SENIOR UN OFFICIALS APPLAUD RWANDAN EFFORTS TO STOP THE SPREAD OF HIV, TB

Senior United Nations officials today praised Rwanda for successfully integrating the treatment of patients suffering from HIV and tuberculosis after witnessing first-hand the delivery of health services in the African nation.

"It is gratifying to be at this clinic, which has intensified TB case finding in people living with HIV through TB screening and transferring confirmed cases to a TB clinic," said the Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Stop TB Jorge Sampaio, referring to a visit to the Socio-Medical Centre in Biryogo.

"In addition patients who enrol at the health centre with tuberculosis are also tested for HIV and those found to be HIV-positive are given integrated care and support," noted Dr. Sampaio, adding that the programme "reflects Rwanda's impressive progress nationwide on coordinating TB and HIV services."

The head of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) spotlighted the progress Rwanda has made in easing the impact of TB and HIV co-infection through better collaboration and the use of innovative diagnostic technology.

"I am pleased to see that Rwanda is leading Africa and the world in taking an integrated approach to dealing with the interlinked epidemics of TB and HIV," said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé.

"Rwanda's bold leadership is achieving impressive results that show the rest of Africa what can be achieved," said Mr. Sidibé.

On a later visit to Rwanda's National Reference Laboratory in Kigali, Dr. Sampaio and Mr. Sidibé congratulated staff and recognized their critical role in reducing deaths from TB among people living with HIV, while underscoring the need for much greater investment in strengthening laboratory services not least for a faster, simpler and more accurate TB test.

TB diagnosis requires visualization under a microscope of the bacteria, obtained via sputum samples, which cause the disease. But few bacteria are present in the coughed-up phlegm of many HIV sufferers, leading to a missed diagnosis in many cases.

The sensitivity of a TB diagnosis can be improved by incubating the samples to multiply the TB bacteria which can take weeks or months to grow using conventional methods. In an effort to increase speed and accuracy of TB diagnosis, fast liquid culture (MGIT) is slated to be rolled out soon in Rwanda. The National Reference Laboratory is also studying more efficient microscopes and staining techniques to shorten the time-lag in TB diagnosis.

Earlier this week, Mr. Sidibé addressed the 59th session of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa in Kigali, where he stressed the urgent need stop new HIV infections and called for a sea-change approach to prevent sexual transmission of HIV. "Prevention must become our watchword, the banner we raise in this critical stage of the response."
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NEW UN REPORT SAYS 50 MILLION WOMEN IN ASIA AT RISK OF HIV FROM THEIR PARTNERS

An estimated 50 million women in Asia, who are either married or in long-term relationships with men who engage in high-risk sexual behaviours, are at risk of becoming infected with HIV from their partners, according to a new report published by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

"HIV Transmission in Intimate Partner Relationships in Asia," produced by UNAIDS and its partners, was today in Bali at the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.

According to the agency, the HIV epidemics in Asia vary between countries in the region, but are fuelled by unprotected paid sex, the sharing of contaminated injecting equipment by injecting drug users, and unprotected sex among men who have sex with men.

Men who buy sex constitute the largest infected population group – and most of them are either married or will get married. "This puts a significant number of women, often perceived as 'low-risk' because they only have sex with their husbands or long-term partners, at risk of HIV infection," it stated in a news release.

UNAIDS estimated that more than 90 per cent of the 1.7 million women living with HIV in Asia became infected from their husbands or partners while in long-term relationships. In Cambodia, India and Thailand, the largest number of new HIV infections occur among married women.

"HIV prevention programmes focused on the female partners of men with high-risk behaviours still have not found a place in national HIV plans and priorities in Asian countries" said Dr. Prasada Rao, Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team Asia and the Pacific, speaking at the launch of the report.

The report pointed out that the strong patriarchal culture in Asian countries severely limits a woman's ability to negotiate sex in intimate partner relationships. While society tolerates extramarital sex and multiple partners for men, women are generally expected to refrain from sex until marriage and remain monogamous afterwards.

"Discrimination and violence against women and girls, endemic to our social fabric, are both the cause and consequence of AIDS," said Dr. Jean D'Cunha, South Asia Regional Director for the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). "Striking at the root of gender inequalities and striving to transform male behaviours are key to effectively addressing the pandemic."

