Speak-Your-World: Human Rights and people living with HIV-TB co-infection
Submitted by Bobby Ramakant (bobby) about 11 months ago
Speak-Your-World: Human Rights and people living with HIV-TB co-infection
Stop-TB eForum Resource Team
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Members are welcome to share their experiences from the frontlines on the theme of human rights and people living with HIV/TB co-infection in their country's contexts.
As you know, World AIDS Day (1 December) is less than three weeks ahead of us. Also the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health will soon open in Cancun, Mexico from 3-7 December 2009.
World AIDS Day, December 1
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The theme of the World AIDS Day this year is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. Global leaders have pledged to work towards universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care, recognising these as fundamental human rights. Valuable progress has been made in increasing access to HIV/AIDS services, yet greater commitment is needed around the world if the goal of universal access is to be achieved. Millions of people continue to be infected with HIV every year. In low- and middle-income countries, less than half of those in need of antiretroviral therapy are receiving it, and too many do not have access to adequate care services. The protection of human rights is fundamental to combating the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. Violations against human rights fuel the spread of HIV, putting marginalised groups, such as injecting drug users and sex workers, at a higher risk of HIV infection. By promoting individual human rights, new infections can be prevented and people who have HIV can live free from discrimination.
For more information on World AIDS Day, go to: http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/en/Key-events/World-AIDS-Day/ and http://www.avert.org/world-aids-day.htm
40th Union World Conference on Lung Health, Cancun, Mexico
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The theme of the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health is "Poverty and lung health". This theme is highly relevant for our colleagues who have to deal with the burden of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, asthma, pneumonia, tobacco-related and other lung diseases as well as the health consequences of air pollution. The important medical, social and economic consequences of lung health in high-burden countries will also be discussed at this conference. More information about the conference is available online at: http://www.worldlunghealth.org/Conf2009/website/
Members are encouraged to share their community experiences on human rights and TB-HIV co-infection in their national contexts. Comments are welcome till the International Human Rights Day (10 December).
The commentary from the members on human rights and TB-HIV co-infection will feed into the issue-framework the Key Correspondent team will use to write their articles in the lead up to and during the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cancun, Mexico. The summary will be then published on the HealthDev.net, disseminated widely through existing eForums and other platforms.
Thanks
Stop-TB eForum Resource Team
Email: stop-tb@eforums.healthdev.org
Website: www.healthdev.net/site
Keywords: Cancun 2009 dialogue discussion drug resistance extensively drug-resistant Human rights M/XDR-TB MDR-TB multi-drug resistant online Online consultation structured TB tuberculosis WAD 2009 World AIDS Day World AIDS Day 2009 XDR-TB
Stop TB
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243 AliceKlein about 10 months ago
Considering the theme of this year's World AIDS Day is Human Rights and Universal Access, members are also welcome to share their experiences from the frontlines of HIV/AIDS, human rights and access to care and treatment. Thanks, Alice/KC Team.
3116 bobby about 11 months ago
We know the theme of World AIDS Day – 2009 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. Many patients in India unnecessarily experience excruciating pain, because of restrictive drug regulations, lack of training for Health Care Providers (HCP) and poorly integrated care result in needless suffering for patients because they cannot get inexpensive and effective medications. It felt as if someone was pricking me when I find PLHIV feels death is the only solution. We believe that State have an obligation to ensure that essential care and support must available to PLHIV and that HCP receive adequate training in their use. I find total failure by the State to fulfill this obligation violates the right to health.
The failure to train HCP when most of students and young doctors receive no training on care and support under the purview of Human Rights because the State does not include such instruction in relevant curricula and still HIV/AIDS Bill is pending. As a result, most HCP in India simply do not know how to take care of the rights of PLHIV. I focus specifically on the availability of treatment of patients and support provided by the State. I further submit that the State's failure to ensure that treatment may violate the prohibition against torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment because of the widespread nature and severity of the suffering it causes.
In March, 2009 Executive Director of UNAIDS, Mr Michel Sidibe, in Brazil promoted greater awareness of the interlinked epidemics of HIV and TB, the need for universal access to HIV services for all people in need, and the necessity to address stigma and discrimination in Brazil's response to HIV. Although it is mostly preventable and curable, tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death among people living with HIV globally. Of the 33 million people who are living with HIV, only 20% of know their status, and only a tiny fraction, 2% in 2007, were screened for TB according to the Global TB Control 2009 report.
