It’s not much fun representing an NGO at the World Health Assembly (WHA). Professional associations like IAS are allowed “Observer status” at UN meetings. This is definitely a government gig – a little bit shocking for those of us lulled by the rather inclusive style of new AIDS approaches like the Global Fund. But the UN is all about the world’s governments. That’s not always a bad thing. Big government gatherings can have important outcomes – making resolutions and guidelines that change how governments do things for their people. And of course WHO has a vital role in setting health standards and advising Health Ministries on effective responses. But there is often a risk that those who reach the elevated state of government simply don’t know what will make a difference for the people they serve – and they are subject to the lurches of political interest and change. For AIDS and development this is often dangerous. Development takes time; AIDS can’t be solved with “quick fixes”.

This is a defining year for AIDS, 2010 is the deadline established by the international community to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for all those in need. Sadly the WHA planners hardly seemed to notice that this is a special year for AIDS, but then this is nothing new. AIDS rarely makes it on to the agenda of the WHA, so the only way anyone could speak about AIDS was to intervene (if allowed) in the debate on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). And for a civil society “Observer” that meant jumping through a large number of tedious bureaucratic hoops. More...

On Thursday night I appeared on Canada’s popular news show The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos. In addition to talking about Vancouver’s safe injecting site and our efforts to keep it open, I used the opportunity to once again urge our Prime Minister to make AIDS a priority at the upcoming G8 summit.

As I noted on the show, “I cannot comprehend how anyone can talk about maternal and child health in Africa and ignore the fact that 30% of the women in that age group are actually HIV infected. How can you pretend that you are going to look after their health and the health of the children when you are not bringing them treatment?...My concern is this is all about politics and not about honest delivery of programmes.”

Speaking with George about the need for the G8 to commit more resources to treatment scale up, I noted, “The cost effectiveness of this treatment is incredible. They are in fact not just cost effective, they are cost averting. They are saving us money. We’re not doing it because we don’t care. We don’t care to follow up on our promises.”

Click here to view the interview.

A study published by The Lancet this week brings welcome news of significant reductions in maternal deaths and cites access to HIV antiretroviral therapy as a major contributor to reduced death rates among women. It is among the most compelling evidence to date that HV services do not compete with other health priorities in the developing world, they support them.

Photo: WHO/UNAIDS/E. Miller

The study shows once again that access to HIV prevention, treatment and care are essential to a comprehensive approach to improving developing world health because they:

• reduce all-cause mortality
• improve maternal health
• improve child health by preventing and treating HIV disease in children and reducing diarrheal and other diseases through safe breastfeeding
• reduce tuberculosis and other infectious diseases that exploit HIV-weakened immune systems
• support health worker training and strengthen developing world health systems.

Looking at maternal health in 181 countries over a span of almost 30 years, the study offers yet more proof that concerted, evidence-based action to improve the health of vulnerable populations works. More...