Sperm Positive has begun with three male donors from across New Zealand who are living with HIV but have an undetectable viral load, meaning the amount of the virus in a person's blood is so low that it cannot be detected by standard methods.

Although this does not mean the HIV has been cured, it does mean that the treatment is working well and so the virus cannot be passed on - even through sex without a condom or childbirth. Continue reading

They are challenging pharmaceutical companies to step up and help.

The situation for very sick children in Kenya is bad, the church and faith leaders say.

They estimate 26,000 children living with HIV in Kenya need treatment, but are not receiving it. In addition, they say more than 9,000 cases of pediatric tuberculosis were recorded in 2016. Read more

"My family couldn't accept my condition," Dewi, not her real name, says in reference to the virus that affected her immune system.

Following her diagnosis, Dewi underwent medical treatment for two weeks in Jayapura diocese-run Dian Harapan Hospital in Jayapura, Papua province.

It was there that she met Franciscan Brother Agustinus Adi who works there as a nurse. He also manages a transitional house called for those living with HIV/AIDS, which Dewi ended up going to.

"After the hospital I went to the transitional house for further medical help and spent a whole month there," she says.

Besides medication, Dewi also had regular psychological counseling at the transitional house.

"It helped me slowly re-embrace my family who struggled with my having HIV," she says.

In early 2010, Dewi went back to her parents' home but she will never forget what Brother Adi did for her.

"Brother Adi even gave me 1 million rupiah (US$ 110)," Dewi says.

"I used the money to start a small kiosk that I built in front of my parents' house. There I began to sell basic necessities such as sugar, cooking oil, tea, coffee and soap," she says.

One thing that Dewi, now 30, can still remember is the love shown to her at the transitional house.

"If I forget to collect medicines from the transitional house, Brother Adi calls me or texts me. The service is very good, full of love," she says.

A whisper

Since it was established in August 2009, the transitional house has become a refuge for people living HIV/AIDS, particularly those neglected by their families.

Built on land provided by the diocese, the house has taken care of 350 such people. Of this number, 90 have past away, and the rest continue to take their medication. Continue reading

Sources

• An article by Benny Mawel in Global Pulse.
• Image: UCAnews.com

She says churches are the major influences of behaviour and some can do much more to lead on sensitive issues.

There is often criticism of churches, despite the work they do, and this can be a result of allowing the stigma around AIDS to continue, rather than showing care and compassion, says Leary.

"They are at the heart of the teachings of all the churches in the Pacific."

"So it's not a great leap to then suggest that the churches show leadership in those areas for all their parishioners, including the most vulnerable, including women, children, people affected by illnesses including HIV."

"I mean, Jesus mingled with the lepers."

At the beginning of December an Ecumenical Bible Study and Worship in Fiji highlighted the plight of women and girls who live through violence.

It was part of 16 Days of Activism drawing attention to the plight of women and children suffering from domestic violence.

The Bible study hosted representatives from numerous religious denominations to a morning of discussion around the verse Ephesians 5: "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord" — a verse which participants worry is often misquoted.

"This year and last year, we organised both a Break the Silence Sunday," said one of the organisers and participants Reverend Ann Drummond.

"We sent out liturgical resources and sermon suggestions for that and now we've organised this Break the Silence Ecumenical Seminar and Worship."

Source

• Radio New Zealand
• Fiji Times
• Image: wcc-coe.org

The media is being encouraged to listen to stories such as Sarah's:

‘As a young woman, I was 21 when I was diagnosed, and it's that, it takes away your whole impression of what your life will be like. … And social stigma as well.

'It's really hard, like to be a young woman diagnosed, there's no education about it, you don't know how people are going to react to you. It's really scary, it's really scary.'

Religious groups, school teachers, and the media can all choose to be part of the problem, or part of the solution, a source of fear or hope.

A few weeks before the conference, a health services practitioner in an eastern Victorian town reported that he or she was HIV positive.

One media outlet played the fear card when it quoted a patient: ‘[I felt] pretty sick actually, very sick in the stomach'.

Meanwhile the health worker had had the psychological strength to report his or her HIV positive status to authorities.

This enabled them to take proper precautions, and it was therefore unlikely that any patients would contract the virus.

If he or she had been been overcome by fear or shame, it is doubtful the alarm would have been raised, and the population would have been placed at greater risk. Continue reading

Source

• Michael Mullins in Eureka Street

Michael Mullins is editor of Eureka Street

An international Aids conference in Melbourne last week was told about the problematic results of such laws.

But men having sex with men remains illegal in more than one-third of all Pacific countries and territories.