Mr Sidibe advocated that we have to stop people living with HIV from dying of tuberculosis and Universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support must include TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment. When HIV and TB services are combined, they save lives.
We must participate for the promotion of HIV/AIDS awareness, protecting human rights, and ending stigma and discrimination, especially for those most vulnerable to HIV and organize regular meetings with representing people living with HIV, youth, women, and lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders to discuss these issues within the global, national and local context.
For more information on this issue please visit:
Human rights and HIV
http://www.unaids.org/en/PolicyAndPractice/HumanRights/default.asp
Let's join hands and work for universal access and human rights,
Dr Avnish Jolly
Chandigarh, India
Email: avnishjolly@yahoo.com
I'm working on the field of human rights and HIV AIDS. We have developed a community legal handbook for people with HIV and AIDS especially women's and children, which is available online at: www.we-actx.org/community-legal (both english and Kinyarwanda version).
"Know Your Rights! A community handbook on healthcare rights", is online at: http://www.we-actx.org/wp-content/uploads/WEACTx_BookEng_March_28_2008.pdf
All Rwandans have a right to privacy, freedom from discrimination, healthcare, and others that guarantee equal treatment under the law. All these legal rights belong to people with HIV/AIDS, too.
Joseph kasongo Mafurebo
Legal Project Director
We-actx for Hope
Email: mafurebo@yahoo.fr
Any things which comes near to right to prevent quality life is human rights.
1. Nutritive support and homes are basic rights of people living with HIV (PLHIVs).
2. It would be ethical to do TB test for all the family members with a person with open TB
3. Directly Observed Treatment Shortcourse (DOTS) / anti-retroviral therapy (ART) details should be online keeping in mind the migration in the rural India in accessing care and support services
4. TB DOTS center for PLHIV should be in separate location as, the risk of cross infection is high, the room should be big
5. confidentiality procedure needs to strengthened at TB DOTS centers, where name are collected and at ART centers
This is my personal opinion, and doesn’t reflect that of any institution.
Raja Solomon
Email: rajasolomon777@yahoo.com
Thanks for opening this public consultation. People living with HIV and TB co-infection are yet to have TB-HIV related treatment and care services in clinics without stigma and discrimination. Lot of good and commendable work has happened in making healthcare services for AIDS care accessible and reducing stigma and discrimination within healthcare settings - but the challenge is enormous if we consider TB clinics and other related services people living with HIV-TB co-infection might need to benefit from.
This is clearly a human rights issue. If TB-HIV co-infection is a major challenge, then we also need integrated TB-HIV related services where people can access services with dignity.
Jitendra Dwivedi
India
I will like to build upon the issues raised in this online consultation on human rights and people living with HIV-TB co-infection.
We really need efforts directed towards mobilizing communities of people living with HIV-TB co-infection to seek health services with dignity. Infection control is another major issue we should be highlighting because health service seekers need safer healthcare settings with optimal infection control measures in place.
Recent episodes of drug-resistant TB in healthcare settings possibly owing to poor infection control measures further enhance the need to put infection control measures in place where people with TB-HIV co-infection seek healthcare.
Educating communities on infection control will also go a long way in ensuring healthier surroundings (homes, families, residential colonies and healthcare settings).
Also those healthcare workers serving those with TB-HIV co-infection should be well informed and well-equipped on infection control to protect patients and themselves too from hospital-borne infections.
Shobha Shukla
Citizen News Service (CNS)
This is also a problem in one of the our treatment hub in Manila where out-patients with HIV-TB co-infection are providing costs for their own medicine plus x-ray. The hospital is only providing Prophylaxis (isoniazid (INH) preventive therapy - IPT) but not the combination. Only the admitted patients living with HIV are being given free TB medicines/with x-ray services.
Where is the TB drugs under the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) grant?
It is about time that that HIV-TB collaborative activities be integrated in the treatment hubs effectively.
Noel - Dionisio Quinto
Philippines
Email: quintojun@yahoo.com
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