University of Zambia Medical Library

"800 HIV Positive Pregnant Women to Receive Nevirapine." By Larry Moonze
The Post, July 10, 2002

Eight hundred HIV positive pregnant women will receive free antiretroviral drugs, Nevirapine, to help prevent mother to child transmission of the disease, disclosed Linkages Ndola Project site co-ordinator Dr Jean Tshiula yesterday.

Dr Tshiula said Linkages, a USAID funded project, will this Saturday launch a pilot project in which HIV positive pregnant women will be given a dose of Nevirapine. He said his organisation had already trained 63 health care providers in Ndola who include nurses, pharmacists, midwives and clinical officers on how to administer the new intervention.

"This new intervention targets HIV positive pregnant women to mitigate transmission of AIDS to babies. From our survey we intend to reach 800 women in the first year and the dose will be for free," he said.

Dr Tshiula said the drug, to be donated by a German company, was chosen because it gave no side effects while the success rate in reducing the risk of mother to child transmission stood at 50 per cent. He said Nevirapine had been tested in Uganda and the United States and it gave no side effects to recipients.

However, Dr Tshiula said the success of the programme will depend on acceptance levels of the community. "Although well intentioned, we assume only 50 per cent will come forward in the initial year because accessing the drug will be voluntary. So we hope through voluntary counselling and testing pregnant women will be free to come forward and access the drug," Dr Tshiula said. "It must be understood that Nevirapine course comes at the end of all other interventions."

Dr Tshiula said the best intervention was for mothers and their partners in the community to prevent HIV/AIDS right from the beginning.

"Emulate Freedom Fighters' Courage in Fight Against AIDS." By Brighton Phiri"
The Post, July 10, 2002

Emulate African freedom fighters' courage in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda urged Zambians yesterday. Addressing artistes during the Muvi Studios organised Concert for Youths, Dr. Kaunda said courage and unity were vital if human life was to continue. "At this time, we remember those who fought for independence and Africa's freedom. We remember your parents and grandparents who fought for independence. At this time, we must also remember the importance of unity in the family, the importance of unity in the nation, and the importance of unity in the family of humanity," Dr. Kaunda said.

He said in the face of HIV/AIDS pandemic, Zambians needed to use their courage to fight against any forces threatening life. "Together, we can roll back the impact of HIV/AIDS. Together with you, we can help support every one suffering from the impact of HIV/AIDS," Dr. Kaunda said. "We have talent amongst you. Each one of you is talented. Each one of you can give a lot to others. Each one of you can use your God-given talent to help humanity." Dr. Kaunda asked Zambians to stop abusing their bodies through drugs and casual sex. At this point Dr. Kaunda broke into the "One Zambia, One Nation" slogan and later shouted on top of his voice "Abstinence, Abstinence," while the crowd responded with "Ili che, Ili che".

"I notice that many times when there are functions like conferences, workshops, parties and concerts, many people abuse themselves," Dr. Kaunda said. "My young friends, look after yourselves. Do not allow yourself to abuse your body and mind through bad drugs, alcohol abuse and casual sex." He advised the youth to build respect for themselves and their friends both male or female. "To the young men, I say respect your fellow young women as your sisters. To the young women, I say respect your fellow young men as your brothers. Let us work together," he said. Dr. Kaunda defended his recommendation for the use of condoms during sex. He said some HIV/AIDS victims could have been saved had they used condoms. "All I am saying is that let us be practical and save humanity. While people are developing spiritually, the use of condoms will prevent many from dying and suffering," he said.

Later, Dr. Kaunda sung the famous "Tiyende pamodzi" song with Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa Foundation children. Iranian business persons who held an exhibition at Lusaka Museum, the venue of the concert, donated K1 million to the Foundation. Their representative Fardin Ali Khosravi said his group was impressed with Dr. Kaunda's contribution towards the fight against HIV/AIDS.

"Sleepy Town Waking to HIV/AIDS."
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, June 28, 2002

Kapiri Mposhi is normally a sleepy little town of crumbling buildings and ox carts in central Zambia. But once a week, on Thursday evenings, it comes to life.

That's when the TAZARA (Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority) passenger train pulls in to disgorge its weekly assortment of tourists, travelling salesmen and drifters from the Tanzanian capital, Dar-es-Salaam. The long distance truck drivers arrive on its heels, along with the inevitable mob of out-of-towners that hit the town towards the end of each week.

