AIDS 2006

AIDS 2008

2008-08-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

Without much foresight I called this blog after the Aids Conference I was about to attend... Coverage of this year's (2008) Conference can be found on my main blog.
Taking You Closer

And Again

2008-03-20T00:52:00.001-07:00

TAC is the Treatment Action Campaign.
The crazy woman is the South African Minister of Health

Zapiro has done it again....

2007-05-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

She's ba-ack.....

South African Political Cartoonist

2007-04-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

I think the freedom of the press in any country can be determined by their political cartoonists... Take for example the Mail and Guardian's Zapiro, who has followed the movement of the South African government's stance on HIV/AIDS closely....

He has a few things to say about the way the American Military treats the press, how President Mbeki is failing with his "quiet diplomacy" and the king of Swaziland also... Definitely worth checking out or even subscribing to the e-mail they send out! Brilliant.

South African Government comes to its senses

2007-03-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

With the number of people living with HIV-AIDS in the country swelling, South Africa has decided to draft a comprehensive plan to combat the deadly scourge, including providing monetary and emotional relief to the victims and their families.

Or so reads the news headlines. It is more likely that the new health minister had a lot to do with it as well as international pressure which came to a peak at the international AIDS conference.

Former Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has been criticized for questioning antiretroviral treatments for HIV-AIDS and promoting nutritional remedies, such as garlic and lemons, to fight the disease.

However she fell ill and acting minister Jeff Radebe announced that the government is working on a draft of a national strategic plan to combat the pandemic that has been claiming hundreds of lives on a daily basis in the country.

The plan primarily aims at reducing the spread of HIV infection by 50 per cent by the year 2011. The government said the country needs to better address the stigma associated with the disease, which discourages many people from being tested, and promised to expand its treatment and care program to cover 80 per cent of people with AIDS.

To shape these choices, the draft plan will aim at reducing the number of new infections in the age group of 15 to 24 years. The four key priority areas marked by the plan are - prevention, treatment, care and support, human and legal rights, and monitoring, research and surveillance.

Toronto AIDS Conference 2006: A personal Account

2006-11-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

Suffice to say the XVI International AIDS conference that occurred this summer in Toronto was overwhelming.

I’m not sure if it was the 25,000 plus participants or the 500-page conference program. How was one person supposed to attend 500 pages of conference activities (not including the supplement) on 8 different floors, spread between two buildings, in a week? Let alone follow the theme of Time to Deliver. Maybe it was the face-to-face meetings with some of my heroes: Stephen Lewis, Dr. Paul Farmer, and Gracia Violeta Ross. Or hearing from leading activists, physicians and celebrities who are all fighting for a way to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Never having been to something with this scope, I took it upon myself to attend everything I possibly could, thus making the best use of my press pass. This turned out to be a fairly big mistake.

The first day I attended a satellite session by MSF – Medicines Sans Frontiers – or Doctors Without Borders as they are typically called. Sitting, listening to a deputy medical officer speak, I realized exactly how little I knew about HIV/AIDS and its treatments. Until that point I had considered myself to be well informed.

In that first day I learned radio programs are one of the best ways to spread awareness of HIV/AIDS in developing countries and Botswana has an HIV prevalence rate of 33 per cent in pregnant women. I was horrified to discover domestic violence in some parts of India is so ingrained the women themselves think it is acceptable.

In a presentation from a media panel, which included Richard Gere, I learned the South African Broadcast Company dedicates five per cent of daily television programming to HIV/AIDS awareness – 50 per cent (nearly 30 minutes) of that is during prime time.

The popular topics at the conference were microbicides, HIV vaccines and circumcision as methods of preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The information was powerful, the people working in these fields are amazing, and it really began to be overwhelming. Funding is required, government support is needed, and more research has to be completed. I started feeling that it wasn’t going to be possible to stop the spread of this disease and governments would never deliver.

It took a few days for me to realize I was missing the point. I was finding all the news, hearing about the set backs, and listening to promises made by the Gates, Clinton, and UNAIDS, but I wasn’t hearing the stories. The small, individual success stories, where a group of people were making a difference in their community.