The report makes a number of recommendations, including that HIV prevention interventions be scaled-up for men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and clients of female sex workers and should emphasize the importance of protecting their regular female partners.

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LOW HEALTH STANDARDS IMPEDING RECOGNITION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' RIGHTS -- BAN

The low standards of health among indigenous communities is perpetuating the gap in many countries between the recognition of their rights and the actual situation on the ground, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling for swift action to find solutions.

In his message on the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, the Secretary-General appealed to governments and civil society "to act with urgency and determination to close this implementation gap, in full partnership with indigenous peoples."

This year's Day focuses on the threat posed by HIV and AIDS, and Mr. Ban underscored the importance of indigenous people having access to the information and services needed for detection, treatment and prevention.

This marginalized group -- numbering 370 million in 70 countries -- suffers disproportion
ately from low health standards linked to poverty, malnutrition, environmental contamination and inadequate healthcare, he said.

Calling the world's indigenous peoples the "custodians of some of the most biologically diverse areas on Earth" who speak a majority of all languages, the Secretary-General welcomed some recent national moves in which governments have apologized for past injustices, while others have adopted legal reforms.

But he cautioned that "many face discrimination and racism on a daily basis," as well as poverty and inadequate access to education.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the International Day is an occasion to reaffirm the commitment to translate positive developments in international human rights standards into concrete progress for indigenous peoples.

"To achieve this, we all -- States, indigenous peoples, the United Nations system and others concerned -- must join our efforts and reach solutions based on true dialogue, mutual under
standing, tolerance and respect for human rights," she noted in a statement.

"This is no easy task. But it is the only way we can move the rights of indigenous peoples from paper to practice."

In 1994, the General Assembly proclaimed 9 August -- the anniversary of the first meeting in 1982 of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights -- to be the International Day of the World's Indigenous People.

It will be commemorated this year at UN Headquarters in New York tomorrow with cultural events and panel discussions.

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Clinton in Congo: ActionAid calls for end to violence against women and girls in Congo

"We call on Secretary Clinton to lead the US response to end violence against women and girls particularly in the light of her involvement as a co-sponsor of the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) in the last session of Congress," said Bibiane Mbaye, ActionAid’s Policy Coordinator in West and Central Africa.

Over 600 civilians have been killed in the country, thousands of women and girls raped, dozens of villages burned to the ground and over 800,000 people displaced from their homes since the start of military operations in January.

"Women and girls have been bearing the brunt of this war for close to fifteen years. The culture of impunity in the face of gross violations against the rights of women and girls must end," said Mbaye.

It is estimated that close to 80,000 people were displaced from their homes in June alone and the exodus continues. In such situations, women and girls are at increased risk of violence and HIV/AIDS.

"We call on the US to fulfil their commitments to resource and implement a comprehensive approach to ending the violence," said Alpha Sankoh, ActionAid’s country programme manager in DRC.

"Ongoing fighting in the east of the country has put women and girls in a precarious position as increasingly many of them are raped when trying to escape and this must end," he added.

FAITH-BASED GROUPS PROPEL DEVELOPMENT, SAYS HEAD OF UN POPULATION AGENCY

Faith-based groups play a key role in promoting development, the head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said, stressing the need for stepped-up cooperation between the world body and religious organizations in boosting the welfare of the most vulnerable.

UNFPA is cognizant of "the profound moral authority that religious leaders have" and is aware of "the fact that religious organizations are the older social service providers humankind has known," Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the agency's Executive Director, said at a round table discussion yesterday with faith-based organizations.

Between 30 and 60 per cent of basic healthcare services in the developing world are provided by such groups, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), while the World Bank has found that in some instances, health and education services offered by the religious organizations are better than those of governments.

Given this evidence, "systematic, deliberate and focused" engagement between faith-based groups and the UN is crucial, Ms. Obaid said at the gathering in New York.

"Ad-hoc partnerships, and ones where the United Nations is a donor and the faith-based organization is one of many civil society partners, can be lost opportunities," she cautioned.

Therefore, the official said, a studied approach focusing on "culturally sensitive development" is essential to enhance any collaboration between the UN and religious groups to promote human rights.

