SAHAR NEYAZI, Communications Associate,
Online Activities,Kaiser Family Foundation
You may be familiar with the Kaiser Family Foundation's coverage of pastInternational AIDS conferences. As the XVII International AIDS Conference(AIDS 2008) approaches, kaisernetwork.org is pleased once again to be the official webcaster of its proceedings, providing viewers with access to thedaily developments from the conference in Mexico City, August 3-8.
I'm writing today to let you know about the free content-sharing andsyndication options Kaiser is offering to allow organizations to displayonline coverage of the conference on their Web sites. We encourage yourorganization to take advantage of this opportunity to provide your Web sitevisitors with daily coverage of this important event.
Kaisernetwork.org's Extensive Coverage of AIDS 2008 will include:
Live and tape-delayed webcasts and transcripts of each day's sessions,including the opening and closing sessions, all plenary sessions, as well asselected other sessions and press conferences;English and Spanish-language audio podcasts of select sessions;Slide presentations from select conference sessions;Daily narrated video highlights of major conference developments;Extended news coverage available in the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report,including summaries of coverage from international news sources andnewly-released studies; andInterviews with newsmakers and journalists for analysis and summaries ofconference developments.
How to Partner with Kaisernetwork.org to Share the Coverage
To help extend the reach of the conference, you can make coverage availableto your constituency by forwarding kaisernetwork.org's daily email updatesand/or becoming a syndication partner.
Forward the Daily Update email to your listserv or email subscribers: TheDaily Update email, sent each day of the conference, will include a summaryof and access to each day's online coverage. Sign up for the email athttp://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2008.
Feature the conference coverage on your Web site through our freesyndication service: Syndication options allow you to match the content tothe look and feel of your Web site in order to provide the optimalcontent-sharing experience. You have options that include featuring the fullcoverage or embedding a small widget that is easily adaptable to your blog,Web site or social networking page. For more information and to see examplesof partners' sites that syndicated content from the 2006 International AIDSConference, visit http://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2008/syndication.cfm.
July 28, 2008
Costs hindering Cervical Cancer campaign
Birungi Rebecca, Journalist, Mama Radio, Kampala, Uganda
The first Global Cervical Cancer conference was held in London In December, 2006, and Africa was represented by five countries, namely: South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda among others.
The following year, the conference was held in Nigeria and it was the first of its kind on the African continent. The event was supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and it ran from 24th to 25th of July 2007.
Uganda this year 2008 has hosted the second annual 2nd Stop Cervical Cancer International Conference held in Kampala on the 21st -22nd July 2008, with the theme: “Accelerating access to HPV vaccines to prevent Cervical cancer”, whose aim was to highlight the burden of cervical cancer on the African continent.
While presenting a paper on “Current experience of the introduction of HPV Vaccines in Uganda” The Country Director of PATH an International Non Governmental health Organization, Doctor Emmanuel Mugisha, said that cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted virus known as human papilloma virus (HPV). The doctor added that the virus is responsible for cervical cancer which is the second cause of mortality among women globally. There are different types of HPV, and many do not cause problems but strains of HPV of 16 and 18 cause 70% of cervical cancer cases.
He further said that PATH is leading the way in the fight against cervical cancer in Uganda by using HPV vaccines. Doctor, Emmanuel Mugisha went ahead to reveal that PATH is carrying out a demonstration project to test Cervarix® vaccine delivery in Ibanda and Nakasongola districts.
Statistical data from the World Health Organization [WHO] indicate that cervical cancer affects 500,000 women with 270,000 of deaths recorded annually on all continents.
Records indicate that 85% of women with the burden of cancer are living in poor resource countries, Uganda inclusive, where access to health care is still inadequate particularly in the rural areas. In Uganda, over 80% of women with cancer of the cervix are diagnosed with advanced disease, thereby making it complicated to treat the cancer.
According to the State Minister for Health Doctor Richard Nduhuura, 30% of the gynecological beds are occupied by women in Mulago National Hospital. “Many more women suffer from cervical problem, but don’t go to the health centers, while others try but fail to access treatment and die painfully at home” He adds.
Further more, Doctor Mugisha says cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the Uganda. 40% of radiotherapy patients in Mulago hospital are women presenting with cervical cancer.
The development of cervical cancer is very slow and takes up to 20 years from infection with HPV to become cervical cancer. It starts as precancerous condition called dysplasia. The latter describes the appearance of abnormal cells of the cervix. In advanced stages the disease presents with heavy vaginal bleeding after sexual intercourse, vaginal discomfort which may be pale, watery, brown or bloody, and pelvic pain among others. However, severe symptoms may rise in very advanced stages include severe anaemia, fistulae.
