Indonesia to Implant Microchips in HIV +

According to a post in Reuters:

Indonesia’s Papua province is set to pass a bylaw that requires some HIV/AIDS patients to be implanted with microchips in a bid to prevent them infecting others, a lawmaker said on Saturday.

Under the bylaw, which has caused uproar among human rights activists, patients who had shown “actively sexual behavior” could be implanted with a microchip to monitor their activity, lawmaker John Manangsang said.

“It’s a simple technology. A signal from the microchip will track their movements and this will be received by monitoring authorities,” Manangsang said.

If a patient with HIV/AIDS was found to have infected a healthy person, there would be a penalty, he said without elaborating.

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Former South African Leader Denied HIV/AIDS

According to a report conducted by Harvard University, it is estimated the South African government could have prevented 365,000 HIV/AIDS deaths by providing antiretroviral drugs and drugs specifically to prevent mother-to-child transmission to it’s citizens.

The study concludes the health policies of former President Thabo Mbeki were to blame. After years of tension in the African National Congress, the party ousted Mbeki in September. The study has raised several questions about why Mbeki was so influenced by AIDS denialists, and why his political colleagues did not challenge him earlier.

One of the first acts of Mbeki’s Successor, Kgalema Motlanthe, was to replace Mbeki’s health minister, Manto Tshabala-Msimang, who suggested beetroot, lemon juice and garlic as treatment. Barbara Hogan, the new health minister, has quickly reversed course.

Hogan, who was incarcerated for 10 years during apartheid stated;

“I feel ashamed that we have to own up to what Harvard is saying. The era of denialism is over completely in South Africa.”

Gay/bisexual men still bear brunt of AIDS

Gay and bisexual men in Massachusetts continue to be the hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic with a significant percentage of new cases appearing among minority men.

That’s according to a new report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that found while the state has had success battling the disease among injection drug users and heterosexual men and women, it has had less success among gay and bisexual men.

Read the rest at the Boston Herald!

AIDS Advocates Debate Obama’s Policies

From Poz.com:

Leaders in the HIV/AIDS community commend President-elect Barack Obama’s pledge for a national AIDS strategy, but call on him to honor that commitment during his first 100 days in office.

Despite George W. Bush’s lauded President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to fight HIV abroad, most experts agree that efforts to prevent and treat the virus on U.S. soil have not been nearly as successful during his eight-year administration.

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announcing in August that the rate of new infections in the United States is 40 percent higher than previously estimated, it is of the utmost importance that President-elect Barack Obama honor his promise to keep domestic HIV/AIDS as one of his top policy priorities.

Read the entire article by clicking here.

December 1st: World AIDS Day - How Can You Help?

World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1st. The World Health Organization established World AIDS Day in 1988. World AIDS Day provides governments, national AIDS programs, faith organizations, community organizations, and individuals with an opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic.

In 2007, the estimated number of persons living with HIV worldwide was 33.2 million and there were 2.7 million people newly infected.

We hope these resources will assist your efforts to educate, motivate, and mobilize your local community in the fight against HIV/AIDS!

• Join AIDS.gov to promote this important day!
  Join the “Facing AIDS: World AIDS Day 2008 Campaign
  Participate in a Blogging Call to Action on December 1st
• Posters, Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and Other Resources
  Download and customize these posters to promote your World AIDS Day events!
  Video PSA features Dr. Julie Gerberding [CDC] and Kenneth Cole, produced by Discovery Health (52 seconds)
  CDC World AIDS Day Resource Page
• Fact sheets
  Download HIV/AIDS fact sheets, post them on bulletin boards, share with local newspapers, and distribute them at events!
• Read about the CDC’s New HIV Incidence Data
• Websites
  AIDS.gov: the gateway to Federal domestic HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, treatment, research information.
  PEPFAR.gov: the official website of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
  worldaidscampaign.org: brochures and information about events worldwide.
• Mobile Resources
  To find an HIV Testing location near you, send a text message with your ZIP code to KNOWIT (566948) or visit www.hivtest.org.

• Take Action

  There are many ways you can take action in response to HIV/AIDS: get tested for HIV practice safe methods to prevent HIV decide not to engage in high risk behaviors talk about HIV prevention with family, friends, and colleagues provide support to people living with HIV/AIDS get involved with or host an event for World AIDS Day in your community

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