As darkness descends, the central business district assumes a boisterous air. Malila Bar and Restaurant for example, a nondescript diner by day turns into a garish dancehall at night. As the evening progresses, many of the skimpily dressed women grinding to the beat of the sound system, will slip out into the darkness for intimate, if casual, encounters with at least one partner each. Condoms are not always used.

"It is like this every Thursday," explained Theresa Mapulanga, the chairperson of the Street Kids, Orphans and Widows Association (SKOWA), a local non-governmental organisation. "The whole province awaits the TAZARA and then converges to cash in on the increased activity. For many people, this is the only source of livelihood."

Until the mid-1990s, Kapiri Mposhi was one of the fastest growing rural districts in Zambia. Standing between the capital, Lusaka, in the south and the strategic Copperbelt Province in the north, it flourished by providing support services to the country's main economic centres.

At the same time, TAZARA, which links Zambia to the port of Dar-es-Salaam, and the Great North Road, linking it to Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, put it in the centre of the sub-region's economic activity. A thriving glass manufacturing plant, the country's only one, kept hundreds of the district's 200,000 people in steady employment. All that has changed. Reduced copper production on the Copperbelt and the post-apartheid re-emergence of South African ports as viable routes to the sea, have seen a slowdown in economic activity throughout the district.

Meanwhile, Kapiri Glass Factory and other local industries that oiled the district's economic engine have collapsed, casualties of a painful transition towards economic liberalisation. "Most people have lost their sources of livelihood because of structural adjustment. Not surprisingly, the loss of conventional employment opportunities has seen a marked increase in commercial sex work. Inevitably, that has seen an increase in the rate of HIV/AIDS infection," said Mapulanga.

It is not only the residents of the district that depend on the business brought by transiting visitors for their livelihood. Many of the sex workers on the streets come from as far afield as the capital, Lusaka, and Kabwe in the south, and the depressed mining towns of Kitwe and Ndola in the north.

Zambia has one of the highest HIV-prevalence rates in the world, with an estimated 20 percent of its 10.3 million people believed to be HIV-positive. The pandemic has pushed life expectancy down from a peak of over 50 years at independence in the mid-1960s to around 37 years. Some 520,000 children have been orphaned, and the United Nations expects that number to rise to 895,000 by 2009. However, even those statistics pale in comparison to rates in Kapiri Mposhi where, recent studies suggest, HIV-infection figures are markedly higher. "Recent studies we carried out in the district indicate that up to 35 percent of the population may be HIV positive," Kapiri Mposhi Red Cross district secretary, Pascal Chola, told IRIN. "We are convinced that the high level of infection is tied to the high level of mobility in the population".

The itinerant nature of the population could be frustrating interventions to slow down the impact of HIV infection. "We have found that it is becoming more difficult to treat HIV-related complications. Sexually transmitted illnesses [STIs] for example, are becoming more difficult to cure. In fact, some of the STIs we have encountered in the recent past seem to be alien," Chola said. "Our medical system is able to effectively treat STIs we are accustomed to, such as gonorrhoea and syphilis, but some strains of STI we are receiving from Tanzania are new and do not respond to existing treatment".

Recently, the Red Cross started to deliberately target truck drivers and cross-border traders in an effort to curb the importation of STIs. "We have established a network of 20 care facilitators in the community to distribute condoms to those people that are seen to have a propensity for moving around," said Chola. "However, our efforts are not enough. A programme to deliberately target mobile groups should be made part of the national HIV/AIDS policy."

A small boost has been a US $8.1 million grant from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) international development fund for the hardest hit countries in Africa, and Zambia will be among the countries to benefit for the HIV/AIDS awareness initiative. The Trendsetters project also aims to provide information on reproductive matters and HIV/AIDS, mainly to young people. But until conditions improve for the people of Kapiri Mposhi, the harsh realities means that behaviour is unlikely to change any time soon, and the revellers will continue to throng the town's bars and night clubs.