Despite the lingering ugly picture, Mugisha says that cervical cancer is preventable by the use of HPV vaccine for girls who are not sexually active, or by screening sexually active women. Given the poor resource settings in Africa, Doctor Hannah Simonds a Consultant with Tygerberg Hospital, Western Cape, South Africa, says,” screening is still one of the cheapest options for detecting cervical cancer among women annually”. However, the ideal situation for the governments would have been vaccination along side screening that will reduce the risk of cervical cancer. Additionally Simonds says Pap smear is one of the oldest methods of cervical screening that has been used to screen pre-cancers and cancer. The “Pap smear technique” collects cells that are shedding off the cervix using a brush. The cells are then put on a glass slide, fixed with alcohol processed and read by a trained person.
In Uganda, Kawempe Health Center IV, Naguru Teenage and Mulago National Hospital are providing free screening services which are apparently located in Kampala and unfortunately the screening services are still in the city centre, leaving rural women at a disadvantage. Doctor Mugisha adds that, “inadequate health services with so many competing health needs, coupled with the high disease burden and high costs are daunting challenges to cervical cancer treatment”.
The screening procedure can costs between 5000, to 20,000 Uganda shillings which is between 3 and 13 United States Dollars. This amount of money is not easy to get due to the fact that a number of women in the country are not bread earners, they depend on their husbands’ income for survival and health services. A few women who are income earners have a big dependency burden that includes taking children to school, looking after relatives and paying rent, etc.
The partnership between PATH cervical cancer project and the government of Uganda has enabled this developing country to engage pharmaceutical companies by signing a deal that has seen the buying of vaccines at 89,000 shillings ($50) at a significant affordable rate, though prices need to be reduced further.
In Uganda, PATH in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health is targeting only girls between the ages of 10-12 years because they have not been exposed to sexual activities. Fortunately the on going the HPV-vaccines are a donation in the country’s two districts, namely Nakasongola and Ibanda. “Vaccination of young girls is the best alternative of protecting them from acquiring cervical cancer.” Path’s country director, adds.
In addition the Commissioner in charge of Immunization with the Ministry of Health Doctor Issa Makumbi says the vaccination of 4,000 girls in the Nakasongola and Ibanda districts is given free of charge. “There are vaccines that can prevent up to 70% of cervical cancer among women. Uganda is using Cervarix® that was found to be effective and safe in preventing cancer”. He argues.
Mugisha adds that a doze for cervical cancer treatment would cost 160,000 shillings ($100), saying a woman with cervical cancer requires three doses which adds up to 500,000 shillings ($323). The good news is that World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccine will be meeting in the next one or two years to discuss about the price reduction for the vaccines, to enable African countries provide the vaccines to the women at a subsidized price, doctor Mugisha noted.
Ritah not her real name is a prominent business woman and a survivor of cervical cancer. After the birth of her second a child, doctors did a screening test and the test was found to be positive, a clear sign for cervical cancer. Ritah recalls that in 1999,the treatment cost her 200,000 Uganda shillings which was too expensive for her. She appealed to the Ugandan government to set up a cervical cancer clinic that specifically caters for women.
However, Kenya’s Health Minister, Beth Mugo who attended the conference, says that, prohibitive costs are hindrance to cervical cancer treatment, adding that there is a need for a conscious African Union involvement for advocacy and ownership of the problem.
Uganda women Parliamentarians present at the conference assert that, the cost of cervical cancer treatment is a challenge to achieving of the milestones of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),in particular goal number five of reducing maternal mortality, given the poverty levels in the country.
The next cervical cancer conference is slated for 21st to 22nd of July 2009 in Cape town South Africa, said Princess Onyeri the founder of the Breast Cancer Foundation of Nigeria.
The first Global Cervical Cancer conference was held in London In December, 2006, and Africa was represented by five countries, namely: South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda among others.
The following year, the conference was held in Nigeria and it was the first of its kind on the African continent. The event was supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and it ran from 24th to 25th of July 2007.
Uganda this year 2008 has hosted the second annual 2nd Stop Cervical Cancer International Conference held in Kampala on the 21st -22nd July 2008, with the theme: “Accelerating access to HPV vaccines to prevent Cervical cancer”, whose aim was to highlight the burden of cervical cancer on the African continent.
