Global solidarity and resilient HIV services

The global HIV epidemic is not over and may be accelerating during the  COVID-19 pandemic, with a devastating impact on communities and countries. In 2019, there were still 38 million people living with HIV infection. One in five people living with HIV were not aware of their infection and one in 3 people receiving HIV treatment experienced disruption to the supply of HIV treatments, testing and prevention services, especially children and adolescents. In 2019, 690 000 people died from HIV-related causes and 1.7 million people were newly infected, with nearly 2 in three (62%) of these new infections occurring among key populations and their partners.

Despite significant efforts, progress in scaling up HIV services was already stalling before the COVID-19 pandemic. Slowing progress means the world will be missing the “90-90-90” targets for 2020, which were to ensure that: 90% of people living with HIV are aware of their status; 90% of people diagnosed with HIV are receiving treatment; and 90% of all people receiving treatment have achieved viral suppression. Missing these intermediate targets will make it even more difficult o achieve the end of AIDS by 2030.

The breakdown in essential HIV services due to COVID-19 threatens lives. COVID makes it difficult and dangerous for frontline health workers to deliver continuous, high quality HIV services to everyone who needs them. Sickness and restricted movement make it difficult for people living with HIV to access services. Economic disruption caused by COVID can make HIV services unaffordable or unobtainable. And the pandemic may interfere with supply chains and service delivery. For example, as of July 2020, one third of people on HIV treatment had experienced drug stockouts or interruptions in supplies. Supply disruptions such as these are devastating; a WHO and UNAIDS modeling study showed that six-month disruption in access to HIV medicines could lead to a doubling in AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 alone.

Now is the time for us to once again make a leap in our response to work together to end COVID-19 and get back on track to end HIV by 2030. On World AIDS Day 2020, WHO is calling on global leaders and citizens to rally for “global solidarity” to overcome the challenges posed by COVID-19 on the HIV response.  WHO has chosen to focus on “Global solidarity, resilient HIV services” as the WHO theme for World AIDS Day this year.

The key actions are:

1. Renew our fight to end HIV

   The global AIDS response has slowed down: it’s time now to invest, to innovate HIV services with broader health care and the pandemic response to get back on track to end HIV by 2030. Missing the global targets for HIV for 2020 should not be a setback but a renewed call to do better.

2. Use innovative HIV services to ensure continued HIV care.

   There are many new approaches countries are adopting to ensure HIV care during the pandemic. WHO has recommended multi-month prescriptions of HIV medicines to protect the health of people on HIV treatment and to reduce the burden on overburdened health services.

3. Engage and protect our nurses, midwives and community health workers

   We urge policymakers to ensure that frontline health workers, nurses, midwives and community health workers are engaged and protected when delivering services for HIV and COVID-19. 

4. Prioritize the vulnerable – youth and key populations
   We need to ensure that children, adolescents and members of key and vulnerable populations affected by HIV do not fall through the cracks of health care disruptions during COVID-19.  Key populations include people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people and people in prisons that are disproportionately affected by HIV. 
   

Please join us for a webinar to celebrate World AIDS Day on 1 December 2020 from 13:00 to 14:30 Geneva time (Central European Time). The event will cover global efforts to ensure global solidarity and resilient HIV services, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The speakers will include:

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization (WHO)

Honourable Lizzy Nkosi, Minister of Health, The Kingdom of Eswatini

Mr Peter Sands, Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Ms Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV (UNAIDS)

Dr J.V.R. Prasada Rao, Former Secretary of Health, India and Former SG’s Envoy for AIDS in in Asia and the Pacific

Dr Ren Minghui, Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases, WHO

Dr Meg Doherty, Director, Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes, WHO

Ms Cindy Amaiza, National Coordinator, Y+ Kenya

Ms Sasha Volgina, Programme Manager, Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+)

Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, President, International AIDS Society (IAS)

Ms Erica Burton, Senior Advisor, International Council of Nurses (ICN)

Dr Alex Schneider, Founder, Life4me+

Mr Asghar Satti, National Coordinator, Association of People Living with HIV (APLHIV), Pakistan

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Source – https://www.prnewswire.com/

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ —  Dr. Jay Calvert, a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon from Beverly Hills and President of The Rhinoplasty Society, will lead his chosen team of experts to the  24-hour marathon of lectures on the first World Rhinoplasty Day. This event will feature 140 of the top rhinoplasty surgeons from around the globe.

