UNAIDS’ latest report shows the world is moving forward in achieving the 90-90-90 agenda. The targets were launched in 2014 to accelerate progress so that by 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV have access to sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90% of all people with access to antiretroviral therapy are virally suppressed.
At IAS 2017, the academic HIV conference in Paris, the start of a large-scale efficacy study (phase III) into a preventive HIV vaccine in South Africa was announced (HVTN 702). It is the first efficacy study of this scale since 2009. Member associations of the International Planned Parenthood Federation stand to suffer from the Global Gag Rule or Mexico City Policy. Across the world, IPPF expects to forgo $100 million in funding from the United States Government. In 32 countries, including Belgian partner countries Burkina Faso, Burundi, Mali, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania and Flemish partner country Mozambique, IPPF member associations have indicated they will forgo funding because of their refusal to sign the Global Gag Rule. The Trump administration has proposed to cut all support for international family planning and reproductive health in its budget proposal for 2018. This amounts to a budget of $607.5 million. The budget cut is unprecedented. The parliamentarians for the 2030 agenda, for which Sensoa functions as a secretariat, organised an event on World AIDS Day to raise awareness about HIV globally and in Belgium.
Every year, the Amnesty International Chair is awarded to someone who has made an exceptional contribution to the promotion of human rights. This year, the Chair was given to Peter Piot from Belgium, a global authority in the area of HIV-research and policy.
Some European leaders give president-elect of the USA, Donald Trump, the benefit of the doubt, since election rhetoric and ensuing policy can be very different. But on sexual and reproductive health and rights, we should be prepared for the consequences of the election.
On Thursday November 10th, Be-Cause health, the platform for international health, organised a seminar on the relationship between stigma and sexual and reproductive health and rights. On November 8th, professor Marleen Temmerman received the EDCTP award for ‘Outstanding Female Scientist’. EDCTP, the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, supports the development of new or better drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and other poverty-related diseases in Africa.
|