Areas ripe for cooperation include HIV/AIDS, women's empowerment, maternal health, migration, humanitarian relief, reproductive health and gender-based violence, Ms. Obaid emphasized.
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UNAIDS WELCOMES FRENCH-SPEAKING BLOC’S COMMITMENT TO COMBAT HIV

Parliamentarians from Francophone countries, which bear a large burden of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, today reaffirmed their commitment to tackling the disease, in a move welcomed by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

A resolution adopted during the annual gathering of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie in Paris from 3-6 July sent a strong message that fighting AIDS is given high priority on the agenda of Francophone parliamentarians.

"I am encouraged to see this level of leadership from Francophone countries to the AIDS response," said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "A strong response is needed to break the trajectory of the epidemic and start building a better future for people affected by HIV," he added.

The resolution adopted by the Assembly called for, among other matters, boosting HIV prevention efforts, especially among groups with higher risk of infection.

It also rejected punitive laws, such as the criminalization of HIV transmission and laws barring marginalized groups from accessing health services.

Access to anti-retroviral drugs must be free to all in need, the resolution added, stressing the need to ensure that the necessary resources are provided for the health-care systems of developing countries in Africa and Asia. The lack of an effective response to poverty will weaken the response to AIDS, it warned.

More than half of all UN Member States hold either full-fledged or observer-status membership of La Francophonie, which signed a cooperation agreement with the UN in October 2006.

TOP UN OFFICIALS URGE CONTINUED AIDS FUNDING AMID ECONOMIC CRISIS

Top United Nations officials today urged countries to maintain and strengthen their commitments to tackle HIV and AIDS in the midst of the global economic downturn, warning that slashing resources now could mean greater costs and suffering in the future.

Addressing a meeting of the General Assembly convened to assess progress in the response to the global epidemic, its President, Miguel D'Escoto, noted that people living with HIV/AIDS have been placed at greater risk as a result of the global financial and economic crisis that is crippling economies around the world.

"As a result of this ongoing crisis, I fear that many governments are resigned to reducing programmes and diminished expectations," he told delegates. "But it is precisely when times are difficult that our true values and the sincerity of our commitment are most clearly evident.

"Even as we see signs of cutbacks in AIDS funding in many countries, we must remind governments and the international community that the world has the resources to mount the kind of AIDS response to which we have committed.

"If we allow cuts now, we will face increased costs and great human suffering in the future," he stated.

In 2006, the Assembly pledged to achieve universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010. A report by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on progress on HIV/AIDS commitments shows that achieving national universal access targets by 2010 will require an estimated annual outlay of $25 billion within two years.

Mr. D'Escoto said that, as the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has pointed out, the amounts needed to achieve this goal represent "a miniscule fraction" of the sums that have been spent this year on economic stimulus measures.

The Secretary-General's report also highlights a number of encouraging developments such as countries establishing clear national targets for universal access, and a continued increase in financing for HIV programmes in low- and middle-income countries, reaching $13.7 billion in 2008.

At the same time, the report says considerable challenges remain, including significant access gaps for key HIV-related services. Also, the pace of new infections continues to outstrip the expansion of treatment programmes, and commitment to HIV prevention remains inadequate.

"Now is not the time to falter," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the meeting. "The economic crisis should not be an excuse to abandon commitments – it should be an impetus to make the right investments that will yield benefits for generations to come."

Mr. Ban said that a vigorous and effective response to the AIDS epidemic is integrally linked to meeting global commitments to reduce poverty, prevent hunger, lower childhood mortality, and protect the health and well being of women.

"But to achieve the goal of universal access, barriers to progress need to be overcome. Not just in battling the disease, but also in confronting obstacles that society puts in the way," he said, adding that the fight against AIDS also requires attacking "diseases of the human spirit – prejudice, discrimination, stigma."

He called on all governments to review their legal frameworks to ensure compliance with the human rights principles on which a sound AIDS response is based. "This is not solely a medical or scientific challenge. It is a moral challenge, too," he said.

Speaking to reporters after addressing the meeting, the Secretary-General discussed his own efforts to attack prejudice, discrimination and stigma. Among them, he said he met regularly with UN staff who lived with HIV and that he is pushing for all people living with HIV to participate in society without fear of discrimination.

He was joined by UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibé, who commended Mr. Ban's leadership in helping to break the "conspiracy of silence" on stigma, discrimination and criminalization against people living with HIV, particularly among vulnerable groups – homosexuals, sex workers and drug users.

He added that "time is running out," noting that the 2010 deadline for achieving universal access is right around the corner. "Unfortunately, we are far from reaching our goals."

