CAN Newsletter, 27 May 2011!

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CAN News: CAN at the HLM - Overview side events 
News: UNAIDS PCB invites CSO as observers board meeting
News: Groundbreaking trial results confirm HIV treatment prevents transmission of HIV
News: Drug price cuts secured amid growing funding fears
News: Many countries hit by health threats from both infectious and chronic diseases
Sharing experiences: World Health Assemblee (WHA) side event: WHO HIV strategy - implementing treatment 2.0
Sharing experiences: Members of Parliament in Eastern Africa meet to discuss care and support for women, girls and older people
Resource: World Health Statistics 2011
Resource: Adherence and retention in HIV care in resource-limited settings
Resource: Outcomes of antiretroviral treatment program in Ethiopia: Retention of patients in care is a major challenge and varies across health facilities
Resource: Rethinking health-care systems: a focus on chronicity
Event: Consultation for world conference on social determinants of health, 19 to 21 October 2011, Rio de Janeiro

Do you want to read prior editions of the CAN newsletter?
Bi-weekly 13 May 2011
Bi-weekly 01 May 2011
Bi-weekly 15 April 2011

CAN News

Groundbreaking trial results confirm HIV treatment prevents transmission of HIV
GENEVA, 12 May 2011—Results announced today by the United States National Institutes of Health show that if an HIV-positive person adheres to an effective antiretroviral therapy regimen, the risk of transmitting the virus to their uninfected sexual partner can be reduced by 96%. Read more

Drug price cuts secured amid growing funding fears
JOHANNESBURG, 19 May 2011 - Three international organizations have negotiated reductions on key first- and second-line, and paediatric antiretrovirals (ARVs) that will help countries save at least US$600 million over the next three years. Read more

Many countries hit by health threats from both infectious and chronic diseases
GENEVA, 13 May 2011 - An increasing number of countries are facing a double burden of disease as the prevalence of risk factors for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases and cancers increase and many countries still struggle to reduce maternal and child deaths caused by infectious diseases, for the Millennium Development Goals, according to the World Health Statistics 2011 released by the WHO today. Read more.
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Sharing experiences

World Health Assemblee (WHA) side event: WHO HIV strategy - implementing treatment 2.0
By Billie-Jean Nieuwenhuys, Stop Aids Alliance Geneva

I attended the WHO HIV unit side event at the WHA last week.  Please find below a summary of the key points that were raised during the event.

For the strategy document click here.

The new WHO HIV Strategy is guided by the following principles:

• Reaffirms the goals and targets outlined in the UNAIDS Strategy and is aligned to the new UNAIDS Strategy;
• Embeds HIV in broader health agenda with an emphasis on the strengthening the health sector and ensuring multisector response,
• Addresses current gaps, and promotes the use of high impact evidence based interventions tailored to national epidemics,
• Drives innovation towards high quality interventions.

Read more.  

Members of Parliament in Eastern Africa meet to discuss care and support for women, girls and older people
By Renaldah Mjomba, VSO

VSO and Help Age International organised a 3 day workshop in Kenya from 17th – 19th April for members of parliament from the East African Legislative assembly (EALA) and Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) to discuss ‘Care and Support’ issues of HIV and AIDS.  12 MPs, including Kenya’s Minister for Gender, Children and Social Development, Hon. Dr. Naomi Shaban, EGH, MP, who was also the chief guest of the workshop, participated. Read more.
Click here to read the communiqué.
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Resources

World Health Statistics 2011
World Health Statistics 2011 contains WHO’s annual compilation of health-related data for its 193 Member States, and includes a summary of the progress made towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and associated targets. Progress on the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Report is available here.

Adherence and retention in HIV care in resource-limited settings
Source: HATIP #176

Ensuring good adherence and retention in care continue to be two of the biggest challenges facing antiretroviral treatment programmes as they scale up. Good adherence to medication, to clinic visits and to pharmacy visits are all critical in ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients. Read more.

Outcomes of antiretroviral treatment program in Ethiopia: Retention of patients in care is a major challenge and varies across health facilities
Source: BMC Health Services Research 2011, 11:81

Many resource-limited countries are scaling up antiretroviral treatment (ART) towards universal access. However, there are few studies which evaluated outcomes of ART programs in these countries. In addition, these studies generally include a limited number of facilities and patients creating a clear need for studies with a wide range of facilities and large numbers of patients. In this study, we intended to evaluate the outcomes of the ART services in 55 health facilities in Ethiopia. Click here to access to full article.

Rethinking health-care systems: a focus on chronicity
Authors: Allotey,P.; Reidpath,D. D.; Yasin,R.S.
Produced by: The Lancet (2011)

This comment paper explains how health-care systems are currently facing a crisis of an increasing burden of chronic disease aggravated by ageing populations and complicated by the continuing risks of infectious diseases and global pandemics. Click here to read article.

Source:  Eldis Health Reporter
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Events

Consultation for World Conference on Social Determinants of Health (WCSDH), 19 to 21 October 2011, Rio de Janeiro
The World Conference on Social Determinants of Health (WCSDH) is being convened by WHO and kindly hosted and supported by the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The World Conference will take place in Rio de Janeiro from 19 to 21 October 2011.

WHO is currently undertaking a public consultation on the current draft of the Technical Paper for the Conference to elicit comments and feedback. The Technical Paper aims to provide policy-makers with an overview of key strategies to implement action on social determinants of health to reduce health inequities and contribute to broader development, organized by the five Conference themes. The final version of this paper will inform discussions at the Conference. Comments on this current draft are welcome by Friday 3 June 2011 and can be submitted at the consultation web page.
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