"Government Intends to Procure Antiretrovirals." By Larry Moonze
The Post, June 26, 2002

The Post (Lusaka) June 26, 2002 Posted to the web June 26, 2002 Larry Moonze WE intend to procure antiretrovirals from local manufacturing industries, health minister Dr Brian Chituwo has disclosed. Dr Chituwo said they would from Wednesday June 25 issue adverts in the newspapers to invite tenders to provide antiretrovirals. "We have already worked out guidelines on how these ARVs (antiretrovirals) will be accessed. Each province will have a dispensing centre to be overseen by a clinician, senior nurse, official from the social work department and the Church," he said. However, Dr Chituwo said the challenge was finding a competitive supplier of ARVs because once introduced the drugs will become a lifelong commodity for people. "If the local industries fail to provide them we then shall look to international companies possibly in Thailand or India," Dr Chituwo said. "I will tour local companies while we should have a delegation to assess international suppliers." And speaking after the Japanese Embassy handed over a community based Tuberculosis organisation centre (CBTO) in Lusaka's Kamanga township, Dr Chituwo said there was need to maximise community participation in health care delivery. He said although the ministry had put wonderful structures in its on going health reforms programme, there was lack of emphasis on community participation. "We must strengthen the relationship between primary health care providers and the community if we are to contain TB and HIV/AIDS effects," Dr Chituwo said. "I will ensure that community based organisations with capacities to provide health services are recognised and recommended by government by giving them more support than in the past." And Japanese Ambassador to Zambia Mitsuhiro Saotome said self-help efforts should be encouraged because they instil a sense of ownership in the community and assure sustainability of the project. Ambassador Saotome said the centre would provide comprehensive home based care to people living with HIV/AIDS and TB and their affected families in Lusaka's Kamanga compound. "The construction of this centre was made possible by a grant of US $ 29, 027, equivalent to approximately K128 million, which was given to CBTO in February 2001 under the Japanese grant assistance for grassroots projects," he said. Ambassador Saotome said the newly built centre will guarantee privacy to its clients during counselling and therapeutic sessions and had facilities for training of care givers as well as storage of food and drugs.

"Italian govt donates $60,000 to Mazabuka AIDS Initiative."
The Post, June 26, 2002

The Italian government has donated two motor vehicles, a motor cycle, office equipment and several other logistical equipment worth US $60,000 to Mazabuka Multi-Sectoral HIV/AIDS Initiative. Making the donation, out going Italian Ambassador to Zambia Umberto Palja said his government will support the health sector and other organisations fighting HIV/AIDS in the country. Ambassador Palja said the HIV/AIDS situation in Zambia was worrying and much more needed to be done to curb the pandemic. At the same occasion, Ambassador Plaja opened the Multi-Sectoral HIV/AIDS Initiative offices. Ambassador Plaja appealed to health authorities and the Multi-Sectoral Initiative board to put the donated equipment to good use so that the fight against HIV/AIDS could have an impact in the area. He also gave the Multi-Sectoral Initiative six months to prove themselves failure to which the support will be withdrawn. Ambassador Plaja disclosed that his government had embarked on a US $150,000 to supply drugs and HIV/AIDS test kits to all health centres in Mazabuka and Siavonga districts.

"Face reality, utilise condoms." By Daniel Nyau
The Post, June 26, 2002

Health Minister, Dr Brian Chituwo, says people must face reality by using condoms to avoid contracting the deadly HIV/AIDS. Dr Chituwo said in the absence of abstinence, condoms could be the only option to avoid the current high HIV/AIDS infection rate.

He said HIV/AIDS was the second leading killer disease after malaria. He was speaking when he launched the Africare WorldSpace HIV/AIDS Initiative at Feni Sub Centre, about 25 kilometres south-east of Chipata. The project is being funded by the United States Aid for International Development (USAID).

Dr Chituwo also said that studies by his ministry have indicated that there was a decline in the HIV/AIDS infection rates among people aged between 14 and 19. Without giving statistical data, the minister said there has been a noted decline in the infection rate among these youths.

Dr Chituwo reiterated, however, that 20 per cent of the population was infected with the virus that causes AIDS. He challenged stakeholders to not only concentrate on attending to the 20 per cent of the population which is infected but also the 80 per cent which needed information on the preventive measures.

Speaking earlier, Africare country representative, Mr Dan Derber, said Africare Washington chose Zambia to be one of the two countries for the pilot project because of its Government's strong support. Uganda is another country which is currently running the programme on a pilot basis.