While presenting a paper on “Current experience of the introduction of HPV Vaccines in Uganda” The Country Director of PATH an International Non Governmental health Organization, Doctor Emmanuel Mugisha, said that cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted virus known as human papilloma virus (HPV). The doctor added that the virus is responsible for cervical cancer which is the second cause of mortality among women globally. There are different types of HPV, and many do not cause problems but strains of HPV of 16 and 18 cause 70% of cervical cancer cases.
He further said that PATH is leading the way in the fight against cervical cancer in Uganda by using HPV vaccines. Doctor, Emmanuel Mugisha went ahead to reveal that PATH is carrying out a demonstration project to test Cervarix® vaccine delivery in Ibanda and Nakasongola districts.
Statistical data from the World Health Organization [WHO] indicate that cervical cancer affects 500,000 women with 270,000 of deaths recorded annually on all continents.
Records indicate that 85% of women with the burden of cancer are living in poor resource countries, Uganda inclusive, where access to health care is still inadequate particularly in the rural areas. In Uganda, over 80% of women with cancer of the cervix are diagnosed with advanced disease, thereby making it complicated to treat the cancer.
According to the State Minister for Health Doctor Richard Nduhuura, 30% of the gynecological beds are occupied by women in Mulago National Hospital. “Many more women suffer from cervical problem, but don’t go to the health centers, while others try but fail to access treatment and die painfully at home” He adds.
Further more, Doctor Mugisha says cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the Uganda. 40% of radiotherapy patients in Mulago hospital are women presenting with cervical cancer.
The development of cervical cancer is very slow and takes up to 20 years from infection with HPV to become cervical cancer. It starts as precancerous condition called dysplasia. The latter describes the appearance of abnormal cells of the cervix. In advanced stages the disease presents with heavy vaginal bleeding after sexual intercourse, vaginal discomfort which may be pale, watery, brown or bloody, and pelvic pain among others. However, severe symptoms may rise in very advanced stages include severe anaemia, fistulae.
Despite the lingering ugly picture, Mugisha says that cervical cancer is preventable by the use of HPV vaccine for girls who are not sexually active, or by screening sexually active women. Given the poor resource settings in Africa, Doctor Hannah Simonds a Consultant with Tygerberg Hospital, Western Cape, South Africa, says,” screening is still one of the cheapest options for detecting cervical cancer among women annually”. However, the ideal situation for the governments would have been vaccination along side screening that will reduce the risk of cervical cancer. Additionally Simonds says Pap smear is one of the oldest methods of cervical screening that has been used to screen pre-cancers and cancer. The “Pap smear technique” collects cells that are shedding off the cervix using a brush. The cells are then put on a glass slide, fixed with alcohol processed and read by a trained person.
In Uganda, Kawempe Health Center IV, Naguru Teenage and Mulago National Hospital are providing free screening services which are apparently located in Kampala and unfortunately the screening services are still in the city centre, leaving rural women at a disadvantage. Doctor Mugisha adds that, “inadequate health services with so many competing health needs, coupled with the high disease burden and high costs are daunting challenges to cervical cancer treatment”.
The screening procedure can costs between 5000, to 20,000 Uganda shillings which is between 3 and 13 United States Dollars. This amount of money is not easy to get due to the fact that a number of women in the country are not bread earners, they depend on their husbands’ income for survival and health services. A few women who are income earners have a big dependency burden that includes taking children to school, looking after relatives and paying rent, etc.
The partnership between PATH cervical cancer project and the government of Uganda has enabled this developing country to engage pharmaceutical companies by signing a deal that has seen the buying of vaccines at 89,000 shillings ($50) at a significant affordable rate, though prices need to be reduced further.
In Uganda, PATH in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health is targeting only girls between the ages of 10-12 years because they have not been exposed to sexual activities. Fortunately the on going the HPV-vaccines are a donation in the country’s two districts, namely Nakasongola and Ibanda. “Vaccination of young girls is the best alternative of protecting them from acquiring cervical cancer.” Path’s country director, adds.
In addition the Commissioner in charge of Immunization with the Ministry of Health Doctor Issa Makumbi says the vaccination of 4,000 girls in the Nakasongola and Ibanda districts is given free of charge. “There are vaccines that can prevent up to 70% of cervical cancer among women. Uganda is using Cervarix® that was found to be effective and safe in preventing cancer”. He argues.
Mugisha adds that a doze for cervical cancer treatment would cost 160,000 shillings ($100), saying a woman with cervical cancer requires three doses which adds up to 500,000 shillings ($323). The good news is that World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccine will be meeting in the next one or two years to discuss about the price reduction for the vaccines, to enable African countries provide the vaccines to the women at a subsidized price, doctor Mugisha noted.