The turning point came one morning when I was in a hurry and typical for the Metro Toronto Conference Centre, people were not moving very quickly. There was a lineup at the escalator.
I was almost there and flipping through my copy of the daily press release when we stopped, again. Two or three people in front of me a woman, wearing bright purple, had stopped. People pushed past her irritated at another delay.

She was giggling nervously, making the move to step onto the moving part of the escalator then stop. It occurred to me this could have be her first solo escalator ride. I tried to prompt her to make the first step. She shook her head. I extended my hand; the woman grabbed and held it tight. With one big, shaky step we were on the move. There was no talking during the ride and my fingers were becoming numb, the woman was hanging on so tightly. Soon we were at the top we stepped off onto the carpeted floor - she thanked me and continued on her way, still looking a little bewildered.

I was running really late by then – but suddenly I didn't care anymore. I realized I needed to get involved with the people in attendance, not just wave my press pass and look for a quote. That’s when I changed my outlook. I spent time in the women’s centre and sitting on the cushions, visiting with people living with HIV/AIDS.

One afternoon I learned ‘the drill’- the dance assembled by the organization Dance4Life. Their goal is to have one million youth in 50 cities, in 24 countries be agents of change. Dance is the reward and is designed to be integrated in with life skills programming in schools. Every two years, on the Saturday before World Aids Day, the youth dance and it is telecast to all the other kids in the other schools around the world. The workshop proved the effectiveness of the plan. Young and old, men and women from Canada to as far away as Kenya had their arms in the air, hips swaying as they sang “HIV and AIDS we can beat it, take responsibility.”

Methods of prevention and treatment weren’t always so upbeat though. One of the most frustrating things to hear about was presented by Dr. Paul Farmer.

"Food has been forgotten in the treatment of HIV," said Farmer, a doctor and professor at Harvard Medical School.

Farmer has spent his life treating diseases in areas of extreme poverty. He explained without food people will not adhere to their daily regiment of Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART). Farmer said he was shocked when the UN made the statement that people's food preferences were not being met.

"It's not about food preferences," he said, "we are talking about not having any food whatsoever."

According to the World Food Programme it would cost 66 cents per day in food for someone who is on ART as well as a package for their family. They found that all the nutrient requirements would cost $1.1 billion, until 2008. The number sounds big, but in context it makes up a mere 2 per cent of what UNAIDS says will be required to start curbing the prevalence of HIV.
A perfect example of how effective the ARTs can be in combination with nutrition one only has to look at Joseph Jeune, from Haiti. He was on his death bed in 2003 then after six months on Farmer’s program he was on his feet and ready to go back to work. When he walked into the room at the AIDS conference, everyone looked ready to open their wallets and donate.

The Global Village was another place to see positive change in action. Every group imaginable was represented: MSM (men who have sex with men), Sex Workers, Women, Youth, African, Transgender, Latin American, and First Nations among many others. Education workshops were on going all day, everyday and now and then there would be protests; both planed and spontaneous.

People were calling for the pharmaceutical company Abbot to release a patent on the drug Kaletra; explaining why Free Trade Agreements were simply widening the poverty gap; and demanding the Canadian government not close Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection site.

Despite the calls to government to make changes and to act on their promises there were no significant political breakthroughs at AIDS 2006. Instead of making these activists slow down it simply strengthened their resolve, if the governments won’t deliver they will.

Maybe that was the point, to find new ideas and share information with each other. With each person who becomes aware of the issues and takes up the cause the governments will have to listen - they won't have a choice.

The people I met at this conference have inspired me to learn more and to do what I can in the battle against HIV/AIDS. Stephen Lewis said, “We have lost an uncountable number of lives, which never should have been lost, and that is a source of insufferable pain.”

Together we can stop from loosing more lives to HIV/AIDS. It truly is, Time to Deliver.

