News

18.08.06

During August 13-18 2006 Representatives of “Russian Health Care Foundation” Mrs. Shegai and Mr. Pankratov – Coordinators – took part in XVI International AIDS Conference.
Conference passed on under motto “Time to Deliver” and was devoted to achieved progress and progress in the field of prevention and treatment, as well as care for AIDS patients. Sessions and other activities within the frames of the Conference were directed on involvement of all its delegates into the dialogue about strategic ways of how to achieve such common targets.

General purposes of the Conference were as follows:

- Stimulation of researches which will put a stop to epidemic. Essential problems of clinical, behavioural, social and other sciences. – Development and safe-keeping human resources. Matters in connection with the human resources include involvement of workers from communities and global questions of governments’ politics, politics of donors and international organizations.
- Development of involving peoples and communities, touched upon epidemic, into struggle against AIDS. There was discussed also an historical context and traditions of involving HIV infected into a struggle with epidemic, principles of increasing number of those people in struggle with AIDS, as well as references were analyzed related to marginalized vulnerable communities.
- Establishment of new leadership. Analysis of politics and programs, which could support existing leaders to combat epidemic and stimulate appearance of new leaders.
- Review: experience lessons learn. In the course of Conference new methods were discussed on prophylaxis and clinical programs, what kind of obstacles exist in this regard, results and implications which must be brought to the notice of politicians and developers of programs.

During the Conference Mrs. M.Shegai and Mr. A.Pankratov attended the following plenary sessions, meetings and discussions:
1.Plenary meeting dedicated to the support by GF of civilian society in its participation in Programs of GF. Mr.Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS delivered speech. After the meeting coordinators Mrs. M.Shegai and Mr. A.Pankratov met Mr. Urban Weber, Director of Operations For EECA Regions of the Global Fund. They informed him the on-going details of the Program implementation “Promoting a Strategic Response to HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care for Vulnerable population in the Russian Federation”, pre-summerized results of the first year, as well as on-going procedure of considering applications, used to be submitted by new Russian regions to participate in the Program realization “Promoting a Strategic Response to HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care for Vulnerable population in the Russian Federation”, financed by the GF to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, in 2006-2007.
2.Plenary session “Price of inaction – epidemic growth in China, Eastern Europe and India – spoke Academician V.V.Pokrovskiy. In his speech “Epidemic in Russia: trends, lessons, general problems and capabilities for response actions” Academician V.Pokrovskiy focused on situation and development of epidemic, connected with prevalence of HIV infection in Russia and spoke about latest trends in this field. Speaking of provision of drugs for HIV infected, Academician marked, that the significant role in provision of hundred percent needs of HIV/AIDS patients in drugs is being played by GF activity on realization of the Program “Promoting a Strategic Response to HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care for Vulnerable populations in the Russian Federation”, participants of which became 9 territories of RF, selected by the Russian Health Care Foundation. Coordinators of the Russian Health Care Foundation participated in oral discussion of the speech.
3.Plenary session “The Global Fund share to provide overall access to treatment”. Mr. Alexey Bobrik, Deputy Director of the Open Health Institute, delivered speech and told about course of realization of all grant programs of the Global Fund in the Russian Federation, also including the Program “Promoting a Strategic Response to HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care for Vulnerable population in the Russian Federation”, under implementation by the Russian Health Care Foundation. Coordinators M.Shegai and A.Pankratov answered questions of those attended the meeting, about Russian Health Care Foundation activity when implementing the GF Program in RF.
4.Plenary session on discussion of stigma and discrimination questions for PLWHA. Main output of the session – stigma is the foremost stop in fight with the global prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The Various strategies against stigma related to HIV are very important. And those strategies should include access to treatment.
5.Session dedicated to therapy for IDUs and harm reduction programs. In spite of all evidences that ART can be effective for IDUs, prejudices often prevent IDUs from a possibility to get needful medical help. Russian Federation participants of the Conference declared, that it took them many tears to force the Russian Government to recognize, that IDUs have the right to get treatment. However it is first step only. People themselves do not know anything even about such treatment existence, its accessibility and also about ways how one could get such help. In Russia the most number of IDUs fear to apply to medical settings and do not trust them, often as a result of post negative practice. When activists in Russia fight against limitations of programs for syringe change and repressive drugs policy, approval of methadone therapy remains illusive possibility. On activists’ opinion, a possibility was missed to prevent thousands of HIV infection cases. People using drugs – the huge number of them live with HIV, and they need ART. Absence of substitutive therapy reduce access of such people to treatment, and also methadone therapy allows to increase observation of treatment regime in this group (in case if, in principle, they do not get any refusal because of drugs using).
6.Session “Assessment of efficiency of ART for children – filling the gaps in the access”. One of the lessons of this session is that doctors need additional training on monitoring and treatment of children at ART as well continual access to the support.
7.Session with participation of pharmaceutical companies. In few years hundreds of thousand HIV-positive people can remain deprived ART, if the more price reduction will not be achieved for medical products. New recommendations, issued in the middle of August 2006 by WHO, comprise the most efficient drugs to fight HIV, but many of them are too expensive. It means that countries will not be able to integrate these recommendations.
8.Session “Propaganda of abstinence – where are evidences?” Such programs inspire stigma and delusion. Financing of such programs inoculates unsuccessful projects, which did not work in USA. As per the data of social psychology, people used to say theoretically, that in some situation they will act in such a way, but in real situation they act quite in another way. The surveys about efficiency of propaganda of abstinence confirms just the same.
9.Session of WHO and UNAIDS dedicated to treatment of sexually transmitted infectious. Number of HIV is the general factor detecting risk of infectious transmission. Level of HIV transmission falls up to 40% when treatment of sexually transmitted disease started both at HIV-positive and HIV-negative people. Treatment of sexually transmitted diseases is also a good possibility to inform people about HIV.
10.Working meetings with the Russian participants of the Conference from Irkutsk, Chelyabinsk, Volgograd Oblasts, Krasnodar Territory with the team from the Federal Aids Center, with representatives of NGOs, represented at the Conference (“Spid infosvyaz”, “Vostok-Zapad” Foundation, journal “Shagi proffecional” etc.).
Russian Health Care Foundation’s representatives’ participation in the work of XVI International AIDS Conference was useful and efficient. Experience, learned in the course of the Conference, exchange of experience with participants, as well as numerous informational materials of the Conference will help in future to implement the Program “Promoting a strategic response to HIV/AIDS treatment and care for vulnerable populations in the Russian Federation” more efficiently.