"The lessons learned from our work here and the work being done in Uganda will shape the future of this initiative. Zambia was chosen because of the strong support from government, interest from community groups and Africare health programming staff that I have the pleasure of working with," Mr Derber said.

The new approach entails organising listening groups at community centres, schools, social clubs and health facilities where each month people will not only listen to broadcasts through the existing medium of digital satellite radio but also discuss the issues raise. They would also be required to ask questions and develop ways of following up in their own communities.

Mr Derber said feedback from the listening groups would help shape subsequent broadcasts, adding that materials created for the programme will be shared with community radio stations, non-governmental organisations and the government.

The project will also support community services such as condom distribution and voluntary counselling and testing. "Efforts to improve incomes, increase food security, improve educational opportunities and all other aspects of development are being dealt severe blows by HIV/AIDS. Zambia, regrettably, is among the worst affected countries," he said.

Meanwhile, PETER CHIKWAMPU reports that USAID has called on a service club to lead a campaign for voluntary HIV counselling and testing as a way of fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

USAID acting mission director, Mr Robert Clay, made the call at the International Associations of Lions Clubs District 413 fund-raising dinner in Lusaka on Friday. Mr Clay said USAID was willing to work with the Lions clubs in the issues that would improve the nation. He said USAID would particularly be supportive in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Mr Clay said he has started an advocacy campaign in the agriculture sector to improve awareness of the pandemic among farmers. And incoming Lions district governor, Mr Lwambe Mondoloka, has promised USAID that Lions clubs would continue to work closely with the community. And Lions Clubs of Kapila and Munali donated a wheelchair worth K650,000 to Emily Phiri who got paralysed while suffering from malaria.

"Barclays Bank Launches £42,500 Community Support Programme."
The Post, June 20, 2002

Barclays Bank Zambia has launched the first cycle of its community support programme for the year worth GB £42,500. Managing director Margaret Mwanakatwe yesterday said their community support programme was focused on projects which supported education, people with disabilities and tackling HIV/AIDS.

Two charities - Challenge International Ministry and Youth Culture Promotion Association - would receive GB £35,000 and GB £7,500 respectively. Barclays Africa each year sets aside one per cent of pre-tax profits for the benefit of communities in African countries where the bank operates.

Mwanakatwe said it was important to contribute to the communities where they worked and lived. Barclays Africa has separately pledged to donate GB £100,000 annually to the Voluntary Service Organisation for the next three years.

Seventy five per cent of the funding would be used to sponsor volunteers working in an HIV/AIDS related areas while 25 per cent would be reserved to allow the volunteers provide financial support to local HIV/AIDS related projects. Two volunteers are expected in the country by August.

"Lack of Concern On HIV/AIDS By Some Employers Worries Nonde." By Bivan Saluseki
The Post, June 184, 2002

Some employers are not giving HIV/AIDS the worry and importance it deserves, observed Zambia Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) general secretary Joyce Nonde yesterday. Announcing the awarding of a 27.5 per cent salary increment to Goldman Insurance Limited unionised staff, Nonde said it was a matter of concern that some employers had relegated the importance of the AIDS pandemic which, however, affected all institutions.

She said ZUFIAW was happy to note that Goldman Insurance management was working on the HIV/AIDS policy to be effected this year. "We are, however, disappointed that some employers are not taking the issue of HIV/AIDS in their workplaces with the worry and importance it deserves. Such employers think putting HIV/AIDS policy in place will bring about a cost to their institutions, such employers should be reminded that losing a human resource will be more costly in the long run than capital resource," Nonde said. "This call for HIV/AIDS policy in our sector is done out of the motive of love for the human race."

Nonde appealed to churches and all organisations spearheading education on HIV/AIDS to come together and agree on the type of information to disseminate to the public. She also announced that the her union and Goldman had concluded the salary negotiations for 2002 which had seen salary increments for staff.

"The average increase of 27.5 per cent has been awarded to all unionised employees," Nonde said. "The lowest paid in union ranks will receive a basic salary of K836,000 per month and the highest paid will receive K3,287,778 per month." Nonde said ZUFIAW members being threatened and victimised by employers should report such acts to the union for action.

"Milan Calls for Strategies to Make Aids Drugs Accessible." By Bivan Saluseki
The Post, June 19, 2002

There is need to develop strategies to help people access AIDS drugs, United States based vice-president and director of health communications of analytical sciences Dr Jesse Milan has said.

