Announcing the 2012 Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research Community Advocacy

Five years ago on October 5 2006, we lost our brother and colleague Omololu Falobi. Those who knew Omololu professionally will remember him, among many other things - as a talented journalist on HIV, as an activist for social justice, as an advocate for prevention research and as a son of Africa in his zeal to ensure Africans were taking ownership of their own HIV care and prevention.

Omololu founded the Journalists Against AIDS in Nigeria (JAAIDS), was an instrumental pioneer member of the Nigerian Treatment Access Movement (TAM), and co-founded the New HIV Vaccine & Microbicide Advocacy Society (NHMAS). He was tragically killed in 2006 in Lagos, Nigeria.

In 2008, in honour of Omololu’s memory and commitment to the field, The Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research Community Advocacy was established by the African Microbicides Advocacy Group (AMAG) and partners. The Award is presented to an individual nominated by their peers at the biennial International Microbicides Conferences. Lori Heise (USA) and Aylur Srikrishnan (India) were the 2008 recipients and Charles Shagi (Tanzania) the recipient in 2010.

In continuation of this tradition and to mark the fifth anniversary of Omololu’s death, we proudly announce the call for nominations of The Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research Community Advocacy 2012 to be awarded to a community advocate in recognition of their contribution to the HIV prevention research field through community advocacy.

The 2012 Award Planning Committee includes representatives from the African AIDS Vaccine Program (AAVP), AMAG, AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, the Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM), International Rectal Microbicides Advocates (IRMA), JAAIDS, NHVMAS and TAM, with acknowledgment from the Omololu Falobi Foundation.

Nominations will be reviewed by a committee of stakeholders in the prevention research field and the selected individual will then be recognized and awarded at the Closing Ceremony of the International Microbicides 2012 Conference in Sydney, Australia in April 2012. We are pleased to work with the Microbicides 2012 Conference Planning Committee to present the Award next year.
A call for nominations and information on the selection process will be circulated later this month.

On behalf of the planning committee:
AAVP, AMAG, AVAC, GCM, IRMA, JAAIDS, NHVMAS, TAM

For more information:
Website: http://www.avac.org/ht/d/sp/i/4345/pid/4345
Email: amag_info@yahoo.com


[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Persecuted for Being Gay

via The Guardian, stories compiled by Gay Middle East

Bisi Alimi, from Nigeria (an IRMA member!)

In 2002, I was at university in Nigeria and standing for election. A magazine wrote about me and exposed me as being gay. This led the university to set up a disciplinary committee. I was very nearly dismissed. When I did graduate, people wanted to refuse me my certificate on the grounds that I did not have good enough morals to be an alumnus of the university. While this was going on, the then-president, Olusegun Obasanjo, declared that there were no homosexuals in Nigeria, and that such a thing would not be allowed in the country.

I talked with a friend of mine, who is a famous Nigerian talkshow host, about challenging this opinion. Nobody had come out publicly before. So, in October 2004, I appeared on her breakfast show, New Dawn with Funmi Iyanda". I talked about my sexuality, the burden of the HIV epidemic in the gay community.

The reaction was immediate and violent. I was subjected to brutality from the police and the community. I was disowned by my family and lost many friends, including in the gay community. They were afraid to know me. I was isolated, with no support and no job. The TV show was taken off the air by the government. It led to the introduction of the Same Sex Prohibition bill of 2006. All I had done was say who I was. Three years later I appeared on the BBC World Service. I repeated what I had said on television in Nigeria and suggested my government was using attacks on homosexuality to help cover up its own corruption.

On my arrival back to Nigeria, I was arrested, detained and beaten by the police. For a month, until I fled back to the UK in April 2007, my life was in constant danger.

Read the rest.


 [If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Why the CIA's Vaccine Ruse Is A Setback for Global Health

Via TIME, by Emily Rauhala.

Last week, the Guardian broke the news that in the run-up to the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, the CIA used a vaccination campaign as a ruse to get DNA evidence from the al-Qaeda leader's kids. With help from a Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, they set up clinics in two neighborhoods, delivering doses of the Hepatitis B vaccine to local children. The revelation drew a quick and angry response from health experts. Medecins Sans Frontieres called the operation "a dangerous abuse of medical care." In the Washington Post, Orin Levine and Laurie Garrett warned that the CIA's "reckless tactics could have catastrophic consequences."