“This event represents the best in rhinoplasty education. I am proud to bring the Rhinoplasty Society team to this incredible event of world experts.”  – Dr. Jay Calvert

Dr. Calvert chose The Rhinoplasty Society team for World Rhinoplasty Day with the highest quality of education in mind. His team includes Sam Most, MD, Chief of Facial Plastic Surgery at Stanford University; Jeffrey Marcus, MD, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Duke University; Paul Nassif, MD, star of “Botched!” and world-famous facial plastic surgeon; and Rod Rohrich, MD, the world class rhinoplasty surgeon, author, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.  

Dr. Jay Calvert is the creator and host of the Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Podcast. He and his co-host, Dr. Millicent Rovelo, have been creating new episodes for over a year. They cover all topics in plastic surgery from facelifts and rhinoplasty to liposuction and breast augmentation. The podcast can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.  

Please contact the office of Dr. Jay Calvert to learn more about him and his international speaking events, consultation process, and operating engagements. The contact person is Jenny Michaels at 1.310.777.8800,  or you can email at drcalvert@roxburysurgery.com,

Additional Information about Dr. Jay Calvert

Website: https://www.drcalvert.com.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjaycalvert/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/DrCalvertTV

Podcast: Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Podcast

Dr. Jay Calvert is a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, President of the Rhinoplasty Society, and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is internationally known for his work on rhinoplasty and nasal reconstruction. He has appeared on multiple television shows such as The Doctors, Dr. Phil, Tyra Banks Show, and many others.  He has offices in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach.  He attended Vanderbilt University where he majored in Molecular Biology.  Dr. Calvert graduated from Weill Cornell University Medical College in New York City and then went on to train in Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. 

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The United Methodist Global AIDS Committee has announced plans for a special service to commemorate World AIDS Day on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 1:00 PM CT. The worship service – held virtually – will be free and available to all online at Facebook.com/UMCglobalaidsfund and umc.org/en/content/world-aids-day-2020-worship.

NASHVILLE, TENN. (PRWEB) NOVEMBER 09, 2020

The United Methodist Global AIDS Committee has announced plans for a special service to commemorate World AIDS Day on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 1:00 PM CT. The worship service – held virtually – will be free and available to all online at Facebook.com/UMCglobalaidsfund and umc.org/en/content/world-aids-day-2020-worship.

The theme of the service will revolve around the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day – Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility – and will feature a message from Bishop Julius Trimble of the Indiana Episcopal Area, chair of the Global AIDS Committee, music by Jorge Lockward of the United Methodist Church of the Village (New York, NY) and a testimony William Brawner, founder / executive director of the Haven Youth Center, who is living with HIV.

The worship service was conceived and designed by the Rev. Dr. Youngsook Charlene Kang (Vice-Chair of the UMGAC) with video production by United Methodist Communications.

World AIDS Day takes place on December 1 each year. The day serves as opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS, to show support for people living with HIV or AIDS, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.

Rev. Dr. Kang states: “We as the United Methodist Global AIDS Committee are very pleased to host a World AIDS Day worship service for The United Methodist Church and ecumenical and interfaith communities.  I think it is very significant that every year on World AIDS Day we come together to build and raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and demonstrate global solidarity in response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic. In accordance with UNAIDS, the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day worship service is “Global solidarity, shared responsibility,” Indeed, we have the continued need for prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS, as well as mitigation against any stigma and discrimination.  I hope that we will be inspired and encouraged by this worship service so that we continue to work together to engage local churches and communities in HIV and AIDS education, advocacy and compassionate outreach.” 