Commenting on the unaffordability of AIDS drugs to majority of Africans, Dr. Milan who is in the country under the auspices of the US State Department yesterday said African governments should help people access the expensive AIDS drugs by helping through acquisition. Dr Milan who has lived with HIV for the past 20 years said even therapeutic drugs that fight infections like tuberculosis were also important in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

He said retroviral drugs too, were important but national governments should put in measures to support acquisition of the drugs to help bring down the high costs being borne by the people. Dr Milan said multisectoral response to the fight against AIDS could happen in a variety of places which could impact on the spread HIV/AIDS.

He said even the US government should be more creative in developing sectors where services dealing with HIV/AIDS were readily available. Dr Milan has given key note addresses and presentations across the US. He is in Zambia where he is holding public discussions on HIV/AIDS. Dr Milan is expected to go to Namibia and South Africa.

"Kaunda Appointed to Head Regional Body to Battle AIDS." By Osman Njuguna
African Church Information Service, June 17, 2002

The Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN), based in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi has appointed former Zambian President, Kenneth Kaunda as its patron.

RATN is a network of 20 institutions in East and Southern Africa, founded in 1997 as a project of the universities of Nairobi, Kenya and Manitoba, Canada. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the University of Washington, and the Swedish found it. The RATN member institutions are said to offer quality training to trainers and managers whose work involve caring for victims of STDs/HIV/AIDS. The courses are in community care, behaviour change and advocacy, counseling, policy and planning and research skills, among others.

The appointment of Mr. Kaunda took place during the network's steering committee meeting, held in the Zambian capital, Lusaka. Speaking during the occasion, Mr. Kaunda noted that society can only deal with certain amounts of disruption before collapse and argent steps in prevention and care are needed, observed Mr. Kaunda, who is currently running the Kenneth Kaunda Foundation for HIV/AIDS.

Meanwhile African scientists, multilateral and donor organisations and research agencies plan to raise US$ 23 million for the African Aids Vaccine Programme (AAVP) to accelerate research and testing for the development of AIDS vaccine for Africa.

A World Health Organization statement, issued in Cape Town, South Africa after its meeting held there from June 3-4 said there was need to focus on the local AIDS strains. The major objective of the meeting, according to the WHO press statement, was to determine a plan of action for the next seven years.

The WHO further observed that although more than 30 HIV vaccine trials have been conducted globally since 1987, only two of these were done in Africa. Some HIV strains peculiar to Africa are resistant to the drugs on trial in other continents, rendering them irrelevant to local needs, the WHO press statement further observed.

"Provide free AIDS drugs - Levy." By Mukula Mukula
The Post, June 4, 2002

President Mwanawasa has urged employers to give free HIV/AIDS drugs to their employees to mitigate the spread of the disease. Mr Mwanawasa said job creation would remain a futile exercise if the country ignored the effects of the scourge that had robbed the nation of its human resources.

The President said this yesterday at celebrations to mark Labour Day at the Freedom Statue in Lusaka. He said employers should emulate the British Petroleum (BP) who had taken the initiative to give free AIDS drugs to their workers.

Workers and employers should form a united force to fight this scourge which threatened to increase the levels of morbidity and mortality if it remained unabated. Employers and workers were urged to assume a leadership role in the fight against HIV/AIDS and in reducing stigmatisation and discrimination at work places.

On the part of Government, Mr Mwanawasa said steps were being taken to reduce the socio-economic impact through support for reduced discrimination and mobilisation of local and foreign resources to combat the disease. Government would encourage initiatives aimed at mounting comprehensive surveillance and research programmes by individuals or institutions. He also called on employers to treat HIV/AIDS patients like any other employer in either the formal or informal sector.

The President also said Zambia supported the code of conduct by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on HIV/AIDS in relation to employment. Employers were therefore urged to ensure they obtained copies of the code of conduct for them to understand the rights of workers affected by HIV/AIDS. The document would also assist in balancing between individual protection and cooperation among the parties affected.

On education policy, President Mwanawasa was happy with the introduction of free education from grade one to nine and wanted it extended to grade 12 but said this would only be possible if workers worked hard to improve the economy. And Mr Mwanawasa has directed the private and public sectors to develop a corporate work culture that would foster higher productivity in the country.

