tables around the conference areas…I guess they will all get chucked away. We all need to think about how to effectively convey messages about our work (whether we are passing on health promotion, information and campaign messages or simply profiling our work) without resorting to so much paper.

Enough about paper! I’ve attended some sessions about ‘positive leadership’ where participants discussed the big issues of accountability and representation. A participant in the audience stated:

‘Really, [networks representing us] listen to our voices. If you don’t have a story to tell, if you don’t hear us, you don’t represent us’.

Listening is so important; and acting on issues with the people who raise them and regularly feeding back to people is crucial even though it isn’t always easy when you’re juggling many different pieces of work.

Another engaging session was about meeting the sexual and reproductive health rights of people living with HIV. Rolake Odetoyinbo from Positive Action for Treatment Access in Nigeria stated that:

‘as far as most people are concerned, once you get infected, your sexual and reproductive life ends. But that is a myth, it doesn’t end, your desires don’t go away. And even if they do, eventually you get back to being a regular person. However, the programmes we have are not designed to take into account the sexual and reproductive needs of people living with HIV and even when they manage to put it in, it’s not rights-based’.

It is therefore important that governments, service providers, funders and advocates are ensuring that services are comprehensive (including access to treatment, to condoms, to antenatal services, to HIV testing) so as to meet the individual needs of both women and men living with HIV.

Some fun…I met Sheryl Lee Ralph who plays the role of the mum in Moesha (with Brandy)!! Jabu and I also had our photo taken with Stephen Lewis!! I also have a photo with Elizabeth Mataka who gave the keynote address at the National African HIV Conference in March!!

Georgina

Progress must not be confused with victory

4^th August 2008- The IAS AIDS 2008 conference officially opened with a projected delegate count of over 20000, 750 volunteers, and 4378 poster exhibitions/abstracts.

I presented the AHPN poster abstract: “Completing the Picture: an examination of the Home Office’s country reports on availability of HIV treatment in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria and Malawi”.

You can almost see from the number of delegates that stopped over, the nodding of heads and the conversations, that the abstract subject is a universal priority and requires universal action now.

Availability and access to treatment is not just about drugs, but includes the social, political and economic factors that people are exposed to and how these experiences impact on the availability and access to treatment.

Peter Piot, Executive Director at UNAIDS spoke at the opening ceremony that even before this conference took place, significant achievements have taken place around the world in relation to HIV and AIDS. This is progress…

However, we stand to say that, progress must not be confused with victory. The picture is not complete. The recommendations are a start to act now and ensure that decisions on deportations are increasingly informed, comprehensive and balanced.

(c) AHPN 2008

Jabu

It's a life changing experience

For over 8 years, I have dedicated my life to the study of non-biomedical aspects of HIV/AIDS.This quest for knowledge has given me a comprehensive overview of the complexity of HIV and AIDS. The prevalence rate across the globe, the various socio-cultural, economic, political and biomedical problems associated with HIV and AIDS. I know about routes of transmission and different prevention methods.

Nonetheless, my experience was never going to be complete if I did not listen to the voices of people living with HIV, engage with people’s experiences, showing that I do not stigmatise or discriminate. For me, this experience in Mexico is a turning point, I feel I have learned a lot and have managed to complement my academic knowledge by simply meeting with people in a space where stigma and discrimination is absent.

With this experience, I will say bravo!!!

Tosin

See it with your own eyes...

To read about the latest updates from the Conference in Mexico and other HIV related news visit AHPN News

Amazing, amazing, amazing

Amazing Amazing amazing….this conference has given me, and I imagine a lot of people here, creative and innovative strategies on how to tackle Human Rights violations in relation to HIV. I think the quote that will stick with me today, came from Susan Timberlake, UNAIDS lead on Human Rights, where she called for four pillars instead of three to tackle HIV “prevention, treatment, care and discrimination.” Every presentation that I have attended and participated in has mentioned stigma and discrimination which underscores her point. I have heard amazing strategies from people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), legal advocates, service providers and many others on how to monitor and document HIV related Human Rights violations (legal aid clinics in India, PLWHA monitoring and documenting Human rights violations in the Ukraine, and Jamaican MSM working with international NGOs, domestic human rights NGOs to tackle and document homophobic violence). Strategies I hope we can adopt and include in our advocacy efforts to repeal the UK’s policy to deport people living with HIV/AIDS on treatment to countries where treatment is not readily available.