Indeed, they may. Here are three reasons why this is bad news for public health:

1. Broken Trust

When people don't trust medical personnel, they're less likely to participate in legitimate public health campaigns. Eight years ago, rumors spread that an anti-polio campaign in Nigeria was an American plot to sterilize Muslim girls, causing many families to refuse the vaccine. The subsequent outbreak spread to eight countries.

Read the rest here.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

The Lagos HIV Stigma

Via Next, by Gbenro Adeoye.

The first case of HIV/AIDS in Lagos was reported in 1986, unlike the global stage, where it was first reported 30 years ago by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States among gay men. Since the discovery in Lagos which was also the first in Nigeria, HIV has steadily grown to a status of silent foreboding among the general public. According to the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), the current HIV prevalence rate in the state is 5.1 percent, ahead of the country's 4.1 percent prevalence rate recently announced by the Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu.

But in the 25 year period, the state has seen significant progress in the level of public awareness, testing, treatment and care for persons living with HIV. In his assessment, the Head of Lagos office, United Nations Population Fund, Omolaso Omosehin, described the achievements made so far in the state as remarkable, highlighting improvements in the prevention and treatment of the disease. He said, "The situation is better than what it used to be; many people are now aware of how to prevent HIV/AIDS and there is hardly any health centre where you are not required to the test. Many more people are able to access antiretroviral (ARV) drugs which were not so available some years ago."

Yetunde Ababi, a health educator, who tested positive for HIV in 1991, also acknowledged the improvements made in the treatment and care for persons living with HIV. Mrs. Ababi said "the epidemic was so much in the 90s and the drugs were so expensive that people were being screened into the mortuary. Then, we were spending about N90, 000 monthly on ARVs, but the drugs and treatment are now free in government hospitals in Lagos."

Unfortunately, the stigma associated with HIV still denies infected persons job appointments and prevents many others from openly declaring their status. Patrick Akpan, the deputy coordinator of Plan Foundation for Health and Development, formerly called Positive Living Organisation of Nigeria (PLON), a nongovernmental organisation aimed at supporting persons living with HIV/aids, said the stigma against persons living with HIV in Lagos has been ‘modernised.' According to him, people have invented new ways of discriminating against persons living with HIV. He said, "People won't tell you that they are not relating with you because of your HIV status; they will rather find another excuse for avoiding you. They would rather say ‘you are not qualified for the job', rather than say it's because you are HIV positive."

Read the rest here.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Meet Margaret Onah - a Friendly Rectal Microbicide Advocate

via IRMA

 Margaret Onah believes that rectal microbicides are an important priority among new HIV prevention technologies because so many people, both males and females, engage in anal sex and the society pretends that it is not real, and so do not want to be associated with it.

An advocate from Calabar, Nigeria, Margaret is the Director for Safe Havens International and is a member of IRMA and IRMA Nigeria. She provides support services to vulnerable women and girls (female sex workers, teenage mothers and widows) and communities by educating and informing them on issues of sexual & reproductive health rights. Her mission as an advocate for human rights and health issues is to enhance the well-being of her community and its most vulnerable members with a participatory approach.

Margaret was introduced to IRMA when she became a member of the Global Campaign for Microbicides and the New HIV Vaccine and Microbicides Advocacy Society (NHVMAS), the "steering wheel" for microbicide advocacy in Nigeria. She began her advocacy with IRMA because she is concerned about the stigma and discrimination associated with anal sex, which she knows prevent people from seeking diagnosis and treatment, further compounding the problem. "If we are soliciting for vaginal microbicides, we should do the same for rectal microbicides because sex is sex no matter what form."

When she's not working Margaret enjoys reading biographies, dancing, and Christian books and music.

Read about other friendly rectal microbicides advocates.
Newly featured advocates include Brian Kanyemba, Paul Semugoma, and Ian Lemieux.

Want to join the best e-mail discussion list on new prevention technologies on the planet? Send a note to IRMA here - rectalmicro@gmail.com - and we will get you signed up. Joining the list makes you an automatic IRMA member too!

