28 June, 2007July 2007
ICEM Workshop on HIV/AIDS and women workers in Latin America and the Caribbean
A workshop to plan activities on HIV/AIDS with special focus on gender issues was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 30-31 May 2007. The meeting opened by identifying the prejudices in connection with HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS has to be taken out of the private sphere. It is easier to tackle if it is discussed in public and in the unions. Women have to stop being victims.
In the Caribbean, the region which is currently most affected by HIV after Africa, the Oil Workers Trade Union (OWTU) of Trinidad and Tobago has been working with the ILO. There is still a stigma about HIV and fear of disclosure and discrimination. The OWTU is currently negotiating a policy with the state-owned oil company Petrotrin. It is more difficult to negotiate with small employers
Two important observations are that deaths have gone down since anti-retroviral drugs have become more affordable and that, still, more women are getting sick than men.
A presentation was made on the correct use of condoms, with special emphasis on the female condom. The suggestion was made that ICEM should campaign with governments and international organisations for female condoms to be made available at more reasonable cost. In addition, Maria Luisa from FEQUIMFAR, Brazil talked about her experiences of being HIV positive in a very moving speech.
The conclusions for unions to take the work forward varied greatly. In Costa Rica, for example, where work has not started, the union proposed creating awareness and called for a conference to be scheduled in October, where men and women should be invited. World AIDS Day, 1 December, should be a good day for union-company campaigns. Similar suggestions came from Uruguay and Colombia.
CNQ-CUT, Brazil, proposed developing new clauses in collective bargaining agreements to eliminate discrimination and victimisation and guarantee medicines for those at work.
HIV/AIDS should be included in health courses and the FORMAQUIMULHER women’s training courses. The gender and health committees should work in partnership and ‘train the trainers’ programs should include collective bargaining on HIV/AIDS.
The SNQ-FS union, Brazil, suggested continuing the Summer Without AIDS program all year. This programme has been successful since 1995. The programme seeks to check where testing is done and includes HIV tests in preventive treatment. The use of the female condom is also encouraged.
In Chile, women want to check all clauses in collective agreements to see if HIV/AIDS is adequate covered. They want to consult the company’s medical services to find out what the company has been doing. And the women unionists would also analyse the company’s position and propose common platforms on HIV/AIDS.
Women’s Rights Key to Africa’s AIDS Crisis
Improving women’s rights could boost the battle against HIV/AIDS in southern African countries, where women are often forced into risky sexual behaviour by male partners or economic desperation.
Physicians for Human Rights said its study of 2,000 women in Botswana and Swaziland showed that inequality and gender discrimination were major factors behind the pandemic in these countries.
The impact of women’s lack of power cannot be underestimated. In Africa, women make up almost 60 percent of HIV-positive people; in the age group 15-25 years, this soars to 75 percent.
Economic dependency on men meant that women often lose control of their sexual choices, including whether or not to use a condom. Social inequality meant that men and women are held to different standards of behaviour when it comes to multiple sexual partners. The report can be accessed at
http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/documents/
reports/botswana-swaziland-report.pdf
(Source: Reuters World Report, 25 May)
China: Infection Rate among Women Increases by 43%
In China, more and more women are infected with the HIV virus. Between 2000 and 2006, their proportion increased from 19.4 percent to 27.8 percent of all infected, an increase of 43 percent.
(Source: NZZ, Switzerland, 6 June – from Xinhua News Agency)
G8 Summit: Unions Condemn Backsliding on AIDS
Trade unions joined HIV/AIDS activists in condemning the Summit in Germany for backsliding on its promise for universal access to prevention, treatment and care by 2010. In the final communiqué, the G8 had almost halved its goal by targeting only 5 million in Africa with life-saving antiretroviral drugs.
On the other hand, progress was made towards better G8 monitoring. This year, a first-ever monitoring exercise was undertaken. The Global Union AIDS Programme has lobbied for this provision over the last two years. It must now become an enduring and effective working tool for the G8.
The G8 Summit in Gleneagles in 2005 committed to reaching universal access, which is defined by UNAIDS as 80% coverage. Between 10 and 12 million people will need treatment by 2010, yet the same leaders now have only set a target of 5 million in the “next few years”.
The G8 has vaguely promised to spend USD 60 billion on AIDS, TB, malaria (for all three diseases, not just for AIDS) as well as to strengthen health systems, without clarifying aims or timelines, specifying only that it will be spent “over the coming years”. UNAIDS estimates show that, by 2010, USD 23 billion will be needed for AIDS alone, each year. The G8 fair share of this figure would be almost USD 16 billion.
“Africa will suffer greatly if the commitment is scaled back”, said Elizabeth Mataka, the UN Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa who is also the Executive Director of the Zambia National AIDS Network and the representative for non-governmental organisations from developing countries on the Board of the Global Fund, where she currently serves as Vice-Chair.