Otherwise I don’t think I have ever been this busy at a conference; I have had 3 presentations and two abstracts and busy writing summaries for Track E (Human Rights) sessions for the AIDS 2008, but I have been made to feel very welcome by the conference organisers and the Mexican people. The photo below is of activists from Housing Works, a black led CBO, highlighting the housing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS

More later………….

Rhon

The Beautiful Game

In the UK, the BASS line 2007 report and the Knowledge the Will and the Power plan of action illustrate that HIV prevention interventions should shift and create a level playing field driven by evidence highlighting where the greatest HIV prevention needs lie.

A skills building session, “the Beautiful game” showcased how the game of football has been used to target young people with HIV prevention messages and life skills training.

To think, for example in Lusaka-Zambia, that there is almost zero cost to get a street football game going - making a football from recycled plastic bags and stones for goal posts - you would ask why aren’t we doing much more to reach young people with important messages in fun and familiar settings.

The consensus reached at the question and answer session was that HIV prevention interventions will have to take into account the motivating factors that would make (for example) young people decide to use condoms every time they have sex.

The success stories of using soccer for HIV prevention, opens minds to think about other types of sport and/or activities that could be used as a cost effective way to reach out to those with the greatest HIV prevention needs.

Something to think about!

Jabu

Live and direct from Mexico!

We’re very happy to share with you our experiences and insights from Mexico! It’s lovely and warm here and we've found everyone so helpful and friendly.

I arrived last Thursday (31st July) to participate in the Mexico Youth Force pre-conference. High profile figures such as Dr. Pedro Cahn (IAS President), Peter Piot (UNAIDS) and Thoraya Obaid (UNFPA) gave speeches highlighting the importance of addressing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people by ensuring that young people, regardless of HIV status, have access to comprehensive sex education (focusing on risks as well as on well-being) and access to comprehensive services (including youth-friendly services, condoms and other contraceptives, and information about HIV in family planning clinics). It was great to hear them say that young women and men must take an active part in policy and decision making and in the implementation of activities because they bring innovative ideas and are open to change and to moving in new directions.

I participated in a range of interactive skills-building sessions. The sessions on gender, sexuality and identity were particularly engaging; they raised complex issues that impact on young people’s vulnerability to contract HIV and their ability to assert their sexual and reproductive rights. Using some simple and effective games, we explored what it meant to be ‘excluded’ (as HIV positive people, as migrants, as LGBT, as women, as poor people) and how as individuals we all have unique realities, perspectives and experiences that should be respected by all. We were certainly not short of volunteers wanting to take part in activities and to speak about their perspectives freely and openly – the Latin American youth are particularly vibrant!

On Sunday, we went on a LONG march - the 1^st International March Against Stigma, Discrimination and Homophobia’. We chanted (very loudly!) ‘Alerta, Alerta, Alerta, que camina la juventud unida por America Latina’ (which translates to something like ‘Listen up, Listen up, Listen up, we are representing the united youth of Latin America’. We also chanted ‘No hay libertad politica si no hay libertad sexual’ (‘There’s not political liberty if there’s not sexual liberty’) – important messages of unity, inclusion and action articulated by young people at the pre-conference in Mexico.

I’ll write again another time! Over to Jabu...

Georgina

Poster presentations

To view the abstracts that will be presented at the Conference please click the images. If you would like to learn more about our work, campaigns and activities please visit www.ahpn.org

COMING SOON!!

News,views and updates from our people in Mexico City at the XVII International AIDS Conference 3rd–8thAugust 2008