No Past To Speak Of: A Story of Infant Rape in South Africa

2006-09-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

The title tells of the horror, but it doesn't tell the whole story.
The documentary does tell the whole story.
This film by Jeremy Gans is excellent and a must see educational documentary. The topic is taboo and graphic, but something that needs to be spoken about, although most people would shy away. Not only is Gans not shy he explains everything in a subtle and delicate way - those people who felt that had to steel themselves to view the film will be relieved.

Gans tells the story of a five-month-old baby girl who was raped in a Johannesburg slum. Ten days later her life changes as she is taken into the home of Claudia Ford an African-American academic and South Africa resident.

The documentary follows Claudia as she begins a campaign to end the shame and silence surrounding these violent acts. It also looks at this culture the myth behind baby rape and the history of violence around the townships of South Africa.

Gans show through various interviews in the film that explaining the phenomena of infant rape by only using "the myth" is not looking at the real problems. The myth is that many African males believe having sex with a virgin will cure them of HIV/AIDS - the younger the woman the greater chance she is a virgin. However, social and community workers and a variety of experts in South African say there is more to it than a simple explanation. There is a history of violence, not having respect for life, and lack of education among many others. These experts are not trying take away from the terrible act - just show that there is more behind the incidences. It can't be written off as those "Africans don't know any better" you know "the horror, the horror".

For anyone interested in the topic of HIV/AIDS or human rights and social welfare this film is a must see.

For more information you can visit the No Past to Speak of website.

Stephen Lewis

2006-08-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

So after some playing around I was able to upload the speech Stephen Lewis made at the closing of this conference. To hear what he said please go to Closing Speech at Our Media.

The recording is clear but as a warning there is a lot of applase and cheering, which can be loud, so set your speakers accordingly.

Enjoy.

AIDS 2006 and Beyond

2006-08-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

When I began this blog it was with the idea that it would be the best way to use my press pass at the international AIDS conference. However, I have met so many amazing people who are working to such diverse projects - all with the intention of saving lives that this blog won't end, it can't.

As long as there are scientists researching, activists fighting and people dying of this disease I will do my best to keep up with the information and post it here.

As soon as I get to my computer and a USB cable I will post Stephen Lewis's concluding speech and write a conference summary.

It's time to deliver, but will it happen

2006-08-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

The symbolic globe has been passed on to the organizers of the Mexico 2008 conference. People have networked and found new friends; a russian comparing notes with Sudanese, a japanese woman exchange contact information with someone from latin america.

People are heading back to their respective countries with new contacts and new ideas on how to fight this global epidemic.

Maybe that's the point to find new ideas and share information with each other. Despite best intentions individual activitist can't force people to change, governments to deliver. If the don't listen to Stephen Lewis, there are not going to listen to me.

But, together with new information and global networks governments will have to listen. They won't have a choice.

The closing of the 16th Annual International AIDS conference was a summary of what was said through out the conference. It is time to deliver, woman, children, MSM, PLWA, and indigenous people need a voice.

Maybe this will be not only the conference with the highest youth presence, the most number of attendees.

Maybe this will be the year governments begin to deilver on promises they have made.

The Market Vendors AIDS project

2006-08-18T05:10:00.000-07:00

The six women, in brightly coloured clothes, are pretending to sell their wares in the Ugandan Market set up in the Global Village of the AIDS 2006 conference. They are interrupted as one of collogues comes running through the centre being chased by the man playing her husband.

It is the beginning of the play by the Market Vendors AIDS project demonstrating the work they do in three markets in Kampala.

The project started out as a pilot at the St. Balikuddembre Market and then expanded. It was designed to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS to the 45,000 vendors through peer education as well as access to testing and medical facilities.

"The moment we brought the services to them it was an overwhelming response,” said Rosemary Nammyonba, 24, an organizer of pilot project.

In the beginning they were seeing about 50 clients a month in 2004 and now they are seeing upwards of 450 people monthly.