Some 84 countries have reported that they have laws and policies that act as obstacles to effective HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for vulnerable populations, according to UNAIDS.

"Achieving universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support is a human rights imperative. It is essential that the global response to the AIDS epidemic is grounded in human rights and that discrimination and punitive laws against those most affected by HIV are removed," stated Mr. Sidibé.
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NEARLY $720 MILLION SOUGHT FOR ZIMBABWE AID EFFORTS – UN

NEARLY $720 MILLION SOUGHT FOR ZIMBABWE AID EFFORTS – UN
New York, Jun 1 2009 2:00PM
Aid agencies in Zimbabwe today issued an appeal for $718 million to meet the humanitarian needs of some 6 million people in the southern African nation, an increase of $168 million from the original appeal launched last November, the United Nations announced.

The country has witnessed a sharp decline in the provision of basic services, considered to be one of the root causes of the spread of cholera which has infected nearly 100,000 people and claimed nearly 4,280 lives to date, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) said.

The collapse of basic social services, combined with food insecurity and hyperinflation, has left 6 million people in need of humanitarian aid.

In November 2008, agencies had requested some $550 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, of which only $246 million has been received. Those funds have helped save lives by containing the cholera outbreak, providing food and agricultural assistance to vulnerable populations, and supporting vital social services including health, water and education.

Aid requirements have, however, outstripped the funds sought previously, OCHA added.

A UN inter-agency mission that visited Zimbabwe in February stressed that the country's humanitarian crisis remains grave, and urged both the Government and the international community to support the strengthening of aid efforts.

"We hope that donors will continue to be generous to the people of Zimbabwe who need help to save and rebuild their lives after years of adversity," <"http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/VDUX-7SLKFF?OpenDocument&cc=zwe">said Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Ms. Bragg, who led the assessment mission in February, added that adequate support now for a crucial sector such as agriculture will ensure that those who are currently dependent on food aid will be able to feed themselves next year.

In addition to resources to effectively contain the cholera outbreak and help improve food security, funds are also needed to enhance health care and repair water and sewage systems.

According to OCHA, 6 million people in Zimbabwe have limited or no access to safe water and sanitation in rural and urban areas. Also, some 1.3 million Zimbabweans are infected with HIV/AIDS, including 133,000 children under the age of 14. There are also 1.5 million orphaned and vulnerable children, including over 100,000 child-headed households, and thousands who remain internally displaced.

Aid agencies are concerned that unless conditions change, outbreaks of water-borne diseases at the onset of the next rainy season could lead to new cholera cases, and a serious humanitarian crisis, OCHA stated.
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NEW UN CAMPAIGN AIMS TO PROVIDE TIMORESE INMATES WITH HIV/AIDS SERVICES

NEW UN CAMPAIGN AIMS TO PROVIDE TIMORESE INMATES WITH HIV/AIDS SERVICES
New York, May 28 2009 11:00AM
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today launched an AIDS awareness and help campaign for inmates in Becora prison in Dili, Timor-Leste.

The project, to be run by a local non-governmental organization, Sharis Haburas Comunidade, will supply updated information on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases to the inmates, according to a news release issued by the UN mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).

It seeks to take a holistic approach to assisting the prisoners, and to help ensure a way for them to move forward when they leave the prison.

Timor-Leste has a relatively low incidence of HIV/AIDS, and a national plan to maintain that record, the mission stated.

"However, prisoners were not given focus in terms of HIV prevention and care," said Dr. Hernando Agudelo, UNFPA Representative in Dili. "To fill the identified gap, UNFPA has funded this project that will provide accurate services to the prisoners in this regard."

In addition to UNFPA and UNMIT, the project is also in collaboration with the faith-based Holy Spirit Sisters, the Ministries of Health and Justice, the Bureau of Prisons and the National AIDS Commission.
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SOME AIDS WORK IN AFRICA ‘MISMATCHED’ FROM ACTUAL CAUSES, SAYS UN-BACKED REPORT

SOME AIDS WORK IN AFRICA 'MISMATCHED' FROM ACTUAL CAUSES, SAYS UN-BACKED REPORT
New York, May 27 2009 12:00PM
The publication of potential "mismatches" between prevention strategies and the actual causes of HIV/AIDS in some African countries has already helped to improve efforts to combat the disease, according to the lead United Nations agency on the issue.

