Traditional Leaders challenged to actively participate in the fight against HIV

Via Safaids.net

Traditional leaders from southern Africa have been challenged to play an active role in the fight against HIV for the region to achieve zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS related deaths.

This was said by the Executive Director of SAfAIDS, Mrs Lois Chingandu at the Regional Traditional Leadership Rock Indaba-50 x 15 Prevention Movement being held in Johannesburg from 12-14 April 2011.

Mrs Chingandu challenged traditional leaders to move from being actors where they are often invited to officially open HIV events and be actively involved in the fight against the epidemic.

Excerpt:

“As chiefs, you must tell yourself that I want zero new infections in my village. This can only happen if you know the epidemic, start to openly talk about sex and encourage your community members to go for HIV tests. This should start with you.....We found that the African epidemic had something to do with our culture. As much as we love our culture, it is important for our culture to protect us. We found some practices that were not protecting us but putting us at risk, for example wife inheritance. We are therefore working with traditional leaders to find ways of how we can practice our culture, without exposing ourselves to HIV infection”.

She stressed the importance for traditional leaders to model the behaviours they are promoting as they can’t encourage others to change their behaviour whilst they are having multiple partners.


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How do you know if a clinical trial is ethical?

by Lori Miller, AVAC

Provide input on the draft second edition of the Good Participatory Practice Guidelines.

Join a call next week to learn more.


As the rectal microbicide field is progressing, more trials will be rolled out into communities and involve greater and greater numbers of volunteers. All stakeholders in biomedical HIV prevention research – from advocates, to community groups, to research teams and research sponsors have important contributions to make in the process of designing and conducting rectal microbicide trials.

The GPP guidelines provide trial funders, trial sponsors, and trial implementers with specific guidance on how they should work collaboratively with other stakeholders such as community members. Advocates can also use the GPP Guidelines to evaluate how well research teams are engaging community stakeholders, and if they are following the standards established in the GPP Guidelines.

The GPP Guidelines cover areas such as how stakeholders should be involved in the protocol development process, how research teams should work with community advisory boards and other stakeholders advisory mechanisms, how the standard of HIV prevention offered in any trial should be negotiated with community members , how trial results should be shared with trial participants and members of the community, as well as many other topics.

A teleconference/webinar on the 5th of October will provide an opportunity to learn about the revised guidelines and to ask questions. All stakeholders are encouraged to read the draft second edition of the GPP Guidelines and send their comments and suggestions by October 31st to UNAIDS and AVAC. Feedback on the draft second edition will then be compiled and the final version of the second edition of the GPP Guidelines will be released in late 2010.

Teleconference/webinar info

• UNAIDS and AVAC invite stakeholders in biomedical HIV prevention research to join a webinar on good participatory practice
  
• Tuesday, 05 October, 9am – 10am US Eastern time / 3pm - 4pm Geneva time
• Call-in number: US & Canada 866.740.1260
• Access code: 3671417
• Please register here for access to the webinar link

Click here to download the draft second edition GPP guidelines.
Comments on the GPP guidelines can be emailed to avac@avac.org or gpp@unaids.org.

Community meetings on National HIV/AIDS Strategy

via National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS

As part of his National HIV/AIDS Strategy, President Barack Obama  mandated that Executive Branch departments and agencies with HIV/AIDS programs come up with an implementation plan for the strategy within  150 days (by Dec. 9). The National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS,  in collaboration with other national organizations and local leaders, is hosting community meetings in New York, Washington, D.C., Jackson, Miss., Atlanta, Los Angeles and Detroit from Sept. 16 to Oct. 12.

The purpose of the meetings  is to elicit input and recommendations to ensure that the National HIV/AIDS Strategy adequately addresses the unmet prevention, treatment and care needs with the African-American community. We are seeking participation in these meetings from clergy, health practitioners, persons living with HIV/AIDS, community-based organizations, direct service providers, community activists, policy makers and other concerned citizens.
More information