As the play at the AIDS conference continues, the man tells his wife he has contracted HIV. Then when it seems that all is lost, someone steps into explain what they can do.
The person is a peer educator. Peer educators are one of three aspects to the MAVAP project. They are specially trained vendors on the topic of HIV/AIDS. These people work in the market as well as answering questions and stopping myths about the disease.

For those people who want to be tested the educators send them to the Marie Stopes clinic.

In the play the woman is taken to the clinic, which is in the market, where she meets a doctor who further explains about HIV testing and provides counseling.

The play ended here, but there is another step in the MAVAP project. Uganda Cares medical clinics are where those who are HIV positive can go for treatments and ART.

Both clinics are in the markets because it increased the chance that people would leave work to be tested.

“Basically they are next door to each other,” said Nammyonba, for easy access. She explained that the vendors were business people and just as someone in Toronto wouldn’t leave work in the middle of the day, the vendors won’t either.

At this time 500 peer educators have been trained and thousands of materials have been distributed. There are pens, notebooks, leaflets, shopping bags and shirts with information on HIV/AIDS written in English and the local languages.

Nammyonba hopes to expand further and at the AIDS conference she has been speaking with people from neighboring countries who are interested in implementing a similar program.

“With more funds we could expand outside of Kampala and maybe outside Uganda,” she said.

But, funding is what is holding them to the three markets they are in now. All of their funding is received from the Norwegian Embassy and MAVAP is looking to find more donors.

AIDS Vigil

2006-08-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

Thousands of people gathered at Dundas square in Toronto last night, remembering those who died of AIDS and supporting those who live with AIDS, but the final message was all about home.

"HIV and AIDS have cast the entire world into a shadow of darkness and the candle are the light of hope," said one organizer in an interview with CFRB.

Before the moment of silence, federal Health Minister Tony Clement and other dignitaries lit candles in honour of the various groups of people that have been impacted by AIDS. Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman, Toronto Mayor David Miller and Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton were also on hand to light candles.

The crowd held up glowsticks, the blue light casting an eerie glow across the square.

AIDS counsellor Jocelyn Watchorn, an organizer for the event, said the vigil was a chance to tackle the prejudice that many people with the disease face.

"We hope to bring HIV out of the shadow of discrimination and stigma by having it in such an open space," Watchorn told The Canadian Press.

The night was mostly a quiet affair, highlighted with performances in honour of the dead.
Saxophone player John Johnson played a piece called "For those who did not return."
Singer Billy Newton-Davis, who is HIV-positive, said he wanted to honour the lives of those who have died of AIDS with his performance.

And finally Splash, a group of Students from Etobicoke Secondary, took to the stage to sing a medley from Rent.

As the group concluded with "Seasons of Love", lips were moving with the words, couples of all descriptions were rocking back and forth and people were clapping in time.

As people left the square they looked content, at peace, rather than sad and that was the goal of the vigil.
Hope.

Take a moment

2006-08-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

As always I was in a hurry and typical for this venue, the Metro Toronto Conference Centre, people were not moving very quickly. There was a lineup at the escalator.

I was almost there and flipping through my copy of the daily press release when we stopped again. Two or three people in front of me a women, wearing a bright purple suit, had stopped. People pushed past her irritated at another delay.

As I approached I could hear her giggling nervously. She would go to make the step onto the moving part of the escalator then reconsider.

I wondered if she had seen/used an escalator before.
"It's okay," I said. She shook her head.
I extended my hand and held it tight. With one big, shaky step we were on the move. We didn't talk much during the ride, but when she smiled at me I knew I had done the right thing!

She clutched my hand so tight - I was loosing feeling to my fingers.

Before long we were at the top, and at another three count we stepped off onto the carpeted floor.

She thanked me and contiuned on her way, still looking a little bewildered.

I was running REALLY late by then - but suddenly I didn't care anymore. Lesson learned, take time and look after the people around you. Such a simple act made me feel great for the rest of the day.

What on earth are they talking about?