Advocates argue such laws lead to discrimination and stigma against gay and transgender people and stop them from having HIV tests or treatment.

They also want community attitudes to shift and point to Samoa's acceptance of the Fa'afafine as an example.

In March last year, Samoa's government repealed a law which made it an offence for a male to impersonate a female.

But sex between men, regardless of consent, remains illegal.

Ken Moala, from the Pacific Sexual Diversity Network, says such laws are a relic of the colonial age.

He points to Papua New Guinea as having a particularly punitive law.

There, men having sex with men face up to 14 years in jail if caught.

Mr Moala said such laws lead to widespread stigma and discrimination.

This means Pacific nations are failing in trying to reach UNAid's vision of achieving "three zeroes" - zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination.

Such stigma prevents gay and transgender people from accessing vital HIV services, whether it be testing or treatment, he said.

"We have to be very careful in the Pacific because we are working within a traditional framework," Mr Moala noted.

"The idea is to advocate with politicians, with church leaders and with traditional leaders."

Source

• ABC
• Image: Jamaica Information Services

Even though HIV is now classified as a manageable chronic illness, these children are being shunned and literally left to die on the street or in orphanages.

Some of these children are being adopted by families in other countries.

Without this, they would not survive.

Most industrialised nations have removed immigration restrictions on people living with HIV, precisely because the condition is so manageable.

Medications are extremely effective.

HIV-positive people live long and healthy lives and pose no risk to the general community unless engaged in a small number of hazardous practices - unprotected sex and sharing needles and syringes when injecting drugs.

Australia, though, is one of only a few Western nations - Canada and New Zealand are others - that still have immigration barriers against HIV-positive people.

A waiver does exist in certain circumstances, but it is devilishly difficult to organise.

Families here who want to adopt an HIV-positive child are unable to do so unless they go through a long, elaborate process - or somehow circumvent the bureaucratic and legal barriers.

Today's guest in The Zone is determined to change that.

Neen Weir is the founder of SuperKidsGlobal, a web-based initiative to help educate people about HIV and bring attention to these children, often overlooked for adoption.

A recent interdepartmental report to the federal government found an "exceptionally low" number of overseas childen with special needs are adopted by families here in Australia.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he wants to make it "much, much easier" to adopt such children, but Weir says there are few if any signs such long overdue change will be coming anytime soon. Continue reading

Sources

• The Age
• Image: The Guardian
• The full transcript of the interview referred to above can be found in The Zone

"When government hospitals refuse to treat these patients, the poor ones turn to nongovernment organisations and religious charities like Karunalayam, a Roman Catholic mission in Warangal," stated a New York Times report.

Continue reading

• Tahiti independence
• West Papua independence
• Freedom Sunday
• Nuclear testing
• Seabed mining
• Solidarity on mining
• Tourism, fishing and forestry
• Facilitating the concerns of members by engaging on the issue with agencies such as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Melanesian spearhead Group.
• Ending HIV-AIDS stigmatisation
• Climate change and resettlement
• Teachers for Chuuk
• Arms trade and nuclear weapons

Source

• Island Business
• Image: Cook Island News

Reverend Tuikilakila Waqairatu, the incoming president of the Church, is opposed to any move to legalise prostitution while Reverend Tevita Nawadra, who replaces him as general secretary, says he is in favour

"Personally and, I think, the position of the church that we do not support the legalisation of prostitution is simply because it contradicts with the laws of the Ten Commandments that 'thou shall not commit adultery'," Waqairatu said.

Nawadra says he supports any move to legalise prostitution "because it will be overwhelming for those who suffer from HIV/AIDS".

Vijendra Prakas, the the national secretary of Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha, the largest Hindu organisation in the country, is opposed to any call to legalise prostitution.

Prakash said the Sabha taught its followers moral values based on religious texts for balanced behaviour and the idea of legalising sex work contradicted the teachings.

Fiji's Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says there are no plans to legalise prostitution in Fiji.

He said a statement by Acting Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor Joe Koroivueta that a change to the Crimes Decree was being contemplated is incorrect.

Previously, in a World AIDS Day press conference at Government House Koroivueta had said that they were looking legalise prostitution.

"For many years sex work has been regarded as illegal in the country," he said.

"We need to address this so that sex workers do not face discrimination."

Koroivueta said Fiji was working towards a human rights-based approach and discrimination against sex workers contravenes human rights.

"We have a HIV/AIDS Decree that is human rights based and does not discriminate."

Koroivueta said the new legislation for sex workers would be in compliance with the HIV/AIDS Decree and totally based on human rights principles and should be ready by next year.

