NAIROBI, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) — As the 31st World AIDS Day approaches on December 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday launched a social media campaign to raise awareness about HIV and Aids among African youth amid their vulnerability to the disease.

Senior officials said the campaign dubbed  The Tea On HIV aims to reach out to one million adolescents and youth in Africa with information on how they can prevent themselves from contracting HIV and how to live positively with it.

“This social media campaign aims to equip young Africans with the right information to start breaking the barriers that prevent them from getting support,” said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

Nearly 1.5 million out of the 1.6 million adolescents living with HIV globally by 2018 were in the Sub-Saharan African region, according to the data from WHO.

Moeti said that investment in youth-friendly reproductive health services are key to revitalize war against HIV and Aids in Africa that accounts for more than 70 percent of 30 million people living with the disease globally.

According to the UNAIDS data, only one in three young people globally has comprehensive knowledge about HIV and seven out of 10 young women(aged 15-24 years) in sub-Saharan Africa do not have comprehensive knowledge about HIV.

Frank Lule, medical officer HIV/Aids treatment at WHO Regional Office for Africa, said that 4 out of 10 new HIV infections are concentrated in the 15 to 24 years age bracket in the continent thanks to vulnerabilities linked to poverty and limited information about the disease.

“There has been inadequate awareness about HIV and Aids among adolescents and youth in this region and the new campaign will ensure they have access to knowledge on prevention and management of the disease,” said Lule.

He said that the social media-fueled HIV and Aids awareness campaign will provide a platform for African youth to share knowledge, experience and best practices geared towards the elimination of the disease by 2030.

Catherine Ngugi, head of programs at Kenya’s National Aids and STIs Control Program (NASCOP), said that robust interventions that include awareness campaigns and economic empowerment is key to reduce HIV infections among the youth.

“We need to look at the other drivers of higher infections among the youth that include lack of access to education, quality health care and jobs,” said Ngugi.

She said that Kenya has developed youth-friendly HIV and Aids interventions as government data indicate that this demographic accounted for more than 51 percent of new infections in the recent past.

Doreen Moraa, a 27-year-old Kenyan campaigner living with HIV, said that leveraging on social media platforms is key to influence behavior change among youth at risk of contracting the Aids virus.

“On my Facebook page, I have declared: I am HIV-positive. I am not sick. I am not sad. I am not dying. I am just a fabulous host to a tiny virus.” said Moraa in Nairobi.

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The rapid increase in HIV infection among the gay population in China has been brought primarily under control due to improved education and intervention measures in recent years, a leading expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.

However, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the center, said the number of new HIV cases among heterosexuals is still rising rapidly, posing a major threat to overall HIV/AIDS prevention and control in China.

About 6.9 percent of gay men who received tests through the National Sentinel Surveillance Program last year were HIV positive, down from a peak of about 8 percent in 2015.

In 2005 the rate was less than 2 percent, he said.

“We can draw the conclusion that the HIV epidemic among the MSM (men who have sex with men) group has initially been brought under control,” Wu said, adding that risks of HIV transmission in the group may continue to fall.

Although most new HIV cases reported each year in China are still heterosexual, the rapidly rising number of HIV cases among the MSM population in many big cities in China has worried health authorities and experts in the past few years.

In Beijing, for example, MSM has been responsible for the majority of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in recent years. Of the more than 2,800 cases reported between January and October last year in the capital, nearly 70 percent were transmitted through sex between men, according to the city’s health authority.

Compared with other groups, MSM have much higher chances of HIV transmission.

It is estimated that 1.25 million people were living with HIV in China by the end of last year, though about 30 percent of them were not diagnosed and therefore unaware they had the virus, according to the National Health Commission.

The commission estimates that every year about 80,000 people in China are infected with HIV.

Wu, from the Chinese CDC, said constant publicity and education efforts targeting the MSM group in recent years, especially improved community-based services, have played a key role in containing HIV transmission.

In addition, recent advances in early diagnosis have contributed to improved HIV prevention and control in communities, he said.

“The number of HIV/AIDS cases among heterosexuals in China is still rising,” he said. “The group will be a key for HIV/AIDS prevention and control in the long run.”

Last year, heterosexuals accounted for 71 percent of the total number of new HIV/AIDS cases in China, up from 69.6 percent in the previous year, he said.