2006-08-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

A brief list of definitions for some of the HIV/AIDS related lingo (with help from the McGill background material)

ART: Anti Retroviral Therapy

CD4 (T4): A protein receptor located on the cell surface of T-lymphocyte and other immune cells. When the HIV invades it first attaches to the CD4 receptor molecules. As untreated AIDS progresses CD4 counts drop, if treatment is started and working the numbers will return.

ELISA: Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay - a blood test used to screen for HIV infection based on the presence of antibodies to HIV. A positive result must be confirmed by a Western Blot.

HAART: Highly Active Anti Retroviral Therapy, also known as the AIDS cocktail. A potent combination of medications for the treatment of infections by retroviruses, primarily HIV. Usually with three or more drugs from different classes that act at different stages of the HIV life cycle.

HIV: Human Immunodeficiency virus (please tell me you *all* knew this one)

Immunocompromised: A state when the body's immune system defenses are lowered and therefore the body is more susceptible to diseases and infections.

P24: A core protein in HIV.

P24 Antigen Level: A level that can be measured in blood and other body fluids. The test used to measure P24 levels detects the presence of a core protein fragment on HIV.

PLWA: People (Person) Living with AIDS

PMTCT: Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission

Resistance: diminished effectiveness of a drug against a disease-causing agent. As seen with the "superbugs" that surface occationally in Canadian cities.

Retrovirus: A class of viruses which includes HIV, so named because they carry their genetic information on RNA instead of DNA and the genetic information must be translated backwards.

Western Blot: A confirmation test for the presence of specific antibodies that is more accurate than the ELISA test for detecting true negatives. (wow this one is a throw back to Biochemistry 301 - I think I passed that class base on my ability to Western blot)

Civil Disobedience

2006-08-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

Want to know what happens when you turn 5 (or more) bus loads of people, angry at the government, on to the street with banners?

Civil Disobedience

Or in this particular case blocking the traffic along Bloor St, one of the busiest, in Toronto for 2 minutes.

According to organizers the protest was simple show Harper and the people of Toronto that closing the safe injection site in Vancouver would kill people.

The people of Toronto weren't so thrilled with the concept. For 2 minutes there were nothing but car horns, but the obscenities were kept to a minimum.

"Hey man, why you honking," a pedestrian yelled at a driver, "You ain't going nowhere." She looked at those blocking traffic and laughed.

Those who participated felt that the people were actually fairly receptive.

"I thought there would have been more anger," said Bonnie Devlin, and AIDS 2006 conference participant, "I think it went pretty well."

Police stationed at the corner of Church and Bloor agreed.

"I didn't see any problems, it was peaceful," said PC Kerr of the Toronto Police Service.

The people of the "Campaign for insite" wanted to "send a message to Prime Minister Harper: no one deserves to die just because they struggle with addiction," said the leaflets they handed out.

There is increased concern now because at the beginning of September the exemption and funding of Vancouver's Safe Injection Site will run out and it this point it looks like the PM will not be renewing any of it.

The overlooked key in the fight against HIV/AIDS

2006-08-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Research recently completed has said that to adequately treat HIV/AIDS people need proper nourishment. To Dr. Paul Farmer, this work is similar to that of someone jumping out of a plane to test if you really need a parachute: of course you do and these people need food.

"Food has been forgotten in the treatment of HIV," said Farmer, a doctor and professor at Harvard Medical School. Farmer has spent years of his life working in Africa and Haiti treating diseases.

Without food people will not adhere to their daily regiment of ARTs he said.

Farmer's NGO, Partners in Health, works closely with the World Food Programme in many aspects of treatment.

The world food Programme recently released a study looking at the costs of feeding those who need it. They broke it up into several study groups including Orphans and at Risk Children; People with HIV and their families among others.

According to the calculations it would cost 66 cents a day in food for someone who is on ART as well as a package for their family.

They found that all the nutrient requirements of these populations would cost $1.1 billion, until 2008. The number sounds big but in context it makes up a mere 2 per cent of what UNAIDS says will be required to start curbing the prevalence of HIV.