17.08.06

One of the main targets under implementation within the frames of the Program “Promoting a strategic response to HIV/AIDS treatment and care for vulnerable populations of the Russian Federation”, realizing by the Russian Health Care Foundation, is the development of availability of complex ART for PLWHA, in particular for vulnerable groups of population. It could happen, may be, if treatment becomes available, people will be not so fear of HIV and change opinion?
Stigma problems – prejudices regarding those HIV infected – are central questions on the agenda long ago, including also the agenda of the International AIDS Conference.
Just that is why, a particular interest among the representatives of the Foundation at the Conference caused a plenary session dedicated to discussions of stigma and discrimination in regard to people living with HIV.
They say in the issue of sociologic opinion surveys, outlined at XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, that within the last few years as from the moment, when the program of access to ART started, a considerable reduction of stigma in regard to HIV happened.
“There is an undivided opinion that stigma appears to be the foremost stop in the fight with the global HIV/AIDS prevalence”- declared Doctor Wolf from the University of California, San Francisco, represented the above surveys. Stigma is widely-spread all over the world and concerned with refusals from testing and apply for essential treatment. “All factors played a part in changes and, and they demonstrated an importance of various strategies against stigma in regards to HIV. And we do believe such strategy should include an access to treatment” – summarized his speech Doctor Wolf.

16.08.06

The XVI International AIDS Conference: Today’s plenary meeting was dedicated to the role of the Global Fund in ensuring universal access to treatment.

In his keynote address, Mr. Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund, noted that after so many years of the epidemic, the world at last recognized the existence of AIDS. After 25 years of the epidemic, political leaders are becoming aware of the potentially catastrophic damage inflicted by AIDS on the economies and democracies in their countries. The countries have commenced to allocate billions of US$ for HIV prevention, treatment and care for people living with HIV. Nevertheless, developed countries still fail to make sufficient contributions. Even the St-Petersburg G-8 meeting did not adopt any concrete decision on AIDS/HIV. Mr. Richard Feachem stressed that the Global Fund was the major external donor for AIDS and TB prevention and treatment.

Mr. A. Bobrik, Deputy Director, Open Health Institute, made a presentation to report about the progress under all the programs financed from the Global Fund grants in the Russian Federation, including the Program: Promoting a Strategic Response to HIV/AIDS and TB – Treatment and Care for Vulnerable Populations in the Russian Federation implemented by the Russian Health Care Foundation.

Presentations were also made by representatives from Ethiopia, Malawi, Thailand, Haiti and Rwanda.