Mr Mwanawasa called for complete change of attitude in the work culture at all levels to inculcate a sense of hard work if the nation has to effectively tackle the problem of poverty. And Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) President Fackson Shamenda has called for the creation of a labour task-force to look at the salaries of workers in the country.

Mr Mwanawasa said the country could not come out of its poverty cycle unless it addresses the issue of productivity in relation to gainful job creation. The private and public sectors were therefore advised not to leave this task to government alone but participate in productivity awareness promotions and development.

All that was required was a sense of nationhood, patriotism and international goodwill to be used as a launch pad for improvement of productivity and socio-economic development. Mr Mwanawasa said he was not in support of mere salary increments at the expense of productivity because the standard of living could never improve if production remind static.

The President observed that although government was willing to pay satisfactory salaries to its workers, it could not do so because of economic limitations. The President said despite the poor performance of the economy, there was no excuse for institutions in the private sector who paid slavery wages and salaries to their workers.

The President also warned employers who were not remitting workers contributions to National Pensions Scheme Authority to start contributing immediately. He said the government would not allow a situation where workers' social welfare was compromised by employers.

"HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Youth Network."
Health-L, June 4, 2002

The HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS YOUTH NETWORK is a project committed to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic by strengthening and expanding the network of Youth/student Organisations involved in HIV/AIDS work in Zambia.The purpose of the Network is multi-faceted, primarily it aims to train members of Youths/Student organisations on how to use the HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS kit effectively,and thus empower them to initiate youth activities around HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS in their communities.It is hoped that this will help to combat ,the spread of the disease,as well as to raise awareness against socio-cultural stigma towards people living with HIV/AIDS and protect them from associted Human Rights violations.It is also hoped that the programme will equip youths with the necessary skills to ensure that they, as future community leaders will advocate for the care of people living with HIV OR AIDS in an ethical,judicious and most appropriate manner.

MISSION STATEMENT
The HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS YOUTH NETWORK IS COMMITTED TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS by strengthening and expanding the network of Yourths/student organisations invoved in HIV/AIDS and related Human rights issues.

AIMS

• Build key human resources:stengthen and expand the network of youth/student organisations involved in HIV/AIDS prevention and related campaigns.
• Develop a multi-sectoral training module on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights advocacy.
• Protect the Rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and emphasise the importance of the creation of a supportive environment for people living with HIV/AIDS and to lobby government to enact legislation which address the rights of these people.

OBJECTVES

• Train members of Youth/student organisations as peer educators in HIV/AIDS and Human rights related issues.
• Impart the use of advocacy to break the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS by incoporating cultural,religious and social issues and joining hands with already existing youth institutions.
• Encourage the development of youth projects on HIV/AIDS and related Human Rights issues.
• Practice the use of the youth ot youth manual developed by UNESCO/IFMSA.
• TO foster cooperation and collaborattion in AIDS and Human Rights work among youth/student organisations.
• Facilitate sharing of information, ideas,experiences and resources in HIV/AIDS works.

ADVISORY BOARD
The HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Africa group youth network Board comprises members of the University of Zambia staffs,lecturers and volunteers who have conscientiously and deliberately made the choice to fight HIV/AIDS ravaging us by joining hands with Youth/student organisations in the country ivolved in HIV/AIDS prevention, promotion and advocacy campaigns. The HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Youth Project in Zambia is a follow up of the HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS TRAINING Cape town South Africa 9th - 15th Feb,2002. This is under the auspices of the HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS:YOUNG PEOPLE IN ACTION ;a project kit developed by UNESCO in collaboration with the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA).

MEMBERSHIP
Membership is free and open to all youths organisations involved in HIV/AIDS work.Interested parties are advised to register as soon as possible to ensure smooth running of the project. The project is expected to run up to fall 2003. Affiliated member organisations will be beneficiaries and recipients UNESCO HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS; young people in action project.