World AIDS Day on December 1 brings together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care around the world. In 2020, the world’s attention has been focused by the COVID-19 pandemic on health and how pandemics affect lives and livelihoods. COVID-19 is showing once again how health is interlinked with other critical issues, such as reducing inequality, human rights, gender equality, social protection and economic growth.

For more information on The United Methodist Global AIDS Committee, please visit ttps://umgaf2014.wordpress.com and http://www.Facebook.com/UMCglobalaidsfund

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About the United Methodist Global AIDS Committee
The United Methodist Global AIDS Committee (UMGAC) provides resources and training to annual conferences and local churches, engaging them in HIV and AIDS education and advocacy. This work reduces stigma and provides greater opportunity for welcoming all people into the church. The committee, chaired by Bishop Julius Trimble, is comprised of members from the Council of Bishops, Division on Ministries with Young People, General Board of Church and Society, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Communications and United Methodist Women.

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This World AIDS Day, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is announcing the timely theme – “AIDS: The Other Pandemic.” This new theme and corresponding logo serve as a reminder to the world that even in times of a new pandemic, HIV/AIDS remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases in history and must be kept high on the global public health agenda.

AHF welcomes everyone worldwide – organizations and individuals alike – to utilize the theme “AIDS: The Other Pandemic.” Feel free to access the high-resolution logos here!

Even though HIV/AIDS is treatable and preventable, 38 million people are still living with HIV worldwide. There are 1.7 million new infections annually, and an estimated 690,000 people still die from HIV/AIDS-related causes every year. Millions of people living with HIV/AIDS are still not accessing lifesaving treatment.

“COVID-19 has stolen the headlines and devastated communities worldwide, but we must not forget the pandemic that has been raging for more than 30 years and still affects millions of people globally,” said Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy. “It’s absolutely vital that world leaders also keep their attention on HIV this World AIDS Day and beyond—and campaigns like ‘AIDS: The Other Pandemic’ are just one way to urge them to keep the promise on AIDS.”

The global AIDS response still consistently falls short each year by up to $6 billion of what is needed to sufficiently fund efforts around the world – this gap will likely widen futher with the COVID-19 pandemic. Government donors must give their fair share to improve on and continue HIV prevention efforts and ensure everyone who needs it has equitable access to lifesaving care and treatment.

“Even though we have made great strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa and around the world, we still have a long way to go,” added Dr. Penninah Iutung, AHF’s Africa Bureau Chief. “It is simply unacceptable that people living with HIV in many parts of the world still struggle to get free or affordable testing and antiretroviral therapy. Condoms are even hard to come by in many countries, though they are the most effective way to stop HIV transmission and extremely cost effective. Whether rich or poor, everyone deserves the ability to obtain lifesaving medicines, including generic drugs, regardless of their economic standing. As there is still no HIV vaccine on the horizon, guaranteeing prevention and treatment for all is the only way we’ll bring the virus under control and eventually end this pandemic.”

On World AIDS Day 2020, AHF will be hosting a multitude of virtual and a few social-distanced live events. Be sure to be on the lookout and join us to help ensure the world never forgets “AIDS: The Other Pandemic.”

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The arrival in 2012 of a daily pill to prevent HIV infection was widely hailed as a breakthrough that could drive new infections worldwide to very low levels. Eight years later, it is having a strong impact in some places and little or none in others.

The real-world impact of pre-exposure prophylaxis, PrEP for short, certainly isn’t living up to its high expectations among young women in sub-Saharan Africa, who account for more than one-quarter of the 800,000 new HIV infections that occurred last year in the region.