A perfect example of how effective the ART can be in combination with nutrition one only has to look at Joseph Jeune, he was on his death bed - then 6 months later he was on his feet and ready to go back to work.

He spoke about the need for food in Haiti, Dr. Farmer translated on his behalf, "The three biggest problems that we are facing in Haiti right now is HIV, TB and malnutrition."

Special Envoy Stephen Lewis finds it incomprehensible that people are not getting their basic food needs met. He said he beliefs the money should be made available and people need to keep pushing their governments.

He suggested that people should approach PEPFAR, the American HIV management plan, and say, "Why don't you shovel some of your abstinence money into food?"

Farmer said he was shocked when the UN made the statement that people's food preferences were not being met.

"It's not about food preferences," he said, "we are talking about not having any food whatsoever."

Both hope governments will step up and provide funding.

"I would say we need to give people food everyday," said Farmer he paused before adding, "I know that's radical."

Maybe he isn't as positive about seeing the goverment cough up that money.

If it will save lives then I also hope the government will step forward - but I don't hold out much hope. For more information about the World Food Programme, you can see their webpage here: http://www.wfp.org/english/

Research in Pediatric HIV

2006-08-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Despite the sweeping problems the solutions are becoming more creative, but solutions for all the issues that come with HIV/AIDS have yet to be solved.

According to Dr. Julio Montaner, from BC, the fact that researchers have been able to create a treatment for HIV/AIDS that is one pill once a day is almost unbelievable considering it was thought to be impossible 10 years ago.

Today's plenary session spoke to how there needs to be an active implementation of all the research.

Many staggering statistics were presented: 14 per cent of all new infections are in children that is (700 000 out of 4.9 million) and children make up 18 per cent of all AIDS death. There are 14 million AIDS orphans in the world and that number is growing.

But the researcher being done on how to improve the life of children is providing many who work in the field a lot of hope.

"The risk of death of HIV infected and uninfected children is halved - IF - the mother survives," said Ruth Nduati, from the University of Nairobi.

She is a pediatrician that sees the effect of these new policies on Children. She explained that to keep these children alive treatment needed to include the mother and family.

In Kenya where she works they have developed a new courier system that allows infants access to PCR and P24 antigen testing. These tests can only be performed in research centres so originally they could not be accessed by the public who lived in rural areas. But now using this new courier system spots of dried blood can be taken to these centres and the results returned in a timely manner. And without advancement of these test procedures to be able to use dried blood instead of a new sample the new courier system wouldn't have mattered.

Now what remains is a bizarre problem - the cost of testing children. Adults can test for free but for children there are fees.

The other concern that need to be address is the huge shortage of health care workers that can take these samples or provide the drugs. According to Nduati Africa need 620 000 nurses to be able to adequately distribute the ART.

She wants all HIV/AIDS health care workers to realize that despite a lack of work in the area of pediatric HIV/AIDS they shouldn't ignore the problem.

"No matter what your level of resources there is always something that can be done for the HIV infected child," she said.

Did you know? Aug 15

2006-08-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

Did you know....
- that a radio program can be one of the best ways to spread awarness of HIV/AIDS in developing countries?
- Botswana has an HIV prevalence rate of 33 per cent in pregnant women?
- That domestic violence in some parts of India is so ingrained, that the women themselves think it is acceptable?
- Some governments were asking airport staff to stop people who were trying to come to AIDS 2006 conference?
- South African Broadcast company dedicates 5% of daily programming to HIV/AIDS awarness... 50% of which is during prime time (so nearly 30 mins at Prime time)?
- that 74 per cent of young people in Africa with HIV/AIDS are women?
- that the more educated people are the lower the prevalence of AIDS... the absolute minimum should be 10 years, primary and some secondary?
- that there are some heat stable ART available but they are not getting to the people who really need them (in HOT, developing countries - where people don't have refridgeration) because drug companies will not release the patents?
- that Stephen Lewis is trying to create an organization within the UN for Women?
- and did you know that in Lagos, Nigeria there are 10 million people (almost 1/3 of Canada), 1 million of them are HIV positive and a very few are getting treatment - 200,000 of those 1 million need that heat stable ART?

