(Cross-posted on MSH at AIDS 2012 conference blog [7])

On Sunday, July 22, 2012, Management Sciences for Health (MSH) hosted a satellite session, Beyond MDG 6: HIV and Chronic NCDs: Integrating Health Systems Towards Universal Health Coverage [8] at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012). The session panelists were (left to right): Dr Ayoub Magimba, Till Baernighausen, Dr Jemima Kamano, John Donnelly (moderator), Sir George Alleyne, Dr Doyin Oluwole, and Dr Jonathan D. Quick. 

Seasoned HIV & AIDS experts gathered at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Saturday evening, July 21, to weigh in on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief [11] (PEPFAR) on the eve of the XIX International AIDS Conference [12], dubbed "AIDS 2012".

The conference is taking place in the USA for the first time in 20 years thanks to President Obama’s lifting of the travel ban on HIV-positive visitors.

“What has been PEPFAR’s strategic significance?”

An illustrious panel including Ambassador Eric Goosby (United States Global AIDS Coordinator), Ambassador Mark Dybul (former United States Global AIDS Coordinator), and Dr Anthony Fauci (Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID) discussed the first topic: “What has been PEPFAR’s strategic significance?”

Dr Fauci, who was one of the architects of PEPFAR, talked of the humanitarian and moral responsibility that George Bush felt. He mentioned an African male comment that “PEPFAR is the best thing that ever happened to Africa.”

SESSION DETAILS

While building on the momentum of the UN Summit in September 2011, this satellite recognizes that PLHIV both treated and untreated, suffer from co-morbidities due to chronic NCDS. This satellite will examine the role of chronic NCDs and their link with HIV. More specifically, we will review lessons learned from the AIDS Decade of the 2000s and determine what lessons can be leveraged and applied beyond 2015 in the context of an emerging global burden of chronic NCDs. We will also discuss how we can use this current momentum to re-engineer the primary health care model so that it leads to sustainable, cost-efficient, comprehensive and integrated health systems that facilitate the achievement of universal health coverage for chronic NCDs in lower and middle income countries. Partners include: MSH; Government of Tanzania; Sir George Alleyne (Pan American Health Organization); AMPATH; Harvard and University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Welcoming remarks

• John Donnelly, United States
• Dr. Jonathan Quick, United States

Why We Still Need Advocacy for Chronic NCDs Post UN-Summit, How Do We Create Shared Responsibility of This dual Epidemic and Why Here at the AIDS 2012 Conference

Cross-posted on MSH at AIDS 2012 conference blog [19].

This new video from Uganda, Mildred's Story: Treating HIV & Chronic NCDs [20], premiered today at a satellite session of the 19th International AIDS Conference: Beyond MDG 6: HIV and Chronic NCDs: Integrating Health Systems Toward Universal Health Coverage [8].

Watch video and share [20].

Follow live blog updates [21] and live tweeting @MSHHealthImpact [22].

USAID [25] and partners are hosting [26] a Twitter chat in preparation for the 19th International AIDS Conference [25]. The #AIDSChat [27] began at 10 am EDT and continues throughout the day.

Management Sciences for Health [28] (MSH) will be co-hosting from 2:00 - 2:30 pm on the topic of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV with Scott Kellerman, MD, MPH, tweeting from [22]@MSHHealthImpact [29].

Mary Umoh, colleague and friend -- and one of the winners of an internal MSH abstract contest for staff -- traveled from Nigeria to Rome to present her poster at the 6th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2011).

[34]

During the opening ceremony of the International AIDS Conference [35], International AIDS Society President Julio Montaner declared “Consensus has arrived. Treatment and prevention are one thing and they are the way forward.” He went on to assert that Treatment 2.0 [36] “is the most effective way forward to deliver on the universal access pledge.”

Later in the ceremony UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe proclaimed “Treatment 2.0 radically simplifies treatment to maximize the number of people who can benefit.”

Originally posted on Global Health TV's website.

Watch Video Coverage of Dispelling Myths About Haiti [40]

The Global Health Council and its partners held a press conference at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, to bring the attention of the media back to Haiti six months after it was devastated by earthquake.

Experts such as Dr. Paul Farmer, Dr. Jonathan Quick from Management Sciences for Health, Jeff Sturchio from the Global Health Council, and Dr. Jean William Pape from GHESKIO discuss the struggles and successes being made in the troubled nation - and try to dispel a few myths too.

The AIDS 2010 conference theme “Rights Now, Right Here” [35] was delivered loudly, clearly, and passionately throughout the week in Vienna as delegates discussed the practical and urgent implications for truly gaining universal access to HIV treatment, prevention, and care. Over 10 million HIV positive people are without access to treatment, without universal access, the MDGs will not be achieved by 2015.

Human rights violations are a barrier to learning about the epidemic or receiving critical prevention information. Some HIV positive people are subject to unethical surveillance. Human rights violations contribute to transmission of HIV (such as from rape in prisons or domestic violence) and, in too many countries, being HIV positive is a criminal offense. Stigma, discrimination, and persecution are all huge barriers to HIV testing, care, and support. Universal access to human rights by all is what will lead to universal treatment, prevention, and care, not the reverse. Realizing the full protection of human rights is the first step to enhancing efficiency in these programs. The right to live life free of stigma and discrimination and the right to health care including treatment, prevention, care, and needle exchange and substitution treatment are essential.

By Muku Mugwagwa

Last week , the keynote speaker at the opening plenary of the 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria,  was former President Bill Clinton. He took charge of the stage to address how to move forward in the global fight against AIDS. HIV & AIDS has become a chronic disease – we must transition our efforts from an emergency response to one we can sustain. [45]

Clinton began his speech on an optimistic note, stating that the fight against AIDS has managed to raise more funding than any other epidemic in the world. In particular, Clinton highlighted the efforts of UNITAID [46] as an effective avenue for stimulating broad based private funding. Small donations from campaigns such as Project Red [47]prove that small donations from a large mass of people can go a long way in the fight against HIV & AIDS.