Last year a report by Australian researchers claimed the Fiji Government was concerned about the growth of the sex industry, and had rounded up sex workers, taken them to a military barracks and forced them to squat and do duck-walks and roll in mud.

The report said some practices "amount to torture", including publicly shaming the women and subjecting them to sleep deprivation. One of the women said the abuse made her feel she was "somewhere like Hotel Rwanda".

Source

• The Fiji Times
• The Fiji Times
• The Fiji Times
• Fiji Village
• The Telegraph
• Image: Pacific Scoop

Seven groups said there were instances of people being told by faith leaders they had been "healed" through prayer - and then pressured to stop taking antiretroviral medication, according to the charity African Health Policy Network (AHPN).

Cases were reported to have taken place in Finsbury Park, Tottenham, and Woolwich, in London, as well as in Manchester, Leeds and at a number of churches across the North West.

Continue reading

The call was made by the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation in a statement.

"PIAF's call relates to certain traditional herbal therapy organisations and religious organisations in the region that have claimed that their herbal products in the form of juice have cured and eradicated the HIV virus from PLHIV," the statement said.

Continue reading

"Even if the document issued by the Ministry of Education has many positive points, we cannot be forced to follow a policy which contradicts with our philosophy of education," said Archbishop Francesco Panfilo of Rabaul, who is vice president of the Episcopal Commission for Catholic Education.

According to the Ministry of Education, however, there is no way to fully control the sexual behavior of students. Since a high rate of infection with HIV-AIDS in recent years was recorded in the school population, condom use, according to the Department, is useful to limit the damage and infections.

Source

• Catholic.net
• The National
• Youth Visioning

As of March 1, the Uganda Episcopal Conference is partnering with Centres for Disease Control, providing care and relief to more than 22,656 patients.

This follows the expiry of the Aids Relief Health Systems Strengthening project that has operating since 2005.

"We embarked on selection for a suitable organisation in 2009, and we feel strongly convinced that the Catholic Church will continue from where we stopped to offer relief to Aids patients," said programmes manager of the expired project, Mr Micheal Johansson.

Speaking at the launch of ACT in Nsambya yesterday, the chairperson of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, Archbishop John Baptist Odama, said they are committed to reducing new infections by availing evidence-based prevention services to keep mothers and children alive.

With funding to the tune of Shs15 billion, the one year programme is expected to maintain 22,656 patients on Anti-Retroviral therapy and enroll 5,500 new patients, avail 34,000 pregnant mothers with prevention of mother-to-child infection services during antenatal, delivery and post-natal care to at least 1,741 HIV pregnant mothers aimed at preventing new pediatric infections and safe male circumsion of 7000 males across the country.

The new project, dubbed Aids Care and Treatment Programme (ACT), will be implemented in various hospitals in Nsambya Hospital in Kampala, Nyenga Hospital in Buikwe and Nkozi Hospital in Mpigi, a total of 11 districts.

Two hospitals under the Anglican Church include Kabarole and Ami Community hospitals in Kabarole and Amudat districts.

Sources

• All Africa
• Image: EzineMark

Of the respondents who voiced opinions on the matter, most expressed belief that most other Fijians believe in the efficacy of religious faith, herbal medicines, laying on of hands, Christian prayer and other means of treating if not also curing HIV.

During focus group discussions with health care workers, for example, when asked "Are people going in for faith healing or prayer [to cure HIV]?", three respondents said "Yes!" in unison. One of them said, "Yes, I came across a pastor who prayed, uh, I mean, uh, a patient, and then later found out that the patient became negative. And he was a positive case and then after, chain prayers and groups praying for him, you know, praying for him, it disappeared."

Another told a very personal story: "I gave birth to my son in 2004, 2003, eh, and he was tested positive. Uh, we prayed for him, we fast for him. Uh, they have a final blood test for him that's, uh, one year, six months, 18 months, so for first six months he was tested positive and we kept on praying for him. Turns out he was negative."

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Me, My Intimate Partner and HIV
• Image: Screen Shot Me My intimate Partner and HIV

The document, coded "B7-0615/2011," which was passed December 1, addresses the European Union's "response to HIV/AIDS in the EU and in neighboring countries," and lists a number of measures to combat the deadly disease.

According to the document, the European Parliament "calls on the Commission and Council to ensure access to high-quality, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, information and supplies," which should include "equitable and affordable access to contraceptives, including access to emergency contraception; safe and legal abortion, including post-abortion care."

The document does not mention abstinence or abstinence education, which medical experts say is the most effective way to prevent HIV transmission.