Improved diagnosis is urgent for effective control and prevention so new cases can be identified in a timely manner, Wu said.

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This year’s theme for World AIDS Day recognizes the vital role of communities in supporting and educating at a local level, helping to deliver services at a regional level and raising awareness at a global level. This blog highlights research registered at the ISRCTN registry that investigates how to harness community power to reduce transmission of HIV and improve the wellbeing of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Targeting gender inequality to improve health

In many regions, lack of education and resources are linked to increased rates of early marriage and childbearing, gender-based violence, condomless intercourse and transactional sex.

In many regions, lack of education and resources are linked to increased rates of early marriage and childbearing, gender-based violence, condomless intercourse and transactional sex. These factors increase HIV transmission and impact, so a key intervention point is to empower adolescent girls. 

The AGEP study recruited girls and women aged 10-19 in Zambia and provided three of the four groups with 2 years of ‘safe space’ meetings run by slightly older women from the community discussing health, life and financial skills. One group additionally received vouchers enabling the purchase of health services and another received health vouchers and a savings account set up in their name.

Results did not show a significant effect on child marriage rates, contraceptive use or HIV prevalence, but the meetings did impact rates of transactional sex for those who were already sexually active and those who received all three interventions showed the most positive change. 

The Population Council, which sponsored this trial, has concluded that deeper socio-economic intervention is required and has made recommendations to the Deter­mined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) initiative.

This includes the GirlsRead! Zambia study, which examined the effect of giving girls in the last year of primary school an e-reader loaded with books by African authors containing positive female narratives, as well as providing the ‘safe space’ meetings. This intervention appeared to improve literacy and non-verbal reasoning scores, but the study would need to be scaled up to demonstrate significant effects on health.

The Population Council is also conducting a study to investigate the effectiveness of the One Community program in Malawi. This initiative aims to encourage HIV testing and use of healthcare services, reduce sexual behaviours associated with HIV transmission, and encourage gender equality in at-risk populations, including orphans and other vulnerable children, adolescent girls and young women.

In South Africa, an ongoing study is evaluating a PEPFAR/USAID community responses program that aims to raise awareness of sexual and gender-based violence and HIV prevention.

Peer outreach and mentoring

Peers have unique access to hard-to-reach groups, particularly where there is a stigma within the community or the behavior is illegal.

Peers have unique access to hard-to-reach groups, particularly where there is a stigma within the community or the behavior is illegal. The DANIDA KP study in Tanzania is training injecting drug users, men who have sex with men (MSM), and women who exchange sex for goods or money to advise others at higher risk of HIV infection how to access healthcare and violence prevention services. The protocol has been published in BMC Health Services Research.

A study taking place in the UK and Uganda is developing and testing an intervention that uses peer mentors to facilitate young people with perinatally acquired HIV infection disclosing their status to potential sexual partners.

The UK TARGET feasibility study will compare whether cards given out to peers by men and transgender people who have sex with men who have been trained as Testing Champions elicit more online blood-borne virus testing kit returns than poster advertising in LGBT venues.

Online communities

People also connect in virtual communities. The SELPHI trial advertised in apps, such as Grindr, and Facebook pages targeting men and transgender people who have sex with men. Examples of the ads and messages are viewable in the published protocol. People who responded to the ads and were eligible were randomized to receive no baseline testing or an HIV self-testing kit, where a person can use a diagnostic kit to test their blood or saliva at home and get a result in 15 minutes.

Results of the pilot phase showed that the kits were acceptable, with 96% used within 3 months of receipt, and that the ads could recruit MSM throughout England and Wales who were reasonably diverse in terms of age, ethnicity and educational background, although trans women were under-recruited.

Conclusion

HIV/AIDS healthcare and support can increasingly be managed within communities. Reducing HIV transmission involves broader social, cultural and structural change to empower disadvantaged people and eliminate stigma. Everyone can contribute to making this change happen within their community, even if they are not directly affected by HIV/AIDS. On this World AIDS Day, why not think about how you can contribute to building societies where there is no longer the inequality that leads to ill health?

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When we celebrate World AIDS Day less than a month from now, Americans will have something to celebrate. Innovative treatments have transformed a disease that a few decades ago would have been a death sentence into a diagnosis that, with support, is manageable. 