Yeah, until recently I didn't either...
And from the Swiss Campaign: Love Life - Stop AIDS!

President Bill Clinton

2006-08-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

It will be the former president's birthday soon.. so after an passionate speech about HIV/AIDS the thouands of delegates present at his session sang happy brithday. He will be 60 years old.

Sometimes when I take my camera and start pushing around with those other (mainly male) photojournalists - who's camera lenses, I am sure, are compensatating for something - I feel like a real photographer.
However, I will never make it as one of them - I still have too much compassions for my topics, the subjects and the people speaking.
I will never be as rude or be able to make degrading comments about the people who are trying to hard to make a difference.

Richard Gere

2006-08-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

You would think if you came to a presentation just too see Richard Gere, or in the case of many present leap up and take his picture, you would at least have the good manners to stay for the rest of the panel. Apparently that is not the case. I nearly got trampled on the way in to HIV and the Media panel - but the room was only 2/3 (or less) full by the end.
So then I would think well if you were going to slip out you would sit at the back. Also not the case the entire second row was empty by the halfway point.
How frusterating... he was the worst speaker of the panel too - so all those who left early really missed out! But, he does do good work - so does it really matter who he is or what he looks like?
Anyway, here's what those women were all looking at.

Maybe if you shaved the all the hair off - you would recognize him?

Start Dancing. Stop AIDS. Dance4Life

2006-08-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Fifty cities, 24 countries, one million agents of change – that is the goal of Dance4Life. Today they made another step towards that goal of uniting youth, from around the world, in dance.
The organization’s ambassador Tiësto, the most well known DJ in Europe, released two new tracks with the organizations anthem.

All proceeds from the album, dance4Life, will go to two NGO’s active in fighting the AIDS pandemic.

“If people like the music then they get the message right away,” said Tiësto, about why Dance4Life would unite youth against HIV/AIDS better than previous methods.

He presented Babatunde Osotimehin, Chairman of the National Action Committee on AIDS in Nigeria with the first CD copy of the new Anthem.

The song itself was debuted at the Opening of AIDS 2006, the International AIDS conference in Toronto.

Dance4Life is supported by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, who has been quoted as saying, “Dance4Life is a wonderful example of how the talent and strength of young people can energize our struggle.”

Pilot projects in 12 countries are already underway: Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, Vietnam and the UK.
While the organization has not started in the Americas yet, they are already looking at expanding into Canada, the US and Brazil, among other countries.

The plan is simple teach youth about HIV/AIDS in a medium they like and by involving them, they will understand. The first goal is to have one million youth from around the world, dance together on the Saturday before World AIDS Day, at the same time, wearing the same white shirts.

These performances will be telecast to the other cities participating, to show they are interconnected in the campaign for HIV/AIDS awareness.

Marcel v Soest, former director of World AIDS Campaign said, “(Youth) are standing up and demanding all the leadership…to stand up and deliver what they have promised.”

The movement seems to be gaining momentum and support from both governments and NGOs from around the world.

Ilco vanderLinde, co-founder of Dance4Life knows that this could be what changes the face of AIDS for youth worldwide.

“We think this will be a massive success and we hope you will join us,” he said as an open invitation to the world.

Some Pictures from last night..

2006-08-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from last night...