The statement from the Pontifical Council for Healthcare Workers says says World AIDS Day is a privileged moment to relaunch the fight against social prejudice and that World AIDS Day is a new opportunity to

• promote universal access to therapies for those who are infected,
• prevent the transmission of AIDS from mother to child,
• educate people in appropriate lifestyle choice that is truly correct and responsible as regards sexuality.

An estimated 1,800,000 people still die every year because of HIV/AIDS, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Vatican says deaths from AIDS are no longer justified; particularly the deaths of young children who have caught the disease from their mothers.

"These are people who could lead normal lives if they only had access to suitable pharmacological therapies, those known as antiretroviral therapies," the statement reads.

The Vatican expressed its appreciation to all those healthcare workers who are exposed to the risk of infection.

Sources

• VIS
• Spero News
• Image: Culture Surfing

The Youth Alive programme, which has been running in all of Zambia's dioceses, emphasises abstinence from pre-marital sex and faithfulness in marriage.

Sister Wetzel said: "We want to empower young people to recognise how precious human life is. They learn how serious Aids is. Based on this knowledge they understand that their lives are affected by their own decisions. This means they can refuse if someone wants to tempt them to any action that violates the sacredness of human life."

Sister Wetzel's comments echo those of Sister Maria Crucis Beards who helped set up Our Lady's Hospice, a centre for people with HIV in the east of the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Sr Crucis said: "I believe telling people about the importance of chastity and fidelity is the only way to tackle the [HIV/Aids] crisis. Condoms have been freely available for 10 years or more and yet there's been no obvious change in HIV levels. Clearly condoms don't work."

According to UN estimates, Zambia has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world. Zambia's HIV prevalence in adults was 21.5 percent in 2003. Figures from 2009 reveal a drop to 13.5 percent.

A national strategic plan developed in 2002-2005 prioritised promoting behaviour change, reducing mother-to-child transmission, ensuring safer blood transfusions, and providing care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, especially orphans.

The southern African nation has a population of 14 million, of whom 7.5 million are Catholic.

Full Article: ICN

Contraceptive use in Africa may increase the risk of acquiring HIV for both men and women, a new study says.

HIV-negative women who use hormonal contraception injections have nearly twice the risk of contracting HIV, while the HIV-negative male partners of infected women also face an increased risk.

The study, led by University of Washington researchers, was published in The Lancet Infections Diseases journal. It involved 3,800 couples in Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In each couple, either the man or the woman was already infected.

The study could mean that the promotion of hormonal contraception in Africa has inadvertently fueled the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The progestin hormone in injectable contraceptives appears to have a physiological effect. Researchers said it could cause immunological changes in a woman's genitals or could increase the virus' ability to replicate.

Oral contraceptives also appeared to increase the risk of infection and transmission, but the number of contraceptive pill users was too small to be statistically significant.

Researchers cautioned that study participants' contraceptive use was self-reported and the study itself was not designed to examine the contraception issue.

"Basically, neither condoms nor drugs are the solution, especially in Africa, where I have done most of my professional work," said Dr. Edward C. Green.

The New Paradigm Fund advocates "behavior prevention strategies" such as changing sexual behavior or reinforcing positive behaviors, instead of advocating more condoms, testing or drugs.

It is a "big mistake" for AIDS funding to go to technology-based prevention strategies and to keep that funding from religious organisations, he added.

Most people become infected through having multiple and concurrent sexual partners and by starting sexual intercourse at an earlier age, he explained.

Green expands on his criticisms and recommendations about AIDS prevention in his book "Broken Promises: How the AIDS Establishment Has Betrayed the Developing World."

Full Article: CNA

The study is meant to help inform the Catholic Bishops' Conference of PNG and Solomon Islands about what is happening. Fr Philip Gibbs of Mt Hagen Archdiocese is carrying out the study with the help of students from Divine Word University.

The PMIZ would accommodate up to 10 more canneries, as well as fuel depots, container terminals and other facilities for fishing fleets.

The Madang government says its plans to grow Madang as the focal point of regional fishing will help maximise returns for Pacific countries from the important Western and Central Pacific fishery.

Villagers living near the proposed Pacific Marine Industrial Zone development, the majority of whom are Catholics, raised many issues about the project with the World Bank's Compliance Advisor Ombudsman Vice President Meg Taylor when she visited last month

Issues raised included land issues, increasing social problems such as prostitution and HIV and AIDS threat, the unequal distribution of economic benefits, lack of proper monitoring of foreign vessels and their cargoes, the issue of underwater lease in the village areas and social and environment impact studies.

The villagers said the project site has already become a high risk area for HIV and AIDS because of the ‘sex for fish' trade that is currently going on.

Source

• Island Business
• Radio New Zealand International

Image:Pacific Scoop