The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (<"http://www.unaids.org/en/">UNAIDS) said that a series of reports from Kenya, Lesotho, Swaziland and Uganda showed a "relative lack of evidence-based policies and programmes."

On Lesotho, for example, which has the third highest adult prevalence in the world, the study shows that there is an 'exceptionally high' number of multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships before and during marriage, UNAIDS <"http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/FeatureStories/archive/2009/20090512_UNAIDS_WB_epi.asp">said.

"Yet, according to the report, national prevention strategies do not explicitly address concurrent partnerships and no activities are designed specifically for adults, married couples and people in long-term steady relationships."

Meanwhile, the agency noted that efforts in Kenya are aimed at the general population. "Even where the evidence shows a clear need for it, Government funding aimed at other most-at-risk groups, such as sex workers, their clients, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users is 'negligible or non-existent,'" UNAIDS said.

At the same time, some countries under study have already begun to adapt. Uganda, for example, recommended the establishment of clear policies, standards and guidelines to improve counselling and testing services, IEC (information, education and communication) and behaviour change interventions for married and long-term sexual partners, people living with HIV and at-risk groups.

"Swaziland also recommended that married, cohabiting and steady couples be acknowledged as a priority population and, further, that stronger political leadership for HIV prevention be exercised in order to build widespread engagement to address the complex norms underlying the level of vulnerability to infection in the country," UNAIDS said.

"The leadership demonstrated by the countries that have undertaken this analytic work is a first and important step towards building effective prevention strategies," said Mark Stirling, Director of UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa.

The Analysis of Prevention Response and Modes of Transmission Study series is supported by national AIDS authorities, UNAIDS and the World Bank. Mozambique and Zambia are preparing forthcoming reports.

Debrework Zewdie, Director of the World Bank's Global HIV/AIDS Unit, said, "These syntheses use the growing amounts of data and information available to better understand each country's epidemic and response, and identify how prevention might be more effective. They are guiding the programmes we support."
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CHILD DEATHS DROP BY NEARLY 30 PER CENT, SAYS UN HEALTH AGENCY

CHILD DEATHS DROP BY NEARLY 30 PER CENT, SAYS UN HEALTH AGENCY
New York, May 21 2009 11:00AM
Deaths of children under five years of age have plummeted by almost one third since 1990, the United Nations World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) <"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2009/millennium_development_goals_20090521/en/index.html">said today, while cautioning that greater action is necessary to achieve similar success in other areas, in particular maternal and newborn health.

Some 9 million children under the age of five died in 1997, marking a sharp decline from the 12.5 million estimated to have died in 1990, according to "World Health Statistics," WHO's first progress report on the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the eight globally-agreed anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

"The decline in the death toll of children under five illustrates what can be achieved by strengthening health systems and scaling up interventions, such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets for malaria and oral rehydration therapy for diarrhoea, increased access to vaccines and improved water and sanitation in developing countries," said Ties Boerma, Director of WHO's Department of Health Statistics and Informatics.

But the new study, which is based on over 100 health indicators collected from WHO's 193 Member States, cautioned that in many African nations and in low-income countries, the fourth MDG – slashing child mortality by two-thirds – may not be met.

Dr. Boerma said that while encouraging progress has been made at the half-way point to the 2015 deadline, "there needs to be more effort to strengthen health systems in countries affected by high levels of HIV/AIDS, economic hardship or conflict."

Additionally, he called for greater attention to be paid to the poorest groups within countries where progress is slowest and child mortality remains high.

Maternal and newborn health has seen almost no improvement, Dr. Boerma said, with nearly 40 per cent of deaths among children under five occurring in the first month, even first week, of life. "While the data are patchy and incomplete, it appears that the regions with the least progress are those where levels of maternal mortality are highest."

Boosting these rates will involve addressing weak health systems, emerging health threats such as pandemics, and climate change, he added.

NEW UN PLAN TO BOOST HIV SERVICES TARGETS GAY MEN AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

NEW UN PLAN TO BOOST HIV SERVICES TARGETS GAY MEN AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE
New York, May 15 2009 2:01PM
Two United Nations agencies are launching a plan to provide increased HIV-related information and health services to men who have sex with men and transgender populations, while stressing the need to make universal access to treatment, care and support a reality for all.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (<"http://www.unaids.org/en/">UNAIDS) and the UN Development Programme (<"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2009/may/aids-responses-failing-men-who-have-sex-with-men-and-transgender-populations.en">UNDP), comes ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia, observed on 17 May.