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECT, UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA
PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT
BOX 32379, LUSAKA
EMAIL: UNZAHR
FAX: 01-253952
ATT: MR P MUYABA
PHONE: 097-884375

"Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Linkage." By Larry Moonze
The Post, June 4, 2002

We cannot afford to ignore the inter-linkage of nutrition and HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's fund (UNICEF) officer-in-charge Tomoko Nishimoto said yesterday. Speaking at the regional workshop on Developing Guidelines on National Care and Support for people living with HIV/AIDS, Nishimoto said malnutrition was one of the major clinical manifestations that resulted from HIV infection both in children and adults. She observed that it was no coincidence that maps of HIV prevalence and under-nutrition should overlap. "The HIV epidemic is increasingly driven by many of those factors that also thrive in under-nutrition in particular poverty, conflict and inequality," Nishimoto said.

"The overall effects of HIV/AIDS and malnutrition is a spiralling deterioration of immune function and clinical status that can contribute directly to morbidity and mortality of the infected individual." Nishimoto said whereas many countries had guidelines for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, it was unfortunate that such guidelines often did not include the aspect of nutritional care and support. She said for those countries that have nutrition guidelines they often did not fully address the specific needs of the People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). She said the key challenge of the workshop was coming up with guidelines that were both relevant and practicable to the economic and social environment in which they are to be implemented. She said the crucial words to bear in mind were "relevance" and "practicability", because AIDS did not occur in a vacuum.

"AIDS emerged against a backdrop of many other problems such as poverty, conflict and inadequate infrastructure. Guidelines to be developed must take into consideration the economic and social environment within which they are meant to be implemented," Nishimoto said. She noted that governments mostly affected by the HIV/AIDS faced competing demands and priorities of the growing gap between the increasing severe health and social problems on one hand and the depreciating resources and capacities with which to respond to them on the other hand.

And officially opening the four-day regional workshop, health minister Dr. Brian Chituwo said the workshop on nutritional care and support for PLWHA was long overdue because Zambia was already feeling the negative impact of the HIV/AIDS. Dr. Chituwo said nutrition and HIV/AIDS posed a major challenge because it was a vicious cycle. "HIV/AIDS and malnutrition often operate in tandem. Poor nutrition increases the risk and progression of the disease. In turn, disease exacerbates malnutrition," he said. Dr. Chituwo said since HIV/AIDS was both a cause and consequence of food insecurity, what the workshop needed to do was to come up with usable guidelines for the voiceless majority in the society. He urged the participants drawn from among other countries Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia to come up with guidelines that will be culturally acceptable, affordable both at country and family level.

"Our region apart from dealing with effects of AIDS was unfortunately also affected with drought and poverty hence mothers and children are susceptible to even minute infections therefore increasing morbidity and mortality," he said. "Poverty levels as we know may lead to increased high-risk behaviours such as commercial sex work." Dr. Chituwo said the provision of adequate nutritional care for PLWHA would help them maintain and optimise their nutritional status and immunity.

"Edusport to start world-wide Anti-AIDS campaign." By Benedict Tembo
The Post, May 14, 2002

Edusport Foundation chairman Oscar Mwaanga is this month-end scheduled to start a global-marathon tour to market the "Kicking AIDS Out" concept which has won international acclaim. Education through Sport - Edusport - has become a new phenomenon in which girls and boys are taught life skills and how to avoid harmful behaviour such as drug and alcohol abuse.

Edusport is a community-based programme designed to teach life and sports skills to children and youths aged between 5-19 years, mostly the underprivileged and vulnerable in the community. The concept uses adapted games which convey messages on social vices like HIV, smoking, environmental degradation, drug abuse, sexually transmitted, sexual abuse, child labour and issues like human rights and gender.

Mwaanga, a student at the Norwegian University Of Sports Sciences, starts his adventures late this month-end with a 10-day tour of the United States, where he is scheduled to present a paper at the International Conference for Women Sports.

He is on May 27 going to speak on girl-child empowerment using Edusport as the model. He is from June 1 to 10 expected to visit sports projects in Washington and New York to introduce peer coaching.

After the US stint, Mwaanga will a month later attend a sports science conference in Singapore to share his vision of using sport in confronting the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Mwaanga said in October, he is due to undertake a four-nation African tour to train trainers of trainers in Kicking Aids Out.

This Pan-African tour will take him to Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Zimbabwe to introduce the Edusport concept of using sport to eliminate HIV/AIDS. "I will also be making a lot of presentations in Norway," Mwaanga who is studying sports science in Oslo said.

Apart from the Education Through Sport project, Mwaanga has also initiated Sports in the Development Process which the Norwegian government is funding through its confederation of sports, NIF.

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