Ritah not her real name is a prominent business woman and a survivor of cervical cancer. After the birth of her second a child, doctors did a screening test and the test was found to be positive, a clear sign for cervical cancer. Ritah recalls that in 1999,the treatment cost her 200,000 Uganda shillings which was too expensive for her. She appealed to the Ugandan government to set up a cervical cancer clinic that specifically caters for women.
However, Kenya’s Health Minister, Beth Mugo who attended the conference, says that, prohibitive costs are hindrance to cervical cancer treatment, adding that there is a need for a conscious African Union involvement for advocacy and ownership of the problem.
Uganda women Parliamentarians present at the conference assert that, the cost of cervical cancer treatment is a challenge to achieving of the milestones of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),in particular goal number five of reducing maternal mortality, given the poverty levels in the country.
The next cervical cancer conference is slated for 21st to 22nd of July 2009 in Cape town South Africa, said Princess Onyeri the founder of the Breast Cancer Foundation of Nigeria.
July 25, 2008
Médecins Sans Frontières invites you...
MIND THE GAPS: AIDS TREATMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF HEALTH CARE WORKER SHORTAGES
A Médecins Sans Frontières Satellite Meeting at the XVII International AIDS Conference, Mexico City 2008
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) invites you to attend a satellite meeting on the impact of the health care worker shortage on access to HIV/AIDS treatment and lessons learned from clinicians and advocates working on the ground to overcome this gap.
August 3, 2008, 9:00am-1:00pm,
Melia Reforma Hotel,
Paseo de la Reforma
Mexico City, Mexico
Introduction: An estimated 70 percent of people who need antiretroviral treatment are still not getting it. One barrier to access to treatment is the critical shortage of health care workers. This shortage contributes to unnecessary illness and death, yet acknowledgement of the human resource crisis has not yet translated into strategies and funding to stimulate needed change.
MIND THE GAPS is a half-day satellite meeting preceding the opening ceremonies of the International AIDS Conference organized by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)‹will include reports on efforts to expand and uphold quality of AIDS treatment in the context of severe shortage of health care workers and critical discussions among experts and AIDS activists about possible policy shifts needed to confront one of the largest barriers to scale-up and quality AIDS treatment.
Speakers include:
* Dr Mphu Ramatlapeng, Honourable Minister of Health & Social Welfare,
* Lesotho
* Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World
* Rachel Cohen, Head of Mission, MSF South Africa and Lesotho
* Wim Van Damme, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
* Vuyiseka Dubula, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), South Africa
* Paul Kasonkomona, Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC)
* Dr Jennifer Kavuma, Health Workforce Advocacy Forum (HWAF), Uganda
* Dr Moses Massaquoi, MSF Malawi
* Gorik Ooms, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
* Asia Russell, Health GAP
To register, please go to:
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/events/symposiums/2008/aids/
A Médecins Sans Frontières Satellite Meeting at the XVII International AIDS Conference, Mexico City 2008
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) invites you to attend a satellite meeting on the impact of the health care worker shortage on access to HIV/AIDS treatment and lessons learned from clinicians and advocates working on the ground to overcome this gap.
August 3, 2008, 9:00am-1:00pm,
Melia Reforma Hotel,
Paseo de la Reforma
Mexico City, Mexico
Introduction: An estimated 70 percent of people who need antiretroviral treatment are still not getting it. One barrier to access to treatment is the critical shortage of health care workers. This shortage contributes to unnecessary illness and death, yet acknowledgement of the human resource crisis has not yet translated into strategies and funding to stimulate needed change.
MIND THE GAPS is a half-day satellite meeting preceding the opening ceremonies of the International AIDS Conference organized by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)‹will include reports on efforts to expand and uphold quality of AIDS treatment in the context of severe shortage of health care workers and critical discussions among experts and AIDS activists about possible policy shifts needed to confront one of the largest barriers to scale-up and quality AIDS treatment.
Speakers include:
* Dr Mphu Ramatlapeng, Honourable Minister of Health & Social Welfare,
* Lesotho
* Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World
* Rachel Cohen, Head of Mission, MSF South Africa and Lesotho
* Wim Van Damme, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
* Vuyiseka Dubula, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), South Africa
* Paul Kasonkomona, Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC)
* Dr Jennifer Kavuma, Health Workforce Advocacy Forum (HWAF), Uganda
* Dr Moses Massaquoi, MSF Malawi
* Gorik Ooms, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
* Asia Russell, Health GAP
To register, please go to:
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/events/symposiums/2008/aids/
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