(Source: Global Union AIDS Programme Press Release, 8 June; TUAC Press Release, 8 June; World AIDS Campaign Press Release, 7 June and PR Newswire, Lusaka, 5 June)
Global Fund Releases Report on Participation of Civil Society
Civil society (CS) has played a key role in the design and development of the Global Fund, and in the response to AIDS, TB and malaria, but some challenges remain if the contribution of CS is to be maximised. This is the main message of a new report released by the Global Fund, “An Evolving Partnership: The Global Fund and Civil Society in the Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.”
The 49-page report describes the participation of CS in four main areas: advocacy and resource mobilisation; the Board and governance of the Fund; CCMs; and the implementation of Global Fund grants. The report also describes how the Global Fund Secretariat works with CS. The report summarizes the history of CS involvement in the response to pandemics, and describes the comparative advantages of CS.
The report says that, throughout the development and evolution of the Global Fund, CS has encouraged governments to commit more resources; that CS representatives have played a valuable role on the Fund’s Board, on CCMs and in programme implementation; and that CS has proven effective in targeting and delivering services to hard-to-reach communities.
Supporting this view on CS involvement, a recent statistical analysis published in The Lancet found that Global Fund grants where the Principal Recipient (PR) is not a government entity are somewhat more likely to perform well. Grants in which the PR is from civil society, private sector, or a UN agency were 17% more likely to receive an "A" performance rating than grants for which the PR is from government.
The authors note that this is probably because government agencies often have problems with bureaucracy and capacity. This, in turn, helps validate the GF Board's recent decision that countries should be encouraged to assign non-government PRs to operate alongside government ones.
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 76, 15 June 2007. GFO is a free service of Aidspan www.aidspan.org. To receive GFO, send an email to [email protected]).
The World Bank’s Multi-country HIV/AIDS Programme in Africa
In a report on the activities of the Multi-country HIV/AIDS Programme in Africa (MAP) from 2000 to 2006, released on 14 June, the World Bank notes that “mobilisation of empowered grassroots communities, along with delivering condoms and life-saving treatments, are beginning to slow the pace of the continent’s epidemic.”
At its inception, MAP was the most important source of funds for HIV/AIDS work in Africa, but funding from other sources, notably the Global Fund, has since increased considerably. Almost USD 1.3 billion was invested over six years.
MAP funds were disbursed to around 41,000 different organisations. MAP has also helped to establish 1,512 new Voluntary Counselling and Testing sites in 17 countries.
The full report is available on the World Bank’s website here.
(Source: allAfrica.com News, 18 June)
Zimbabwe: HIV/AIDS Policy for the Mining Sector
The recent launch of an HIV/AIDS policy for the mining sector in Zimbabwe is an important step in the fight against the pandemic, which is wrecking havoc in one of the country’s major economic sectors.
The policy, which was formulated after extensive consultations between tripartite partners, aims to guide and direct the process of dealing with HIV and AIDS in the workplace at all levels of the mining sector.
Government departments, the Chamber of Mines and the Associated Mine Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe, an ICEM affiliate, worked together with the ILO to produce the mining policy.
Key principles of the policy include the recognition that HIV/AIDS is a workplace issue, non-discrimination, non-victimisation and confidentiality.
Implementation strategies require enterprises to put in place their own programmes and allocate time, human and financial resources. Workers must be involved in programme formulation, implantation, monitoring and evaluation.
(Source: The Herald, Harare, 7June 2007)
(Note by the editor of the e-bulletin: The Herald is a newspaper controlled by the Mugabe regime. While the conclusion of an HIV/AIDS policy for the mining sector is very good news, it is difficult to understand how in a country with some 80% unemployment, the collapse of the health system, an ever-increasing inflation rate that has reached more than 4,000% recently and the complete depletion of foreign exchange reserves, effective follow-up measures in prevention, treatment and care can be taken.)
News from ILOAIDS
At a meeting in Geneva during the International Labour Conference, Labour ministers from the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) resolved to establish a SAARC Forum on HIV/AIDS and the world of work.
The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) launched its HIV/AIDS Workplace Programme in collaboration with the Namibia Development Foundation. This programme will encourage and support integrated HIV/AIDS interventions including behaviour change, measures for care, support and treatment and the elimination of stigma and discrimination.
News from the Global Union Programme and Global Union Federations
The Global Unions AIDS Programme organised a sub-regional HIV/AIDS workshop for Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire in Abidjan, 6-8 June. 27 unionists participated in this workshop; the ICEM was represented by the national HIV/AIDS Coordinator in Côte d’Ivoire, Charlotte Nguessan.
In its most recent HIV/AIDS updates (no. 22 and 23 of 1 and 15 June) the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF - www.itfglobal.org) reports, among other things, on its workshop on HIV/AIDS in the Arab world; on the HIV/AIDS situation in the Caribbean; on the Jamaican Senate passing a motion to prohibit HIV screening of prospective workers and on the ITF Regional Workshop for the Caribbean in Georgetown, Guyana.
In its most recent newsletter on EFA and HIV/AIDS Prevention at Schools, the Education International (EI) has published, among other, articles on a new television programme in Botswana aired in schools across the country and on the meeting of the Inter Agency Task Team on Education and HIV/AIDS - www.ei-ie.org/efaids.