While lawmakers should acknowledge this progress, they should not consider this crisis solved. People living with HIV and AIDS often live on the edge of poverty and homelessness. For these individuals, access to local, state, and federal support will determine whether or not they survive.   

Keeping individuals with HIV and AIDS alive not only requires access to quality health care, it requires that individuals are stably housed. I have been working with people living with HIV and AIDS for more than two decades. I know that without the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program, U.S. efforts to address this disease would not have been as successful.

This program remains as important as it was when it was implemented in 1990, which is why federal lawmakers must reject potential cuts to it. 

The Senate has approved just $330 million for HOPWA for fiscal year 2020, a figure that represents a 21 percent cut from the FY 2019 enacted level of $393 million. The Senate’s allocation is $100 million lower than what the U.S. House of Representatives approved this summer, and it would reduce funding back to levels not seen in a decade.

These cuts would come at a moment when social services agencies like CAMBA are trying to serve more people. 

The 1.1 million Americans currently diagnosed with HIV and AIDS are living longer, and the country continues to see thousands of new cases each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about 40,000 Americans receive an HIV diagnosis every year. Demand for HOPWA is growing.

While it might be easy for some federal lawmakers to dismiss this issue as one that only affects urban centers like New York City or Los Angeles, current data reveal that assumption is false. According to the CDC, HIV diagnoses are not evenly distributed across the country. In fact, of the 38,739 new HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2017, more than half (19,968) were made in the southern part of the United States.

No matter where these men and women live, they are more likely than their fellow Americans to face poverty and housing instability. 

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, individuals living with HIV and AIDS are three to six times more likely than members of the general population to be homeless. Or, as the Congressional Research Service found, studies of the relationship between HIV and homelessness have found the disease’s prevalence among homeless populations that range from two percent to 22 percent. That correlation translates into to the fact that, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data, on any given night in the United States there are 10,000 individuals living with HIV and AIDS who are homeless. 

Even if people living with HIV and AIDS have a roof over their head, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, it is estimated that as many as half will need housing assistance at some point during their illness.

The HOPWA program is a homelessness prevention program that provides housing assistance and supportive services for low income people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. It is the only federal program dedicated to this mission. According to data from fiscal year 2015, about 10 percent of HOPWA beneficiaries once served the United States in uniform.

HOPWA also provides support to communities across the country that are developing housing strategies to prevent people living with HIV and AIDS from becoming homeless or unstably housed. The program helps my organization provide case management and housing assistance to approximately 100 New Yorkers annually. This assistance allows these individuals to stay out of our shelter system and off the streets. For them, that is the difference between health and death.

Sharon R. Browne is executive vice president of CAMBA for Health, Housing Services and Development. CAMBA is a New York-based non-profit that provides services that connect people with opportunities to enhance their quality of life.

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SAMBALPUR: HIV positive people under the banner of ‘Network of Positive People, Sambalpur’ have come out in support of VIMSAR dental surgeon PK Swain, accused of performing surgery on an afflicted patient without following protocol. The people on Saturday submitted a memorandum to the District Collector, addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik demanding to end the inquiry going on against Swain. 

On October 28, Swain had conducted the surgery of an HIV positive patient at the dental wing of the hospital. However, he was accused of not following set protocols for the surgery. Following the incident, on October 30, a five-member team was formed to probe the alleged violations. Hospital sources informed that the inquiry is in progress and the team is yet to submit is report.

Founder member and secretary of ‘Network of Positive People, Sambalpur’ Amarendra Behera said, “I have been witnessing cases where HIV positive patients are denied any kind of surgery in VIMSAR. The doctors here usually refer such patients to other hospitals. The HIV positive patients are also being subjected to discrimination since they are afraid to disclose their identity owing to social stigma associated with the disease.” 

Under such circumstances, the surgeon, who performed surgery on an HIV positive patient on humanitarian grounds, deserves to be commended for his act. But instead, some people are trying to malign his image and the hospital authorities have initiated an inquiry against him which is unjust, he said.

Behera said the surgeon had taken all precautions while operating upon the patient. Besides demanding termination of inquiry against the doctor, the organisation asked the government to act against those who hatched a conspiracy to blame the surgeon. Moreover, they have urged the Chief Minister to take steps to felicitate the surgeon at the state capital on World AIDS Day for his noble act.

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