Bill and Bill Chat

2006-08-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

This morning Bill Gates and former President Bill Clinton sat down with moderator Charlayne Hunter-Gault to discuss the priorities in ending the epidemic. Once again the emphasis was put on knowing the people - knowing what they need and knowing how to provide for their lifestyles. Bill said he often let Melinda talk with the women in the centers about the effectiveness of certain preventative measures.
"How many (condoms) do you use, that is kind of a personal question." he said.
The mantra of the Gates foundation seems to be "you have to go there to know there." Some countries said Gates have turned the disease around within days of the Chinese government officially accepting AIDS changes were being made.
Things like needed heat resistant medications, the idea that abstinence, faithfulness and condoms don't always work - because often the woman doesn't have a choice in these things.
Both suggested that new work in microbiocides was an important step - as was vaccines, educations and making sure the infrastructures (doctors, nurses and health care systems).
An audience question accused Clinton of not doing enough of HIV/AIDS when he was President - he replied by naming and explaining the plans he had put into place as president.
"I did make a lot of mistakes when I was President," he said, "but (ignoring HIV) wasn't one of them.
Both Clinton and Gates were realistic, after questions from the audience the event ended on a positive note.
"Bill has accumulated a little bit of money," said Clinton, "because he could envision the future. Do you really think he and Melinda would give their money away unless they thought lives were worth saving and they thought those lives could be saved? That's the best evidence I know."

More on Stephen Lewis

2006-08-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

Alright as I am sure is alarmingly obvious I have a small hero worship thing with Stephen Lewis... Fortunately for me it is lost among all the other people at AIDS 2006. He is greeted with a standing ovation before he even opens his mouth.
However, it is what Lewis says that just proves why he has won his way into the hearts of so many people.
From his opinion of the UN; he finds there are many problems. But according to Lewis, "I love the UN - I am unyielding apologetic when driven to the way by some right-wing lunatic."
During the opening of the Global Village, an area of international support groups, Lewis spoke to the importance of activism with these communities.
He reminisced about past Global Villages in Thailand etc. Demonstrating against big pharmaceutical companies. Then with a grin suggested that it should continue. Then he stopped to clarify - "except GSK because they are a sponsor" but he said it in such a way that told the audience that if representatives from GalxoSmithKlein were not sitting right behind him they should protest those actions too!

MSF Satellite

2006-08-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Sitting, listening to a nurse, a deputy medical officer actually, speak at the MSF satellite conference I realized exactly how little I know about this disease and its treatments. Until very recently I considered myself well informed.
I have also been feeling just a little star struck and very overwhelmed. The good news is I am not alone. In a room full of doctors, nurses, lawyers, the public and seasoned medical reporters and excitement rippled through the room when one of the speakers walked in - a little late.
"Stephen Lewis," whispered some people. He wasn't the only one to create some excitement - Mr. Anand Grover, was there also. But, I guess the excitement is not to hard to understand, when you look at the work done by these people it's hard to to feel instant respect.
This was the first time I had heard either of these two men speak and I was amazed. The work being done in India surrounding patent law, specifically around the seemingly stupid patent laws designed to make companies rich while people die.
It is a constant fight. I have to admit I am amazed that some of aid organizations are still able to function; they have to fight for diseases, medications, right to treatments, everything.
Stephen Lewis blew my mind - honestly I have to admit I have been a fan before but I had never heard him speak. He is so honest and so brutally truthful; he seems to have so much more to say but holds himself back.
"I have to be careful, I am holding on to this job until the end of this year, and I don't want it to end prematurely," he said as a followup to some comments he made on the lack of action by many (all) of the G8 countries.
He doesn't have to worry though, an activist from Kenya reminded Lewis that he still had a role to play in all of this, as a volunteer.
He only had good things to say about the organizations medicines Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders).
"I have often said I would lay my life for MSF, this is the only organization I would commit such an act for - but before I mak such an officious action, I'll make a few comments."
Lewis was not the only one with kind words for MSF, the deputy nurse from Thailand said, "Without the organization Medecins Sans Frontiers, my country would not have medicine."
One of the most touching moments of the presentation is when Ibrahim Umoru, a patient and second-line treatment activist from Nigeria, thanked MSF for bringing him to Canada for the conference.
"One thing my trip here has done for me," he said, "is allow me to meet my life long hero, Stephen Lewis - God Bless you." The two men embraced before Lewis took the floor.

I cannot believe the number of people here the press room is packed and I have got to give up my computer. Tomorrow I will bring my laptop. But for now I have got 40 minutes to eat, read up and prep for my next interview, with Ibrahim Umoru.