The complexities around taking a daily PrEP pill is one reason this therapy is having a limited impact there. A more fundamental problem is a delay in fully engaging African women, including African women scientists, in developing and testing new tools for fighting HIV.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new version of PrEP in October 2019 that, incredibly, was not tested in cisgender women at all, African or otherwise. As a result, it is available only for men and transgender women. It’s a sobering reality that, as we enter the second decade of the 21st century in a world that is supposedly “woke” to the different manifestations of gender inequality, a new tool for preventing HIV infection has arrived with a “men only” label. In Africa, it’s an especially ominous sign.

I am deeply concerned about the 6,000 adolescent girls and young women who become infected with HIV each week around the world. In some countries, girls and young women now account for 80% of new adolescent infections. Overall, young women are twice as likely to acquire HIV as young men.

To be fair, there have been efforts to conduct clinical trials with PrEP in African women. And the majority of participants in ongoing advanced-phase trials for HIV vaccines, antibodies, and injectable PrEP are women. But the poor results of PrEP trials in women to date should not have baffled some researchers. For example, a PrEP trial involving 5,000 women in South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe found no reduction in infections. But that was mainly because many of the participants did not regularly take their pills.

A recent study probing this lack of adherence pointed to social factors, including how taking a daily antiretroviral pill could stigmatize women as being at risk of HIV or even being HIV infected. Some women reported extreme reactions from family members and breakups with spouses or partners.

The broader issue is a failure to understand the circumstances and preferences of African women and adolescent girls who urgently need protection against HIV. Beyond involving women as participants in clinical trials, fighting a disease that, in Africa, disproportionately affects women also requires involving more African women scientists — and African research institutions in general — in leading product development and testing.

In my work to enable development and testing of new HIV vaccines and other preventive agents, I am constantly looking for ways to engage the communities we will be serving, especially young women, to understand what innovations they are most likely to embrace. One area of interest involves the possibility of using manufactured HIV antibodies to develop an injectable product that would provide protection for several months, which would help overcome the adherence challenges associated with PrEP.

Working to ensure that HIV prevention tools are accessible and appropriate for African women and girls offers an approach that could be relevant beyond Africa. This work could, for example, offer valuable lessons for the United States, where PrEP drugs are not being widely used in certain at-risk populations.

We have arrived at a simultaneously hopeful and dangerous moment in the battle against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Hopeful because new tools are now available and in the research pipeline. Dangerous because, after years of steady declines in new infections, we have hit a plateau, especially among young African women and girls.

Overcoming these challenges demands a significant shift that delivers new investments in African-led and women-led HIV research endeavors across the continent. Research in South Africa has been well represented by women scientists, but that trend is not representative of the rest of southern Africa, East Africa, and West Africa. Recently, there has been a measure of new funding for women scientists that is helping them secure leadership roles in African research institutions and compete for grant support, but much more is needed.

I bring to this work two decades of experience in clinical trial design and implementation. I also bring the experience of being a daughter who lost both of her parents to this terrible disease, and I am also the mother of a young African woman. I believe that these influences make me a better scientist.

We can win the fight against HIV in Africa. But this virus is a resilient adversary. If we truly want to win, we must give African women opportunities to lead the battle.

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PARIS — As part of the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community set itself the ambitious goal of eradicating HIV, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030. Despite the extraordinary progress that has already been made, ending these pandemics and achieving the broader goal of ensuring the health and wellbeing of all will require ramping up efforts to support countries in building resilient and inclusive health systems.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a public-private partnership, has contributed substantially to this effort, by massively scaling up prevention and treatment. In countries where the Global Fund invests, 18.9 million people received antiretroviral therapy for HIV in 2018, 5.3 million tuberculosis patients were treated and 131 million mosquito nets were distributed.

These efforts have proved tremendously effective in reducing these pandemics’ death toll. The latest figures indicate that 32 million lives have been saved since the Global Fund’s creation in 2002. Over the last decade, the annual number of deaths from HIV, tuberculosis and malaria have been lowered by about half.

Yet we are still not on track to eliminate HIV, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030. To achieve this goal, we must not only expand access to treatment drastically; we also need to achieve a sharp reduction in new infections.