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

LGBT Africans Face Blackmail and Extortion on a Regular Basis

via International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

Antiquated laws against same-sex sexual activity as well as deeply ingrained social stigma result in the all-too-frequent targeting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Africa for blackmail and extortion, said the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) in a report launched today.

The report, Nowhere to Turn: Blackmail and Extortion of LGBT People in Sub-Saharan Africa, illustrates how LGBT Africans are made doubly vulnerable by the criminalization of homosexuality and the often-violent stigmatization they face if their sexuality is revealed. Based onresearch from 2007 to the present, the volume features articles and research by leading African activists and academics on the prevalence, severity and impact of these human rights violations on LGBT people in Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.

"The tragic reality is that blackmail and extortion are part of the daily lives of many LGBT Africans who are isolated and made vulnerable by homophobic laws and social stigma," says IGLHRC's Executive Director, Cary Alan Johnson. "The responsibility clearly lies with governments to address these crimes and the underlying social and legal vulnerability of LGBT people."

The report's authors vividly depict the isolation, humiliation and manipulation to which LGBT people are subjected by blackmailers and extortionists and describe the threats of exposure, theft, assault, and rape, that can damage and even destroy the lives of victims. Vulnerability to these crimes is faced on a regular basis and families and communities are not safe havens. For example, according to research conducted in Cameroon and featured in the report, "the bulk of blackmail and extortion attempts were committed by other members of the community - 33.9% by neighbors, 11.8% by family members, 11.5% by classmates, and 14.1% by homosexual friends. Police were often complicit in this - either by ignoring or dismissing it or, in 11.5% of cases, directly perpetrating it."

Nowhere to Turn explores the role the State plays in these crimes by ignoring blackmail and extortion carried out by police and other officials by failing to prosecute blackmailers, and by charging LGBT victims under sodomy laws when they do find the courage to report blackmail to the authorities.

IGLHRC urges States to take concrete steps to reduce the incidence of these crimes by decriminalizing same-sex sexual activity, educating officials and communities about blackmail laws, and ensuring that all people are able to access judicial mechanisms without prejudice.

A PDF version of Nowhere to Turn is available here. To obtain a hard copy of the volume, email iglhrc@iglhrc.org

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

It's not if, it's when: IRMA's Jim Pickett on Rectal Microbicides in Africa

Writing for  the September - December 2010 issue of Echoes, a publication of the Nigerian HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society, IRMA chair Jim Pickett discusses the need for rectal microbicides in Africa.

Excerpt:

Until recently, rectal microbicides have simply not been part of the HIV prevention agenda in Africa, due in part to the denial of anal sex among heterosexuals and pervasive homophobia and criminalization that has denied and vilified the existence of gay men/MSM.

IRMA diligently addresses these issues, leading efforts to put rectal microbicides on the African map. These efforts are now bearing fruit - due in no small part to the significant engagement of hundreds of African advocates across the continent and extraordinary leadership by IRMA Nigeria with Kadiri Audu, IRMA Community Vice Chair, at the helm.

Read the whole thing.

While you are there, be sure to also check out the report on a rectal microbicide training for MSMs in Abuja!

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

IRMA Nigeria: Report on MSM Training in Abuja

via IRMA Nigeria
Prepared by Kadiri Audu
IRMA Community Vice Chair, IRMA Nigeria Coordinator

Report:
NEW PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY TRAINING FOR MSM IN ABUJA
22 OCTOBER 2010


Introduction

International Rectal Microbicides Advocates (IRMA) Nigeria held one day training on New Prevention Technology (NPT) – Rectal Microbicides- The Basics, the training was facilitated by the Steering Committee Community vice Chairman and the leader of the Nigerian Chapter of the International Rectal Microbicides Advocates (IRMA) – Mr. Kadiri Audu, with support from IRMA International office in Chicago. The training was attended by twenty (23) peer educators, six (6) outreach coordinators, and four (4) program staff, making a total of thirty (33) participants. All participants are volunteers and staff in the Integrated Men’s HIV Prevention Project (IMHIPP), a project funded by Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights (HA) with support from USAID.