15.08.06

In plenary session “Price of inaction – epidemic growth in China, Eastern Europe and India” academician V.V.Pokrovskiy, the Head of the Federal AIDS Center, delivered a speech.
In his report “Epidemic in Russia: trends, lessons, general problems and capabilities for response actions” Academician V.Pokrovskiy focused on situation and development of epidemic, connected with prevalence of HIV infection in Russia and spoke about latest trends in this field.
Speaking of drugs provision for HIV-infected Academician denoted, that the significant role in provision of hundred percent needs of HIV/AIDS patients in drugs is being played by GF activity on realization of the Program “Promoting a Strategic Response to HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care for Vulnerable populations in the Russian Federation”, participants of which became 9 territories of RF, selected by the Russian Health Care Foundation.
Coordinators from the “Russian Health Care” Foundation, representatives of AIDS Federal Research Center, attended the Conference, as well the representatives of GF, participated in the said plenary session.

14.08.06

During the first working day of the XVI International AIDS Conference one of the sessions held by the Global Fund was dedicated to the supporting civil society engagement in Global Fund implementation. Mr. Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, spoke at the session.

After the session the coordinators of GFATM Project Mrs. M. Shegai and Mr. A. Pankratov, who are Russian Health Care Foundation Program delegates at the Conference held a meeting with Mr. Urban Weber, Director of Operations for EECA Region of the Global Fund.

They informed Mr. U. Weber about implementation of the Program, summed up the first year and focused on new Russian regions’ applications for 2006-2007.

13.08.06

From August 13 - 18 representatives of the Russian Health Care Foundation will participate in the XVI International AIDS Conference.

The Conference theme "Time to Deliver" will focus on the promises and progress made to scale-up treatment, care and prevention. Conference sessions and activities are designed to engage all delegates in dialogue about strategies to meet these shared goals. The conference will be a landmark opportunity for science, government, community and leadership from around the world to advance a collective response to the epidemic.

Participants from around the globe will gather in Toronto to share the latest evidence, ideas and lessons learned in HIV/AIDS research, policies and programs. Organized to focus on the key challenges facing those engaged in the response to the epidemic, the conference will focus on shared obligation to deliver the promise of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care to communities throughout the world.

The Russian Health Care Foundation representatives Mrs. M. Shegai and Mr. A. Pankratov will participate in the Conference’s sessions, will attend several symposiums, satellites, skills building workshops as well as plenary and oral presentation sessions, focusing on implementation of the Global Fund Program "Promoting a Strategic Response to HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care for Vulnerable Populations in the Russian Federation".

12.08.06

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said on Wednesday it was giving $500 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, by far its biggest grant to the fund, which says it sorely lacks cash. The money, to be given over five years, is the largest private donation to the fund, founded nearly five years ago to serve as the primary financing vehicle for efforts to fight the HIV pandemic, tuberculosis and malaria.

The fund has always struggled to persuade rich nations to contribute.

"Even with this support, it is likely that the fund will need an additional $500 million to reach our goal of $1.1 billion to fully fund all of the grants that we expect to approve for our sixth round of funding," said Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund. Richard Burzynski of the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations said the fund has a predicted $2.1 billion shortfall for this year and next year alone.


"The Global Fund is one of the most important health initiatives in the world today," Gates, who founded Microsoft (MSFT.O) said in a statement.
Gates and the fund announced the cash gift less than a week before the 16th International AIDS Conference, being held this year in Toronto. The Gates Foundation pledged $100 million to the Fund in 2001, and $50 million in 2004.

The Geneva-based fund, administered independently, was responsible for about a fifth of all international funding for programs to fight HIV in 2005.
This included HIV drugs for 544,000 people, more than 1.4 million people treated for TB and more than 11 million bed nets distributed to protect children from malaria.
"As we move from crisis management to a sustained AIDS response, we will continue to rely on the Global Fund as the best model to provide strategic and predictable funding," said Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of the United Nations AIDS agency UNAIDS.

"A fully funded Global Fund is absolutely critical to the AIDS response." Recipients also praised the Fund.

"The Global Fund has provided us with the support we need to drive back AIDS and other diseases, and I am happy to see that this contribution will help it continue to do so for years to come," President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said in a statement. "Thousands of people who would otherwise be dead are healthy and working to build a better future for their families and our country."

20.07.06

The Expert Council awarded grants to the following organizations:

- Chelyabinsk charity foundation "Beregi sebya"
- Altai NGO "Antispid Siberia"
- NGO "Grazhdanskaya initiativa" (Chelyabinsk)
- Regional NGO "Vozvrachenie" (Saint-Petersburg)
- NGO "Elpis" (Volgograd)
- Kaliningrad AIDS Center
- Red Cross (Krasnodar)
- Saratov AIDS Center
- Red Corss (Irkutsk)

28.06.06

"Deutsche Welle" studies the HIV/AIDS situation in Saratov

18.06.06

Implementation of the Project aimed at formation of direct non-medical service teams