Success will require clear political leadership and sustained investment in critical capacities, such as well-trained community health workers, cost-effective supply chains, quality data systems and well-equipped laboratories. To ensure that health services reach the poorest and most marginalised, barriers to health access — such as user fees human rights-related impediments or gender inequalities — must be dismantled. Active community engagement will be essential here.

Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Countries and communities need to devise strategies that account for their residents’ needs and reflect the particular disease threats they face.

Moreover, no single external development partner can provide all of the necessary support. That is why we are calling for innovative coalitions comprising multilateral and bilateral development organisations that leverage their complementary strengths to strengthen national capacities. Such coordinated support is needed most urgently in regions — for example, the Sahel in Sub-Saharan Africa — that have weak institutions and infrastructure, and that are particularly vulnerable to security threats and environmental crises.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the Global Fund and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have invested in building, together with the Ivoirian government, a regional bureau for the national medical drug-supply centre. This will facilitate treatment delivery as close as possible to communities, thereby strengthening national health authorities’ capacity to reach the most vulnerable in a sustainable way.

In the same vein, the AFD and the Global Fund are supporting Niger’s Ministry of Public Health in its efforts to expand access to health products and strengthen the national laboratory network, thereby improving diagnosis, including for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. By ensuring synergy among activities and preventing duplication of efforts, we can support Niger in strengthening its health system, including at the community level.

Avoiding silo-based activity is the raison díêtre of the recent partnership agreement between the Global Fund and the AFD. Under the leadership of national health authorities, we are pursuing greater convergence and synergy among programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, such as those the Global Fund finances, and initiatives to strengthen health systems, such as those in which the AFD invests. Underscoring the extent to which these two areas are interconnected, the Global Fund is already the largest multilateral provider of grants for strengthening health systems, investing well over $1 billion per year in the cause.

By combining our organisations’ strengths, we are reaffirming our commitment to ensuring effective cooperation and coordinated action to eradicate HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and to building strong and resilient health systems, particularly in the most vulnerable countries. The international community has a shared responsibility to fulfill its commitments without leaving anyone behind.

To end the HIV, tuberculosis and malaria epidemics by 2030, a business-as-usual approach will not suffice. We must step up the fight. That means investing more in health systems and forging effective new partnerships, such as the one between the AFD and the Global Fund.

Rémy Rioux is chief executive officer of the Agence Française de Développement. Peter Sands is executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. 

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Britain is pledging almost half a billion pounds a year to fight Aids, malaria and tuberculosis around the world.

Announcing the funding at the G20 summit in Japan on Saturday, Theresa May will call on leaders of the world’s largest economies to step up their own efforts to tackle the deadly diseases.

The UK’s three-year pledge will see around £467m a year given to the Global Fund, which provides medication for over 3 million people living with HIV, as well as treatment and care for 2 million people with tuberculosis, and 90 million mosquito nets to prevent malaria.

The prime minister is to tell G20 leaders: “We need urgent international action and a truly collective response if we are to tackle threats to global health security, prevent infections spreading across borders, and halt the continued spread of deadly diseases.

She will ask them to “follow the UK’s lead in supporting the vital work of the Global Fund and its relentless efforts to tackle Aids, malaria and tuberculosis around the world”.

The Global Fund says it needs to raise another £11bn at a conference in Lyon, France, in October, if it is to keep its work on track.

In 2016, Britain pledged to contribute £1.1bn over three years to the Global Fund to fight Aids, malaria and TB.

Since 2002, the fund is believed to have helped save more than 27 million lives in over 100 countries and to have reduced the number of deaths from the three diseases by more than a third. 

But Aids, malaria and tuberculosis continue to claim around 2.5 million lives a year, with a child dying from malaria every two minutes.

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said the UK’s pledge was “a positive step forward in the global fight against these diseases, and will help to save millions of lives”.

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