Objectives

1)    To increase the awareness of the MSM community in Abuja on New Prevention Technologies
2)    To mobilize the MSM and Peer Educators in the IMHIPP project in FCT Abuja on the need for Rectal Microbicides
3)    To build a team of MSM advocacy group for rectal Microbicides in Nigeria
4)    To update the community members on the development and progress made on new prevention technologies and research to reduce the spread of the virus.
5)    To provide participants with information for personal and professional growth.

Presentations

a)    Who is IRMA,
b)    Overview of the HIV epidemic,
c)    New Prevention Technologies (NPTs),
d)    What are Microbicides,
e)    The basics of Rectal Microbicides research,
f)    IRMA goals and Objectives and
g)    Rectal Microbicides advocacy & you.

Methodology

a)    Facilitation
b)    Presentations
c)    Story telling

Questions Raised

a)    Can rectal Microbicides be used to prevent re-infection among two infected sexual partners?
b)    Can Rectal Microbicides be applied on the penis for oral sex? And how safe is it for human consumption
c)    Can two sexual partners use Rectal Microbicides as a double protection?
d)    Can ARV based Microbicides be used by a people not infected with HIV?
e)    How effective will microbicides be in controlling the virus in a plenty cum situation?
f)    Will microbicides push away condoms?
g)    Can microbicides be used as a lubricant?
h)    When will an effective microbicides be available?
i)    I will like to participate in the rectalmicrobicides (RM) trials, how can I participate?

Key Achievements

a)    Participants now have enhance knowledge on the need for rectal Microbicides for the MSM community
b)    This training has helped the participants to improve their knowledge on the use of Microbicides as a new HIV prevention technology
c)    Participants are determined to disseminate the information about Microbicides to other members

Lesson Learned

•    Most of the participants were just hearing about the word Microbicides for the first time
•    The participants now know the reasons why the MSM community is 19 times more vulnerable to HIV infection than the heterosexual population
•    Community Literacy program on Rectal Microbicides for the MSM Community should be encouraged and sustained.

Challenges

•    Most of the participants do not have email addresses that can ensure their mobilization to the IRMA link serve.
•    The training seems to be too technical to some of the participants who were hearing about Microbicides for the first time
•    Some of the participants are not educated

Conclusion

The participants want such a training to be a continuous training so that more community members can be informed about the existence and progress made globally on Rectal Microbicides and other New Prevention Technologies. The participants also want to see posters and IEC materials on rectal Microbicides.



[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Meet Kami, the HIV-positive Muppet

From CNN

Big Bird and the Cookie Monster have som new friends, but they're a long way from "Sesame Street."

One of America's best-loved children's shows, which began life on a fictional New York street over 40 years ago, is about to land in Nigeria under the title of "Sesame Square" --bringing with it some distinctly West African twists.

The show stars Kami, a girl muppet whi is HIV-positive, has golden hair and a zest for adventure; and Kobi, an energetic, furry, blue muppet whose troublesome escapades help others learn from his mistakes.

Read the rest

IRMA Member! Gay Nigerian activist Bisi Alimi shares his compelling story

via San Diego Gay and Lesbian News

Bisi Alimi was born in Nigeria in 1975, grew up and went on to attend the University of Lagos (Nigeria) pursuing a degree in theater. While as a student in 2003, he was outed by the university's student newspaper during student government elections.

Homosexual activity is illegal in Nigeria, the conservative influences of the Muslim faith in the north and a large Christian presence in the south. It is punishable by death by stoning in all 12 states, or being sentenced up to 14 years of imprisonment. There is no legal protection against discrimination for LGBT Nigerians. Very few are out, and violence against those in the LGBT community is frequent. Legislation is pending to criminalize same-sex marriage throughout Nigeria.

Alimi was expelled from university in 2004, before he was able to receive his degree.

Later that year, he was selected to be the Nigerian face of homosexuality at the fourth National Conference on HIV/AIDS in Abuja. Also that year, he was brought onto Funmi Iyanda's New Dawn talk show on the Nigerian Television Authority and it was here that he publicly came out before the nation and asked for acceptance from the public.

Almost immediately, there were repercussions for both Alimi and the interviewer. Almini received both love letters and death threats, and lost his home and his job. The New Dawn talk show's Friday edition was canceled and further interviewees on the show were were screened by the NTA in a country where censorship against homosexuality is already tight.

Read the rest.