"The case is clear and urgent," said Jeffery O'Malley, Director of UNDP's HIV group. "If we are going to make universal access for sexual minorities a meaningful reality, we must work towards ending homophobia and transphobia. We must address the legal and policy barriers."

In a news release issued today, the agencies noted that in many parts of the world, HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men is more than 20 times higher than in the general population.

In addition, studies show that HIV prevention services reach only one tenth to one third of people who engage in male homosexual activity. At the same time, there is growing evidence that the majority of new infections in many urban areas are among men who have sex with men.

"Yet, these same groups have limited access to HIV-related information and health services due to discrimination, violence, marginalization and other human rights violations," the agencies stated. "In many countries, they still face criminal sanctions and lack access to justice."

Paul De Lay, acting Deputy Executive Director at UNAIDS, stressed the need for rigorous monitoring by countries of the evolution of their epidemics, and for tailoring national responses to the needs of those most at risk.

"In many settings this will be men who have sex with men," he said, adding that responses must be based on local epidemiological and social realities to be effective.

The plan being launched – the UNAIDS Action Framework: Universal Access for Men who have Sex with Men and Transgender People – outlines several factors that impede access to HIV services, such as unwillingness on the part of governments and donors to invest in the sexual health of sexual minorities.

It also sets out how UNAIDS will work towards achieving universal access through three main objectives – improving human rights, strengthening the evidence base through better data, and reinforcing capacity and promoting partnerships to ensure broader and better responses.
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SENEGAL: UNAIDS LAUDS RELEASE OF MEN JAILED FOR THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today welcomed the release of nine men, members of a Senegalese AIDS awareness group, who had been imprisoned for their sexual orientation.

The men were arrested last December and sentenced the following month by the Senegalese courts for "acts against nature and the creation of an association of criminals."

UNAIDS, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), civil society organizations, the French Embassy and the Swedish Embassy representing the European Union (EU) mounted a campaign to secure the release of the detainees, who work for an organization called AIDES Senegal.

"Homophobia and criminalization based on a person's sexual orientation is fueling the AIDS epidemic," said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. "We urge Senegal to remove such laws that block the AIDS response."

The agency stressed that the rights of men who have sex with men must be protected, with laws prohibiting sexual acts between consenting adults in private being amended to curb stigma and discrimination.

Further, UNAIDS called for the enforcement of anti-discrimination, the provision of legal aid services and the promotion of campaigns that address homophobia.
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FINANCIAL CRISIS HIGHLIGHTS NEED TO ACHIEVE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, MIGIRO SAYS

The current financial turmoil that has swept the world provides an impetus to deliver on aid commitments and reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the eight internationally-agreed anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has said.

"One might say that aid is a luxury in a time of economic turmoil," she said yesterday at the Montreal Millennium Summit. "But our reaction to the crisis shows just how wrong-headed such thinking would be."

Ms. Migiro stressed in her address that the current crisis reveals that assistance is more crucial than ever, with aid as the only option left for many nations which have seen private financing disappear.

"If we fail to meet our aid commitments, we miss a chance to speed our own economic recovery," she said. "Fiscal stimulus has the biggest impact when it is directed to poor people."

With the midpoint to the MDG deadline having been reached, the Deputy Secretary-General said that even though many challenges remain, there is reason for hope, given the progress that has been made on many fronts, such as education, HIV/AIDS and gender equality.

She pointed out that Rwanda, which is still recovering from the devastating 1994 massacre of over 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutus, is the country with the highest percentage of women in its parliament.

"We must never underestimate the human capacity for change," Ms. Migiro emphasized.

But progress has been too slow in other areas, such as improving maternal health and protecting the environment, she said.

The Deputy Secretary-General said that many developing countries have made great strides, achieving robust growth and even financing their own development, and she urged them to stand by their promises of improving governance and economic systems.

For their part, "donors could do more," she said. Even though "money can't buy development," she underscored that it is impossible to reach development targets with more resources.

While in Montreal, Ms. Migiro also addressed an event on the theme, "Forging a Renewed Partnership for Development," and reiterated the need for global cooperation to meet the MDGs.

"The task of achieving the Goals is too great for any one of us to achieve alone," she said. "We must succeed together."
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